Garbage Archeology - Writing from the perspective of an historian.
Writing target 3.2.1 – ____met _____ not yet
Applies understanding that different audiences and purposes affect writer’s voice. Writes
from more than one point of view or perspective.
You have had a chance to study artifacts or “ephemera,” things that were not meant to
last very long, as an archeologist. You have made inferences and drawn conclusions
based on the information you could derive from the article itself and from what you
previously knew about the culture. Now you are going to write from the perspective of a
museum curator.
You are to choose one item from the garbage collection that will go on display in our
own “Museum of Mercer Island Culture in 2009.” You must figure out how to display it
as if it were a valuable museum piece and how to write about it as if you were an
historian.
1. Choose one item to describe in a paragraph that would fit on a large index card.
Your analysis can be real or it can contain fake ideas as long as you provide an
“historical” basis for your made-up version. Mrs. Mann will show you a sample.
2. Figure out how to display it – mount it, frame it, put on a pedestal, etc. The whole
display should not be bigger than a shoe box.
3. Bring it to class ready to be viewed by the public. Your description will be
displayed alongside the piece.
Description must be written in complete sentences and with correct conventions:
Who would have used it?
Where was it found? (a teacher’s desk/a teenager’s backpack/a golfcourse/
a kitchen/etc.)
Where did it originate? (if you can determine this)
What is it made of? (plastic/wood/leather/etc.)
What was it used for? (purpose or function-religion/exercise/cooking/trade/etc.)
What does it tell us about the culture of the people who used it?
(Just a few of the many questions the artifact could answer: What were
they concerned about? What did they fear? What were their values?
How much contact did they have with other cultures? What roles did men
and women have in their society? How were children viewed? etc., etc,.
etc.)
Rubric for 50 points
Description
Voice – sounds like an historian. 10
All elements are included 10
Reflects keen observation of item 10
Correct conventions 10
Display makes it look as if it were a valuable museum piece.
10
Due Tuesday, January 13, 2009