Elevator Pitch for My Final Project
My project seeks to teach 4th and 5th grade students basic historical thinking skills by using George Rogers Clark’s Memoir to talk about types of sources, corroboration of evidence and reconciling conflicting sources. As many students of this level have had limited exposure to historical content and may not understand how historians actually do their work, I hope to offer some basic skills lessons which give hands-on experience with the historian’s craft. My project will offer online activities that teachers can use to help his or her students practice their historical investigative skills with actual primary sources that are relevant to their course curriculum. At the end of the lesson, students will be given the opportunity to formulate their own interpretation of Clark’s Memoir, explaining why they believe or do not believe that parts of Clark’s were made-up or embellished for his own personal gain. While the project focuses on teaching historical thinking skills, the sources used (which concentrate on George Rogers Clark’s Illinois Campaign and specifically on his expedition to take over Fort Sackville in present day Vincennes, Indiana from the British during the American Revolution) will also give students exposure to content that is included in many states’ textbooks and teaching curriculums.
