Hey everybody, we're back and I am excited. I've got a new friend this week. Rachel Welsh is here and Rachel, I'm so excited you can be here. We have not really had a chance to talk before other than through email. So I'm really looking forward to kind of getting into, because you've got this really cool lesson idea that you're to be sharing. before we get to any of that, why don't we back up a step? Why don't you tell us a little about who you are, where you are, what you're up to.
Yeah, thank you. I'm so, so excited. I was so excited that we've been chatting and emailing. It's been so great getting to know you. So my name is Rachel Welsh. I am a librarian. a school librarian down in Texas. So I am in Pearland ISD, which is about 10 minutes south of Houston. I'm on the Gulf Coast. I've been a librarian for 11 years now, and I have actually been in every level. been an, I was an elementary librarian for five years.
and then high school for four and now I've been at middle school. This is my second year in middle school. So I like joke that I'm collecting all of the grade levels like Thanos infinity stones. I will eventually have a full set and can take over the world. But yeah, it's been really fun. That's quite a transition from the little kids to the big kids. It a big jump. you'd think, but you know, for some of them, the maturity level is the same.
know, a kindergartner and a sophomore pretty much have the same. Poop is always funny. Farts are funny at every level, unfortunately. But yeah, it's been really interesting. It's been really fun. There's pros and cons for each one. I've I've genuinely enjoyed each of the... each of the levels and the challenges and the joys that it's brought. Because ultimately there are always kids that love reading. There are always kids that love the library.
So being able to find the niche, you know, things for each age has been really fun too. That's awesome. How are you liking middle school? I like it. So my middle school is the district that I'm in now. So when I was in middle school, it was six, seven and eight. But my, district that I'm working in middle school is fifth and sixth grade and then junior high is seventh and eighth grade.
So I have fifth and sixth graders and I'm enjoying it because they're young enough to still be, to still be kids, to still be passionate about things and find joy and stuff. They're, they're not they haven't quite gotten that self-consciousness about, you know, nerding out about things, which I never really got that either. I nerd out about so much. So we're very similar in that way, but then they're also old enough to understand like my sarcasm.
And, you know, they're a little bit more self-sufficient than the super young ones, but they still need me a little bit more than the super old ones. So it's a good age. I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would.
I started out in high school for a very, very short time and then I ended up accidentally in a middle school and I've been there for pretty much my whole career and now I'm a middle school librarian in the same school and it's just, I've gotten so used to middle that I can't imagine doing the other grades and I never in a million years could imagine myself going to elementary. So more power to you that you started there. It's your 6-7-8. We're actually, we're a seven eight.
We were a six, seven eight the year before I started and then they went to seven eight the year I started. See, God bless, like that's, cause they start to turn at the end. You know, they get to May, like April, May, and I'm like, you're getting the hormones and I need you to go like absolutely, absolutely not. Like when they start getting a little bit like, the SAS level, no, I need you to just cross that parking lot and you go over to like, I cannot imagine doing some of the Nathraders.
Like they think they're way cooler than they actually are. Like. They definitely, yeah, I mean, and there's been a lot of changes over the past five, 10 years in the middle school too. So it's interesting. Like some of them are really, have aged themselves up a lot more than they used to feel like, but that's a whole other kettle of fish that we could get into. But how do you've been doing this for 11 years you said, so how did you end up in school librarianship?
Like what was your path to the library? So I actually went to Texas A University for my undergraduate degree because I was going to be a veterinarian. And that was all I wanted to do. I've always been a big reader and writer. I've always loved reading. But I wanted to work with animals. I wanted to help animals. I'm still a big animal lover. But then I went to school and I took chemistry and was like, ha, no. I was like, absolutely not. You knew that wanted to change.
knew that vet school was not going to be my path. I was just going to be a cat mom forever. And so I was like, well, what am I going to do? What else is there? And again, I'd always been a big reader, so I changed English literature. And people were like, are you going to be a teacher? I was like, no. But it turns out there's not much you can do with an English literature degree. So I graduated in December.
and kind of stayed on in College Station in the college town for an extra, you know, that for that next semester, just kind of working at my college. I worked at World Market. So, you know, all the fun, you know, retail job that was going to be the thing. And so at in College Station, you had to have a college degree to be a substitute teacher. So was like, hey, I have one of those. So I went in and signed up to be a substitute and got the job.
