LM_NET: Library Media Networking
9/23/94
Dear LM_NETTERS,
My computer clock tells me it's 3:32 A.M., but I couldn't stay in
bed any longer because I wanted to share this news with you and
get YOU involved, too!
Yesterday I didn't leave school until 6:00 P.M. because that's how
long it took me to tally all of the new "fact points" that came in
yesterday. It's absolutely the most exciting learning experience
we've had to date! Even without the 6th grade participating, we
had a total of 293 points... just yesterday's score! So, with our
"contest" only a little longer than a weekUs time, @ 750 great
historical facts have been logged for the front hallways, using the
American Girl Dolls as Historical Bookmarks!
Because so many of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders have taken to
looking up different states and countries' time lines and seeing if
any historical facts fall between the times allowed, I thought it
would be great fun if REAL FOLKS from around the world joined
in with a fact or two, too!
Maybe some of you didn't see my postings yesterday, or I know
people in Timbuktu or Argentina or Antarctica haven't seen the
American Girl Dolls, but it doesn't matter. All you need to know is
the times involved.
All the girls are 9 years old in the American Girl Doll series stories.
Felicity is set in Colonial times - 1774.
Kirsten, a Swedish immigrant from Minnesota moving west - 1845
Addy, a slave girlwho escapes with her Mother, Civil War - 1854
Samantha, an orphan who lives with her rich grandmother - 1904
Molly-World War II - 1944.
I didn't want to limit it just to these dates, so we said the times
allowed could be 9 years before (since the girls are 9 in the stories),
or nine years after. Thus, Felicity's time would be from 1765 to
1783, Kirsten from 1836-1854. (Sometimes, facts overlap between
Kirsten and Addy because they are so close together timewise.)
Too, almost any fact can be made to fit if you really want it to. For
instance, some 4th grade figured this one out, Felicity would have
been 22 years old when Pennsylvania became the 2nd state
admitted into the Union on Dec. 17, 1787. Someone else yesterday
wrote all about the funding for the Library of Congress Act of 1800,
and fit it in accordingly. There have been facts about inventors,
about presidents, musicians, composers, artists, EVERYTHING
imaginable! It's absolutely fabulous. Even kids from first grade are
piggybacking facts from the day before onto another: "While the
Panama Canal was being built, the Wright Brothers were flying
their airplanes......and they tell about all of the flights and how far
they went at what speed, HONEST! It's fantastic learning!
They're just so psyched up to learn more. The Library is full from
the moment the bell rings allowing them to come upstairs in the
morning until the last bus is called. I'm being overwhelmed, but
what a great start for the school year for us!
Please, if you have a minute, send a fact specific to your location or
personal history during the specified times, or just send greetings.
I'd like the kids to hear others are just as excited about History as
we are. And I promise I'll post a hit to let you know what we've
been able to come up with on the Net.
Here's the Internet address: bizicm@calvin.cc.duq.edu
Thanks a lot! Mim Bizic :->
Mim Bizic bizicm@calvin.cc.duq.edu
Edgeworth Elementary School
Quaker Valley School District
200 Meadow Lane
Sewickley, PA 15143
P.S. When I went to log on, I saw there were already two messages!
I'll get back to both ladies as soon as I get the information from school!
In the meantime, please send messages. Join us in this fun! Mim :->
LM_NET
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