Promise Program

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Friends of Historic Champoeg
Interpreting the cultural & natural history of Champoeg State Heritage Area

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Champoeg Promise

Bringing History to Life!

History comes to life at Champoeg State Heritage Area through an innovative school program for students in grades one through eight. Four different programs feature interactive, hands-on activities, authentic artifacts and costumed interpreters who play the roles of real people who once lived in this area. Each unique program is based on Oregon social science content standards.

A distinct curriculum for each of our four programs:

1st & 2nd graders will explore the concept of "the past," and get a taste of the daily life of a pioneer child.
3rd & 4th graders will examine the intersecting cultures of the Kalapuya Indians, the French-Canadian fur trappers and the early American settlers, and turn wheat on the stalk into flour in our 1862 wheat-threshing barn.

5th & 6th graders will use primary sources such as archeology, architecture and oral history, to discover what happened to the town of Champoeg after the devastating flood of 1861.
7th & 8th graders will examine community, government and citizenship from several perspectives, focusing on the pivotal 1843 decision to form the first government in the Oregon Territory.

Modified versions delivered to your school are available through the Suitcase Program for Grades 5 & 6 and the Suitcase Program for Grades 7 & 8. These programs are available September through April for $50 per class period, plus travel costs for the Champoeg teacher.

Program Details:

Interactive, multi-sensory, and participatory!
Led by costumed educators
Located halfway between Portland and Salem
March 3 through June 13
2.5 hours in length, except for 5th/6th, which is 3 hours
$4.00 per student in March & April; $5.50 per student in May & June (Adults and parking are free.)
Teachers receive pre- and post-visit classroom activities and background information
Aligned with Oregon Department of Education social science content standards
Home school groups of at least 12 students are welcome
Click here for a registration form.

A Compelling Story
For the Kalapuya Indians, Champoeg was an important place to meet and gather food. French-Canadian trappers also met here, building Oregon’s first farms. A pioneer town flourished, but was destroyed by flood. Here, after months of debate and disagreement, men voted to form the first government in the Pacific Northwest. Indian treaties were negotiated, then broken. Steamboats brought goods and hauled away farm produce. Dreams succeeded and dreams failed. To a great extent, the story of Champoeg is the story of the Oregon Territory.

For more information, please call Colleen at 503-678-1649, or email info@champoeg.org.

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8239 Champoeg Road NE, St. Paul OR 97137 • (503) 678-1649
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*Champoeg Promise*
1st and 2nd Grades
**The Promise of a Good Life**
Registration Form
**Program Description**
The Willamette Valley and its lush prairie promised a good life for all those who settled there. Kalapuya Indians, French-Canadian trappers, American settlers and others looked to the land for their survival and the answer to their dreams of a good life. Your students will get an inside view of what it was like to live in Champoeg in the mid-1800s. They will learn how their community and daily activities differ from those of 150 years ago.

**Schedule**
Students will be met by a costumed interpreter who will help them think about the past and how life was different long ago. They will then be divided into three groups and rotated through the program.

One group will meet Charlotte Matheny Kirkwood,* who will interact with them as if they were visiting her in the mid-1800s. She will tell them stories of her family's journey on the Oregon Trail, teach them a few words in Chinook Wawa, and help them with two take-home crafts.

The second group will gather at the “Newell Store” for a sensory experience of tasting, seeing and feeling the items that were important in settler life.

The third group will go to our wheat-threshing barn to hear a story, do chores, and learn the important role that children played in the life of a pioneer family.

The program concludes with all three groups gathering in the auditorium for a final wrap-up with the interpreters.

* In 1843, five-year-old Charlotte Matheny Kirkwood (1838-1926) traveled with the Oregon Trail’s first large wagon train. As an adult, she maintained a phenomenal memory of her childhood experiences, and her book, Into the Eye of the Setting Sun, gives rare insight into the life of the pioneer child in the Willamette Valley.

**Goals & Objectives**
Students who attend this program will:

Understand why pioneers came to the area and what it was like to travel across the country in a covered wagon.

Hear an example of Chinook Wawa (the trade language used throughout this area), learn its significance, and be able to communicate a few words with each other.

Compare and contrast daily life of the mid-1800s to that of today.

Hear a first-person account of a child in the 1840s.

Understand the importance of children's work in the 19th century Oregon economy.

Understand the importance of the garden and barn to a family's survival in the West.

Learn about Champoeg from primary sources.

**Teacher Materials**
After receiving your registration form we will send you an email with details of how to access our teacher packets on-line. These packets include background information, classroom activities and a list of resources. We will also send you a park newspaper and confirmation letter in the mail a month before your visit. Teachers are encouraged to utilize the pre- and post-visit classroom activities to create a comprehensive learning unit.

**Contact Information**
To register for this program, please print, complete and mail in a Registration Form along with a 50% deposit. To check dates or to get additional information, please call Colleen at 503-678-1649, or email info@champoeg.org.

