BEYOND FIELD TRIPS: Teaching the Hudson Valley in Tough Times
July 28-30, 2009
Henry A. Wallace Education Center
FDR Home & Presidential Library, Hyde Park
Miss this year's institute? Click here to see some of the presentations.
- Finding Free Primary Sources Online, Using them in Your Classroom. Excerpts here. It begins with an introduction to websites with historic content, e.g., atlases and maps, photographs, and primary documents, featuring the history of Hudson Valley people and communities. Then, explore ways to create effective lessons and activities using these resources.
Tessa Killian, SE NY Library Resource Council, and Susan Stessin-Cohn, archives specialist, Historic Huguenot Street and creator, “The Missing Chapter: Untold Stories of the African American Presence in the Hudson Valley”
- Getting to the Hudson Without Leaving the Room with Steve Stanne, interpretive specialist, Hudson River Estuary Program, NYS DEC. Excerpts here.
No money for field trips? Visit the Hudson online, in real time, using the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing Network and other sites. Track water quality and tides; in the right season get an intimate view of peregrine falcon nests on bridges. This workshop will explain how to find the stories in this information – simple ones like how water temperature changes with the seasons or as complex as how dissolved oxygen levels vary in water chestnut beds. Students can use this data to gain valuable practice in interpreting and plotting graphs and tables as well as to learn about river ecology. Sample lesson plans will be available.
- Hudson River Journey. Take a look at http://www.riverkeeper.org/hudson-river/hudson-river-journey/. You can also hear presenter Daniel Wolff talk about the meaning of education, and his latest book, How Lincoln Learned to Read, on CSPAN's BookTV.
Asked to create a Quad exhibit to highlight Riverkeeper’s environmental actions and be useful in classrooms, the creators faced many questions: Who was here before Hudson? How have we treated the river since he "discovered" it? Where will we in the region be a hundred years from now? Join two members of the team to discuss the process, final product, and how they might have done better. Daniel Wolff, author, poet, and activist.
- Near, On and In the Hudson River at Yonkers. All are welcome for this general overview of Wednesday’s “inquiry experience” with Beczak Environmental Education Center, Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site, and Groundwork Hudson Valley’s Science Barge. Beczak's part of the presentation is available here.
- Quest to Crack Quadricentennial History Mysteries. See or comment on the lesson this workshop was based on and get handouts and other materials.
Experience student-tested indoor and outdoor cooperative learning activities involving research, decoding, role-playing, and presentations. We cover latitude and longitude, cardinal directions, and primary source documents as we learn about Henry Hudson and the Quadricentennial. Cindy Slayton and Sue Peluse, 4th grade teachers, Krieger Elementary School, Poughkeepsie.
- River of Dreams: The Story of the Hudson. A January 2009 interview with author and illustrator Hudson Talbott is available from WAMC. Hear about the development of Hudson’s newest book. Growing up in Kentucky, he dreamt about going to the great city on the River and finally arrived at age 24. River of Dreams springs from his lifelong fascination with the River that inspires him.
- River Studies with River Buddies. Learn about a K-4 curriculum developed jointly by schools in Manhattan and Croton. Included are activities for science, physical observation, music, and the arts. Esra Murray, 4th grade teacher, Carrie Tompkins ES, and Mitchell Bring, author, My Mighty Hudson: A Kids Guide Book
- School Yard Ecology. See excerpts. Intended as preparation for those doing the Wednesday “inquiry experience,” all are welcome for this workshop with Cornelia Harris and Kim Notin, educators, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.
- Share & Tell: Become a Pro at Teaching the Hudson Valley Online. See excerpts. Let’s share online tools and tips! Learn how to tap the power of THV’s free online lesson plan library and community, and review online tools we use and recommend. Then it’s your turn! Kerri Karvetski, CompanyK Media
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Time Travel – Changing Hudson Coastline. See excerpts. Learn to engage learners in the exploration of changing Hudson landscapes and habitats using digital geo-resources, maps, and air-photos. Visualize the Hudson River estuary from Troy to New York Harbor. Includes a case study of the dynamic history of Piermont Marsh. Susan Hoskins, Institute for Resource Info Sciences, Cornell University, and Nordica Holochuck, NY Sea Grant, Cornell Extension
- You and Your Students Are the Scientists: Citizen-Science Opportunities. See excerpts. Sample the growing number of fieldwork and monitoring opportunities and then discuss ways to use them in your class. Chris Bowser, Norrie Point Environmental Center
Bring the Roosevelts into your Classroom. Enrich your students' learning experience with outreach programs from the National Park Service. This workshop introduces ranger-led programs that bring “Eleanor’s Suitcase” and "Who Lives in FDR’s Forest?” to your school. Hands-on discovery, group participation, and independent activities encourage critical thinking and help students connect to the world around them. We'll also discuss activities that put New Deal ideals into action -- creating your own forest ecosystem on school grounds, for instance, to teach students that changing the world can start at home. Take home a tree sapling. Susanne Norris, educator and interpreter, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites
Creatively Integrating Contemporary Technologies with Writing and Art, Linda Houlihan, magnet program coordinator, Beacon City Schools, art and elementary teacher. Read more.
Hands-On! Engaging classroom activities and lessons to adapt to 'your place.' Explore a roomful of activities proven successful with students in grades 2-5. Working closely with classroom teachers, Susan designed the activities to support topics, such as habitats, ecosystems, communities, land use, covered by NYS standards. They are place-based to support field trips or stand alone. Participants will get ideas and resources to take back to their schools. Susan Hereth, educator, Scenic Hudson
Introduction to Teaching the Hudson Valley Resources. Get answers to questions such as: How do I enter a lesson plan or activity on the web site? Am I eligible for grants? How does THV’s on-line calendar work? Share ideas for next year’s institute and new ways for THV to support place-based education. Debi Duke, THV coordinator
Reconnecting Kids to Nature. Discuss ways to help students reconnect with the natural world including creative ways to get outside and ideas for creating or discovering teachable moments. Read more. Tim Neu, Ashokan Environmental Education Center
Servants and Stewards. Experience Vanderbilt Mansion's latest tour and discuss questions debated by curators and interpreters who devised this still evolving experience, e.g., Does it matter if we don't show the "pretty parts?" Allan Dailey, supervisory park ranger, National Park Service
Using Film in the Classroom. Get an introduction to new and old films and related material available from the Pare Lorentz Film Center. Featured will be three short films produced by the Center and specific ideas for using them in class. Leave with more than a dozen film related classroom activity ideas, accompanying primary source documents, procedures for analyzing the materials, and DVD copies of films used in the workshop. Jeff Urbin, FDR Presidential Library
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