Alabama Public Televison Presents...Colonial Williamsburg

Alabama Public Television is a great supporter of education. There are many programs and resources for teachers to use in the classroom.  This year our GATE program is so fortunate to be one of the four classrooms from around the state to participate in the Colonial Williamsburg history series.  This was a grant worth $250.00 offered to our classes.  I am so grateful!

There are many components in the available series.  Our first adventure with this APTV project was with the 4th graders.  Technology research projects are in full swing in GATE.  As these students are continuing to find reputable resources for their research projects, the Research Rescue Squad video series was an entertaining approach to citing information from credible sources.  The materials provided with this series looked at the difference in PRIMARY and SECONDARY sources of information.  The students played  a game in teams deciding if certain items were a PRIMARY source or SECONDARY source.  They became great at knowing the difference.  Online games through this program also helped us to think about if a website is a credible source, if it is up to date, and if the information is factual.  I know these skills will benefit the students as they progress through their research tech projects!

Thank you, APTV, for investing in our gifted program this year!  We look forward to many adventures in learning about history this year!

Below:  Students work together in teams to decide which items would be a PRIMARY SOURCE or a SECONDARY source.

Mrs. Reed Visits GATE!

What a treat!  4th grade GATE students had a special guest visitor this week.  Mrs. Kathryn Reed was MY preschool and kindergarten teacher at Kiddie Kollege.  The students were amazed that Kiddie Kollege was old enough for ME to have gone there!  My three years attending Kiddie Kollege were great days.  I vividly remember the 2 classrooms, many of our activities, playing outside, my fellow preschool classmates, and especially my teachers.  Mrs. Reed and her mother, Mrs. Rains, were wonderful teachers!  I think anyone who had Mrs. Reed as a teacher at Kiddie Kollege would agree!  Mrs. Reed was also a teacher at McCord Elementary, principal at Big Spring Lake Kindergarten, and worked in the central office as a curriculum specialist.  Even though Mrs. Reed is retired from the field of education, she is active with First United Methodist Church, The Greenlawn Garden Club, the Albertville Museum, and many more community groups.

Three 4th grade girls have chosen to research the history of the Williamsburg Garden located behind the Albertville Public Library.  To help with their research, we contacted Mrs. Reed.  She visited with these girls (that we now affectionately call "The Flower Girls") and provided them with a lot of information, newspaper articles, and even a map of the garden.  "The Flower Girls" will create a brochure about the history of the garden and will also include information about how a person can host an event at the garden.  We hope to be able to provide the Albertville Public Library with copies of the brochure for visitors.

Thank you, Mrs. Reed for visiting our class and sharing about the Williamsburg Garden.