Crystal’s Weblog

Taking the trip to Chicago was an experience that was worth more then money can offer.  With the great leadership of Dr. Rees, Dr. Harris, and Scott we saw and did some many things that I would never experience on my own.  As with last years trip I am overwhelmed with information, yet this year I feel more confident about using it in my classroom.  I know that often times things I learned on these trips will suddenly come up in a reading lesson or even a math lesson!  I walk away from these trips thankful to have been a part of something so amazing.  I always get materials and ideas that are invaluable and I take them back and share them with any one that will listen.  I have become a better teacher not just through the lectures we heard and the museums we visited but from discussions with other teachers and the professors.  To be able to visit with someone else that teaches at the same grade level and find out how they will use the knowledge we have gained it a great experience. 

As a side note to Dr. Rees, I’m sorry there is no slide show to share on this final post but I am at a hotel getting ready to fly to Alaska and unfortunately I left all my pictures at home!  I do find the pictures to be a great hook for my kids as most have never seen a large city or even left the state!

Today started out rainy (not a big shocker really) and a bit chilly.  We boarded our lovely bus and began a really informative day!  Our tour guide was lively and gave us so much information about this glorious city.  We began with a trip down to see the Haymarket bombing statue and discuss the injustices of that entire trial.  Even knowing the history behind this event I found myself getting angry about the complete injustice.  I felt rage and sadness as if I was living this tragedy over again.  Looking at this I see how a good storyteller can make the history come to life!  I want to do this for my students and plan to use the resources and books to draw information and use as visual aides for the kids in class. 

After an…interesting…lunch at the Healthy Foods Lithuanian Restaurant, we boarded the bus and headed for Pullman.  This is a suburb of Chicago but it wasn’t always.  Mr. George Pullman believed that if he separated his factories and workers from the strikes in Chicago (then 5 miles away) he could avoid his workers striking.  He planned and built an entire town where there was a lot of room and the classes were divided.  It was beautiful and seemed to be the “perfect” town, but that wasn’t true.  The workers still got treated unfairly and they were never allowed to purchase their homes.  Discontent still troubled the little town and strikes did break out.  This would be a great example for my kids of how nothing is perfect.  I really enjoyed walking through the factories.  I’m not sure how I would use it in my class but for me it was amazing! 

This trip has once again given me so many resources, many of which I don’t even know how I will use yet!  Thank you Dr. Rees, Dr. Harris, and Scott!

Just a reminder that the link below shows all of the pictures I have taken so far in the trip. I just added the last four days and we are up to 530 images! Holy cow! When I am less exhusted I will go back and label! I promise. Jenny~the Frank Lloyd Wright pictures are all for you!

                                            Pictures

As you may have noticed already we took a trip to Madison, Wisconsin and it was definitely worth the 6 am departure!  Besides we got a new book that I really, really wanted!  Thanks again Jonathan!  When first arriving in Madison I immediately notice how very clean the city is!  I would like to use the pictures of the city to show my kids why it is important to clean up your town and show pride.

Our morning was impressive as we were shown the amazing amount of resources the teachers in Wisconsin have developed to help their students.  I would love to see Colorado step up and do a similar project.  Their museum was entertaining and the displays were eye catching even though they didn’t use any flashy screens or interactive demos.  Our guide was a very knowledgeable woman who gave great examples of how we can incorporate these ideas into our classroom.  I especially enjoyed the displays of a living room and dining room from the 80’s where she asks kids if they can tell the story of the family based of what they see.  She points out that with out the main piece (the person) it is impossible to know the whole story and that history is a guess on the way people lived using the clues that were left behind.  She also made reference to the way our history isn’t being recorded because we use so many forms of technology and there is no way to have a record of those things.  I know I never thought about it so I know my kids never have!  Another idea was for a shoe box excavation, where I bury items in a show box of dirt and the kids attempt to make guesses about the lifestyle of the person by the clues they find in the dirt!  It is an amazingly tactile way of thinking and my young kids need that to get a grasp on hard ideas.

After tackling a great lunch at the Great Dane Pub we went to Jonathan’s alma mater and had discussions with several knowledgeable men.  I was so impressed with the documents we were able to examine and lost track of time reading through the scrapbook of a man who was instrumental in the labor movement.  Touching that kind of history gives me such chills!  I don’t see how I could connect it to my class other then telling them about how amazing it was.  It was nice to know that many of those materials are available for me to read and look at on-line. 

To cap off this wonderful day we went to the pier and listened to some live music, watched the lake, and ate some tasty snacks!