Step Into the Past with Our Teacher’s Guide for a Day at Rose Hill School
Our Teacher’s Guide was created to help your class fully immerse in the experience at Rose Hill School. Our goal is to create a fun, memorable, and authentic experience for your students, bringing to life what school was truly like in the late 1800’s and early 1900s. This Guide includes a detailed schedule for your visit, engaging pre-visit activities, hands-on materials, sample school lessons from the past, follow-up activities to continue the learning, and more important information. With this guide, you’ll have everything you need to make the day both educational and memorable. Download our full, printable PDF guide below.
What to Bring
1. Name tag for each child. The last name is the most important, as the Rose Hill teacher will address students by their surname e.g. Miss Johnson or Mr. Rodner. Print last names clearly in large letters. (See activity #13)
2. Copybooks (see activity #11)
3. “Hands-on” Box with Hands-on Materials.
4. Fee and optional photo money. Prices can be found in the Hands-on-Box or by calling the museum.
Make checks payable to Rose Hill School*
Remind Your Student’s to Bring
1. Lunch in lunch pail Cup in lunch pail (no plastic or Styrofoam), use a clean soup or vegetable can, remove
label. Absolutely no pop!
2. Dress in costume if possible
3. Handkerchief if needed. We do not furnish Kleenex.
When collecting money, keep in mind your transportation needs*
Rules
Early schoolhouses had various disciplinary methods, but please note that corporal punishment will NOT be part of this experience. For a detailed overview of historical disciplinary practices, please see the full guide.
- Students will not speak unless spoken to. There will be no giggling, whispering, or squirming in the desks.
- When speaking, proper language will be used at all times.
- We will abide by the Golden Rule “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.
- Male students will remove all headgear before entering the building.
- All students will assume good posture. Feet will be on the floor and when
not working on lessons, hands will be folded and placed on top of the desk.
Students should face forward at all times. - When you wish to speak, you must raise your hand, wait until recognized,
and then stand beside your desk before speaking. - At all times students will behave as young ladies and gentlemen.
Pre-Visit Activities
About two weeks before you visit Rose Hill School you will receive a Hands/On Box. The box contains a video program and hands-on items to help with activities before your visit.
Activities Include:
- Pre-Assessment Discussion Questions
- Video Program Activities
- Copy Book Exercise (required before visit)
- Constructing a Lunch Pail (required before visit)
- Name Tags (required before visit)
- What to Bring to Lunch
- Cookie Recipes
- Music
- Toys and Games
- Making a Quilt Square
- Hands-on Material Activities: Soap, Laundry, Making Butter, Peeling Apples, Clothing, and Illness
- Sample School Lessons From 1910
During Your Experience
Rose Hill is a 22′ x 35′ classroom with a raised teacher’s desk, 46-star flag, and stage with vintage advertisements. The room accommodates up to 32 students with both single and double desks, recitation benches, and period maps. Rose Hill also features a coal stove (non-operational), slate-equipped desks, and a cloakroom with a water pump and outhouse. 
We have a list of games in our Teacher’s Guide that are typical of the period, and some may be played during the lunch recess. Please familiarize your class with some of the games in the guide before coming to Rose Hill so the children will be ready to play. 
While at Rose Hill, your class will engage in a range of 1910 school activities, including arithmetic, letter writing, language, phraseology, and literature lessons. Additionally, students will participate in traditional 1910 practices like spelling bees, written and oral exercises, and other period-appropriate classroom activities. 
Students are asked to bring a tin or enamel cup in their lunch pail for water. There was no soda or Kool-aid in 1910 so all students will be drinking water during their visit. Some schools will make arrangements with the school cafeteria to help provide authentic lunches.
Post-Visit Activities
After your visit, students can extend their learning with several engaging post-visit activities found in the Teacher’s Guide. They can participate in class discussions to reflect on their experiences, create drawings related to their time at Rose Hill, or interview family members to gather personal historical insights. Students can also bring in old family photos to connect their personal history with the school’s past. Additionally, they can scrapbook the history of their own school, incorporating what they learned at Rose Hill to create a detailed and personalized record of their school’s heritage.
Post-Visit Evaluations
We would greatly appreciate it if both students and teachers could take a moment to complete our post-visit evaluations in the Teacher’s Guide. Your feedback is essential for us to improve and ensure a rewarding experience for all. Kindly mail the completed forms to 2617 W Fir St, Perry, Ok 73077. Thank you for your time and valuable input!