Skip to main content

The Underground Railroad Interdisciplinary Project

Last year I found myself still working late in my office at the high school and noticing a lot of foot traffic in the hallway. I made my way down to the cafeteria to find a full-out history fair. I learned that all freshmen present historical information at this fair via tri-fold boards, video, food, and pictures. I was impressed with what I was viewing. There was one presentation that really peaked my interest. A 9th grader did research on how the town of Groveland had a home that was part of the Underground Railroad. I interviewed the student and was quite impressed with her knowledge. I then thought, how can we take this specific part of our history to the next level?

I bumped into two of the history teachers that night and asked if we could collaborate on the fair next year, including the concert band. The answer was a resounding yes.

The result can be fully understood by reading the Boston Globe Article and watching the video at www.pentucketunderground.com.

Some things learned about collaborating with other subject areas:
1. Collaborate with teachers you know will succeed!
2. Meet with the teachers you will be collaborating with and make a realistic t0-do list making sure each person plays a role in the organization of the project.
3. Each person should e-mail all the involved teachers once their duties are complete. This helps solidify that each aspect of the project is getting completed and motivates all involved to get things done.
4. Get Students Involved! Many times teachers can easily take things over which takes away from the exciting discovery process for the students.
5. Advertise well! For our collaboration event, we had well over 600 people attend including the local historical societies and the state cultural council office.


Comments

Florence said…


I started on COPD Herbal treatment from Ultimate Health Home, the treatment worked incredibly for my lungs condition. I used the herbal treatment for almost 4 months, it reversed my COPD. My severe shortness of breath, dry cough, chest tightness gradually disappeared. Reach Ultimate Health Home via their website www.ultimatelifeclinic.com I can breath much better and It feels comfortable!
May 31, 2021 at 4:08 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Let’s Create a Composition Revolution in Massachusetts

Young Composers and Improvisers Workshop www.yciw.net Teaching composition is no easy task as the majority of pedagogical resources available lack the understanding of the typical classroom anatomy. Many teachers feel uncomfortable teaching this subject as we were not taught such concepts in our college pedagogy courses and may have never really delved into composition in our own role of music maker.  This really puts us out of our comfort zone, and yet the benefits of a successful composition curriculum can become a catalyst for increased meaningful music making for our students .   A music teacher in New York by the name of Matt McLean set out to debunk the common misconceptions we sometimes envision in classroom music composition.   Matt created the non-profit organization and curriculum called the Young Composers and Improvisers Workshop (YCIW).  He notes that “as a music educator I've seen my students develop their strongest connection to music when...
1 comment
Read more
1 comment
Read more

Lincoln Center-Aesthetic Education Five-Day Training

-Art Making-Questioning-Reflection-Contextual Information- A Week at Lincoln Center ... to perceive, a beholder must create his own experience.  And his creation must include relations comparable to those which the original producer underwent.  They are not the same in any literal sense.  But with the perceiver, as with the artist, there must be an ordering of the elements of the whole that is in form, although not in details, the same as the process of organization the creator of the work consciously experiences.  Without an act of recreation, the object is not perceived as a work of art.  The artist selected, simplified, clarified, abridged and condensed according to his interest.  The beholder must go through these operations according to his point of view and interest.  -John Dewey, Art as Experience This past July I was accepted into a one-week training at the Lincoln Center for Education in New York.  The majority of the what I ...
1 comment
Read more