It was very much like a universe coming together because one of the, at the A Consolidated High School, one of the librarians was retiring. So she took all of her day. it was a two week substitute job in the high school library. And there was another librarian there. So when I got in, I was just kind of hanging out with the librarians for two full weeks. you know. loved it. Like I was sitting and checking out books to the kids and, you know, drinking coffee in the break room.
And I was like, this is great. And because again, I grew up in the light, my mom is a huge reader. I'm a huge reader, grew up in the library. My first job in high school was as a page shelving in my public library. And so the librarian said, well, you know, you can be a school librarian, you have to teach for three years. I was like, cool, great. So I signed up for alternative certification. at the A and the women were looking at me like, she's crazy.
So was like, let's do this and immediately signed up. so my path to education has always been to be in the library. I was not a very good teacher. I was fine, but you know, was not, that was not my passion. But I love being a librarian. It is absolutely what I am meant to do and am so. so grateful that I got on that path. Yes, it never occurred to me as a career option until pretty late into me being a teacher for a real long time. And then I was like, why did this not occur to me sooner?
Like, it's just, to me, the library is what all education should be. The kids want to come in, they want to find the things they want to learn about, you help them learn about things, you give them skills to help them pursue their interests. that should be all of it instead of all the crazy testing and stuff.
I I call, I say that we're the fun aunt of the school, or the fun, you know, yeah, can say come in, they get to do all the fun and then you're like, okay, I'm tired if you go back to your mom. Have fun. wound up, send them on their way. that's awesome. I love that. Definitely going to steal that. So we're specifically here to talk about a lesson that you're sharing with us. And I was looking this over and it's really interesting. So I'm really looking forward to hearing about this.
So before we get into the actual specifics of it, where did this lesson idea come from? Like where did it, it must have... Did it just leap fully formed into your brain or was this part of a collaboration or how did this come about? Kind of both really.
It's so I again, I am very passionate about a lot of things and as even as a kid I've always been very interested in history, you know, we all find those niche historical young You're a Titanic girl or you're a witch trials girl or you're an American Revolution, know, like you're a I think the American Girl dolls were our gateway into historical fiction and history and that has always been You know, one of my passions, I love learning about history and historical events.
And, it did start with teaching night when I was a high school teacher. There are so many night by Eli Vizel, which is a Holocaust narrative. I was shocked. So you read that when you're in 10th grade, or at least that's what we did in my district. And I was shocked at how little my students knew about the Holocaust. Mm-hmm.
then, you know, getting more embedded in the education system, especially in Texas, which I'm sure is like most states, there are so many things that are just taught to the tests and social studies history that is not generally a tested subject. So especially in the younger grades, a lot of those things go by the wayside. There are teachers that, you know, that are reading and social studies, well, the emphasis is on reading, social studies is just kind of tacked on.
And I just think that's just such a shame. know, like there's so much, there's so much rich literature. American Lit was always my favorite to teach. I was a high school English teacher and that was my favorite because it's so embedded with, you know, American history and what's going on at the time. And so I started with, when I did Knight, I put together these virtual field trips.
found it started with the on the on fronk house in Amsterdam you can go through and they have the pictures you can you know do a 360 zoom and the kids were just you know just shocked that these you could see these places and I kind of took a little bit more now that I'm in the middle school and have a little bit more freedom to to teach I kind of get more into these interactive historical eras essentially. that's history was never a strong area for me.
I, most of my history classes were like, memorize these dates and memorize these names. And these are the things that happened here. And like, that's it, like 1066 Battle of Hastings. Literally the only thing I have carried out of high school history after four years. yep, that's it. That's it.
