Twelve of our TAH Grant III participants traveled to Philadelphia on July 23, 2008 for a three-day field experience. A visit to Pennsbury Manor, Fonthill, the Mercer Museum, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Franklin’s Court, the National Constitution Center, the U.S. Mint, and the Eastern State Penitentiary were all included in the itinerary.
Elementary and middle school teachers Justin Atkins, Justin Elliott, Keely Green, Donna Grigsby, Stephanie Herndon, Ingrid Isaac, Marc Johnson, Marcia Miller, Stacey Owens, Glenda Price, Mike Strapp and Kevin Vachon will be able to go back to their classrooms in Shelby, Bullitt, Spencer, and Oldham counties this fall and share the experience with their students. Project Director, Karla Gibbs and History Specialists, Jack Bosley and Paula Smith accompanied them on this inspirational trip.
Click here too view slideshow of Philadephia Field Experience
TAH Grant Teacher Begins Junior History Club
Becky Mattingly, a Cedar Grove Elementary School teacher and TAH II grant participant has initiated a Kentucky Junior Historical Society in conjunction with the Kentucky Historical Society. Becky meets once a month with students after school. The club is open to 4th and 5th grade students and she has about 20 children involved this year.
Each month students bring a historical artifact to share with the group. They also spend time on a social studies online game called Study Island. The students compete for top scores. The can also access the game at home and receive prizes according to who spends the most minutes playing each month. At the beginning of the year each student chooses a historical person to research and each time they meet the student updates the group on their research. Becky is using the students’ research to create a History Museum that will be presented in May. Club members also wear club t-shirts that say “I’m Making History”.
The children involved in the club receive a membership card, which allows for free or discount admission to museums. They also receive a newsletter and the opportunity to attend trips and conventions. There are also competitions in which students can participate.
She believes that the students are scoring better on social studies related assessments and that the students have increased their passion for history and independent learning.
More information for beginning your own Junior Historical Society club can be found at the KHS website.
TAH Schools Implement Movie Maker in Their Classrooms
The TAH grant was able to bring Dr. Kathy Swan, professor from the University of Kentucky, to the elementary classrooms of Shelby County’s Abby Thurman and Bullitt County’s Kim Tabler for some hands on help with Movie Maker technology. The students were able to produce several movies dealing with the topic of Irish Immigration in the 1850s. Dr. Swan met with the teachers after school to begin the planning and to follow up and debrief at the end of the experience. Kim and Abby both felt that the experience was extremely helpful in delivering the core content of immigration to their fifth grade students and are now ready to incorporate this new technology in their teaching. As they are now experts in the use of Movie Maker they are planning on sharing their new found knowledge and experience with fellow colleagues and other history grant participants. |
