Reading, Writing and History
A Conference for Teachers of Grades 3 to 8 and School Librarians
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Monday, March 17, 2008 * 8:30am – 2:45pm
Co-sponsored by the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site
Many children are missing out on learning history as schools increasingly emphasize basic literacy instruction. But, as author Joy Hakim suggests, “We have a key to the nation’s reading crisis, and we’ve been ignoring it… when it comes to critical reading, history shines. Hardly anything approaches it in its demand for analysis and thinking. Besides that, history is a natural with children. It’s filled with adventures, battles, heroes and villains; they all just happen to be true.”
Can this vital “content area” be viewed as integral to the teaching of essential skills? Join outstanding authors and educators as we discuss how history engages young readers and provokes young writers to reach for their pens. Speakers include: Katherine Paterson, author of Lyddie and Bread and Roses, Too; Marc Aronson, author of Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials and The Real Revolution: The Global Story of American Independence; Carole Boston Weatherford, poet and author of Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-ins and Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom; Peter Sís, author and illustrator of Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei and Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus. The program will also include curriculum-relevant workshops presented by classroom teachers, children’s literature specialists and history educators. For further information, please contact Sam Rubin at sam.rubin@nara.gov or Esther Kohn at esther.kohn@nara.gov