Cross River History Consortium showcased grant-inspired history teaching projects at the annual meeting of the National Council for History Education in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 21-23, 2005.    Amy Davies-Wiebusch, Tami Hillestad, Susan Houlihan, Ronda Olkonen, Karen Mattson,  Jodi Vandenberg-Daves and Julie Zumach represented the CRHC with a group presentation titled, “Amazing connections:  History Pedagogy and Content Shared Across Grades k-16.”  With only one spot on the conference program for every two proposals to present, our group can be proud of both getting on the program and of presenting strong material to a national audience of fellow history educators.

Presentation Topics:

Amy:  Dr. Suess biography as pathway to twentieth-century history

Tami:  Discussions about real history in the 4^th and 5^th grade classroom

Susan:  Multi-genre history research project

Ronda:  “Traditions and Textiles” lessons, including oral histories and artifacts

Karen:  Use of fiction and museums to teach history (Birchbark House and American Girl series book,  Trouble at Fort La Pointe)
Jodi:  What history educators have in common, K-12, and examples of grant-inspired improvements in college-level history teaching

Julie:  Revolutionary War Heroes and Explorers research projects and explanations of students’ changed attitudes towards history

PHOTOS

FOURTH- AND FIFTH-GRADERS BECOME HISTORIANS

IN PILOT ELEMENTARY GRADES

NATIONAL HISTORY DAY PROGRAM

On April 7, 2005 more than 120 fourth- and fifth-grade students displayed their history projects in a pilot fourth- and fifth-grade National History Day event at Southern Bluffs Elementary School.  These students, from Southern Bluffs, Hintgen, and Emerson elementary schools, researched a range of topics on the theme “Communication in History, The Key to Understanding.”  Their topics ranged from Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s use of Fireside Chats as presidential communication to Women as World War II spies to “Historic Boycotts that Changed American History.”  The students researched primary source documents, images, and history books.  They also added historical artifacts to their displays.  The junior historians eagerly shared their excitement about history at the history fair with UW-L student evaluators, under the direction of Gregory Wegner, Educational Studies, who also worked closely with the teachers in developing this pilot project.

Participating grant teachers Curt Grinde, Tami Hillestad, Susan Houlihan and Jennifer Ruetten along with colleagues Karen Hansen and Judy Sleik  spent weeks and sometimes months helping their students to select topics, conduct extensive research and develop visually interesting and informative exhibits.  Everyone, including the approximately 200 parents and other observers, seemed pleased with the results.