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Moffat's Travels

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Ford's Theater 150 Years Later...

4/14/2015

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Tonight marks the 150th anniversary of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  We were fortunate enough to visit the theater/National Park last month during our visit to Washington DC.

As a first grade teacher, Lincoln's death is a touchy subject as I naturally want to shield my students from the tragedy  and sadness of the event.  However, years of experience have taught me that they know "Lincoln was shot," and it is best to discuss the incident rather than gloss over it.  Much like discussing 9/11, I feel that young students need to understand that there are individuals who have chosen to use actions instead of words to show their hatred and frustration.  I believe that it is a good lesson for young learners about how things could have been handled differently.

To the right is the non-fiction book I purchase for my students every year on Abe's birthday as a learning tool.  I highly recommend it!
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Made my day!!!

4/10/2015

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I was honored to again be a guest teacher at a local school and share my love of Theodore Roosevelt with two third grade classrooms.  I am still finessing the lessons, but with any teaching, each time improves.  TR is the president of study for the district's third grade students.  As he is my favorite (the more I learn, the more I want to learn), I have a grand time sharing my collection of period artifacts including a stereoscope, period purse and collar box, a camera and other fun treasures.  

As we were wrapping up, one of the students came up to me and announced that the afternoon was "better than field day!"  I think that was a great way to end the day.  Wish I could spend more time teaching kids history all day long!
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Happy President's Day 2015

2/16/2015

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It is fitting that the two Moffat photographs I have chosen were both taken in Virginia, after all, it it known as the "Mother of Presidents." During my visit there in 2013 to attend an NCHE conference, I was reminded of so many of the pivotal events in our nation's history that have happened in the state of Virginia.  It is amazing to think that events from early colonization to the American Revolution to the Civil War all took place in this state.

Aside from the historical events that have taken place in Virginia, can you name the eight presidents that were born in Virginia? All eight of the presidents are represented in the rotunda in the Virginia State Capitol. George Washington was of course the first and has the center display.  

Hint: The other presidents are the 3rd, the 4th, the 5th, the 9th, the 10th, the 12th and the 28th presidents.  Watch the Youtube video below to see if you can name them.

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Happy Birthday FDR!

1/30/2015

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If you have not discovered the Time For Kids Biography series of books, take the time to check them out!  There are over a dozen titles easily found on Amazon or the book store. As research shows that students need to be reading 50 percent non-fiction text, these books offer valuable information in a highly engaging layout including many text features. Additionally, for those schools that participate in the Accelerated Reader program, the book has a corresponding quiz.  I often use these books on the document camera to highlight important tidbits that we are focusing on.  
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NOTE: The FDR image above is from my History Calendar packet found on TPT.
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Happy Birthday Teddy!!!

10/27/2014

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"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."
                                          - Theodore Roosevelt
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Theodore Roosevelt is by far my favorite president!  When I think about it, I believe that he seemed larger than life and dabbled in so many areas of interest.  He is also a fascinating topic for kids to study. I am currently hosting an after school book club for second graders and we are using "Who Was Theodore Roosevelt?" as our text.  The students have been enjoying sharing their own collections after learning about young TR's natural history collection.  

Oddly, they were not very amused with me after I broke their hieroglyphic pots during our study of Egypt (after learning about Teddy's family trip there).  We learned about the job of an archeologist by watching a Scholastic video by archeologist Dr. Ruben Mendoza and then headed off to the sandbox to dig up their broken pots.  Much to their chagrin, their pots are still not completely assembled!

Despite their frustration over their pots, we are having a grand time learning about Teddy and his travels as a young boy. I am looking forward to our time as we focus on the relationship that Teddy had with conservationist John Muir and am planning a school wide conservation effort in conjunction with our student council.

If you don't know much about TR yourself, I highly encourage you to take the time to learn.  He truly was an amazing man and one of great inspiration for all!
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History And Science All In One!

8/11/2014

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As I mentioned in my first post, I recently graduated with my masters degree. Interestingly, my degree was not in social studies, but rather integrated math and science.  Last night, this wonderful group of people got together after a very relaxing summer without our professors (sorry Paul) checking up on the progress of our papers. It was great to catch up before the new school year begins.  The image above was taken a year ago while we were out one day learning to take data and measurements out in the field.

Now, being the social studies person on our team, it was interesting finding a topic to do my research paper on since I don't teach the science.  Then, I discovered Teddy Roosevelt's observational science journal that he created at age nine and they are DIGITIZED and my problem was solved!!  WOO-HOO! Inspiration!  This gave me the opportunity to have the students analyze the primary source documents and see the journal as an inspiration for their own writing.  Over the course of three months, the kids learned not only about Teddy and his love of nature, but they also developed their own observational science skills and regularly responded in their journal.  
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Above: single page from TR's journal at nine years old.  The entire journal can be downloaded from the Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University at http://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Research/Digital-Library/Record.aspx?libID=o280234

Below: slideshow of student work in their "Teddy Roosevelt" observational science journals. Image for the front cover can be found at  http://tr.amnh.org/printout courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History.
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Meet Jackson...and why he likes history!

8/5/2014

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I have been looking forward to sharing the kids from my class, their work and their perspectives with you for quite awhile.  

With that being said, I'd like you to meet Jackson, a delightful young man in my first grade class this last year.  We both share a love for the same president (look at his hat for a clue) and would have many conversations about him.  I remember Jackson's mom being excited about our classroom studies because his curiosity came home and the family enjoyed learning more from Jackson as well as wanting to learn more about history.  

I recently asked Jackson's mom if he would send me a small note as to why he likes history.  As you can see from his writing, aren't his thoughts exactly what we hope all kids grasp on to?  To have the understanding that we are all different and that we all have stories each other can learn from is such a powerful, lifelong concept.  Love this!

On a different note, what kid wouldn't think throwing water balloons off the White House roof to be cool? Can't wait to see what Jackson has read about this summer!!!
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BOOK RECOMMENDATION: buy it on Amazon
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    Christy Howard
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    Passionate about photography, travel and teaching social studies to young learners.

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  • Moffat's Blog
  • About
  • My Support People
  • Geography in the Classroom
  • History In The Classroom
  • Diverse Kids
  • Honors and Continued Work
  • #Blog365
  • #historymakers