this old school

so i went to this edutopia website, and there was a lot of interesting things. i wanted to get an article about history (seeing as how that is my area of concentration) and i think that i found a winner.

this old school talks about a learning project in woodstock, connecticut that allows for third grade children and teachers to go back in time for a week and learn the old fashioned way, all in attempts to teach the students about the local history.

historical accuracy is stressed so the students are required to: dress in old fashioned clothes (long skirts, aprons, and bonnets for the girls; straw hats, knickers, and button down shirts for the boys), write with quill pens, use rotes and chalk boards, learn crafts (they allow for some deviation from historical accuracy by teaching both male and female students the crafts), and learn how to cook with a wood burning stove.

i thought that this was such a unique way of teaching students about history, and it is so effective too. i mean what student is going to forget something that they have to live through for a whole week. and i think it is a very important cultural tool; it helps students learn the history of local traditions and cultures, as well as learning about how most of the country lived in the 1830s.

if you want to reference the article it can be found at: this old school

additionally, edutopia had another article that tried to help out teachers who may have wanted to start something similar in their area. i really think that this idea of putting students into the shoes of people who lived in that time period, or at least simulations of important events (model un, model oas, model congress, act out nuremberg trials, etc) is a very good one. students are more apt to learn the material if they can interact with it and live it. at least that is the impression that i get. (my cooperating teacher is currently doing a model congress, and students who normally don't participate are getting into and really understanding how congress works, and i think that is great. it brings the information alive to students, and that is how they learn.)

the additional article can be found at: how to: breathe life into history

another edutopia website to possibly check out is articles on project-based learning. it just lists different articles that could be helpful with more project-based learning techniques.