Tip of the Week – Historical Paper Models

Yes. The title is History Tech and the assumption is that we focus on technology that requires . . . well, electricity. Computers and iPads. Video games and Web 2.0 tools. Online primary sources. Fun gadgets that help kids learn history.

But today we’re going old school.

I got a message a couple of months ago from Kevin Roughton, a teacher out in Riverside, California who’s doing cool stuff. I promptly stashed it in my “That’s awesome, save it for later” file. I was reminded of the message after a conversation I had recently with Keil Hileman, another great teacher who works in DeSoto, Kansas.

Both suggested that one way to engage kids in content is to use historical paper models.

That’s right. Paper. Pencils. Crayons. Scissors. Glue. Scotch tape.

Old school.

There are some very handy sites that allow free downloads of models that kids can print, cut out, color and put together. I’m a big believer in Google SketchUp and virtual models but paper seems like another way to include some hands-on activities as part of your instruction. We often forget how much kids like to use their hands.

A few sites to try:

• Canon’s Creative Park has almost 50 historical models for download including such things as the Colosseum, the Parthenon and Saint Peter’s.
• Free Paper Models has a whole list of links to a wide variety of goodies.
• PaperToys has a smaller selection but includes other things besides buildings such as the Santa Maria.

Technology doesn’t always have to be battery-powered. Give these a shot and let me know how it goes.

Have fun!

Welcome to the next level!

I expanded my Personal Learning Network this morning after making contact with Kevin Roughton of Riverside, CA. We had some quick conversation about history teacher learning networks and video copyright.

I also had the chance to visit the site Kevin’s uses as his digital home base, Welcome to the Next Level. Some pretty impressive stuff. The idea is to get kids hooked into the content and Kevin does a nice job of integrating both engaging activities and solid history at the same time.

My class is all about teaching my students to appreciate history.  In a perfect world they would have that naturally but in our modern hyper-interactive world that usually isn’t the case.  My goal is to bridge the gap between their lives and the lives of the past through the use of modern technology and techniques.

As a former middle school teacher, I know how difficult it can be to suck kids into the content of history, economics and government. Kevin is working to find 21st century tools to help his students understand how past events and people influence and shape the world in which we live.

We’re all trying to figure out what that exactly looks like but if you need an example of how one teacher is trying to integrate content and technology, Kevin’s site is a great place to start.

He’s got both student and teacher pages, so stop in and look at his resources, ideas and activities. A nice example is his geography “game” he uses as part of his Why History unit. I’m pretty sure he’d love to hear from you and crank up some great professional conversations!

If nothing else, he’s got some sweet video clips to browse through! What’s not to love about a site that has this video on it?

History!? I love history!