Colloquium in Madison, Wisconsin

 Cross River History Consortium Events

For primary grade students, biography is a powerful storytelling tool because children perceive the world as one comprised of people with dynamic and influential lives.  At the first Cross River colloquium in Madison, Wisconsin, analysis of biographies was complemented and contextualized by readings and discussion of the patterns of experience of ordinary people, with special attention to the dynamics of race, ethnicity, gender and class in 20th century American history.  

A National Council for History Education (NCHE) team worked with the Project Director to develop the content of the colloquium.    Leading historian, Allida Black, master teacher of history, Joann Fox, and curriculum specialist, Dennis Denenberg filled five lively days in June with historical content and context, pedagogy, and the sharing of resources, with help from additional presenters Gregory Wegner and Jodi Vandenberg-Daves and NCHE colloquium facilitator, Nancy Taylor. 

Photos from Colloquium in Madison, WI -June 9-13

September 2003:  “Narrative:  The Importance of Story”

 At the fall meeting of the Cross River History Consortium, participants used the topics of slavery and African-American culture as content focal points to examine the role of stories, story-telling, and oral traditions in the teaching of history.  Historians Peter Rachleff of Macalester College and Bridget Teboh of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse expanded participants’ knowledge of African-American history.  National Council for History Education team leader Bill Ross and master teacher Mary Beth Plauche helped participants translate history content into meaningful pedagogy grounded in the traditions of storytelling.  Panels and discussions by grant participants enhanced the event, providing thoughtful and critical discussion of the role of history in the curriculum, from kindergarten through college. 

Photos from Retreat in St. Paul, MN -September 19-20

February 2004: "Colonial & 19th Century United States: Rethinking Stories and Sharing Teaching Resources"

The spring retreat of the Consortium was an opportunity to both study the colonial and early nineteenth century United States and to share lesson plans and curriculum infusion strategies among participants.

David Riggs, one of the Consortium historians from UW-River Falls, anchored the event with a storytelling approach to major themes in colonial history, including eighteenth-century military events, Native and European relationships, religious revivals, and the origins of the American Revolution.  David also facilitated a discussion about historians’ approaches to colonial history, based on readings completed by participants before the event. 

Participants enjoyed two presentations by Jim Oberly of UW-Eau Claire, author of the forthcoming book, Many Trails of the Mohican Nation:  History, Culture, Endurance (University of Nebraska Press, 2004); Sixty Million Acres:  American Veterans and the Public Lands Before the Civil War (Kent State University Press, 1990), and co-editor, with Louise Merriam, of United States History:  A Bibliography of New Writings on American History (Manchester University Press, 1995) Jim shared strategies for integrating Native American history into pre-1800 U.S. history narratives,  and he facilitated a discussion. about Iroquois influences on the development of the U.S. Constitution.

Kurt Leichtle, a Consortium historian from UW-River Falls, presented a lecture on Lewis and Clark, and highlighted changing ways in which historians have interpreted their historic journey.  He provided numerous resources for teachers on topics related to the expedition.

Grant teachers of grades K-8 and of college students shared their approaches to teaching colonial and nineteenth-century teaching in small group discussions and in prepared presentations by four Consortium teachers.  The various sharing sessions revealed the remarkable creativity of this group of history educators.  In the presentations, Julie Zumach (Phillips Elementary, Phillips), Jennifer Ruetten (Emerson Elementary, La Crosse, grade 5), and Marian Schiesser (Northwoods Elementary, La Crosse) modeled compelling historical simulations for late elementary and early middle-school students.  Julie explained two projects, a “Native American Poster Project” completed after students have explored historical fiction (Morning Girl by Michael Dorris [Hyperion: 1999] to understand and apply the concept of “civilization,” and a simulation called “Discovery” that involved students in building colonial societies.  Jennifer took participants through a historical simulation on the loss of Native American lands in a westward expansion simulation that literally crowds students into one side of a classroom and makes them stay there.  Marian’s “Classroom Taxes” exercise also involves students in the emotions of historical actors in the American Revolution era, and creates an important basis for discussion of “taxation without representation.”  Richard Frost (Longfellow Middle, La Crosse, grade 8) introduced grant participants to a high-quality video series, “First Nations” about Native American history, and he shared information about the Chautauqua program, an exciting, multi-disciplinary history learning project which engages students in research and historical performance on regionally relevant historical themes.

June 2004: "The Role of Environment in History"

The second Cross River colloquium focused on the theme, “Places,” and was facilitated by NCHE team leader Nancy Taylor.  The lead historian for the week was Donald Worster of the University of Kansas, a founder of the field of environmental history.  Dr. Worster’s lectures situated people in a series of places spanning the continent from east to west, with attention to distinct environments with special significance in American history: 

• “Great Forest:  Pine, Fur and Farm” (northeastern forest)

• “Old Man River:  Friend or Foe” (Mississippi River)

• “Sea of Grass:  Encountering the North American Prairie

• “The Colorado Plateau:  Improving the Sublime”

• “Los Angeles:  Water and Power”

Dr. Worster’s lectures were complimented by two lectures from participating Cross River historians that highlighted episodes in encounters between people and place.  Drew Digby of University of Minnesota-Duluth lectured on “Migration:  East to West” with a focus on Chicago, and Eleanor Hannah of University of Minnesota-Duluth lectured and led a historical document discussion on the topic “Women and the West.”