*Champoeg Promise*
3rd and 4th Grades
**The Promise of Settlement**
Registration Form
**Program Description**
In the mid-1800s, Champoeg was a bustling town with stores, churches, schools and a rich diversity of people. Americans, French-Canadians, Métis, and Kalapuya Indians made Champoeg their home. Your students will take a close look at the intersecting cultures of these groups of people, and examine the challenges that the people faced as they forged a new life in a culturally diverse community.

**Schedule**
Students will be met by an “anthropologist” who will introduce (or review) the concept of culture. They will then be divided into three groups and rotated through the program.

One group will meet Felicite Lucier Manson,* a Métis (half-Indian) woman whose life crossed many cultures, and who once lived right where the program is taking place. She will teach them some Chinook Wawa, a simplified trade language spoken by most people in the Oregon Territory until the late 19th century. Using stories and real-life examples, she will paint a picture of what life was like for her as a multi-racial woman. She will talk about what children did for fun and lead them in making a toy and playing a game.

The second group will explore the cultures of the Kalapuya Indians, French-Canadian trappers and early American settlers, and look for similarities and differences as these cultures intersected.

The third group will turn wheat on the stalk into flour in our authentic wheat-threshing barn, and discover the importance of this crop to the early Pacific Northwest economy.

The program concludes with all three groups gathering in the auditorium for a final wrap-up with the interpreters.

* Felicite Lucier Manson (1814?-1867) was the daughter of Josephite, a Canadian Indian, and Etienne Lucier, a noted French-Canadian trapper. At age 14 she married Donald Manson, an officer in the Hudson’s Bay Company. The Mansons farmed much of what is now Champoeg Park, and their house was where the Visitor Center now stands. Their barn (erected 1862) is used for this program.

**Goals & Objectives**
Students who attend this program will:

Understand the meaning of "culture" and how culture can provide clues about the past and present.

Examine how one culture can affect and influence another culture.

Explore the tools, food and stories that distinguish three separate cultures that existed at Champoeg: Kalapuya
Indians, French-Canadian fur trappers and early American settlers.

Identify that they are members of a cultural group: children's culture.

Compare their current culture with that of settler children in the mid-19th century.

Understand how and why the economy of this region changed from a fur trapping economy to a wheat, or farm, economy.

**Teacher Materials**
After receiving your registration form we will send you an email with details of how to access our teacher packets on-line. These packets include background information, classroom activities and a list of resources. We will also send you a park newspaper and confirmation letter in the mail a month before your visit. Teachers are encouraged to utilize the pre- and post-visit classroom activities to create a comprehensive learning unit.

**Contact Information**
To register for this program, please print, complete and mail in a Registration Form along with a 50% deposit. To check dates or to get additional information, please call Colleen at 503-678-1649 or email info@champoeg.org.

Champoeg Promise
5th and 6th Grades
The Promise of Change
Field Trip Registration Form
Suitcase Program Registration

Program Description
In 1861, a catastrophic flood destroyed the town of Champoeg, forcing its citizens to make difficult choices about their futures. Your students will use primary sources such as archeology, architecture and oral history to discover what happened to the town of Champoeg. They will learn how historians and archeologists uncover the facts about historical events.

Schedule
Students will be immediately immersed in a game show called "Is This a Primary Source?", where the concept of primary historical sources will be introduced or reviewed. They will then be divided into three groups and rotated through the program.

Students will meet Mary Higley Hopkins*, who as a young child experienced the flood of 1861 that erased the town of Champoeg from the map. She will introduce them to the concept of oral history and give them the opportunity to record an event from their own lives as a front page newspaper story.
Another group will be given authentic artifacts from the Champoeg town site to examine. They will use their critical thinking skills to analyze the artifacts. What are they made of? Where did they come from? What were they used for? What do they tell us about the people who were here?
The third group will act as architectural historians and examine the Manson Barn, one of the oldest barns in Oregon. They will do a “barn-raising” with a 1/3-size model in order to understand post-and-beam construction, search for clues to the barn’s age and history, and finally, compare their conclusions with those of the experts.

The program concludes with all three groups gathering in the auditorium for a final wrap-up with the interpreters.

* Mary Higley, a school girl in 1861, lived in the town of Champoeg and was attending school when the flood began. Her eye-witness story of the events of the flood, and of the extreme difficulties her family endured afterward, is the most detailed and heart-rending account known.

Goals & Objectives
Students who attend this program will:

Understand the difference between a primary and secondary source of historical information.
Use "who, what, when, where, why, and how" questions to critically examine a historical story.
Examine authentic artifacts from the Champoeg town site and speculate on their meaning and purpose.
Use critical thinking skills to solve the puzzle of the construction of the barn at Champoeg.

Teacher Materials
After receiving your registration form we will send you an email with details of how to access our teacher packets on-line. These packets include background information, classroom activities and a list of resources. We will also send you a park newspaper and confirmation letter in the mail a month before your visit. Teachers are encouraged to utilize the pre- and post-visit classroom activities to create a comprehensive learning unit.

