TAH Teachers Gather at SCCSS Conference, September 2004
The South Carolina Council for Social Studies held its annual conference in Greenville on September 24-25, 2004. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History sponsored two tables in the exhibit hall. One table was for National History Day in South Carolina, and the other was for Teaching American History in South Carolina. This conference provided a chance for teachers to learn about the 2005 Summer Institutes. Past and current participants of the TAH project took part in the conference and two participant led sessions based on their experiences with the TAH project.
Rosamond Lawson, of the School of the Arts in Charleston, did a presentation called Making History Come Alive for Middle School. This lesson used ideas and resources shared during the 2004 Lowcountry Summer Institute. Rosamond offered suggestions on how to help students take a more active role in their learning. Among the resources shared with the group were selected paintings by Alice Ravenel Huger Smith. These beautiful watercolors depict life on Lowcountry rice plantations. Rosamond used these paintings as part of a lesson on rice during the Colonial era in South Carolina. Slides of these paintings can be purchased at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston.
Kib Hunt, of Eau Claire High School in Columbia, did a presentation called Trial at the Turn-of-the-Century! Window on a World. As a participant in the 2004 Midlands Summer Institute, Kib created this lesson as part of his portfolio assignment for the project. This lesson uses the 1903 shooting of N.G. Gonzales as a way to understand life in South Carolina during this time. Kib's students learned about the feud between Lt. Governor George Tillman and Gonzales, who was an outspoken editor for The State newspaper. These students examined primary sources relating to the trial and came to understand multiple perspectives of the participants and spectators. This lesson allowed the students to take part in a mock trial that had a surprise ending.
Marshall Angle led a session at the conference called Exploring Historical Inquiry with Technology. Approximately 25 teachers from around the state attended this session, which featured an orientation to the lesson plans, primary sources, and virtual tours found at www.teachingUShistory.org. Teachers learned of news ways to integrate local history into the curriculum, particularly through the interactive websites for Lexington County Museum and Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site. Teachers also received a CD-ROM of primary sources used during the 2004 Summer Institutes (a veritable Treasure Trove, indeed!). Lots of teachers learned about the general goals of the TAH project, and many applied for the 2005 Summer Institutes. Overall the conference was a great success!