LEFT Khayden Foxx, 9, role plays as a judge during the field trip. RIGHT Chatham County Historical Society volunteer Ed Bronson performs as William Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham.
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COMES ALIVE
FOURTH GRADE FIELD TRIPS ENGAGE YOUNG STUDENTS IN LESSONS OF CIVICS AND CIVILITY
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN MICHAEL SIMPSON
iler City Elementary School
teacher Katie Black says her fourth grade students are as smart and savvy as they are fun and curious. So she knew they would enjoy their Sept. 29 field trip to the historic county courthouse in downtown Pittsboro. “I want kids to connect to what we’ve been learning in class about the branches of government and bring it to more of a local scale, to see where the magic happens,” Katie says. 78
CHATHAM MAGAZINE
The Chatham County Historical Society has worked with the school district since the 2013-14 academic year to put history into context through immersive, hands-on learning opportunities for nearly every fourth grader in the county. (Next year, third graders will get the chance to visit since the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction moved local government, civics and history to that curriculum.) The kids split into four groups to rotate through different activities. Some filed through the artifacts and gallery rooms staffed by Chatham County Historical Society volunteers Patty Walters, Connie
WINTER 2022-2023