Bringing History to Life: First-Person Historical Presentations in Elementary and Middle School Social Studies

170 Pages·2009·0.72 MB·English

by  Ronald Vaughan Morris

EDUCATION: ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL METHODS
“Bringing History to Life is right on the mark for teaching primary, upper elemen-
tary, and middle school social studies. The first-person narratives engage an interesting
method to gain students’ attention. Controversy and drama is the heart of history, and
the author carefully weaves controversial issues and drama throughout the text. Ronald
Vaughan Morris has extensive experience to draw upon in presenting dramatic first-
person narratives. This method extends to students, parents, and others as presenters in
first-person narratives. The text includes reference to NCSS Standards, and teachers are
able to relate national standards to state standards. The book’s documentation and sug-
B R I N G I N G
gested readings are invaluable to teachers.”
—RONALD G. HELMS, professor of education, Wright State University
“Ronald Vaughan Morris brings to life important images of history in his latest contribution
to the education of our youth. From Civil War characterizations to Indiana cemetery tales
and strolls through Texas history, his procedures for application in the classroom are clear
and concise. Sustaining democracy, Dr. Morris focuses on multiple perspectives, controver-
sies, and engaging intellectual pursuits. He ignites interest in, and passion for, learning by
creating realistic, historical cultures through practical, imaginative intersections. Dr. Moris H I S T O R Y
has designed helpful classroom lesson plans for enabling students to implement authentic
research and adventurous first-person narratives.”
—KAREN KIMBALL, Richmond Community Schools, Indiana
“Ronald Vaughan Morris’s book proves that, as an effective way of teaching history, first-
person presentations need not be restricted to the carefully re-created environments of liv-
ing history sites. His concrete examples and thoughtful questions demonstrate the success-
ful use of first-person presentations, sure to be of value to teachers and other educators.”
—BRENT W. THARP, director, Georgia Southern University Museum T O L I F E
Imagine a founding father visiting a classroom today, or a sailor from the War of 1812, an
Amish man, a nineteenth-century pioneer, or even a Civil War veteran. Ronald Vaughan
Morris has spent more than twenty-five years bringing these characters into classrooms
and inspiring other educators to do the same. He has synthesized his vast knowledge and
experience into a resource for all types of educators who help elementary- and middle
school-aged children develop a love of history. Pre-service teachers can use this book as a First-Person Historical
model for developing their own styles of teaching social studies. Museum educators can
use Bringing History to Life to enliven their presentations with students. Teachers in the Presentations in
classroom can use this resource to help their students develop first-person presentations
by reading about many examples across the grades. This resource is especialy important as Elementary and Middle
school districts reduce their budgets for field trips to museums that interpret history using
this popular method. With this book as inspiration, educators can continue “bringing his- School Classrooms
tory to life” for their students.
RONALD VAUGHAN MORRIS teaches elementary and early childhood social studies meth-
ods to graduate and undergraduate students at Ball State University.
For orders and information please contact the publisher
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD EDUCATION
A division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 9 0 0 0 0
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1-800-462-6420 • fax [phone] 781607 092247 Ronald VAUGHAN MORRIS
www.rowmaneducation.com
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M OR RIS B R I N G I N G H I S T O R Y T O L I F E
BRINGING
HISTORY TO LIFE
First-person Historical
Presentations in Elementary
and Middle School Classrooms
Ronald Vaughan Morris
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD EDUCATION
Lanham • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
Published in the United States of America
by Rowman & Littlefield Education
A Division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowmaneducation.com
Estover Road
Plymouth PL6 7PY
United Kingdom
Copyright © 2009 by Ronald Vaughan Morris
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Morris, Ronald V.
Bringing history to life : first-person historical presentations in elementary and
middle school classrooms / Ronald Vaughan Morris.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60709-223-0 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-60709-224-7
(pbk. : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-60709-225-4 (electronic)
1. History—Study and teaching (Elementary) 2. History—Study and teaching
(Middle school) 3. Social history—Study and teaching (Elementary) 4. Social
history—Study and teaching (Middle school) 5. Historical reenactments. 6.
One-person shows (Performing arts) I. Title.
D16.25.M67 2009
372.89—dc22
2009001500
™
⬁ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Contents
List of Tables v
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction ix
1. Introduction to First-person Presentation 1
2. Second Grade Presidents’ Day 15
3. Third Grade at Simmons School 25
4. Fourth Grade Civil War 37
5. How First-person Historical Narrative is Conducted
by Fourth and Fifth Grade Teachers 53
6. Sixth Grade at Hope, Indiana, Cemetery 73
