It's History "Just for Kids"

The Sidney Waterworks and Electric Light Building in Sidney, Ohio. Built in 1873, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Photo by Nyttend, Public Domain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sidney_Waterworks_and_Electric_Light_Building.jpg

Selections from “Creative Teaching with Historic Places:” A Thematic Issue of CRM: Cultural Resource Management Vol 23 No. 8 2000
Published by the National Park Service, Cultural Resources

Excerpt of an article by Sherrie Casad-Lodge

“You’re getting so much information for us that in the past we’ve had to search for over a number of years. Thanks to your efforts, the students will have an excellent perspective of their ancestors and community.” – City of Sidney elementary school teacher

Such comments help explain why Ohio’s Shelby County Historical Society (SCHS) has been recognized as an institution that delivers excellence in its projects, programs, and publications, receiving eight outstanding achievement awards from the Ohio Association of historical Societies and Museums since 1996. SCHS earned its most recent award in 1999 for JUST FOR KIDS, the culmination of a three-year partnership between the Society, area museums, local historians, and teachers in Shelby County, Ohio. This program was directly modeled after the Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) program. The Society owes a great deal to this organization for developing the concept of featuring historic places as resources for studying local, state, and national history.

TwHP Provides the Blueprint
Three years ago, the Society learned that proposed changes in the Ohio proficiency test could place a greater emphasis on local history as part of classroom instruction. Local schools asked for the Society’s help in compiling relevant information. As a small non-profit organization staffed exclusively at that time by volunteers, SCHS looked to others for ideas on how to tackle this problem. I first learned of Teaching with Historic Places in the Ohio Historical Society’s newsletter. Intrigued, I found the organization on the Internet and contacted them requesting more information. The material I received, including an outline for developing lesson plans and copies of printed lessons, ultimately provided the “blueprint” for SCHS’s own educational program.

Working with Teachers
Using a draft of the schools’ Social Studies Course of Study (K-6), I developed a selection of local history topics, which then was reviewed by the Society’s newly-formed youth committee and local educators. The final list of eight topics selected by teachers for production were: Black History, Canals, Civil War, Immigration, Indians, Industry, Pioneers, and Sidney’s Downtown/Architecture. SCHS was then confronted with the daunting task of researching, writing, and producing guides for each topic to distribute to third and fifth grade teachers in the City of Sidney school system for the upcoming 1997-98 school year.

History is Hard Work
Using TwHP’s printed lessons and instructions on developing lesson plans, I wrote and produced the first two guides on Sidney’s downtown and pioneers. Volunteers David Lodge and Rich Wallace wrote the remaining guides and I served as editor and publisher. Our research efforts took each of us throughout the community and Ohio, combing the archives at various libraries (including the vast resources of the Ohio Historical Society), visiting museums and local landmarks, and talking with genealogists and area historians. Ranging from 36 to 60 pages, the guides averaged six weeks to produce – from research to final print/distribution to teachers.

Different Content, Same Methodology
While the content of our teacher’s guides focuses on Shelby County’s history, the style and organization closely follow the TwHP model….Each of the guides provides a historical overview, student objectives, the history of the topic, readings, visual materials, and exercises. Students are encouraged to “put it all together” by participating in community-based projects or activities. A recommended reading list and bibliography also are included.

The Society expanded the “places” concept of the Teaching with Historic Places program and incorporated people and objects relevant to Shelby County’s history as well. SCHS’s teacher’s guides also are greater in length/scope than TwHP’s lesson plans. The guides are written for use by K-12 teachers, so each guide includes support materials of varying levels of difficulty. Teachers can choose those activities that best match the abilities of their students and emphasize whatever part of the local history is relevant for the grade level of their class.

At the time of publication, Sherrie Casad-Lodge was a former Shelby County Historical Society (SCHS) board member and youth co-chairperson. She earned a Meritorious Award for Outstanding Community Service from the SCHS in 1998.