2011+Two+Day+June+Institute

This is the official page of the June 10-11 Institute.

Getting Started with National History Day
Student Interest Survey- I have students complete the survey as a starting point for choosing a topic. Sample Process Paper- The process paper is a very important and sometimes overlooked aspect of the project. Sample Bibliography- My students sometimes have difficulty creating good annotations. I find that showing them examples is helpful. Bibliography Help- We use a great website created by Purdue University to answer our bibliography questions.[|Owl@Purdue] My students also really like a website called Easy BIb to help them create bibliography entries. [|EasyBib] Sample NHD Exhibits Please feel free to add any other tips or suggestions for NHD. If you have questions, contact me at rebeccabyrd@sevier.org

From William, here is the image and the primary sources that will be a part of his walking tour of Knoxville:

Today I learned about the use of Skype in the classroom. The Skype seems very exciting to have the ability to communicate with people in classrooms all over the year. Hopefully our network admistrators at school will allow us access. Regrettfuly I missed the Friday seminar, but I do plan on trying to investigate the Librabry of Congress website on my own.

During this 2 day institute I have learned so many things. I really enjoyed the info about the Library of Congress, and I will definitely try to SKYPE with an author or storyteller. This is a great way to get a personal visitation with a person who you normally would not be able to talk to. ~Julia Carter

From Sue: The past two days have been jammed packed with many neat ideas for teaching history in the classroom, each applicable or adaptable to all grade levels. One of the most exciting ideas is within the realm of technology, both for students and teachers. For the student, the world has become a little smaller and more personal with "skype" between classes in other countries. For the teacher, the professional development world has become more accessible with "twitter/tweets" concerning your individual needs. For my personal classroom needs, the Library of Congress website offers primary sources for students, especially working on National History Day, and for the teacher more items for our own knowledge base and toolbox. Finally, the walking tour put me in my students' shoes as they explore their own seat of home or place. I had forgotten what Knoxville looks like from the sidewalk. The energy of this retreat should be reverberating throughout these three counties this new school year.

On June 10 and 11, I participated in the 2-day TN History Retreat. While there, I interacted with educators from Union County, SevierCounty,and Anderson County. While touring the MClung Museum, we learned how to analyze photos of location using inferences and observation skills, and then demonstrated our understanding as we took a walking tour of downtown Knoxville analyzing several historic sites. We experienced the sights and sounds of Market Square and partook of the cuisine. We were challenged to avidly incorporate the use of technology in our classrooms. I was particulary caught up with the the varied ways to broaden technology usage via []. I am looking forward to using wordle at [] on fun tools to create "wordles" to strengthen vocabulary. We came away from this retreat with many great suggestions that will not only enhance learning for our students, but will also make learning fun. I can hardly wait to use these interactive ideas with my students. -Nona Barton-