Friday, April 30, 2010
National History Education Clearinghouse
The National History Education Clearinghouse recently completed a major redesign of the website. The NHEC is the single destination for K-12 American history content, teaching methods, and current research, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. New features make the site more user friendly. You will find plenty of online primary sources and multimedia, videos of teachers in action, helpful guides to teaching with technology or historic sites, Teaching American History project spotlights and lessons learned, and much more.
Market Day
As the year draws to a close and I can introduce some more involved projects into my social studies classroom, I would like to share a project that several teachers in our building participate in. The project is used as a culminating activity with our economics unit. While learning essential economics material such as supply and demand, the factors of production, and scarcity, the students spend time at home creating a business with a partner. Their goal is to create and produce an individually packaged, homemade product to sell to the rest of the class as well as to students from other classes.
Students earn "money" for good behavior, homework, good citizenship, etc. in the weeks leading up to the fair. They can then use their money to purchase items from other students that they like or need. Each classroom sets up a store where a desk is transformed into a point of sale. We invite other staff members and administrators to shop at the stores as well. A good time is had by all while the students are learning about the buying and selling of goods in a hands on fashion!
Students earn "money" for good behavior, homework, good citizenship, etc. in the weeks leading up to the fair. They can then use their money to purchase items from other students that they like or need. Each classroom sets up a store where a desk is transformed into a point of sale. We invite other staff members and administrators to shop at the stores as well. A good time is had by all while the students are learning about the buying and selling of goods in a hands on fashion!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Bring History Back to your Students
Last summer I was fortunate enough to attend a National Endowment for the Humanities grant program at the Henry Ford. I traveled to Detroit for the week and was immersed in American History while visiting the sites at Greenfield Village, The Henry Ford Museum, and The Rouge Plant. While I had previously visited these sites as a child, I found an immense appreciation for the passion for education that Henry Ford had as I visited the sites again as a teacher. Many people are not aware that Henry Ford spent millions of dollars hand-plucking the artifacts and buildings included in his museums from all across America in an effort to preserve American culture and share it with future generations. 
The entire visit I couldn't help but think to myself how perfect these sites would be to teach my children American History and show them firsthand what life was like in different time periods. I fully realize that this aspiration is completely in vain, as we can hardly gain permission to travel an hour away from school, let alone three, and I know that many of you face the same dilemma that I do. However, I do encourage you, as summer approaches, to plan a weekend trip to The Henry Ford and take photos for your students. I cannot tell you how many times I have referenced a photo with my students this year. I have been able to bring my students closer to everything from plantation life (Susqhehanna) to the colonial time period (Daggert Farm). Not only are they able to see these things, but they are much more intrigued by my personal stories and pictures from the trip. Along with being an educational resource, The Henry Ford truly is an enjoyable trip, especially if you have never visited before. More information is available at: http://www.thehenryford.org/. I hope you love it as much as I do!
The entire visit I couldn't help but think to myself how perfect these sites would be to teach my children American History and show them firsthand what life was like in different time periods. I fully realize that this aspiration is completely in vain, as we can hardly gain permission to travel an hour away from school, let alone three, and I know that many of you face the same dilemma that I do. However, I do encourage you, as summer approaches, to plan a weekend trip to The Henry Ford and take photos for your students. I cannot tell you how many times I have referenced a photo with my students this year. I have been able to bring my students closer to everything from plantation life (Susqhehanna) to the colonial time period (Daggert Farm). Not only are they able to see these things, but they are much more intrigued by my personal stories and pictures from the trip. Along with being an educational resource, The Henry Ford truly is an enjoyable trip, especially if you have never visited before. More information is available at: http://www.thehenryford.org/. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Field Trip Photographs
While I am not known for my skills as a photographer, I have done my best to document field trips and seminars. Some of the photographs may be useful to take your students on virtual field trips of historic sites. Photos from the Back to History program are available here. Please send your photos to Kristina if you would like to have them posted on this site.
Mine Safety & Health Administration Digital Library
A useful resource for studying local and state industry, geography, and even current events, the MSHA Digital Library contains mining photographs, video, and documents from 1901-present. Users can search for material by subject or time period.
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