Farmington Detective for a Day
(Non-School Offering Site Experience)

This is a two hour program, which includes a brief (25 minute) tour of the historic house and grounds, and an interactive session introducing students to primary sources relating to Abraham Lincoln, slavery, and the Speed family.  Students will compare and contrast Farmington's two populations: the Speed family and the 57 enslaved African Americans whose forced labor sustained the plantation economy. This program allows students to participate in the historical process by analyzing and interpreting items such as runaway slave ads, an inventory listing contents of Farmington in 1840, family letters and portraits, and pictures of enslaved African Americans at Farmington. Small groups will study documents and artifacts, respond to key questions, and will report their findings to the whole group.

As a pre-site activity, students will create an inventory of a room in their homes.  Students will use a T-chart labeled 'Then' and 'Now' to facilitate a classroom discussion about daily life, comparing their inventories to the 1840 Speed family inventory. Students will examine and answer questions about the inventory as a group on site, then break into smaller groups for further discussion.

Upon completion of the program, each student will receive an official Farmington Detective for a Day certificate.

Teacher packet includes basic information about Farmington, a copy of the 1840 inventory of the plantation, a time line relating Farmington events to Kentucky and U.S. events of the period, and a vocabulary list.

Cost: $3.00/student

Content Area:
Social Studies, United States History through Reconstruction
Level:
Intermediate (4-5) Middle (6-8)
Grade(s):
4 5 8
Core Content:
SS-04-5.1.1 Students will use a variety of primary and secondary sources (e.g., artifacts, diaries, timelines) to describe significant events in the history of Kentucky and interpret different perspectives.
SS-05-5.1.1 Students will use a variety of primary and secondary sources (e.g., artifacts, diaries, maps, timelines) to describe significant events in the history of the U.S. and interpret different perspectives.
SS-08-5.1.1 Students will use a variety of tools (e.g., primary and secondary sources) to describe and explain historical events and conditions and to analyze the perspectives of different individuals and groups (e.g., gender, race, region, ethnic group, age, economic status, religion, political group) in U.S. history prior to Reconstruction.
SS-04-5.2.3 Students will compare change over time in communication, technology, transportation and education in Kentucky.
SS-05-5.2.3 Students will compare change over time (Colonization, Industrialization, Twentieth Century to Present) in communication, technology, transportation and education.
SS-08-5.2.4 Students will describe the political, social, economic and cultural differences (e.g., slavery, tariffs, industrialism vs. agrarianism, federal vs. states' rights) among sections of the U.S. and explain how these differences resulted in the American Civil War.
SS-04-4.4.1 Students will explain and give examples of how people adapted to/modified the physical environment (e.g., natural resources, physical geography, natural disasters) to meet their needs during the history of Kentucky and explain its impact on the environment today.
SS-05-4.4.1 Students will explain and give examples of how people adapted to/modified the physical environment (e.g., natural resources, physical geography, natural disasters) to meet their needs during the history of the U.S. (Colonization, Expansion) and analyze the impact on their environment.