Time, travel and teaching

BY NANCY KELLY

Kings County Register



Developing creative and interactive lesson plans which explore historic sites in Nova Scotia got Berwick and District School teachers Sherry Duggan and Thelma Gregan shortlisted for the 2007 Governor General’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History by Canada’s National Historic Society.

Their “Journey Through Time” lesson plan incorporates science, social science and mathematics and encourages students to be active by taking a virtual trip to assorted cultural and heritage sites in Nova Scotia.

After working on the concept for a couple of years, Duggan and Gregan piloted the program last year after receiving financial and planning support from the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board, the provincial Department of Education, TD Canada Trust’s Friends of the Environment Fund and the Western Kings Wellness Initiative Fund.

“Once we started looking at the curriculum documents, it all fell into place,” says Duggan. “The timing was also right - the push was on to get kids more active.”

Students are provided with a passport to log their “travels” around the province on a class-wide basis. Five minutes of activity equals one kilometre.

“That could come from a game of four-square, a cross-country run or a game of tag,” explains Duggan.

Materials, geared to grades primary to three and grades four to six, are housed in the school library and can be used at the discretion of teachers to complement curriculum outcomes.

“There is no pressure on teachers to use any or all of the lesson plans, but all the materials are there and ready for them,” says Gregan.

There are 15 Nova Scotia sites that can be explored in the lesson plans, including Keji National Park, Lunenburg, Annapolis Royal, Louisburg, Sherbrooke Village, Baddeck, the Springhill Miners’ and Fundy Geological museums and Pictou. Closer-to-home sites Grand Pre, the Town of Berwick and Windsor’s Fort Edward are joined by Halifax-area attractions Pier 21 and Black Cultural Centre.

“Since this project began, we have learned there is so much richness here (in Nova Scotia),” notes Gregan. She says the lesson plans expose students to places often taken for granted - and ones they might not get a chance to visit.

“In spite of that reality, they have an opportunity to learn about and appreciate Nova Scotia’s considerable cultural history – all the while increasing their activity levels.”

While Journey Through Time was not ultimately chosen one of the top six projects by the National Historical Society, both Gregan and Duggan were “thrilled” to have had their venture included in the list of 25 finalists.

“Given the quality of the projects being considered, it really was an honour,” says Gregan.