IDEAS FROM OUR TEACHERS
One of the projects we enjoy around here is reading the entries for our teacher contest every semester. Your submissions emphasize the ability of talented educators to combine rich content with fun and enthusiasm.
The contest is becoming more competitive, with an increasing number of teachers sending us backup materials. This gives the judges a clearer sense of the projects. Congratulations to our winners, and thanks to all of you who sent us entries. We look forward to hearing from you again.
Patriotic Time Travelers
In Crete, Nebraska, Jill Ferguson led 100 second -graders on a patriotic trip through time. Combining role-playing and reenactments with music and art enrichment, reading primary sources, and online exploration, her pupils studied the history of the early American republic. Using selections from Save Our History: the Star-Spangled Banner and Valley Forge from The History Channel helped bring the past alive for these second-graders, who developed an appreciation for American history and the symbolism of the American flag.
For her creative idea, Jill Ferguson will receive a $500 grant. Crete Elementary School receives The History Channel thanks to Time Warner Cable.
Time Machine Revisited
Patricia Hellman-Reid, who teaches at Mesa Juvenile Detention School in Mesa, Arizona, submitted another lesson based on the time-travel concept.
Her at-risk high school students watch A&E's Biography of H.G. Wells as an introduction to the concept of time travel, and then create a project in which they are time travelers from the past voyaging into the present day. The multi-media projects combine history and artistic expression creatively and effectively for these young people.
For her creative idea, Patricia Hellman-Reid will receive a $500 grant. Mesa Juvenile Detention School receives A&E thanks to Cox Communications.
History vs. Hollywood
At Bethesda Christian School in Ferndale, Michigan, Marc de Zwaan teaches his upper school students "Multimedia Film Analyses," using the Internet, books, movies and documentaries as resources. In his classes, small groups of students pick one historical movie, such as Patton, Amistad, or The Man in the Iron Mask, and research the true story behind the film. Then, each group creates a study guide, their own analyses of the historical accuracy and inaccuracy of the film. The guide contains a historical background on the topic, a movie-synopsis, a comparison of "the real and the reel characters", and other information. Supporting documentaries on A&E and The History Channel include the Biography® of Cinque and Patton, In Search of History: Man in the Iron Mask, and many other titles.
For his creative idea, Marc de Zwaan will receive a $500 grant. Bethesda Christian School receives A&E and The History Channel thanks to Comcast.
Documenting History
Armed with disposable cameras, Michael Barton's ninth grade students at the Greater Lowell Technical School in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, have created a photographic record of their neighborhoods. Frank Hurley, the courageous photographer from Sir Ernest Shackleton's expedition, inspired the students, who viewed A&E's original movie Shackleton as a group. The project taught the young people about the value of documentary photography and its importance as an historical record. They also learned that one doesn't have to travel to Antarctica to find history.
For his creative idea, Michael Barton will receive a $500 grant. Greater Lowell Technical School receives A&E thanks to Westford Cablevision & Lowell Media One.
Victorian Tea
Deborah Seigman's senior humanities class in Killeen, Texas, hosted a Victorian tea for middle schoolers. These gifted and talented students researched the Victorian era, watching pertinent A&E Biographies and movies of literary classics such as Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre. This is the twelfth year this project has been held at Killeen High School, with historical costumes and interactive role-playing, to the delight of the younger students.
For her creative idea, Deborah Seigman will receive a $500 grant. Killeen High School receives A&E thanks to Cablevision.
Invention Convention
At Mountain Park Elementary School in Dahlonega, Georga, fourth and fifth graders take part in an "invention convention" every May. As an extension of a science unit on machines, Kati Searcy's students begin by studying inventors and the process of inventing. By watching The History Channel's Modern Marvels®: Gadgets, reading about inventors and inventions, and even meeting local inventors who hold patents, class members glimpse the trial-and-error cycle of invention. Each student produces his or her own invention as a culminating project.
For her creative idea, Kati Searcy will receive a $500 grant. Mountain Park Elementary School receives The History Channel thanks to Charter Communications.
Saving Historical Sites
Eighth grade humanities students in Albuquerque, New Mexico, studied persuasive writing in a creative lesson taught by Meredith Dunn. Combining history with language arts, Meredith uses the video Save Our History: America's Most Endangered Sites as a springboard for essay writing. The students are given the option to either create an advertisement or write a persuasive letter supporting the preservation or destruction of one the sites featured in the documentary, which is produced every year in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
For her creative idea, Meredith Dunn will receive a $500 grant. Rio Rancho Mid High School receives The History Channel thanks to Comcast.
Teddy Roosevelt
In Sanford, North Carolina, Bianka Rhodes Stumpf's eleventh-grade American history class studies Theodore Roosevelt, examining his life, his presidency, and his legacy. After completing reading assignments, her students view the A&E BIOGRAPHY®, Theodore Roosevelt: From Rough Rider to Rushmore and complete a questionnaire /study guide. The class brainstorms about the qualities of a good president and the development of the modern presidency. Students create collage portraits for an ideal leader, and write essays in support of their concepts.
For her creative idea, Bianka Stumpf will receive a grant for $500. Lee County High School receives A&E thanks to Charter Communications.
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