Teaching with Primary Sources: Vermont Farming and Foodways
This summer, the Vermont Folklife Center hosts a FREE workshop for educators on the use of oral history and ethnographic materials in K-12 learning. This new project offers primary source sets and learning activities for middle and high school learners that explores the role that farmers play in Vermont’s history and identity. The VFC’s Archive is home to a wide range of perspectives and testimonies that showcase the human side of agriculture and the ways families, communities and the state have adapted over time. Learners will have the opportunity to hear these stories as oral history recordings and discover how these primary sources offer a window into experiences often hidden from the public.
Workshop participants will engage in a combination of group and individual activities, including:
An introduction to the VFC and its approach to ethnographic inquiry
The project’s primary source sets and corresponding digital resources at the American Folklife Center’s Library of Congress
Hands-on demonstrations and application strategies of the proposed learning activities.
Learn more about this pilot project and the Library of Congress’ Teaching with Primary Sources Program.
**Ten educators will be invited to field test the guide with their students during the 2022-2023 academic year and will receive a $300 honorarium for this work.
Schedule
In-Person Wednesday July 21 and Thursday 22, 2022, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Location
The mission of the Saint Albans Museum is to collect and preserve historical and cultural material relevant to our community, and to display and interpret selected material from the collections for the education and enjoyment of the public.
Graduate Credit Option:
Participants in this course have the option to enroll to earn one graduate credit through Castleton University. The fee to take the course for credit is $125, due upon registration.
Cancellation Policy
For those taking the course for credit no refunds will be issued after July 6, 2022. Written cancellation notice (email or snail mail) must be received by that date for a refund minus a $25 administrative fee.