Using Archeology to Unlock the Past
This Suitcase Program for Grades 5 & 6 is available September through April, and is presented in your classroom.

Program Description
In 1861, a catastrophic flood washed the town of Champoeg down the Willamette River. All that remained were artifacts, buried beneath the soil. These artifacts tell of life at Champoeg—lives of the Kalapuya Indians, the French Canadian fur trappers and the early American settlers. In this interactive program, your students will discover what happened to the people of Champoeg by examining the artifacts that were left behind. They will learn how archeologists uncover the facts about historical events.

Schedule (takes one class period)

Students will be greeted by an “archeologist” who will introduce (or review) the concept of primary historical sources. The archeologist will briefly explain the history of Champoeg and the French Prairie, and explain that artifacts are primary sources that help us to discover the story of the people that came before us.
The archeologist will show a visual presentation that explains the archeology process and reveals a startling discovery that was made during recent archeological digs at Champoeg.
Students will break into groups and examine authentic artifacts from the Champoeg town site. They will use their critical thinking skills to analyze the artifacts. What are they made of? Where did they come from? What were they used for? What do they tell us about the people who were here?
Groups will present information about one of their artifacts to the rest of the class.

Contact Information
To register for the on-site field trip program, please print, complete and mail in a Field Trip Registration Form along with a 50% deposit. To register for the Suitcase Program program, please print, complete and mail in a Suitcase Program Registration. To check dates or get additional information, please call Colleen at 503-678-1649 or email info@champoeg.org

Champoeg Promise
7th and 8th Grades
The Promise of Government
Field Trip Registration Form
Suitcase Program Registration

Program Description
In 1843, a vote was taken at Champoeg to create the first government in the Pacific Northwest, setting the stage for Oregon's statehood. Your students will examine the events that led to this vote, the people who were involved and the people who were excluded. They will explore community, government and citizenship from multiple perspectives, and debate issues of the mid-1800s and today.

Schedule

Students will be met by costumed interpreters who will set the stage for the volatile political environment that led to the first government in the Oregon Territory. They will then be divided into three groups and rotated through the program.

Students in one group will be broken into subgroups, each representing a "special interest group" living in the Oregon Country at the time of the 1843 vote. The subgroups will discuss their positions, create campaign buttons, and write and deliver speeches. A mock vote will take place.

A second group of students will participate in government by examining a regional issue: the re-introduction of wolves into Oregon. Students will take on various roles, argue their points and come to consensus on a variety of questions.

A third group of students will look at what life was like for 19th-century teenagers. They will meet Felicite Lucier Manson*, who will share stories of her life as a young married woman in the 1830s. She will then lead them in some traditional barn activities: a corn shelling bee and a barn dance.

The program concludes with all three groups gathering in the auditorium for a final wrap-up with the interpreters.

*Felicite Lucier Manson (1814?-1867) was the daughter of Josephite, a Canadian Indian, and Etienne Lucier, a noted French-Canadian trapper. At age 14 she married Donald Manson, an officer in the Hudson's Bay Company. The Mansons farmed much of what is now Champoeg Park, and their house was where the Visitor Center now stands. Their barn (erected in 1862) is used for this program.

Goals & Objectives
Students who attend this program will:

Understand, from more than one point of view, the events that led up to the 1843 vote for a provisional government.

Learn about the different culture groups that settled at Champoeg and throughout the French Prairie.

Discover what life was like for a teenager in the mid-1800s.

Recognize that barns were the center of both work and social events during the 19th century.

Examine key provisions of Oregon's Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, and learn how citizens with different interests come together to make decisions.

Examining Citizenship & Government
This Suitcase Program for Grades 7 & 8 is available September through April, and is presented in your classroom.

Program Description
In 1843, a vote was taken at Champoeg to create the first government in the Northwest, setting the stage for Oregon’s statehood. In this program, your students will be transported back to 1843. They will join a special interest group and campaign on their behalf. A vote will be taken, but not all the votes will count. Which groups will be excluded and why? Your students will examine citizenship and government in the early days of Oregon’s settlement, and realize the importance of being informed citizens today.

Schedule (takes one class period)

Students will be greeted by a costumed interpreter who will act as if it is May 3, 1843—the day after the vote for the first government in the Oregon Country. She will tell of the people who were involved, and not involved, and of the volatile political environment that led to the vote.
Students will then be divided into subgroups, each representing a special interest living in the Oregon Country at the time of the vote. Subgroups include: Kalapuya Indians, Native American women who were wives of white men, Hudson’s Bay Company managers, American men, and French-Canadian men.
The subgroups will discuss their positions, create campaign buttons, and write and deliver speeches. Two mock votes will take place: one with all the subgroups, the other with only those subgroups that were allowed to vote in 1843.
Students will discuss the results of the two votes and the ramifications on citizenship today.

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