Slide 1:  Welcome to this introduction to our Living History Project.

Slide 2:  Our project began in 1996 as a collaboration between 2 5th grade teachers at Iles 5-6 Center and the staff of the Old State Capitol.  The idea for the project came from teacher Paula Shotwell.  Other teachers involved over the years included Kathy Hulcher, Margie Adkins, Kathy Pauley, and Pat McWherter.  Lincoln’s Home became involved in the project in 2000 by lending their site for the reenactments due to expected construction at the Old State Capitol site.  The following year Lincoln’s home began a full partnership with Margie Adkins and Helen Muncy at Dubois Elementary School.

Slide 3:  The project consists of 3 phases:  guest speakers who give students background knowledge on a variety of topics; small groups of students working together with a mentor to study the topics, and the final presentation of their reenactments to the public.

Slide 4:  In phase one, guest speakers come to the class to give a 45-60 minute presentation.  Each speaker focuses on one of the main topics that will later be studied.  As part of their presentations, speakers might show slides or transparencies about the topic, bring artifacts to show, or do a demonstration.  Many guest speakers come dressed in period costumes.

Slide 5:  Guest speakers for the year 2001 included Fritz Klein, well-known Lincoln impersonator who was willing to come out of character for a period of time to teach students about 1st person interpretation; Susan Haake, curator at Lincoln’s Home; Brad Winn and Charlie Starling from Lincoln’s New Salem; Linda Garvert of the Sangamon Valley Collection at Lincoln Library; Civil War reenactors Jim Cochran and Tim Ruyle, and lawyer and local history buff, Paul Presne, Jr.

Slide 6:  In phase two, the students get together in small groups to study one of the topics in more detail.  Each group has a mentor to meet and work with them.  Over the course of 2 months the groups will meet weekly to research their topic.  They will create display boards to display information they have gathered and they will create and rehearse skits or demonstrations for their reenactments.

Slide 7:  Some of the topics that groups have researched in the past are westward expansion, toys and games of the 1800s, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, the Civil War and Civil War Medicine, daily life of the Lincoln family, and occupations of the 1800s.

Slide 8:  Mentors may be parents of some of the students or interested community members.  Lincoln’s Home also provides a mentor for one of the groups.  Mentors help the students with their research and the creation of the display boards and reenactments.  They help the teacher with monitoring student behavior and by rating students on their participation in group activities each week. Mentors also attend the reenactments as directors of the skits or participants if they so choose.

Slide 9:  Phase three is a one day event that takes place in the Lincoln’s Home neighborhood.  5th grade classes from throughout the school district are invited to come and rotate through the various stations to see each group’s reenactment.  Members of the general public who come to visit Lincoln’s Home are also welcome to rotate through the stations.  The May date of the reenactments usually has many busloads of students from throughout the state at the site.

Slide 10:  Here are some pictures of activities and reenactments that took place in 2001.