As a lifelong resident of Virginia, learning about Jamestown has essentially been a lifelong thing. I remember learning the basics in lower elementary and then in more detail once I hot 4thgrade. Of course, a highlight of my elementary school years was the field trip we made to Jamestown. I remember the trip so vividly. We walked around and saw actual artifacts from the time of settlement. We spoke with reenactors and even watched glass being blown. What I don’t remember is my teachers doing anything beyond taking us to the settlement to enhance instruction. I don’t remember exposure to primary sources that we could discuss and touch. I don’t remember any connections having been made to fictional texts to enhance our understanding of the content and allow for a different perspective. Who knows, maybe they did, but just not in a memorable way. For the record, I have a pretty good memory and am able to name off a decent amount of lessons that have stuck with me since my elementary school days. Anyways, I guess what I’m trying to say is that now that I know super-efficient strategies to enhance instruction, I can’t help but wonder, were those strategies not prevalent in education when I was in school or did teachers just not care/see the value in utilizing different strategies?
As far as class was concerned, I really enjoyed the opportunity to hear about a non-fiction and fiction text that would enhance instruction. I also loved the map activity. Being able to work collaboratively was an amazing was to combine what we already knew and think critically about a primary source related to the content. As a student, what I had discussed with my group, as well as what I read on the charts displayed around the room, would stick with me throughout the Jamestown unit. I see incredible value in a student being able to take what they got out of that activity and use it throughout the unit to become more engaged.
With Jamestown in our backyard, the opportunities to enhance instruction are endless! I’ve always been on the fence about whether or not I would want to teach 4thgrade, leaning more toward a yes, but now I’m pretty excited about the opportunity to get my students excited about all things Virginia, Jamestown included.