And yet I see some of the... teachers that I work with who really hook the kids in with like giving them the stories of what's going on and giving them sort of like a more immersive experience like you're talking about and making the history a more interactive thing and those kids are really taking away so much more than I ever did and I'm I'm a little bit jealous like I'm kind of you guys are getting a really you don't even realize how good of an education you're getting when
You've got these teachers who are doing those kinds of things for you. seeing your interactive history, I was like, yes, this absolutely is something that we need more of. Love it. cool and kids are so naturally inquisitive. Once you give them a little bit of it, they always want to do more. So at Halloween I do. So I was a Salem witch trials girly myself as a child just found that fascinating. so I do, I have a presentation that is would you survive the Salem witch trials?
So the students have, I have a kind of a checklist and we go through this, this setup. where they are living in Salem. There's a lot of, you know, I kind of give them the kind of the background, know, Salem was, this was before America had been founded. So it was very remote. They didn't know a lot of people. There was a lot of suspicion, especially of anything that was the unknown, you know, so much unknown. And so it starts with, you know, are you a man or a woman? So that's the first one.
If they're a man, you know, they they don't get any points. If they're a woman, they get one point. And then it flips over like, oh, are you a man? Congratulations. Good for you. If you want. Oh, no, I'm so sorry. More women than men were suspected of witchcraft because we know that women, you know, and just kind of lead them through. know women are more susceptible to evil. So unfortunately, that's one. Of course, you know, that's one point for you.
And then the next, you know, the next one is, you know, your appearance. Are you well dressed? Are you slovenly in your appearance? You know, you're wearing the shorts, the basketball shorts and the Crocs. I'm so sorry. You know that cleanliness is next to godliness.
So if you do not, and I compare it to the women and men because there were men who were who were accused in Salem, you know, Sarah Good was one of the first women who were accused of witchcraft and she was an unhoused person and people were very suspicious of her. She didn't look nice in her, you know, in her appearance. so unfortunately you are, that's one more point for you, you know, and just kind of lead this up to however many.
qualifications that would would lead them to being accused of witchcraft and then Then we talk about you know, are you pleading innocent or guilty? So you've been accused of witchcraft. Are you pleading innocent or guilty? you're saying you're innocent well, we know that that means that you are working with the devil. You know We know that you are lying this the devil is a liar. So we know that you are lying. We know that Guilty that's great.
But now you must name other other witches and if you don't, so sorry, that's because the devil is holding your tongue. Again, we know. And these were all, you know, things that were based in historical fact. And the kids are just shocked. And then we get into the questioning, the trials of, you've said that you're innocent. Well, now we have to try to prove it.
So there were the different tests and, you know, and they're just fascinated because it's things that, like you said, you get like the You know, in 1692, there were the Salem witch trials, the end. Like that's pretty much all that's covered because there are so many other things that are on the test. And so it kind of leads them into, you know, getting a little bit more.
And then we talk about, of course, we talk about what was it that led people to turn on each other, essentially, and to have those accusations. Have you ever had anybody, you know, talking about you? Have you ever had anyone? who gave you a dirty look. so then that means that you're thinking different things about them because what would make people, have you ever thought somebody told you something about someone and you believed it?
then we are able to have kind of those conversations that tie the history to what's happening in their lives because history, it's past, but it's also present. Everything is reflected. Absolutely. What a great lesson that would be on like, I'm just absolutely imagining all the ways this ties into so many different things. And like that element alone, when you're talking about how we interact with other humans and our emotions often color our interactions. And how did that reflect?
How is that maybe reflected in these trials that we're talking about? And like you were saying, like some people, maybe there's somebody you don't like, maybe there's someone you feel like you've got a grudge against. And if you knew you could get them in trouble without getting yourself in trouble, would you take advantage?
Yes. very rich conversational topic I can see this being, especially with, I mean, with all students, like fifth, sixth grade, I can see them really turning that over in their heads. Like, cause you were saying before, they're old enough that they're starting to have those more, the greater awareness of the people around them in the social situations. That could be a really, I'm sure you have some really fascinating conversation with these kids. It's really fun.
we also talk about, you know, the unknown. There were also the Native Americans that were the unknown. So one of the questions is, you know, do you have light or dark skin? Because Tituba was the slave from Barbados, who was also one of the first who was accused of witchcraft, just because that she was from a different culture.
