Music in the Air Schiller Park and Recreation Park Electrified Street Car lesson plan
German immigrants established a community in Columbus by purchasing cheap land to the south of the city limits, creating "Die Alte Sud Ende" (the Old South End). The areas around City Park, Third Street, and Livingston Avenue were home to the earliest German immigrants.
The Germans established cultural institutions—churches, schools, and even singing societies. German singing societies such as Mannerchor promoted fellowship, and helped immigrants maintain their German identity.
The Germans also established Schiller Park, originally called Stewart’s Grove. The park was renamed Schiller in honor of a popular German playwright. In addition to picnics and recreation, visitors to Schiller Park could enjoy more German cultural influence by listening German American music from the accordion.
Ohio’s New Learning Standards: K-12 Social Studies
Grade 3, Content Statement 3: Local communities change over time.
Grade 3, Content Statement 7: Systems of transportation and communication move people, products and ideas from place to place.
Grade 3, Content Statement 8: Communities may include diverse cultural groups.
Grade 4, Content Statement 13: The population of the United States has changed over time, becoming more diverse (e.g., racial, ethnic, linguistic, religious). Ohio’s population has become increasingly reflective of the cultural diversity of the United States.
Grade 5, Content Statement 10: The Western Hemisphere is culturally diverse due to American Indian, European, Asian and African influences and interactions, as evidenced by artistic expression, language, religion and food.
• Compare the characteristics of the German Village area in the past to the area now.
• Discuss German cultural influences on the city of Columbus and beyond.
• Discuss the relationship between parks, statues, and the historical significances they may represent.
• Explain the importance of transportation in the development of the city and its neighborhoods.
1. What long term German musical influences are still influential in Columbus and the United States today?
2. How did the Germans influence shape sporting events today?
3. Discuss possible relationships between public parks and statues that are located in those parks.
4. How did the streetcar affect the growth of German Village and other Columbus neighborhoods?
Have students participate in a scavenger hunt of statues (in parks or not) in the city. Students must identify the relevance of the statue to the city’s history and rationalize the placement of the statues in its current location.
Create a wall map of the city and have students create a key, complete with markers identifying which statues are located where. This map could be done on Google Maps, complete with popup windows with brief write-ups on each statue.
Teaching Columbus: German Village - http://www.teachingcolumbus.org/neighborhoods3.htm
Columbus Underground: http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/looking-forstatues-in-columbus
• A message board focused on locating statues in Columbus and their significance.
Download a PDF of the lesson plan.
Content from this lesson plan is taken from the Columbus Neighborhoods: German Village documentary.