Want to Come to Montana?

Disclaimer:  I am biased I love Montana.  It is rich in history and raw beauty.  I always want to share its wonder.

I also want to share information about an opportunity to come visit and learn about part of this great state.   This summer the Montana Historical Society is organizing 2 sessions for teachers.  Did I mention there is a stipend.

Check it out-

Please help us spread the word!

K-12 teachers are invited to apply to become NEH Summer Scholars and attend the six-day workshop, “The Richest Hills: Mining and the Far West.”

Join “Richest Hills” to travel to five distinctive mining communities, each of which express a rich historic fabric: Bannack, Virginia City, Helena, Butte, and Anaconda. Through lectures, tours, and hands-on learning activities, Summer Scholars will explore the development of placer gold mining, hard rock silver mining, and industrial copper mining; the racial and ethnic diversity of the mining West; mining’s impact on American Indians; mining’s environmental effects; and the relationship between capital and labor in mining communities. 

As you explore the dynamic geographies and histories of mining in Montana, you will interact with workshop presenters who have been chosen for their expertise in Montana’s social, political, architectural, industrial, and ethnic history as well as with other exceptional educators from across the United States.

Session 1: July 12, 2015 – July 18, 2015

Session 2: July 26, 2015 – August 1, 2015

Applications must be postmarked no later than March 2, 2015.

NEH Summer Scholars will be granted a $1,200 stipend, from which they will need to pay for their meals, lodging, and travel to and from Helena, Montana. Graduate credits are available through Montana State University-Northern.

More details on workshop and application process are available at http://www.archiva.net/richesthills/.

For questions, contact Deb Mitchell at dmitchell@mt.gov or 406-444-4789.

Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Montana Historical Society.

Published! My Lesson is On the Web

How do you spell excitement?  My lesson is now part of the Montana Historical Society website.  It is "kinda" scarey.  Will people like it?  Will they use it?  Is it to much?

I love research.  Martha took  my massive amount of information and helped me sculpt it into a richer piece.  Martha thank you.  The graphic artist did an amazing job!

Here is the link http://mhs.mt.gov/education/educators.asp

This page is under "Outreach & Interpretation"

Montana has adopted the "Common Core Standards".  Part of those standards involve using primary sources in the classroom.  I love the timing.  One of my favorite pieces is the "Scavenger Hunt".  This is an easy piece to do in the classroom to give kids a taste of thinking like a historian.  Then if you are interested you can go deeper.

"Girl from the Gulches:  The Story of Mary Ronan"   http://mhs.mt.gov/pub/press/girl.asp is an awesome mentor text to connect to articles from "The Montana Post".  Montana's first newspaper, it was published in Virginia City, Montana.  It tells the story of a mining boom town.

I hope you check it out.  Every state has digitized some of their historic newspapers.  You can take my lesson and give it a regional spin reflecting the history from your state.  Let me know what you think.

Celebrating Editing & Revision

I accepted a writing assignment from the Montana Historical Society last spring.  It was to develop lesson plans using Digital Newspapers in the classroom.  Montana has digitized some of their historic newspapers for Chronicling America.  Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment of the Humanities and the Library of Congress.

These newspapers are a rich goldmine for all kinds of research.  Now that many historic newspapers are digitized people everywhere can access these primary resources.  This in itself  is so exciting!

My deadline for the original work was July 1st, a deadline I met.  I had revised my work so many times before I turned it in.  Fortunately, I had the opportunity to work with a fabulous editor, Martha Kohl.  With her help I have revised my work a score more times.  Today I submitted my final revision!!!!!!  It now goes to the Graphic Artist and will be on their website by January 1, 2012.

This is my first really large free lance project.  And I am thrilled.  Once it is published on their website postcards will be sent out to every 4th grade teacher in the state.  This lesson is actually easily used with older students.

When it is up I will share the link.  I hope you will take a look at it and see how you could use it  in your classrooms.  I would love to hear your thoughts about the lessons.

I feel really good about this project.