They didn't understand, you know, her culture or anything that she, the things that she that she was doing that was part of her culture and her, you know, like her cultural awareness, her cultural traditions was seen as of the devil because they didn't understand it. And so we kind of get to that of like, are different, and there are people that will point at something that someone does and say, well, that's not, you know, that's not what we do. So that's not okay. Right, man.
Talk about a conversation that fits our times. I'm just, there's, I'm in my head. these, it's so good to have these conversations because they see, you know, they're young, but they hear so much from their parents. They see things in the news, even though they're not supposed to have social media because they're younger than 13, but they're on these things. They're seeing these things and they're making these connections.
So somebody has to have these conversations with them, you know, and they are capable of it. They're capable of having that, you know, that these complicated conversations, these abstract ideas, they're capable of more than people give them credit for. Oh, absolutely, definitely.
And I'm imagining too, there's a great opportunity to discuss compassion here with them because like you're saying, there was so much unknown and the people who are reacting to that unknown in a negative way, can, not that it excuses their behavior, but it gives us a lens into like, maybe they were behaving this way for reasons and we have a different perspective than they do. So, okay, let's try and be mindful of that, know?
Yeah, remembering the things, you know, again, we didn't, they didn't know about science. They didn't know about, you know, all sorts of things that, yes, looking back, we can, we can obviously see that this is not, you know, something that, that we would allow in our court system today. Right, well, we would hope. We won't go there right now, but when you said you had started talking about this around Halloween, it planted this seed in my head.
And I'm just imagining when you're talking about Halloween and the unknown and the fear that comes from the unknown, like I can imagine just turning out the lights in the library and trying to get them to picture like. what it would be like in the 1600s when we don't have electricity and we don't have electric lights and you're surrounded by a forest filled with things that you don't know what they are.
And like what a terrifying experience that could be if you weren't open to understanding what was going on around you. And if you felt like you had maybe almost an inside track on, well this must be what's going on and therefore. you know, I know and therefore my fears are justified and therefore I should be able to do whatever I think I need to, to, you know, allay my fears and Yeah, and it's cold and it's miserable.
know, it started in January and it was, you know, some of the, they're in Massachusetts, it's freezing and they're so isolated. Like, of course they're going to start coming up with, you know, cause we talk about that too. When you're alone in your house, you know, and you're not home, do you ever hear a noise and you imagine that it's, well, that's what's happening on a grander scale. You know, like it's cold. They've been in their homes for so long because they literally can't go anywhere.
It's snowing and it's dark and you know, they'll hear things in the forest and they don't know what it is. Of course it's the devil, you know, like we imagine that it's, you know, I'm 39 years old and when I'm alone in the house and I hear something, I'm like, well, there it is. There's the serial killer coming to get me. It's been fun, everyone. Like it's been great. But you know, the ghost face from Scream is here and I have It's always Freddy Krueger for me, but yeah, I'm with you.
I'm with you on that. But then again, we've got this other element we can bring in. again, I'm just like, imagining all these great tie-ins. Like this was a population at that time that was primed to see the devil because what was there? I mean, they were in America because they were seeking a chance to practice their religion that focused very heavily on the Bible and sin. So no wonder they were sort of primed already to imagine these sorts of things.
Just like if you watch a scary movie and then it's dark out, you're primed to imagine that the serial killer's coming to get you. Like, boy. for that. We also talk about the fact that it started with children. know, Betty and Abigail, Betty Paris and Abigail Williams were the first ones. They were, you know, 11 and 13. So women did not have a lot of voice in the time and children didn't have a lot of voice in the time.
So if something were to happen and all of a sudden everybody is paying attention to you and you're getting all of this attention, wouldn't you want it to continue? And then we also talk about why, like the power that they have and how to use that power for good rather than for bad. Like if people are listening to you and you have a voice, which again is tying into some current events, like if you have a voice on a platform and people are listening to you.
You need to be cognizant of what you're saying that you're not, you know, pointing the finger at people and saying that, you know, because of who they are and what they're doing, what they look like, that they are bad. So yeah, there's a lot of really rich conversations that happen through, through just, you know, introducing these historical, these historical elements. Yeah, man.
