Past projects 2
Art Supplies for U.S. History
Funded Feb 26, 2023I have learned in my 6 years of teaching how incredibly important project based learning is for our kids. It was not taught to me in my graduate program, but I quickly learned from working with children how expressing their learning through sculpture, 2D artwork, and diagramming could offer pathways for many students who otherwise struggled to connect and demonstrate their learning.
These materials that were purchased with the donations of parents have given life to the end of our school year by allowing students to create dioramas and other projects through which they could express their learning about United States history in the 1800s. Students chose a wide variety of topics from Seneca Falls to the Gold Rush. I could not be more proud with the results.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Keith
Exploring the Fascinating Historical Origins of Moby Dick!
Funded Sep 21, 2022This school year, I asked you to help me get a class set of the book "In the Heart of the Sea, Young Readers Edition" by Nathaniel Philbrick. This book tells the historical true story of the whaleship Essex which sank in 1821 and inspired the classic Moby Dick. While hitting several standards for US history regarding Westward Expansion, the book also discusses race relations at this time, the rise of the industrial age, all while telling a harrowing tale of survival at sea.
I was able to acquire some teacher materials for the book, but I primarily made my own guides for our reading. I chose to have students listen to the book together from an audio book, in order to ensure that we were together and could discuss relevant issues at the same time. I was very careful with the race relations in the book. As with all race relations at this point in US history, the African Americans were treated as lesser people than the European-descended Americans, and some ideas can cause harm if not treated carefully. We had many interesting and revealing conversations about the various, complicated aspects of living as a whalemen in the 19th century.
Students created maps, answered questions, and some groups created hands-on projects from the book. I cannot thank you enough for helping me share this one-of-a-kind story with the students this year.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Keith