Popular Cemetery-themed Workshops Incorporate Multiple Subjects
Cemeteries are valuable tools for learning lessons about an area’s history, but can they be used to teach lessons about culture, language and even math? Teachers who attended the Heritage Education – Louisiana workshops this summer learned how to incorporate cemetery studies into every area of the curriculum while creating a fun learning environment for students.
The 2004 workshops were among the most successful in the program’s history, with waiting lists for some locations. Sheila Richmond, Heritage Education — Louisiana program manager, believes cemeteries hold strong interest for teachers because of their strong cross-curricula appeal.
“Beyond their obvious historical impact, cemeteries can teach lessons about science, for example, by studying the composition of materials in the gravemarkers, and local weather patterns by observing the wear of the markers,” Richmond said. “Math skills are used for the date patterns and ages. Even English is used when it comes to studying epitaphs and other markings.”
Teachers learned how to create cemetery- themed lessons that meet state education standards and benchmarks, including Louisiana’s stringent LEAP standardized test. The standards-based approach makes the program’s workshops useful in the classroom, and not just a fun add-on.
Staff from Northwestern State University of Louisiana’s College of Education aided in the development and delivery of the workshops, ensuring development hours for teachers. The first workshop was held in Natchitoches July 6. Other workshops were held in Ruston, Abbeville and Metairie.
“The workshop made me realize what cemeteries tell us about the community in which we live,” Denise Clark, a teacher participating in the Abbeville workshop, said. “I will take these ideas into the classroom so my students can enhance their understanding of our hometown.”
In addition to its workshops, Heritage Education — Louisiana has awarded more than $200,000 in Mini Grants to teachers for the development of innovative heritage education lessons and activities.