And I'm picturing too, like you could spiral this and like, as they, you know, maybe as fifth graders, they go for parts of it. As sixth graders, they get maybe a little more in depth. I could even see you talking to your other district librarians and saying like, if you wanted to build on this, like, here's some ideas. Cause I am just picturing like having seventh or eighth or ninth graders talking about positive attention and negative attention.
And like, what do we sometimes do to get attention? And do we see people around us who maybe are trying to get attention in ways that aren't necessarily the most productive or best ways to help people out? So, hmm, boy. Yeah, the social media conversation comes into play. Yeah, 100 % and not even social media like just the kids that you see in the hall that are like running around screaming and yelling like, is that? Boy, hmm.
Wow, so I can definitely see there being lots of ways to build on this in so many different directions. This is really wonderful. Did you, do you do this in conjunction with any of your history teachers or literacy teachers? So I talked with the fifth grade teachers that were doing social studies and kind of figuring out that that was because they started with kind of the beginning of American history. And so it was kind of getting around that time.
And so was like, cool, we'll pause your Salem stuff. So we made sure that we had kind of aligned and we definitely chose Halloween because it was spooky. Yeah. made sure it was in October. But yeah, we definitely aligned to where I could, because the library is the largest classroom, right? Like we have, and we have a lot more freedom.
So they were able to kind of introduce it and then I'm able to expand on it and kind of give them a little bit more than they have, you know, quote unquote, the time for, because they have so many things that they have to, they have to get to, whereas I have a little bit more freedom. to focus on things and go a little bit deeper with those, both with the time, you know, we have a longer time period.
I have my students 45 minutes at a time, which is really, sometimes it's really nice and sometimes it's like, you know, has it been 45 minutes yet? what, it's been five? Okay, great. Sometimes it's the longest 45 minutes in the world. But yeah, so I try to get with them to make sure that that aligns. Mm-hmm. similarly in January, so Texas has a, the Texas Historical Commission passed a Senate bill several years ago, establishing his Holocaust Remembrance Week.
And that that is something that is supposed to be taught in all of our schools in January in, you know, in, in relation to Holocaust or how am I trying to say this? So it's at the same time as Holocaust Remembrance Week. Mm-hmm. when we're supposed to all have lessons on the Holocaust. And I was surprised at how many teachers didn't know that.
So when I came to this school, I created a Wakelet with just, you know, resources and sent it out and was like, hey, if you guys want to use this for your lessons on the Holocaust, you know, go ahead. And they were, you know, they were like, we're not covering that. I was like, but we have to. So I was able to kind of lean. back on the things that I had done in the high school and adapt it to my fifth and sixth graders and could bring in, you know, definitely not.
as graphic, you know, changed a lot of the conversations about, you know, about, so a lot less of like the day-to-day horrors of what was happening and, but still, still maintaining the gravity of the situation, the facts of the situation and brought in some of those. virtual field trip. So Auschwitz Birkenau is now a Memorial Museum and they have a really great virtual field trip that you can go in and see all of the, can zoom into the barracks.
you we walked through what it looked like, you know, they have where you're arriving in the gate and going through they have to where you can see all of those things. And we would point out, you know, all of the different areas and the kids were just shocked that that it was so large that they could see all of the different things that were still like the crematorium was still there. They have the shoes that they would take from the prisoners.
And it really gives it a lot, think more than anything that we have these records because it wasn't that long ago. And that's kind of what we talk about too is like, there are people still alive that were there. Mm-hmm. United States Holocaust Museum has a virtual field trip to where they can go through and the Houston Holocaust Museum has been really, really great to work with. And they have an educator in motion program.
So I was able to get somebody to come in and present images of the Holocaust program. It's super, super cool. It's really, really interesting. Again, it's not graphic, but goes through with the facts of what happened, not changing any of the emotional impact for the kids, but catering to their age appropriateness, while still having those conversations of, is because Hitler wanted to make Germany great again, he was scapegoating people, this is what happens. And the kids will come to those.
to those realizations themselves. It has been very interesting for this year to have these conversations because again, and I brought up earlier that they are hearing things, they are listening to things, they know a lot more than we give them credit for and they pick up on a lot more than we give them credit for and that we would expect. But yeah, that was another thing that.
