# Jackdaws for teaching history (not the bird)



## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

Here is something cool that I ran across... (Information I am passing on from another list).

Jackdaws are a collection of copies of source documents on a period of 
history... They would include letters from the period, news papers of the 
period, if it is late enough in time, it could include news reels, or TV 
clips. It usually comes with a reading guide for the period (which you 
wouldn't need since you use tapestry), a lesson plan or activity ideas 
(which I thought could be helpful to you), a time line, and a written 
overview of the subject. They are called Jackdaws because the bird (the 
Jackdaw) is a collector of things.

There is a website where you can buy Jackdaws, here... 
http://www.jackdaw.com/p-321-the-mayflower-the-pilgrim-fathers.aspx. 
However, my friend tells me that this source is somewhat pricey. But it 
would give you the idea. In any case, I think she said there was a yahoo 
group of people who put together their own. I looked through my email for 
the link but I can't find it now. :-(
For those interested in compiling your own Jackdaws, here's a list of some of 
the categories you can use. Sometimes the students 
get them together and sometimes the teacher/mom does. Some of 
the categories are more appropriate for younger children. Some items 
would be better for literature Jackdaws and some for nonfiction ones. 
The list is adapted from one in Charlotte S. Huck's "Children's 
Literature in the Elementary School". Good primary source 
documents reproductions can be found in museums but these days,almost everything can be found on-line. 

Making a Jackdaw
-Price lists of commonly purchased goods then and now (milk, shoes, a 
dozen eggs, a house, etc. and tailor made for the era)
-a time line of the book's (or era's pivotal) events
-a time line of the period surrounding the book's (pivotal) events
-a map (include changing maps, maps before and after, various kinds 
of maps)
-a letter, diary, log or news article that could have been 
written by or about a book character (in the case of nonfiction, 
actual letters, dairies, news articles, etc with an eye to presenting 
opposing and or varying viewpoints)
Context - accounts of a variety of events contemporary with the time 
period
-reproductions of actual documents
-artwork from the period including painting, architecture, sculpture, 
film and literature)
-songs, music or dances
-clothes of the period or characters (illustrations, paper dolls, 
catalogs, etc)
-Recipes from the book's time (a typical dinner; a menu for a 
celebration)

-bibliography related to the book or time period

Cindyc.


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