Cultivate the ability to make comparisons by identifying things about different objects that are alike and different.

Look at pictures of banjos from the past and contemporary banjos.

Ask learners to think about the differences as they look at the banjos in the exhibit.

Remind students to look at/for the differences between old and new banjos as they visit the exhibit.

Make class lists of characteristics of banjos of the past and banjos of today.

Draw pictures of banjos old and new, including discriminating details.

English: 1.2, 1.3

History: 1.1

Introduce the concepts of "Timeline" development.

Create simple timelines.

Ask learners to note and if possible make simple drawings to indicate differences in banjos from oldest to newest. They may record dates of instruments’ creation. (Explain the term circa.)

Look for points of significant change in banjo styles.

Construct a banjo history timeline including dates, drawings of different banjo styles and names given them. Pictures of banjos and banjo players available from the BRI will also be helpful.

History: 1.4

English: 1.12

Look at pictures of old style banjos. List materials of which they were made.

Using the Eyewitness Book Music by Neil Ardley (Dorling Kindusley Limited, London, 1989. ISBN 0-394-82259-5) and notes in the exhibit gallery guide article by Bob Carlin, decide how a banjo could be made.

Make a list of the different materials found in the banjos on display.

Ask questions to determine how people learned to play a banjo--in the past and now.

Decide together as a class the reasons why old banjos were made of different materials from those we have today. Make a class list of the reasons. (These should be directed toward resources and the role of money in the exchange for goods.)

Use primitive materials to construct a banjo which can be played. (When strumming, note what vibrates and the effect of the vibration.)

Science: 1.2

English: 1.2, 1.3

History: 1.1, 1.4

Economics: 1.9, 1.11, 1.12

The student will identify shapes of different banjos seen in the exhibit.

Using 1.16 information, the student will write appropriate sentences using terms: more, less, fewer, greater than, less than. (For example: There were fewer rectangular banjos than round ones.)

ENGLISH

In discussion of the exhibit, students will follow rules for conversation.

Students will listen to and then read the story When Uncle Took the Fiddle by Libba Moore Gray (Orchard Books, NY 1999. ISBN 0531-30137-0.)

Students will tell, in written form, about the exhibit visit.

.HISTORY/SOCIAL SCIENCE