On a Journey Through Hallowed Ground

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Photo, Of the Student, For the Student, By the Student, Chris Preperato
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How do you engage your students in history? Do you introduce them to the lives of other children and students in the past? Explore local history with them? Bring digital media and tools into the classroom? The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership's education program combines all three techniques to support students in better understanding the past.

In 2008, Congress recognized the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Heritage Area, a strip of land encompassing 15 counties and more than 10,000 registered historic sites in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Formed to raise awareness of the area and its resources, the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership focuses on encouraging not just tourism, but education and historical engagement.

What major events anchor local history in your area? How did young people participate in those events?

"Of the Student, For the Student, and By the Student"—the name of the partnership's award-winning educational program sums up its philosophy. Starting with Harpers Ferry, moving on to Monticello, and then beginning a multi-year project set on the Heritage Area's Civil War national parks, Of the Student, For the Student, By the Student gives middle school students and teachers the knowledge and tools to engage with local historic sites.

At each historic site, teachers, staff, and volunteers introduce students to the site's rich history. Armed with new knowledge and enthusiasm, small groups of students create their own mini-documentary or historical fiction scripts and film "on location" at the historic site. Working together as writers, directors, and actors, students come away from the program with a sense of ownership and a deeper connection to the history of their communities.

Do you have access to a video camera or two? What major events anchor local history in your area? How did young people participate in those events? How were they affected by them? On a smaller scale, you and your students may be able to create historical mini-movies of your own. Check out The Journey Through Hallowed Ground's YouTube channel for more than 40 "vodcasts" created by Of the Student, For the Student, and By the Student participants, or learn more about the project from Teachinghistory.org's peek into student filming at Manassas National Battlefield Park. Does anything inspire you (or your students)?

For more information

Learn more about The Journey Through Hallowed Ground on its official website. Its Education section includes more on Of the Student, For the Student, By the Student and other programs, as well as more than 13 lesson plans.

Think your students are too young for film-making? Think again! Award-winning teacher Jennifer Orr describes how she uses video cameras with her 1st-grade students.

e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia

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Photo, Deck of playing cards from the S.S. Avalon, Michael Keller, e-WV
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Take some time on this guide to all things West Virginia. This website offers a plethora of articles from "Abolitionism" to "John Zontini." To aid your search, you can sort through articles by topical category, alphabetical order, selecting "random article," or running a keyword search for specific interests. Your search will return media as well as text results, nicely sorted into separate categories. Articles are brief, but cross-referenced; and they also include citations and images, when available and appropriate.

The encyclopedia also includes larger sets of information and images referred to as exhibits. Topics include steamboats, John Henry, the Kanawha County Textbook Controversy, the Hatfield-McCoy Feud, coal mining, historic preservation, the Swiss community of Helvetia, the Greenbrier resort, and labor. A similar feature offers a handful of historical West Virginia maps.

Want something more interactive? Try the thematic 10-question quizzes, forums, or interactive maps and timelines.

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Harpers Ferry National Historical Park [WV]

Description

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park presents living history interpretations of past area events and daily life. Harpers Ferry events include the 1859 John Brown's Raid, constant Civil War action, the Niagara Movement's second conference, military industrialization, and the convergence of two railroads and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal circa 1835.

The park offers exhibits, trails, guided tours, self-guided tours, self-guided educational hikes and scavenger hunts, guided educational programs which meet state educational standards, educator workshops, Junior Ranger activities, and picnic areas. The website offers historic photographs, curricula, and a lesson plan.

Camp Washington-Carver [WV]

Description

Camp Washington-Carver is a beautiful mountain retreat listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The retreat serves as a cultural and arts center, with a variety of performance throughout the year.

Camp Washington-Carver offers special events, presentations, and performances throughout the year. The website offers visitor information, a virtual tour, and a calendar of events.

Pearl S. Buck Museum [WV]

Description

The Pearl S. Buck Museum is located in the mountains of West Virginia, and commemorates the birthplace of renowned author Pearl S. Buck, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1932. The museum is located in the home where Buck was born, and today serves as a museum of the life and times of Pearl S. Buck.

The museum offers self-guided tours of the home. The website offers a brief history of the site as well as basic visitor information.

The Greenbrier Historical Society and North House Museum [WV]

Description

The Greenbrier Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of the Greenbrier area, West Virginia. To this end, the society operates the North House Museum and an archival collection. The archives contain documents dating as far back as the 1700s. The North House Museum, housed in an 1820 residence, presents life between the Revolutionary War and World War II.

The museum offers guided tours, tea and tour programs, historic district walking tours, a one-hour educational program on 1850s manners and games, archival access, and research assistance. A nominal fee is charged for archival access. Reservations are required for educational programs, the tea and tour combination, and walking tours.

Morgan's Plantation Log Kitchen [WV]

Description

John Morgan of Putnam Company originally built the Morgan’s Plantation Log Kitchen in 1846. The building served both armies during the Civil War as both a hospital and kitchen. The building was moved from its original location to its current location in 1972 when the John Amos Power Plant was built on its original location. Today, the building serves a historic museum, and is furnished with period kitchen artifacts and utensils.

The home offers guided tours during the summer months and during the winter by appointment. The website offers basic visitor information.

Victorian Wheeling Landmarks Foundation [WV]

Description

Wheeling, WV, was once the home of some of the wealthiest families in the United States. Due to these families, Wheeling is home to some of America's finest examples of Victorian architecture. The Landmarks Foundation is dedicated to preserving and showcasing these homes and buildings. The society also owns and operates several Victorian properties available for rental.

The society offers costumed and guided tours of the houses. The website offers visitor information as well as a brief background for all of the houses.

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