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Tea for Two
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Title:
Tea for Two
Posted by:
Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum
Date:
8/24/2006
Grade Level:
High School
Category:
Design History
Subject Area:
Language Arts
Lesson Time:
One fifty-minute class period
Introduction:

Throughout history people have designed objects that helped them connect and communicate with other people. In this activity, students will examine how certain items can link family and friends together in unique and interesting ways. Students will analyze how historic artifacts have helped people connect in the past. They will examine and write about an object in their personal life that serves this same purpose.

State Standards:
State Standard
National Standards:
Language Arts
Standard 1. Level IV. Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
5. Uses strategies to address writing to different audiences (e.g., includes explanations and definitions according to the audience's background, age, or knowledge of the topic, adjusts formality of style, considers interests of potential readers)
6. Uses strategies to adapt writing for different purposes (e.g., to explain, inform, analyze, entertain, reflect, persuade)
7. Writes expository compositions (e.g., synthesizes and organizes information from first- and second-hand sources, including books, magazines, computer data banks, and the community; uses a variety of techniques to develop the main idea [names, describes, or differentiates parts; compares or contrasts; examines the history of a subject; cites an anecdote to provide an example; illustrates through a scenario; provides interesting facts about the subject]; distinguishes relative importance of facts, data, and ideas; uses appropriate technical terms and notations)
10. Writes descriptive compositions (e.g., uses concrete details to provide a perspective on the subject being described; uses supporting detail [concrete images, shifting perspectives and vantage points, sensory detail, and factual descriptions of appearance])
Standard 2. Level IV. Uses the stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing
1. Uses precise and descriptive language that clarifies and enhances ideas and supports different purposes (e.g., to stimulate the imagination of the reader, to translate concepts into simpler or more easily understood terms, to achieve a specific tone, to explain concepts in literature)
6. Organizes ideas to achieve cohesion in writing
Objectives:

Students will do the following:

  • analyze how artifacts can serve to foster connections with people
  • write a description of object that has helped them connect with friends or family members
Resources:
  • Internet websites
Materials:
No Materials available.
Vocabulary:
Students in this age group should be familiar with all words used.
Procedures:
Building Background

 Artifacts that Connect People 

The purpose of this activity is to provide an opportunity for students to examine how historic artifacts helped to connect people in the past.

1. Show students the photograph of the silver teapot from 1742.

https://www.smithsonianlegacies.si.edu/objectdescription.cfm?ID=249 Share the following description of the item with your students:

"As artifacts are made, used, and passed on, they create a web of relationships. This silver teapot, centerpiece of the social ritual of taking tea, also linked family members across generations."

2. Discuss the role that the teapot played in the life of this family.

3. Brainstorm a list of artifacts that have served to connect people throughout history.

Steps for Learning
Personal Connections 

In this activity, students will reflect on what objects in their everyday lives serve as vehicles to connect and communicate with friends and family members.

1. Ask students to write a description of an object that has helped link them to their friends or family members.

2. Explain to students that they need to answer the following questions in their description:

  • How would you describe the item?
  • Do you think people connected during the designing of the item?
  • Do you think people connected during the making/production of the item?
  • How has using this item helped you to connect with other people?
  • Do you think this item will create a web of relationships when it is passed on?

 

3. Have students find a photograph of, or draw, a picture of the item they described.

Teacher Note: Google is a good resource for finding photographs. Tell students to go to https://www.google.com/ click on the "Images" button and type in the name of the item.

4. After students have finished writing their descriptions, have them paste the description and the image of the item on a piece of construction paper.

5. Create an "Artifacts Connect People" display.

6. Before displaying students' work, you may choose to have students play a game of Twenty Questions based on the objects they described.

Assessment:
Reflection
Create a class rubric with your students that will help them understand the effectiveness of their writing process. Use the following guidelines to help create the rubric.

 

-How effective are the ideas and content of your paper?
Excellent          Good            Adequate            Poor

-How effective is the organization of your paper?
Excellent          Good            Adequate            Poor

-How well do the details explain your topic?
Excellent          Good            Adequate            Poor

-How well do your reasons support your topic?
Excellent          Good            Adequate            Poor

- Rate how well your writing flows between topics.
Excellent          Good            Adequate            Poor

-Rate the grammar, spelling, and punctuation of your writing.
Excellent          Good            Adequate            Poor

Enrichment
Extension Activities:
Interviews
Have students interview people from previous generations about the artifacts that fostered connections in their teenage years.
Teacher Reflection:
N/A.
Related
Files:
No related files are necessary.
 
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