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Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Remember the Alamo!

Curtis 4th graders were given a wonderful opportunity this morning- visiting the Alamo without leaving Weatherford! A couple of months ago, Nancy Jo Lambert, a librarian in Frisco and a member of my Twitter PLN, asked if we would be interested in participating in a Google Hangout with other schools and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library director and archivist. We said, YES! of course! Today was the day, so Curtis students, along with several other schools in North Texas AND a school in Bryn Mawr, PA took part in the first Google Hangout by the DRT Librarians!



Students in 4th grade focus on Texas history, so this was a perfect extension of their classroom instruction. Since their teachers had already covered the Battle of the Alamo, students were definitely prepared for our Google Hangout today! We were fortunate to also have WISD School Board Member Dave Cowley and State Board of Education Member Pat Hardy in attendance with us.

 
Leslie Stapleton is the DRT Library Director and Jaime Espensen-Sturges is the DRT Library Interim Archivist and they shared with the students various artifacts that are held at the Alamo in San Antonio. One item students were able to see was a  hand-drawn map by Stephen F. Austin. We learned that in addition to being the Father of Texas, he was also an excellent map maker.

 
There was an audible gasp when Mrs. Stapleton showed us clothes worn by Susanna Dickinson. Students were familiar with the historical people that Mrs. Stapleton spoke about, which I know made their teachers very proud!
 

During the Google Hangout, students were able to submit questions to www.todaysmeet.com/alamogho and have them answered by the DRT librarians. Mrs. Varhola typed the questions that students had created before they came to the library. After the GHO, students could go to the site and see if their questions were answered.

This was a wonderful opportunity for our students and we are so appreciative of the time and energy it took to organize this event!

Read Nancy Jo Lambert's blog post about our Alamo Hangout here: http://borchardtlibrary.edublogs.org/2014/01/14/4th-grade-alamo-google-hangout/

 

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3 comments:

  1. Leslie StapletonJanuary 14, 2014 at 4:47 PM

    The Hangout was so much fun! We had a great time taking everyone on a virtual tour and talking about our wonderful collection. Can't wait to do it again.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJanuary 14, 2014 at 9:39 PM

    Great job detailing the event. Did you record the GHO? I think you guys mentioned you could not record it but if so, I would love to view it. I love that you had WISD School Board Member Dave Cowley and State Board of Education Member Pat Hardy in participation. It helps them to see such connected educators collaborating and providing students a rich learning experience.

    ReplyDelete
  3. essay writing serviceMarch 9, 2014 at 11:32 PM

    Its amazing how Google change the way we communicate. I have to say that this is really a great event for students like me. Thank you for this amazing post.

    ReplyDelete