spicing up NYS history

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spicing up NYS history
By Stephanie

I too teach grade 4 in NYS. We read Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, it takes place in Malone,NY. Later we vist the Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown for their Farmer Boy tour. The kids love it. The museum sends you
activities to do before visiting. But you have to be close enough to go to the museum. Also, my consultant teacher and I are trying to plan some cross-curric. units with historical fiction as the base. We would like to use Who Comes With Cannons, has some connections to Elmira, NY and is a Civil War era/Underground RR novel. However, we are having trouble finding activities to go with

it. Another book we want to use is East Side Story, by Bonnie Bader. It is part of the Stories of the States Series. It has to do with kids working in sweatshops in NYC and how they strike for better working conditions. But once again we are low on ideas. ANother idea I have is if you don't have field trip money, contact your local Historical Society. People can come and teach your class about local history. Or write to historical places and museums to see if they have educational materials they can send to you for use in your classroom. Cidermills and sugarshacks are also good options to visit. I hope I have been helpful.