Best of, Elementary

Every spring, I ask folks to share their favorite Montana history of IEFA lesson, the one they would absolutely do again. Read on for the responses from elementary school teachers with some notes from me, in brackets. Stay tuned for the responses from middle and high school teachers. 

Sunburst teacher Hali Richmond wrote: "My students always loved our 4th grade Homestead Unit, especially because I do a classroom transformation with it. This year I included the patchwork quilt lesson from the Inside and Outside the Home Footlocker Lesson Plans. My students had fun creating their own paper quilts and it was a great and easy lesson to leave for a sub, which is what I had to do this year!"

Susan Seastrand, who teaches on the Crow Reservation wrote: "We read the book Fry Bread and made self to text connections." 

Jodi Delaney from Helena wrote: "I am excited to use the new map overlays I purchased at the Museum gift shop for the 'Early Contact Period Tribal Homelands' activity. I have taught this lesson before, but don't have the ability to print them." [Read more about these map transparencies and why and how to purchase them.]

Heather McCartney-Duty, who teaches grades 3-5 in Teton County, recommends the "Letters from Home" activity included in Lesson 1 of The Chinese Experience in Montana, one of MTHS's hands-on history footlockers. You don't have to order the footlocker to do this lesson. She was also able to bring Mark Johnson, who created that footlocker, into her class as a guest speaker: "Having Dr. Mark Johnson come and lecture (he has great command of a class) with such depth and richness." [You can contact Mark through his website, "The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky."]

Connie Michael, who teaches in Hardin, will again teach "The IEFA lesson I taught this last year that morphed into science fair projects for the students." They took "four diverse ecosystems (trying to break Montana into four parts and tribal areas but we cheated on a few). We then studied the adaptations the animals and people had to make to live in the harsh conditions of the area; extreme cold, heat, rain, etc. We researched the Sheepeaters, the Yellowstone ecosystem for its unique habitat and resources and used STEM to see how the early inhabitants utilized their environment to survive." 

Here are responses from teachers who answered anonymously:

• I recommend the video "The Tribes of Montana and How They Got Their Names."
• "Although we were too late to enter the Montana Photo Meme Contest officially, we had a contest in our classes and the students loved it so much that we now have Meme Monday where partners examine a photo, create a meme, share and vote on their favorite. What a great way to start a lesson....I will definitely use more primary resources, especially photos and documents with my classes." 
• "Teaching from Montana: A History of Our Home!"
• "Rosebud Battlefield or Where the Girl Saved Her Brother" [This is a lesson from Part 3 of Unit 5 of Montana: A History of Our Home and is a favorite of mine as well.]
• Visual Thinking Strategies!  [Here's a PowerPoint that explains this technique.]
• Gallery walks to view sources and introduce resources. [Here's more information on gallery walks.]