Multiple Perspectives: The Ford Model T

Multiple Perspective: The Ford Model T [email protected]

© 2015 Marshall Steam Museum www.auburnheights.org/learn

Multiple Perspectives: The Ford Model T

Grade Level: For grades 4-5; adaptable for older students

Background: In 1908, the Ford Motor Company released the Ford Model T and in many

ways the still young automotive industry was changed forever. In this lesson, students

use primary and secondary sources to explore different perspectives of the Ford Model

T and its impact on the automobile industry and American life. To take this

exploration a step further, students can then examine a second set of primary sources

related to the 1908 Stanley Model EX steam car in the Marshall Steam Museum

collection. In 1908, both the Ford Model T and the Stanley Model EX cost the same:

$850. Present-day photos of both the 1908 Ford Model T and 1908 Stanley Model EX

from the Marshall Steam Museum collection are also included, which encourage

students to discuss what they can learn from the physical object that they cannot learn

from a print resource.

Primary Sources Provided:

1908 Advertisement for the Ford Model T

1908 “Forty-Four Model T Talking Points”

Photographs of 1914 Ford Model T from the Marshall Steam Museum Collection

Secondary Sources (click source to access):

“The Age of the Automobile” USHistory.org

“The Innovator and Ford Motor Company” Online Exhibit The Henry Ford

Museum

Lesson

1. As an introduction to the topic, have students explore the history of the

automobile using the secondary sources provided or their textbook.

a. What does each source tell us about Henry Ford?

b. Compare and contrast how each source characterizes the Ford Model T.

c. Compare and contrast how each source explains the impact of the Ford

Model T on American life.

d. Have the student share their findings with each other.

2. Divide the class into groups. Have each group examine either the 1908

Advertisement of the Ford Model T or the 1908 “Forty-Four Model T Talking

Points.” In their groups, have them investigate the questions below and then

share them with the class.

a. Are these secondary or primary sources? How do you know?

b. What can you learn about the Ford Model T from this document?

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.auburnheights.org/learn

http://www.ushistory.org/us/46a.asp

http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/hf/The_Innovator_and_Ford_Motor_Company.asp



c. Who do you think this document was written for; who was the intended

audience?

d. Compare and contrast what you can learn from their primary source with

what they learned from the secondary ones. What questions do you still

have about the Ford Model T?

3. As a class, look at the photographs of the 1914 Ford Model T from the Marshall

Steam Museum’s collection. What do the students think they can learn from the

actual automobile that they cannot learn from the printed sources?

Take it a Step Further

Due to the enormous impact of the Ford Model T, many sources leave out the stories of

other early automobile companies, such as the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, and

the impact of such companies on the rise of the automobile as a primary mode of

transportation in the United States.

Primary Sources Provided

1908 Stanley Motor Carriage Company Sales Catalog excerpts, Marshall Steam

Museum Collections

Photograph of 1908 Stanley Model EX from Marshall Steam Museum Collection

Lesson Extension

1. In groups, have the students analyze the 1908 Stanley Motor Carriage Sales

Catalog excerpts:

a. Compare and contrast the 1908 Stanley Model EX and the 1908 Ford

Model T based only on these primary sources.

b. Have the students consider how the addition of the 1908 Stanley Model

EX primary source impacts their understanding of the development of the

automobile in American life.

Research Project

Have students expand their understanding of the rise of the automobile in American

life through independent research projects on the history of transportation. They can

explore topics such as key people, inventions, technologies, and events.

Examples include: Karl Benz, Alice Ramsey, Horatio Jackson, the Duryea brothers,

Duryea Motor Wagon Company, Mary Anderson (windshield wipers), bicycle, railroad,

airplane, electric cars, steam cars, internal combustion engine, transcontinental

railroad, the Selden Patent, steam engine, electricity, Rolls-Royce, interstate highway

system



Ford Motor Company. Ford Times. October 1, 1908.

Vol. 2, No. 1. Full Edition: Google Books

Marshall Steam Museum Lesson Resource www.auburnheights.org/learn

http://books.google.com/books?id=ZgAZAQAAIAAJ&pg=PT5#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://auburnheights.org/learn/

Ford Motor Company. Ford Times. October 15, 1908.

Vol. 2, No. 2. Full Edition: Google Books


http://books.google.com/books?id=ZgAZAQAAIAAJ&pg=PT5#v=onepage&q&f=false


1914 Ford Model T: Present Day

Marshall Steam Museum



1914 Ford Model T: Present Day

Marshall Steam Museum



Excerpts. Stanley Motor Carriage Company. 1908 Sales Catalog.

Marshall Steam Museum Archives





Marshall Steam Museum Lesson www.auburnheights.org/learn










Present Day: 1908 Stanley Model EX

Marshall Steam Museum Collection





Delaware Standards

History 1, 4-5a: Students will study historical events and persons within a given

time-frame in order to create a chronology and identify related cause-and-effect

factors.

History 2, 4-5a: Students will identify artifacts and documents as either primary or

secondary sources of historical data from which historical accounts are constructed.

History 2, 4-5b: Students will examine historical materials relating to a particular

region, society, or theme; chronologically arrange them, and analyze change over

time.

History 3, 4-5a: Students will explain why historical accounts of the same event

sometimes differ and will relate this explanation to the evidence presented or the

point-of-view of the author.

History 4, 4-5a: Students will develop an understanding of Delaware history and its

connections with United States history, including: Growth of commerce, industry,

transportation, and agriculture (1865-1945)

History 4, 4-5b: Students will develop an understanding of selected themes in

United States history, including: How have advances in technology changed our lives?

& Important people in American history

Common Core: English and Language Arts

Grade 4

RI.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says

explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

RI.4.2: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key

details; summarize the text.

RI.4.3: Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or

technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in

the text.

RI.4.6: Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same

event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.

RI.4.8: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular

points in a text.

RI.4.9: Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or

speak about the subject knowledgeably.

SL.4.1A-D: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one,

in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts,

building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

SL.4.2: Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse

media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.





SL.4.3: Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular

points.

SL.4.4: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an

organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to

support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Grade 5

RI.5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly

and when drawing inferences from the text.

RI.5.2: Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are

supported by key details; summarize the text.

RI.5.3: Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals,

events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on

specific information in the text.

RI.5.6: Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important

similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.

RI.5.7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating

the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem

efficiently.

RI.5.8: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular

points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).

RI.5.9: Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write

or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

SL.5.1A-D: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one,

in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts,

building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

SL.5.2: Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse

media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

SL.5.3: Summarize the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is

supported by reasons and evidence.

SL.5.4: Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically

and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas

or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Research Project Extension

Research projects can help students reinforce Common Core Standards for writing as

well as the standards outline above. The museum can also help student produce

projects across multiple platforms including podcasts and digital exhibits and provide a

unique venue to present their findings.



Documents

Multiple Perspectives: The Ford Model T