VMS students get hands-on history lessons

VMS students get hands-on history lessons
Posted on 10/10/2022
This is the image for the news article titled VMS students get hands-on history lessonsStudents in Kimberly Hawks’ history classes at Vernal Middle School took part in a series of hands-on activities Monday, Oct. 10, to learn more about the European Age of Exploration and its impact on indigenous people around the world.

The activities were facilitated by Uintah High media specialist/librarian Machelle Maxwell with help from members of the high school’s National Honor Society chapter.

“Several years ago, I wanted to create ‘touchstone’ learning projects for our students that would allow them to access background information in a hands-on way,” Maxwell said. “We knew that students better understand literature if they can access the history and culture of the era.

“I also know that novelty and hands-on options can foster deeper learning, much like a being-there experience,” she added.

Hawks and Maxwell collaborated on a touchstone history project entitled Passport to Explore Colonial Perspectives. They worked to include the perspectives of indigenous people and explorers. The project coincides with the annual observances of Columbus Day and Indigenous People’s Day.

“We use children’s books like Encounter by Jane Yolen and Borders by Thomas King to offer more than one side of a story,” Maxwell said. “We have also included a ‘melting pot’ experience, overlapping timelines, wanted posters, nonfiction reading sections and a Google Earth activity.”

Each activity is designed to give students a multi-faceted learning experience.

“All of this is built on Kimberly’s state standards, and I used my 21st Century library standards as well,” Maxwell said, adding that the National Honor Society students served as peer mentors to practice leadership and service.

The collaboration with Maxwell was born from Hawks’ desire to have students apply what they learned the last few weeks in a more interactive, hands-on way.

“By letting students explore, they get more out of the curriculum than if I tell them what to think,” Hawks said. “I had so many students come after class and tell me how much fun they had today. That was a big goal for me. We learn more when we have fun.”

In addition to the Passport to Explore Colonial Perspectives activities, Maxwell has also worked with Uintah High language arts teachers to create “history boxes” for literature classes studying The Importance of Being Earnest, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Unbroken, providing students with a better understanding of the historical eras they are reading about.

“As a librarian, the ability to collaborate and curate resources for our teachers in the Uintah School District is one of my main goals,” Maxwell said.
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