Name: ________________________________

The Smithsonian Museum Needs You!

Your teacher recently learned that the Smithsonian Museum has a great need for exhibitposters to honor important persons who helped make America a better place in the 20 th
Century. To answer this urgent need, your teacher has volunteered the 6 th graders at MEH to
each become curators and create a Digital Exhibit on an important person! The title of the
exhibit is INNOVATION IN HISTORY: IMPACT AND CHANGE.

Innovation - something new or different introduced:

A digital exhibit such as a Prezi, Padlet, Google Presentation, or PowerPoint is designed to
display visual information on a topic that is clear and appealing. People should be attracted to
exhibits main idea so that they want to learn more about the topic! To be successful, the
exhibit should be an effective balance between visual interest and historical explanation.
Creativity is key!
We will go to the school library to do our research and to find primary source visuals that
you would like to include in your exhibit. Research notes will be completed in this packet with
additional notes completed in Google Drive.

Procedure

I. The Big Questions:

There are three main sections in creating an exhibit on an important person:
1. Background information
2. Theme: What is the story that made this person famous?
3. Conclusion: Why is this person important to US history?
II. The Primary Source Visuals:
Find between visual images for your exhibit. They should be digital primary sources, such
as a diary entry, photographs, letters, or a newspaper clipping, for example.
III. Information:
All important historical information about your person should be added to your exhibit
using bullet points and quick facts. Look for the information that makes your person interesting
and important in history.

Name of Person you are researching: _____________________________________

I. Background/Childhood Information:
1. Where was he/she born?
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2. What events in his/her early life affected their accomplishments and place in history?

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3. How do you think their early life affected what he/she did as an adult?
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II. Theme (Main Idea):

1. How did this persons innovation (inventions) or actions change and impact others?
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2. Who was involved in these events?

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3. Where and when did these events occur?
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4. Who was affected by this person or event? What positive or negative effect did it have on
society?
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III. Conclusion
1. Why does this person or event deserve to be honored? In other words, what innovation
(invention) did this person or event make and what was the effect of the innovation on society?
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