I wanted to make sure that I maintained was the Holocaust virtual field trips because it really, again, in social studies when they're learning it for the test, it's just, know, was the night, World War II was 1939 to 1945, United States entered in 1941 from Pearl Harbor. The Nazis had concentration camps and extermination camps, and it was over in 1945. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You know, going in and being able to put a human face on it really changes things for these kids. yeah, absolutely.
When I was teaching English, did Anne Frank for the longest time, Anne Frank's diary. And it was, I mean, we mostly read selections because there's a lot and some of it is more, I think engaging for the kids than other parts. But at the end, they had a really great sort of intro to World War II and sort of wrap up of what happened afterwards. And part of it talked about how Hitler was elected and the kids are like, what do mean he was elected?
And then he went in and he basically said, well, I'm now in charge now that I've been elected, people want me to be in charge. So I'm just going to be in charge. And it's like, I haven't taught that lesson in a while, but it has been in my head for some reason lately. I don't know why. So yeah, I it's, wonderful that your students are getting this exposure and getting to recognize that history.
repeats and that history is made of people and we are people and so we can look back at history and we may at first think it's sort of incomprehensible that people were seen as witches or that you know people were sent to death camps because of their lineage but when you look into it more and like you're doing with the students and helping them see the human side of things it really I think is probably the most important thing we can do.
with students in history is to get them to realize like this is people behaving as people. And when we can understand why they did what they did, we can learn from it and not make the same mistakes. Yeah, both historical time periods was because of, you know, uncertainty and fear of the other. know, Germany had just, you know, gone through a terrible, was going through a terrible economic downturn after World War I and somebody took advantage of that. that sounds so familiar.
You know, we have, again, the kids, the kids are the ones bringing this up and having those conversations about, you know, like these, both of these things happened because someone was afraid of someone else. Someone didn't understand somebody else's culture. You know, it, really makes a difference and really makes them stop and think about the way that they're interacting with, with their friends. makes them look at themselves and, you know, look outside themselves so much more.
Yes, we say that books are windows, mirrors and doors, the study of history is the same thing. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, man. there's so much there. I mean, it's wonderful and it's a fascinating lesson that you put together for these students. I hope they appreciate how lucky they are to have somebody who's bringing them into history like this. This is... thing is they don't know that. They just think they're having fun. They just think they're learning.
It's just a fun, well, maybe not the Holocaust, but even that, they think it's so cool that we're able to go to those places, that we're able to see Anne Frank's house and see the tree that's outside and see all these places that we talk about. They just think it's so cool.
And it's, I'm, in a way, I do not envy the students who are growing up with the technology that they have in their pockets and in their hands, but there's other times, like, when you're able to take them on those virtual field trips and they can see places they otherwise would never get the chance to see, possibly never get the chance to see in their lives. Like, I doubt I'm ever going to travel overseas. I'm probably never gonna get to see. a camp in person or Anne Frank's house in person.
like you said, the experience can still be there. You can virtually enter that space and, you know, virtual is never going to be the same as real, but man, it's so much more than just looking at a picture in a book. It's really wonderful that you're helping them see that. And that's true too. Listen, if I could take all my kids to, you know, to the museum, I would, but... yeah, no, I totally get it.
And it was, it's funny, before you had mentioned how one of the reasons that Tituba was looked upon as potentially a witch was because her, as a person of color from another place, she was bringing different cultural values. And like, I imagine what an interesting conversation that can open about race and racism and culture and looking at culture, accepting culture, thinking about our culture and how that appears to others, like, Just so many facets to this, man.
And you know what else is interesting that the kids, because they always have questions, right? So Tichiba was eventually, so she was one of the first accused, but she was also the first to turn on people. And we talked about like how she confessed because they were basically, you know, it's not spoken, but basically were probably, you know, beating her because she was a slave. She didn't have any rights and they were asking her who else is it? So she named people. Mm-hmm.
