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Becoming History Detectives:
History from a Can of Tuna, a lesson plan for revealing history from objects.
This lesson, designed for students 7-12 (with modifications for younger students), begins will a show and tell exercise. From there it continues with discussion and practice of the skill of inquiry - using a can of tuna, students practice how to ask an object questions that will reveal specific and thematic aspects of history.
At the end, there is a take home assignment that asks students to engage with their families about the history of household items. The lesson can be extended with a research assignment that gives students' the opportunity to read community history from objects.
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RELATED WEBSITES AND PHOTO ARCHIVES
CSU Dominguez Hills
Digital Collections and Special Collections
Houses
an archive of early nineteenth century southern California history.
Land deeds, correspondence, early photographs document the era of
Spanish and Mexican cultural influence.
Los Angeles Public Library
Website
features a searchable database of historical and recent photographs. Of
particular interest is a photo collection, Shades of LA. The
collection was gathered by the Library from Los Angeles families for public
use. Shades of LA illustrates the cultural range and varied work and
social experiences of 20th century Los Angelinos.
Port of Los Angeles
The
Port celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007-2008. The website
includes a history section with archival photographs, documents, and
new oral histories covering commercial development in the area over the
century.
San Pedro Bay Historical Society
Houses
a rich collection of photographs, newspapers, social club materials,
and reference books pertaining to Los Angeles Harbor Area community and
port development.
VOAHA
Virtual and Aural History Archive at CSU Long Beach
Oral
history repository for the Los Angeles Harbor Area. Holds several
recordings from Japanese-American former residents of East San Pedro on
Terminal Island.
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RECOMMENDED READING
Local History
Silka, Henry P. San Pedro: a Pictorial History. San Pedro, Ca: San Pedro Bay Historical Society, 1984.
- Locally published overview of San Pedro history. Wonderful photos with well-researched text.
Women and Cannery History
Ruiz, Vicki L. Cannery Women/Cannery Lives (Univ. of New Mexico Press, 1987).
- A study of the lives of Mexican women in the canning industry in California’s central valley who organized
to form a chapter of the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing, and Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA).
McKibben,Carol Lynn. Beyond Cannery Row (Univ. of Illinois Press, 2006).
- Heavily researched from primary sources including over 100 oral histories, this is the story of the cannery
women and the Sicilian cannery community in Monterey, California.
Immigration and Migration
Barkan, Elliott. From All Points: America’s Immigrant West, 1870-1952 (Indiana Univ. Press, 2007).
- Barkan shows the American West to be a culturally diverse place built on the constant influx of immigrant
labor competing for work and space.
Limerick, Patricia Nelson. The Legacy of Conquest, (NewYork: W.W. Norton & Co, 1987)
- Nelson lays out the foundations of a new approach to Western History. Groundbreaking for its inclusivity,
this text acknowledges the history of the American West as a convergence of cultural experiences.
History from Objects
Lubar, Steven & W. David Kingery, eds. History from Things: Essays on Material Culture. Washington:
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.
- Collection of essays exploring the methodology of studying of history through objects and artifacts.
Gender and Food Preparation
Neuhaus, Jessamyn. Manly Meals and Mom's Home Cooking. (Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2003).
- Neuhaus explores the role of cookbooks in American Society as historical documents but also as vehicles
for social ideals. Cookbooks often reveal more about expected behavior than what people actually did.
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