Upper Elementary Resources
Tours for upper elementary students give them a chance to experience how historic artifacts reflect the humanity of the time in which they were created and the people who made them.
Students are challenged to look at specific elements of the Old State Capitol and how these artifacts “speak” without words. Here are some activities you can use with students before and after your tour:
Before
Compare and Contrast: The Scary Castle vs. The Friendly Castle
How do they make you feel? Why do you think they were designed to look this way? Do you think Louisiana’s Old State Capitol seems like a scary castle or a “welcoming” castle?
Colors can have culturally assigned meanings based on feelings they tend to evoke. Discuss how colors make us feel and what they can mean when used in an artifact.
After
The Humanities of Artifacts Worksheet
Write a brief essay inspired by an artifact. What does it says about how humans felt about the artifact depicted? What does it say about the person who made it?
Write your own version of your life story! Create a title inspired by former Governor Huey P. Long’s autobiography titles, Every Man A King or My First Days in the White House. Put the title at the top and then write your own autobiography!
This program is funded under a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
