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Teacher ProfileJen Brownan interview with Susan Bonthron
Here are Jen Brown's own words from a recent interview:
I also developed a Valley Quest model with Steve Glazer, and then the kids used it to learn about both questing and local history. It ends in a graveyard, where kids linked up to a family or person in town, and practiced researching. Some got to use primary documents. We used primary documents online this year and will use them more. The kids did an oral history project where they interviewed community members. From that they created a history project that included their person as a bibliographical resource. This culminated in a Local History Day, which involved the local historical society, Steve Glazer, and a Brooks Memorial Library resource person.
The interest level of students in studying history has risen. I had a panel of nine kids at a Local History Day, answering community members' questions on a Saturday morning. They were invested in their projects connected to local history. I learned where and how to integrate with other content areas; how to make history learning more fun, accessible, and hands-on. I learned how important it is to connect local history with the bigger picture, and how to do that. I feel more comfortable with the balance between depth and breadth. My advice to other teachers would be, "Don't try to do everything at once - start with one piece and build." |
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During the first year, the focus of the study group was on Immigration and Settlement, and during that year, I just gained some content knowledge that would help me teach. I am using it now. I've taught colonial history using local sites and stories. What I learned about was the Connecticut River area, native tribes, why Dummerston was settled first, and what brought people here. Steve Glazer's Valley Quest workshop gave me skills that I now use with my students, and I made lots of connections through this. The second institute was the Making of the American Republic, and at this I learned how to do grave rubbings, which I used in class, and I learned how to look in town records. Some kids did this, though not all. We talked about Vermont's role in the making of the Republic. And we did "Equivalent Lands" projects for our 250th anniversary in Dummerston.
During the book group about the Civil War, I really began to integrate curriculum because I teach English as well as social studies. So it was a way to practice reading and writing strategies and skills. I was able to apply different writing strategies around reading about the Civil War - kids definitely got content knowledge about the war but also learned how to use the discussion group model in the classroom setting. This was a huge light bulb for me! I developed a way to teach English skills through history content modeled by the book groups, summer institute methods, and action research, which helped continue these experiences.