Students are engrossed in the story, but some of their little faces are pinched as they listen to New Shoes by Lynn Meyer.
“Oh, we’ll do something different, Ella Mae, she says. We will make a picture for Mr. Johnson. Pencil and paper are over there, gal, Mr. Johnson says to momma,” reads Southern Illinois University Edwardsville senior Torie Hay to SIUE East St. Louis Center’s Project Success students during a Wednesday, May 22 session in the Multipurpose Room at the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus.
Hay and senior Josh Clark, both majoring in elementary education, were part of the collaboration between the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior’s (SEHHB) Department of Teaching and Learning, Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) educational grant and Project Success, according to Amy Wilkinson, grant manager with SEHHB’s TPS program.
“Primary Sources are original sources available from the Library of Congress. A newspaper article written on the day of the Gettysburg Address would be an example,” said Barbara O’Donnell, EdD, professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning. The Illinois State Learning Standards mandate the use of Primary Sources in elementary and middle school grades. Both Hay and Clark are students in O’Donnell’s Social Studies Methods course.
“The critical thing behind Primary Sources is to give students an authentic view of history,” continued O’Donnell. “It helps if you can place students in the time period to understand the perspectives of different people experiencing that time and place. History books are often slanted. Primary Sources bring history alive, allowing students to understand living conditions and issues, and then helping them connect the past to inform the present.”
Hay continues to read the book that illustrates segregation in the 1950s. Out of humiliation of not being able to try on shoes because of their race, the young heroines of the book, Ella Mae and Charlotte, repair and refurbish old shoes. Then the young entrepreneurs open their own shoe store, where anyone can try on shoes.
“Ella Mae was upset because she couldn’t try on shoes,” said Hay. “How did it make her feel? How would you feel? Do you think it was fair?”
“No,” came the rousing answer from the students, ages 5-8.
Hay then pinned up outline drawings of her students’ feet. Inside of the feet were the words “Share.” “Be good friends.” “Be kind.” They were the answers to Hay’s question, “How can we be fair to one another?”
Meanwhile, in another part of the Multipurpose Room, Clark reads Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans by Phil Bildner to a group of students, ages 9-12.
“The story is a folktale about a man who was a trash collector, and when Hurricane Katrina came he used his skills and training to help clean up,” noted Clark. “The story shows that we can and should value everyone, and the power that we all have when we work together, because so much of the community was left to fend for themselves after Hurricane Katrina.”
For the activity portion, Clark asked the students to brainstorm: “What can we do to help each other as a community?” Their answers: “Throw away trash.” “Recycle and reuse.” “Plant trees.”
The Project Success Program is a comprehensive after-school tutorial enrichment childcare program, which services children ages 5-14. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services funds the program. It is designed to serve children who are in protective custody and are referred by the Department of Children and Family Services caseworkers. The program provides services to children living within the St. Clair County and Madison County areas.
Photos:
Torie Hay, a senior majoring in elementary education, reads New Shoes by Lynn Meyer to SIUE East St. Louis Center’s Project Success students as an introductory project of the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources.
Josh Clark, a senior majoring in elementary education, reads Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans by Phil Bildner to a group of 9-12-year-olds.