Traveling With Eighth-Grade Students to Learn About State and Local History

• Published in: Geography teacher (Erie, Pa.) Vol. 13; no. 2; pp. 72 - 78
• Main Author: Morris, Ronald V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Routledge 02.04.2016; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Enrichment Activities; Field Experience Programs; Grade 8; Heritage Education; Local History; Middle school students; Museums; Oklahoma; Partnerships in Education; Program Descriptions; Program Development; School Community Programs; State History; Texas; Oklahoma; Texas
• ISSN: 1933-8341; 1752-6884
• DOI: 10.1080/19338341.2016.1176584

Eighth-grade students from three school districts in three small towns in Crosby County, Texas, received academic credit for working together with the biannual Crosby County Pioneer Memorial Museum summer travel education program. Each of the three districts radiate from a small town. They were within one county, and the museum was located in the county seat. The community members charged the museum with providing programming to each of the area schools. Students took two weeks during the summer to travel by school bus to participate in a program that combined the school districts and the county historical society educational programming resources. This model program provided an example of how a local museum and rural school districts worked together to provide geographic enrichment. The students traveled throughout their county, in Texas and Oklahoma, and saw sites of local interest. They camped in state parks, with the students providing their own equipment. They enrolled for this experience in their eighth-grade history class and received one-half of a high school social studies credit. The schools and the museum worked together to provide enrichment and travel opportunities for students who were interested in exploring deeper social studies content. By working together, museums supported students who were looking for cultural history experiences in an area that was very remote. An overview of the program, including the creation and execution, is presented in this article.