Connecting ESSEX LINCs

Educators Participate in Summer Institutes on Topics of Peopling and Working

This July, Essex County teachers from 16 different districts will take part in two summer institutes designed to help them use primary source materials and reproductions to ignite interest in American History. Educators with such varied assignments as kindergarten through 5th grade, art, special education, reading resource teachers and educators of English language learners will bring home classroom ready lessons and a whole lot more....

The first institute is a new one - "Peopling" New England and the United States. Teachers will visit historic sites in Salem, Danvers, and Beverly - as well as re-visiting the National Archives in Waltham. Topics for this summer include First Settlers, Native Peoples, Regional Growth and Change, Westward Expansion and the use of Music in lesson creation. Guest presenters include Debra Block from the Boston Public Library Leventhal Map Center and Jim and Maggi Dalton of the American History and Music Project.

Lessons for this set of workshops will have teachers creating silhouettes, writing poems, trying out a native style drill to create a shell necklace, examining 17th century probate records,looking at the cargo Essex County ships took with them to San Francisco, and using old maps to create a Treasures of Essex County map!

"The workshops and readings assigned have definitely enriched my knowledge of not only local history, but also United States history. The presentations and site visits were not only enjoyable but informational. I recommend this program to all elementary teachers..."

The second institute, "Working" is a repeat of the popular institute from last year. Again the focus on the occupations of Cape Ann residents from farming, to fishing, to commerce and entrepreneurial pursuits will be closely examined and discussed. Sites visited include a schooner sail on the Thomas Lannon, the Spencer Peirce Little House in Newbury, the Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford, the House of Seven Gables (with a lecture by National Park Service historian, Emily Murphy) and the Lawrence Heritage State Park.

Lessons include a "mystery object" activity, a chance to try your hand at making butter in an authentic churn, an Essex County themed game, and creation of an ABC book to teach about "working." Teachers will also take home 19th century fish hooks and facsimiles of money from local banks.

“The primary resources are terrific & I didn't even have to find them -- you've made my life easier!”

Connecting ESSEX LINCs: Connecting Elementary Teachers, Sources, and Scholarship to Explore Local History in a National Context.

Beverly Public Schools (BPS) in partnership with Salem State College (SSC), the Essex National Heritage Commission (ENHC) and the National Archives and Records Administration—Northeast Region (NARA) presents Connecting ESSEX LINCs: Connecting Elementary Teachers, Sources, and Scholarship to Explore Local History in a National Context. This project increases elementary school teachers’ knowledge, understanding and appreciation of events and topics in American history through an intensive professional development program.