I taught Georgia history during the 2018-2019 school year. When I began the process of planning out the academic year, I was so overwhelmed! How on earth was I going to be able to teach my students all that they needed to learn?
As I began to search for lesson plans, curriculum maps, and many other resources to help in this endeavor, I came across the Digital Library of Georgia. I was amazed by the resources that were available at my fingertips!
One of the activities I used these resources for was over the Georgia SS8H2, analyzing the colonial period of Georgia’s history. Thankfully, the DLG had amassed all the resources in one place, and I was able to pick and choose what I wanted to share with my class. One of the activities I made using the DLG was over colonial Georgia.
I set up stations in the classroom where students would analyze either a primary resource or image to help them understand how Savannah came to be. I went further and used biographies of Mary Musgrove and Tomochichi that had been collected by the DLG from the Georgia Historical Society. These biographies helped me teach about how Europeans used native Americans in the establishment of the state of Georgia.
As the school year went on, I continued to use the resources of the DLG. As I taught about the Bourbon Triumvirate, I went to the DLG to find images of these prominent figures of Georgia’s New South Era. When I taught about the Leo Frank Case, I was able to use Frank’s papers to teach about what had happened to him. Because I was able to show through images what it was like to work at the Bell Bomber Plant, I was able to make World War II more interesting.
The access that I have had through the DLG helped to enhance my lessons every day. This enhancement helped my students so much that the 8th grade at Odyssey Charter was able to improve their milestones scores by twenty-five percent. I am so grateful for this resource and would highly encourage all educators to use this invaluable resource.
Becky Brown
7th/8th Grade Social Studies Teacher
