Hawkins Family Grant: Step Back Into Time: Primary Sources in Action

  • School Year: 2017-2018
  • Applicants: Sheila Levanti, Lead Teacher
  • School: Duffy
  • Subjects: Language Arts, Social Studies

To align with the primary source focus in the fourth-grade history curriculum, fourth-grade students at Duffy Elementary School will attend a field trip to either the Mark Twain House or Harriet Beecher Stowe House and be exposed to important local history. Students will be split into two groups and each group will study either Mark Twain or Harriet Beecher Stowe and complete a final project at the end of the unit, after the field trip is completed. The history curriculum provides exposure to first-hand documents, letters, pictures, and manuscripts, but often experiences and seeing in-person how our local hero and heroine lived are left out. This grant provides a unique opportunity for students to see up-close where Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe lived and what their surroundings actually looked like during important moments of their lives. Students visiting the Mark Twain House will have a 60-minute guided tour in addition to a 60-minute educational presentation where they will be exposed to actual artifacts and clothes from the early 20th century. The Harriet Beecher Stowe House experience will include a 45-minute tour that focuses on how Harriet Beecher Stowe created positive change and students will also be able to spend time with primary sources provided by the Harriet Beecher Stowe House. This field trip will be a memorable experience for all students involved and elevate their knowledge of our local heroes.

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