 NCHE learning specialist Dale Van Eck and master teacher JoAnn Fox provided numerous resources for application of history content.  Ms. Fox demonstrated how to work with children with historical newspapers covering natural disasters and plat maps showing changes in local communities.  Mr. Van Eck demonstrated ways to use history websites, with special attention to Colonial Williamsburg and its electronic field trips, and resources on the Lewis and Clark expedition.  Participants learned about numerous teaching resources related to the “Places” theme from demonstrations of the Box City and Community Construction Kit materials related to history and community building, and Timeliner software for a variety of classroom uses.   

In addition, nine Cross River teachers from CESA #12 school district shared a variety of lesson plans they had developed in conjunction with the Cross River grant, and two Cloquet teachers, Kim Peddle and Kris Cameron, showed a video of student work on regional history, “Ojibwe Clamation.”  Richard Frost of La Crosse School district gave a detailed presentation about an exciting historical musical theater program called Chautauqua, which his school uses to explore regional history, with an emphasis on the Mississippi River.  There was much discussion of tried and true classroom resources for teaching Places.  A short list is available at Participants' Favorite Teaching Materials for Places in History.

Finally, Cross River participants enjoyed an afternoon at the Minnesota History Center, where a variety of presenters demonstrated interdisciplinary approaches to the teaching of the history of places.  Participants also toured History Center museum exhibits.   Presentations were:

• Nancy O-Brien Wagner (Minnesota Historical Society): “Mental Mapping”

• Jeanine Rhemtulla (University of Wisconsin, Department of Forest Ecology and Management):  “Wisconsin’s Pre-Settlement History”

• Jim Ramstrom (Minnesota Department of Planning):  “Minnesota’s Environmental Atlas”

• Nancy O’Brien-Wagner (MHS)  “Model Lesson:  Small Town Life”

• Margaret Lee (University of Wisconsin):  “Elevation and Watershed”

Photos from June 2004

October 2004: Cultural Imperialism &

 Cultural Identity in U.S. History

During this retreat, Cross River participants examined episodes and patterns in U.S. history in which minority cultures struggled with pressures to assimilate into the American “melting pot.”  Cultural imperialist pressures have been exerted through formal and informal educational structures dominated by Anglo-Americans, through law and policy, and sometimes through violence.  There have also been powerful economic advantages and prestige associated with assimilation, and historically, assimilationist agendas have been advocated not only by Anglo-Americans, but also by some immigrant and racial minority organizations.

But an equally powerful pattern in U.S. history has been the preservation of cultural identities, sometimes deliberate and politically, sometimes through the preservation and continuous revitalization of ethnic and racial communities.  Histories of resistance to cultural imperialism have played a powerful role in shaping the many cultures of the United States.

Historians contend that multiculturalism is best understood in historical context, with attention to the complexities of time, place, race, ethnicity, gender, and class.  The presentations and discussions of the fall retreat raised interesting questions about how historical forces have shaped the complex cultural identities of the students we teach today, and how we can best facilitate historical inquiry about these topics.

February 2005: Everyday People and Social Change

The topic for the spring retreat of the Cross River History Consortium was “Everyday People and Social Change.”  The group spent a significant amount of time accessing sources on the topics of cultural history and the history of work and everyday life, drawing on both national online resources and on regional resources through a “field trip” to the Area Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.  History content presentations examined periods when ordinary people formed mass movements to create social change.   Specifically, participants examined the labor movement as it intersected with the Civil Rights movement, and the women’s movement in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  In addition, participants explored thematic history questions as they are relevant to their classrooms, and informed one another about changes in their teaching and in their districts as a result of the grant activities.

June 2005: Storytelling in History: Events: Focus on U.S. and the World
 

The final summer colloquium of the Cross River History Consortium was held in Bayfield, Wisconsin, June 13-17.  Lead historian Emily S. Rosenberg, author of Spreading the American Dream and A Debate Which Will Live:Pearl Harbor in American Memory, presented an overview of U.S. relations with the world in the twentieth century over the course of the week.  National Council for History Education (NCHE)  curriculum specialist Karen Regina shared her experiences with museums and artifacts with the Cross River group, and NCHE master teacher JoAnn Fox shared teaching strategies to help students of grades K-8 view the American past through a wider lens.  Participants also toured the Madeline Island Historical Museum, and participating teachers Kris Cameron, Amy Davies-Wiebusch, Sue Kreibich, Marian Schiesser, Mary Swart shared information and resources on projects relating to the grant.  Victor Macias, of UW-La Crosse, shared information about U.S.-Mexican relations in history as well as resources for teaching about Hispanics in American history.  The colloquium was facilitated by Bill Ross, Director of Professional Development for NCHE. 

Click on Educational Resources to view resources from the various presenters.
 

Photos from June 2005

The final meeting of the Cross River History Consortium will provide participants with the opportunity to do a small research project with primary sources, using the Area Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.  Participants will discuss and share preliminary research findings and historical research challenges, and will reflect on  the process of learning history through documents and the application of this process to their classrooms.  Cross River participants will also report on existing methods and further develop strategies to disseminate within their districts the historical knowledge and pedagogical resources they have developed through their work on Cross River grant project.