About

Welcome to my history blog. My dog, Zeus, and I will be blogging about history and current events. We will be exploring many facets of history and not just politics. Books, Movies, Art, and Sports are just a few of the topics on which we are interested. Enjoy!

My credentials -

I teach 8th grade US history in a small town in northern Illinois and have done so for almost 20 years at my current school. My students participate in the History Fair (National History Day) program yearly. I feel it is  a worthy program for all students as they learn how to investigate history hands-on.  I try to design lessons that use a variety of primary sources and make students think about using evidence to establish a point of view or to examine multiple points of view about an event or person in history.

I designed a teaching model using primary documents which I have spoken about at the National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference as well as the Illinois Council for the Social Studies and Northern Illinois University.

In early July 2012, I will complete my dissertation about how students search for and evaluate online primary sources for use in their history fair projects.

Zeus…he’s a dog. But he’s a good dog who loves to watch the Bears and American Pickers.

To contact us, send us an email at historyrat7@gmail.com