Yet again the folks at Edutopia have wowed me with an interesting video podcast. In this episode titled The Geo-Literacy Project, I entered Ms. LaMar's third grade classroom at Tolenas Elementary School in Fairfield, California. In this video, we saw the students using technology such as video cameras, computers, digital cameras and things that I don't even know the name of to capture what life was like 100-200 years ago on Rush Ranch in California! These 3rd graders are helping to preserve the documentation of a dying trade: blacksmithing.
Ms. LaMar's students have taken several fieldtrips to Rush Ranch and have shared their findings online with classrooms all over the country through the Geo-Literacy Project. All of the content on the site came from "self directed inquiry" by these 3rd graders. They have collaborated with both high school students and local historians to create the website.
Their teacher, Ms. LaMar, believes that by studying local history students can taste the joy of lifelong learning. Now, who's hungry??
I love the idea of looking into the past digitally! Blacksmithing is a dying breed! I'm going to look this up and follow it myself! Thanks for the tip!
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