Oberlin History for Educators
Inside the Classroom
Suggestions for in-class activities, lesson plans, and the like will be forthcoming. In the meantime, please also see the Oberlin History for Kids page, which includes more fun crafts and activities for kids!
Outside the Classroom
The Oberlin Heritage Center tours meet many of the Ohio state academic content standards. Please click for more information on which standards our tours meet. If you would like to have specific standards met during a tour, please inform the Oberlin Heritage Center staffperson with whom you schedule your tour.
History Day is a nationwide program in which students research and create history projects related to an annual theme. The theme for the 2008 competition is Conflict and Compromise in History. Students in grades 6 through 12 can participate by creating an exhibit, performance, documentary, or paper. Students can then compete at a local, state, and national level. In the process of researching and competing students flex their creative talents, gain life-long skills in critical analysis, learn more about their community, and develop a personal link to the events and people who have shaped our heritage. The Oberlin Heritage Center has a variety of resources that educators and students may find useful when researching projects for State and National History Day competitions. Please visit the following links for more information about the state and national competitions, and what resources the Oberlin Heritage Center has to offer.
Oberlin Heritage Center: We have a variety of online resources than can be accessed at Oberlin History Resources and Oberlin Genealogy Resources. Primary resources that we have here at the Heritage Center include census records, tax records, city directories and telephone books, and genealogical information on a variety of individuals. One of our best primary resources for twentieth century history is our collection of oral histories. These wonderful resources include discussions of Oberlin families, buildings, race relations, city politics, transportation, growing up in Oberlin, going to school, celebrating holidays, working at businesses and farms, keeping house, living through the Depression, going to war, and more. We have an architectural inventory of many of the buildings in Oberlin. The Resource Center has a collection of books about the history of Oberlin, Oberlin College, the Civil War, African American history, Westwood Cemetery, and a variety of historical topics.
Please email tourinfo@oberlinheritage.org or call our Museum Education and Tour Coordinator, Liz Schultz at (440) 774-1700 if you have any questions or would like to make an appointment to visit.
Oberlin College Archives: The archives contain many primary resources dating from the founding of Oberlin to present times. Some of these resources can be searched online but most will have to be seen at the archives. See their website for visitor information and online finding guides.
Oberlin College Library and Oberlin Public Library: Be sure to search through the holdings of the libraries in Oberlin, especially for secondary resources, popular magazines, and newspapers.
National History Day in Ohio - The Ohio Historical Society: This site contains information about what history day is, when competitions are held in Ohio, how teachers can get involved, and where students can find resources. There are many "How To" pages for students and teachers participating for the first time.
National History Day: This is the site for the national program and includes information about the competition, guidelines for projects, and examples of previous work.