Step 3 - Displaying the Issues of the Centennial Era

This step of the project invites you to construct a museum exhibit that tells the history of the topic you studied in Step 2. Here's your opportunity to undertake the work of historians as you interpret the story of your topic for your classmates. Consider whether 1876 should be remembered as a year to celebrate the accomplishments of a century of independence, or a time when the American dream was facing profound threats. The question to address in planning your response is:

• What are the key elements of the issue, and how does an analysis of this issue provide insight into American society in 1876?
• Your thinking in response to this question will be presented in two forms:
  1. an essay in which you explore an image from Step 2 of the Web site; and
  2. a collaboratively designed model of an exhibit that uses images and captions to explain the significance of this issue in the context of its time.

Procedure

1. Your product is to be a well researched essay in which you select one of the images presented in Step 2 of the lesson and use historical and visual sources to:
   • tell the story behind the image
   • analyze its significance in the history of the Centennial Era
2. Your model is to be a plan for a museum exhibit in the form of a room that consists of four walls illustrated with images and words.
   • Using primary source images, present an accurate and balanced representation of the issue your group studied in Step 2.
   • Draw from your research essay and those of your teammates to plan your exhibit.
   • The images used can be from any historical source, but the origin of each must be clearly documented.
   • The exhibit - the four walls - must include a minimum of twelve images. Written captions, presented in miniature form in the model and also submitted in list form on a sheet of paper, must clearly explain the point of each image.
   
   The room you are designing can be imagined to be any size, but for the purpose of this model, it must be represented in the form of an intact cardboard box no smaller than 8.5 X 11 inches on any side. Think of this box as a room turned inside out. The sides of the box represent the walls of the room, although shown on the outside of the box for ease of display. The sides are to be covered with plain paper prior to the attachment of any design items. The top of the box is the ceiling of the room. The bottom of the box is the floor of the exhibit.

A successful exhibit will have the following characteristics:

• The issue being presented in this exhibit will be immediately apparent.
• The significance of this issue in the history of America in 1876 will be apparent.
• The exhibit design will use images and captions to "tell the story" of this issue and explain its significance.
• The exhibit will engage the viewer by how the issue is presented.
• The exhibit will contain a minimum of twelve images, eight of which did not appear in the "America at the Centennial" lesson.
• A separate page will present the captions, thumbnails of the images associated with each caption, and the appropriate bibliographic citation for each image.
• The exhibit will be completed on time and all work will be done in a neat manner with attention given to scale and visibility.
• The exhibit will be the result of a successful team collaboration, giving attention to each team member's work on Step 2 of the lesson.

Your exhibit will be graded using the project rubric. (Requires: Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Overview | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Resources