For those of you interested in using technology with middle and high school
social studies content, check out US Trek...info below.
Phil
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, July 10, 2893 6:44 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Please pass the word...
Greetings,
My name is Gemma and I am a teacher volunteering with an online non-profit
called The Odyssey. I’m writing to ask that you share the word with
teachers in your state about a free program being made available by The
Odyssey. Maybe you’ve heard of The Odyssey’s just-completed World Trek –
over 2000 teachers participated and it got quite a bit of press and awards.
Besides being non-profit we are also 100% volunteer-run, myself included -
so my interest in writing you is really just to make sure more teachers take
advantage of our new program, the United States Trek (www.ustrek.org).
The US Trek allows students to travel around the United States via the
Internet to bring US History and current events to life. Students follow
along with a group of eight diverse educators who are doing a real trek
around the US to visit historic places, interview historic figures, and meet
experts in US History. The Trek is documented in text, pictures, audio and
video on our website where it is available free to teachers for use any
time. We also make available historic video and audio clips.
The Team is following an itinerary that coincides with how most teachers
teach US History – it will explore US History chronologically over the
2000-2001 school year.
Can you please help get the word out by sharing this information with
teachers in your district either through any listservs you maintain, or at
any professional development workshops, on any websites your teachers may be
looking at for resources, etc? I will paste below a sample announcement you
can use as is, or edit as you see fit.
Please note, I don’t know how quickly you can get the word out, but our
first chat is coming up Wednesday the 18th, 11-noon Eastern, 8-9am Pacific.
It will address “Slavery in the Colonies and Early African American
Culture.” It will feature the following individuals:
- Michael Cottman - Pulitzer Prizewinning writer with the Washington Post.
Mr. Cottman spent three years on three continents retracing the route of the
Henrietta Marie, a slave ship that sank off the coast of Florida in 1700.
- Anita Prather and Mark Gibbs – Ms. Prather is the Executive Director of
Gullah Kinfolk, a group promoting Gullah culture through singing and story
telling. Gullah is a blend of English and West African cultures from the
1600s that survives in the Sea Islands off South Carolina. Mark is a 7th
grade student and a member of Gullah Kinfolk.
- Dr. Sherill D. Wilson - Director of the Office of Public Education and
Interpretation of the African Burial Ground, burial site of perhaps 20,000
African slaves in New York between 1712 and 1790
For more info you can check out the website at www.ustrek.org or I am
available to answer questions by e-mail or phone: (415) 659-3178
Thank you for helping spread the word!
Gemma Horner
Program Director
The Odyssey US Trek
650 Townsend, Suite 375
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 659-3178 Fax (415) 659-3201
www.ustrek.org www.worldtrek.org
_____________
“One thing I am absolutely sure of - having taught for 25 years,
I have never had so much excitement in my classes…”
- Connie Falvo, 8th Grade Teacher, Oceanport, NJ
Over 2000 K-12 teachers took their students around the world last year,
meeting with four Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and others along the way.
They did this all for free - via the Internet! This year they will turn
their attention to US History and current events and you can join them.
A team of eight educators is conducting a “US Trek” to visit historic
places, interview historic figures, and meet experts in US history. The
Trek is documented twice a week in lively text, pictures, audio and video on
the US Trek website for you and your students to follow along and interact
with the Team Members and each other – all for free, any time.
(www.ustrek.org). Historic video and audio clips will also be made
available.
The first semester will cover the following:
9/13 - 10/14 – In Search of American Roots
10/18 - 10/28 – The Birth of the United States
11/1 – 11/18 – Expansion and Reaction
11/22 – 12/20 – Civil War and Reconstruction
12/23 – 1/13 – Transformation of the United States
The US Trek is a program of The Odyssey, a non-profit run by a 100%
volunteer staff. Take five minutes to check it out - just five minutes and
you'll be hooked!
www.ustrek.org
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