7. Third and Seventh Grade Texas History Walk 93
8. First-person in an Eighth-Grade
United States History Classroom 105
iii
iv CONTENTS
9. Conclusions 131
Appendix I Historical Clothing 139
Appendix II National Council for the
Social Studies Standards 143
Index 145
About the Author 157
List of Tables
1.1 First-person Presentation Checklist 7
1.2 First-person Presentation Set in an Educational
Context Checklist 10
5.1 First-person Rubric 63
v
Acknowledgments
MANY PEOPLE HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO the success of this book, and I am
very pleased to be able to thank them. Martha Morris reviewed and
critiqued multiple drafts of this manuscript; she is always conscien-
tious and good-humored. As my mom and a college professor, she
has performed this task for years, and I am extremely grateful. She
reviewed the first thing I remember writing, which was a second-
grade script for a play about Jamestown; she will always be my fa-
vorite editor. In retirement she still has a keen eye for areas in my
writing that require clarification and redevelopment.
The last chapter I wrote is actually based on one of my longest
educational associations. Glen Dillman and I met in 1975 in a his-
tory enrichment program. For many years he has provided a source
of inspiration, investigation, and dedication to not only me, but to
countless students who pass through his classes, his peers, and the
members of his community. His ideas of artifacts, first-person pre-
sentation, and social studies enrichment informed my early teach-
ing and mentored my development as an educator. He was named
Daughters of the American Revolutions and Indiana’s Teacher of
the Year in 1984, served as a Master Teacher in Residence at Pur-
due University, and has received a Fulbright Scholarship to China
and Indiana Council for the Social Studies Teacher of the Year in
2008.
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I had the pleasure of meeting Barbara Johnson in the early
1980s. Her passion for state and local history led her to move and
manage a schoolhouse; maintain, develop, and interpret a local
history museum; and provide rich extracurricular social studies
experiences for students. Barb graciously opened her classroom for
some of my early social studies research projects. Her advice on
interactive social studies experiences for middle-grade elementary
students really helped to shape my ideas about best teaching prac-
tices.
Jean McNeely, a National Council for the Social Studies
Outstanding Elementary Teacher, graciously opened her class-
room to me on several research projects while I was in Texas. She
introduced me to the local history of the area, and she helped to
interest so many of her students in the history of their state through
study travel and creative drama experiences. She absolutely loved to
help her students see the obvious connections to national events,
and she enjoyed connecting them to the land and culture of their
home.
Many other elementary social studies teachers provided inter-
views and advice that shaped this work, but space does not allow
me to include them all. Nadine Roush, whom I had the pleasure
of meeting while at Purdue University, graciously opened her class-
room to me for several research projects. Brian Fouts helped me to
find out more about a young teacher who was experimenting with
elementary social studies education and first-person presentation.
Thanks to Wendy for organizing the photo shoot and thanks to
Brenda Havens of Digital Runes for the cover art. Thanks to Carla,
Chase, Diamond, Elaine, Emily, Katherine, Krystal, Leah, Michael,
Molly, Patricia, and Timothy for assisting with the cover art.
Thanks go to Diane, Shelley, and Marsha at Ball State Uni-
versity’s Department of History for their support and good humor.
Thanks are given to the editors of Gifted Child Today and Social
Studies and the Young Learner who extended permission to use
articles previously printed in their journals. Thanks also go to the
blind reviewers of this manuscript. Finally, my thanks go to Patti
Belcher, my gracious editor at Rowman Education; she always had
good ideas.
Introduction
READERS OF THIS BOOK LEARN HOW teachers and students use first-
person historical presentations in the elementary and middle school
social studies classrooms. They learn how to create first-person pre-
sentations with their students by discovering many examples across
the various grades. Real classroom teachers and students illustrate
this book best when they use first-person presentations in their
social studies classrooms from second to eighth grade. The topic
of first-person presentations is of increasing importance due to the
suppression of field trips to popular museums that interpret history
by using this method. While different from a field trip, the first-
person presentation allows people to interact with different charac-
ters from history and helps them consider differing perspectives.
In writing this book, I drew on my eight years of classroom
experience as an elementary school teacher, twelve years of leading
elementary-level enrichment experiences, and lifelong experiences
of working with local historical societies. I also have fifteen years of
teaching college students to help primarily elementary- and middle-
school social studies classroom teachers work with students who
are developing first-person presentations. Through in-service work-
shops or social studies methods classes, teachers create their own
first-person presentations. Teachers move from their research and
presentation to focus on student research, presentation, and ap-
plication. Recipients of the Teaching American History Grant have
ix