This weekend I have been thinking a lot about how we as educators are teaching the history of protest in the United States, from the Boston Tea Party to the Women's March yesterday. Teaching in elementary schools for so long has taught me the value of visuals. Written primary sources are great, but they are … Continue reading Teaching Protest -#BLOG365 Day 134 #sschat #edchat
History Education
The “joyous task” of being an American citizen – #BLOG365 Day 132 #sschat
"It falls to each of us to be those those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy; to embrace the joyous task we've been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours. Because for all our outward differences, we, in fact, all share the same proud title, the most important office in a … Continue reading The “joyous task” of being an American citizen – #BLOG365 Day 132 #sschat
Museum Monday: Bottle Digging and Using Collections in the Classroom #sschat #museumed-#BLOG365 Day 130
This weekend I finally decided on a place for my grandmother's bottle collection. For two years the bottles have been packed away and I have been waiting to finish remodeling or find the perfect piece of furniture to display them (having my 3 cats in the back of my mind too!). Saturday we picked up … Continue reading Museum Monday: Bottle Digging and Using Collections in the Classroom #sschat #museumed-#BLOG365 Day 130
Museum Monday: Salesman Samples- #BLOG365 Day 122 #sschat #objectbasedlearning
One of my favorite units at the museum school was a unit called "Everything Changes." The interdisciplinary unit covered changes over time. During this unit we often had the students create object timelines: a telephone through time, children's games over time, etc. Years and objects were combined to create visual timelines of how everyday objects … Continue reading Museum Monday: Salesman Samples- #BLOG365 Day 122 #sschat #objectbasedlearning
Museum Monday: Ephemera in the Classroom -#BLOG365 Day 117 #sschat #objectbasedlearning
I have been on an ephemera kick lately. I guess that happens when you are a teacher at heart and always on the lookout for teaching tools. Or maybe it is because my house is filling up with furniture and I have to start looking for smaller items to satisfy my antiquing addiction. Truthfully, I … Continue reading Museum Monday: Ephemera in the Classroom -#BLOG365 Day 117 #sschat #objectbasedlearning
When Objects Tell the Full Story Together-#BLOG365 Day 112
When I read this article the other day, For the First Time, All 5,000 Objects Found Inside King Tut's Tomb Will Be Displayed Together, it made me wish I was back in the classroom with my sixth graders teaching world history. My students loved our unit on Ancient Egypt and they loved investigating Egyptian objects. A … Continue reading When Objects Tell the Full Story Together-#BLOG365 Day 112
Museum Monday: Student Curators -#BLOG365 Day 106
I've written a lot about student-created exhibitions on my blog. One of the most challenging components of a student-created exhibition is the process of writing labels. It's challenging for museum curators too. Getting the gist of an object or exhibition theme into 50-100 words is difficult. In a school setting label writing integrates literacy and critical … Continue reading Museum Monday: Student Curators -#BLOG365 Day 106
Questions Create Learning-#BLOG365 Day 93
My dear friend Christy Howard is on the #BLOG365 adventure with me and also doing Museum Monday posts. I have been bad about checking out the posts from my fellow bloggers lately, but today I headed over to her page to gain some writing inspiration. This week her Museum Monday post was about William the … Continue reading Questions Create Learning-#BLOG365 Day 93
Do History!-#BLOG365 #sschat Day 91
I spent last week at the National Council for the Social Studies Conference and am still on a high from being with a bunch of proud history nerds. While I was in Washington, D.C. I went to the Florida House and I was talking to our host about Common Core. She was in graduate school for public … Continue reading Do History!-#BLOG365 #sschat Day 91
Building Awareness: Humanitarian Issues Around the Globe-#BLOG365 Day 90 #sschat
On Friday I had the chance to meet with the Mark Storella, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration at the State Department. It was one of the most interesting conversations I have had in a long time and absolutely not what I expected. Long story short: the United States … Continue reading Building Awareness: Humanitarian Issues Around the Globe-#BLOG365 Day 90 #sschat
Jill Cross 