PI Museum initiates local history education in area schools

Unfortunately for the future of the local community, much of Presque Isle County?s abundant history is going unnoticed by the area?s youth. In order to counter the effects of this overlooked area of study, the Presque Isle County Historical Museum, along with curator Mark Thompson and volunteer Jim Hopp, has initiated a local history education project, aimed at providing teachers in Presque Isle County schools with materials about local history that can be used in classrooms for years to come.

?THE PROJECT started when several board members (of the museum) expressed an interest in doing more with the local schools,? said Thompson. ?Jim (Hopp) and I sat down and brainstormed of what we could do.? Hopp, who has a strong background in English, history, and journalism, taught at Rogers City High School for 31 years before retiring. Thompson, who acted as the curator for the Alpena Boats project at the Jesse Besser Museum in Alpena, produced a series of power point presentations that were shared with schools in Alpena County. A coloring book he created on the Alpena boats will be made available to Alpena fourth grade students during Michigan Week, which is May 19-25.

Thompson and Hopp plan to make the first set of materials they have compiled after weeks of research and organization available to local teachers this week, intentionally prior to Michigan Week. All of the lessons meet state standards and benchmarks in areas such as social studies, and teachers can choose how much or how little they would like to include in their own lesson plans. Included in the education project, teachers will find five 20-30 minute Power Point slide presentations, with each slide containing a historic photo from the area and a caption. A Teacher?s Guide will contain additional information on each slide, and teachers can choose from a variety of classroom activities related to the slide program.

For example, after viewing the Native Americans and Early Settlers slide presentation, students could visit the Presque Isle County Historical Museum where they could view an authentic birch bark canoe, arrowheads, moccasins, and other American Indian artifacts that would stimulate conversation and imaginations.

TEACHERS MIGHT choose to have their students create a family tree, where a copy of each completed genealogy project will be kept on file at the museum. Students in lower elementary grades have not been left out of the project. A 16-page historical coloring book will be made available, including images that depict interesting aspects of the county?s history. Teachers can use the pictures to spark a quick mini-lesson on local history, and the students can use their imaginations to creatively give each area of history a little color. Also included in the education project, Thompson and Hopp have compiled a list of 50 possible topics that could be used for research papers. Along with each topic, there are tips on where students can find information. Among the topics are: ?The Unsolved Murder of Lizzie Kent,? ?Sacred Rock,? ?The Sinking of the Steamer Carl D. Bradley,? and ?The Sink Holes of Presque Isle County.? Within several weeks, the museum will also have a series of short stories about interesting events in Presque Isle County?s history. These short stories will be part of a series called ?Did You Know?? ?These will be primarily geared toward the elementary grades, and they will be good short, time fillers for teachers to use,? said Thompson. ?There?s some rea

lly fun stuff included in them ? teachers can set aside some time each week for a little local history.? Among the ?Did You Know?? stories: Presque Isle County?s Skyscraper, Rogers City?s Windmill, The Murder of Baron Molitor, and The Castles of Presque Isle County. THE M– USEUM will provide the information to teachers in Rogers City this week, and to teachers in Posen, Onaway, and Millersburg by next week. A survey is included in the packet, and Thompson is hopeful that teachers will take the time to fill the survey out and provide any feedback they can. He and Hopp are very open to new ideas and suggestions.

?I hope teachers will return the survey and give us some ideas. We will work with individual teachers ? if they have a great idea, we?d love to work with them,? said Thompson. ?I think it?s very important for children to realize the rich heritage of the community they live in. Our history is very interesting, and it can often be very exciting.?

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