And then history loses her. We don't know. So they asked, you know, well, what happened to, you know, to Chiba? What happened to these people? And I was like, we don't know. There's no record of her after the witch trials because it's assumed that she was sold to somebody else. And then we have those conversations of, you know, like, well, what makes it's kind of like the Hamilton who lives, who dies, who tells your story. Hmm. At the time, they did not find her important enough.
She was part of this huge historical time period that we study, but she wasn't deemed important enough to actually keep track of. And so that's another conversation of, you know, like, well, how do we know history? It's whoever is able to write it down, you know?
And so that's kind of the, then we also talk about going back and looking at, you know, things with you mentioned earlier with our modern lens of, you know, like, well, what would be like, what do we know now that we didn't know then, or, you know, knowing what we know about this person now, you know, I don't really have a lesson for this, but Columbus, you know, Christopher Columbus for so long was, you know, he discovered America and now we know so much more about who he was as a person.
Yeah. and the genocide and all of the terrible things that he himself did. So history sometimes changes too. And so that's an interesting conversation also. That's, ooh, that's a great one too. Hmm. And that's something, as a student, I never would have even, it wouldn't have entered my mind that history changes. Like, history is history.
But that's such a great lesson for them to get, especially in that middle grades era when they're able to sort of start to see those connections and maybe think about how that impacts them. Hmm, boy. I didn't know Tituba had kind of disappeared into the annals of history there. Hmm, boy. interesting. had when I was when I was the high school librarian, I was reading a lot of the history books and one of the teachers was like, well, why do you have to to get rid of that?
Well, because some of them I was like, well, it says still says USSR like we need to update. And she was like, and she literally she actually said, well, history doesn't change. I was like. You BWAH! That's a great conversation to with your staff, Yeah. interesting. Yeah. Yeah. was like, well, actually, and that's when I brought up the USSR thing. I was like, look at this. And she was like, oh, OK. I was like, yeah, I can do my job. Thank you so much. That's a whole nother conversation.
Yeah. So have you, is this the first time you're doing that? You've done this lesson with the middle grades. This was the first one for, this year was my first one for the Salem Witch Trials, but I've done the Holocaust one. Yeah, and I did it last year and then with the high school. Yeah, because it started when, it started with night, because they would read night in 10th grade.
So I started it, which again, an English teacher had come to me and said, hey, we're doing this, like, what can you do? And I was like, got you, girl. I can do the in-depth. you know, more of the in-depth stuff that, you know, you guys are, you're working on the literature aspect. Let me give you the context and give you some more of that, you know, some, some more depth to your conversations.
One of the things I love about this lesson that you're sharing is that it's so adaptable for all the different levels of ability. it's, I mean, differentiation is just built right into it because you're storytelling and you're just engaging the students with their own knowledge and then providing them some information and continuing from there. So it's so infinitely adaptable and variable.
That's really a wonderful, I always think that's the hallmark of a great lesson when, You can give this to any group of students and it's still gonna, know, the bones of it are always gonna work. Yes, and that the kids want more after. Afterwards, there's always kids asking for, know, where, where's, would you have any books on the sandwich trials? Do you have any books on the Holocaust? Yes, they're right over here.
So when they're wanting to know more and to do their own research, that's also when I'm like, haha, I win. I got him. And that's, I mean, in my mind, that's feedback. Like, that's telling you this lesson is working, which is wonderful. Have you gotten any feedback from your teacher colleagues as you've been going through this? Have they had any notes to share like, you we saw this or, hey, next time we think about that or anything along those lines? think it's just as cool as the kids.
You know, cause I think that this is something that's more, hasn't really been seen there at this particular school. I think it was more of the come in, hear a story, which is there's nothing wrong with that. But yeah, that's the conversation was just like, wow, that was really cool. And I'm like, I know. That's awesome. So getting good feedback all around, which is great. If somebody was going to try and run forward with, especially you've shared the slides for your interactive Salem piece.
And if people were going to try and take that and run with it, do you have any suggestions or things they should be thinking about for the first time they're getting ready to run this? I would definitely say do a little bit of reading yourself. Again, lifelong Salem girly, we all have our thing. You're a Titanic girl or a pioneer girl. But yeah, I just, find it interesting. And I think that kind of helps with the lesson too.
