Did Theodore Roosevelt wear a wig?

Have you ever have one of those teaching moments when what you do is validated by one of your students?  It's grand, magnificent and delightful beyond words!

Today, as we continued our museum studies, I shared with my students a clip produced by the American Museum of Natural History (snack time is a great time to tuck more in).  It shared primary sources from Teddy Roosevelt's childhood with his scientific observations at age 9.  I actually used these sources for my masters research, integrating, math, science and history.

As I paused the video, we look at how TR changed over time.  There were some classic photos of him as a young man sporting those incredible side burns.  

​Upon further discussion, a student inquired, "Did TR wear a wig?"

Now this might seem like a rather strange question to many, but it registered quite clear for me.  Last week for Constitution Day, we watched a few clips from the HBO mini series, John Adams.  As we paused and discussed, we looked at clothing styles, technology and WIGS!!!  We also saw the first three presidents.

So to connect the dots of a first grader, our first three presidents appear to wear wigs (see the links below), so why wouldn't TR?  Makes perfect sense when you think about it!  What made my day was that this student was using unique background knowledge and applying it to today's lesson.  For me, this is yet another example of why we need to be integrating SS into our curriculum on a regular basis.

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Mount Vernon

Monticello