Last week I spent three days at a TAH (teaching American history)grant funded workshop in Ithaca. This portion of the workshop was put on by the Smithsonian. All the presenters were very skilled and knowledgeable and gave the teachers numerous ideas for making the teaching of American history richer and more exciting.
One presenter helped us recreate some of Benjamin Franklin's experiments with electricity using everyday items, as Franklin had.
The picture is of Steven Edenbo, a Thomas Jefferson scholar, who does interpretive presentations. One day he spoke as a most convincing Thomas Jefferson, the next as William Clark. He also gave teachers several ideas about using interpretation in their classrooms--even having students give interpretations of an historical person they have researched.
Dr. Herman Viola, curator emeritus of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and author of numerous books on American history--especially of Indians--presented us with a wealth of background information about Indians and the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Heather Paisley-Jones, of the National Museum of American History, guided us through exercises in examining artifacts and paintings, using primary documents, and planning lessons using historical fiction.
I would encourage any teacher of American history to take advantage of any TAH grant workshops in their area.
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