By Anastasia Gruper
Did you know Rhode Island is spelled incorrectly in The Constitution? Neither did I until Cody pointed it out at The National Archive. Did you know there is a typo engraved in the wall at the Lincoln Memorial? Future reads Euture. “Kilroy was here,” is etched in the World War II Memorial. And the haunches of the statues in the Korean Memorial depicts the eerie wartime feeling the artist clearly wanted to convey. Wandering through Washington DC with colleagues and eighth grade students is a reminder that learning is collaborative and best done together.
Day two with the group brought more in depth conversations as we spent long periods of time at the National Cathedral and the Holocaust Museum. Analysis of photographs prior to and during World War II had us delve into our Nation’s past. Models, literature, and artifacts brought discussions about how the treatment of our people. At the cathedral, stories told of stained glass windows brought history to life. Roman architecture was the main topic of discussion as we stood in awe of the high arches, high ceilings, and gargoyles.
As we prepare for day three, Flag Day, we head to Arlington National Cemetery for the changing of the guard and for our students to participate in the wreath changing ceremony. We’re looking forward to our continued education, not only about our nation’s history, but about the concerns our children have for the future of our nation based on our history.
A to Z Literacy Movement Blog 
Stasia- I love that you are learning alongside the students. How very cool for all of you. 🙂
Kristina,
Learning along side kids, it’s how we do it, right? Wish you were here!
Wow, Stasia – you certainly are being “schooled” by this school kids! And leave it to you to be concerned about editing mistakes in our nation’s historical treasures. They obviously could have used Traits Writing. Bet you’ll get home and then want to read all about those time periods, right? The war memorials were in my mind when we did the WWII DBQ last year. Where does the time go?
Ann,
At dinner tonight I told Rita how much I missed you! You would love this trip! Of course I’ll be reading about the different time periods when I return home. The DBQ and dependent questioning you shared with all of us last year came flodding back this week! Wish you were here! Stasia
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Well said and very well written. Nice job intertwining the pictures as well. It made the whole article pleasing to the eye for the reader. It would be great to be able to write like that!
Thanks Jim! As a fellow chaperone on the trip, I would think you would agree with what an incredible experience it was! They were an incredible 8th grade group and the chaperones were the perfect blend to the group!