If Salem is not your thing, find something that is your thing, and be able to, when the kids have those questions that you can answer it. or if they, if you decide to do it, if this isn't your thing, you know, well, I don't know, let's find out, let's, let's find that out together, which it's always super respect. you know, and, and, like, well, I'm not sure.
Why don't you go look that up and then come and let me know, you know, give them the research project of figuring it out and then being able to share with everybody what the answer to that question is. but yeah, cause it's just. I just find it so interesting. So I have done a lot of research just on these topics, which is again, how I kind of came up with it. Cause I'm like, well, I think this is fun. And you know, like they probably will too. But yeah, just find some.
yeah, I think that's an underutilized resource that it's easy to overlook is our own personal interests in stuff that we, it's almost like a hidden superpower because when you love something and you know all about it, you're ready to answer all the questions and share and help people get into it just like you're into it. And I think too often we sort of try and keep ourselves out of the lessons. And it's like, no. bring yourself into the lesson.
That's how you're gonna really bring the kids in, because they're gonna see your interest, they're gonna see your passion. Yes, they respond so well to your excitement and to your passion. Because think about like, what is a book talk if not like, my gosh, you guys, I love this book. You have to read this book. Every time a kid comes up and asks for a book recommendation, I ask them, well, what genre do you like? What kind of books do you like?
And then I find something that I've read that I can yell at them. I don't know if you heard my cat. hold up to them and say, my gosh, you are going to love this book. I cried at the end, you like you are just going to love this. And they always respond so well to it because it's like you're giving a little piece of yourself. Yes, absolutely. Well, I can't ask for a better transition than that. So we are now going to make our 90 degree turn into our book break.
So as we head into the book break, any kind of book or books you want to share that people might want to know about something that it could be personal, professional, whatever. What's something you want people to know is out there that they should get their eyes on. So the one the books that in my middle school library that so my kids are into spooky they love the scary they love the spooky and Lindsay Curry is an author that never misses She has several books and they're also based.
Maybe I just have a type They're also all based a little bit in history. She's from Chicago. So a lot of her She has one that's called scratch scratch where the the narrator's father works at, or he does like bus tours of Chicago and they, you know, somehow pick, you know, we're not gonna question, they somehow pick up a ghost. And so she has to find out where, like, who is this ghost? What happened? And then similarly, there's one that now I can't remember the name of, crap.
It's a Lindsay Currie title. It is a Lindsay Curry title. Hold on, I'm going to look it up. Pause for research. It Found Us. How did I forget? OK. Three, two, one. So there's another one called It Found Us that takes place in a graveyard. A group of kids are playing hide and seek in a cemetery, because why wouldn't you?
And one of the kids goes missing and is replaced with this ghost that whenever the ghost comes around, the ghost is kind of continuing this game of hide and seek with the living kids after the game is over. Hmm. smells smoke, they can like see all these things. And they when they're doing the research on, you know, who the kid is, it turns out that it was that there had been like a circus fire.
And again, at the end of her book, she'll have, you know, like the little historical aspect and the research that she did. And it's just so cool. And the kids love them. She also has one that's new called the mystery of locked rooms. That isn't spooky, but it's still a mystery. an escape room. there was kind of this escape room house, this mansion that these people had made. the legend says that there is a treasure in this house and the narrator's family, her father has lost his job.
They're going to have to move. So she wants to find this treasure to help her family out. And so that one was really good because not all the kids like the spooky, but most of them love the mystery. So that one was really good to say like, you know, you want a mystery, but you don't want ghosts or, you know, anything supernatural. This one is really great. So Lindsay Curry is a great middle grade author. Yeah. dig into that a little bit and see if I bring some titles back for my kids.
That sounds good. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for the book recommendation and for this wonderful lesson idea that we can use to connect with our history departments and with our students and hopefully get our students more engaged by some of that history that's out there. Yeah, because if we don't learn our history, we are doomed to repeat it. And that is, you know, one of the things I usually end it with is like, why is it important for us to talk about this?
Why do we, know, both of these, you know, all of these things, even I keep bringing up the Titanic, even the Titanic, these things are depressing. Like, why do we have to talk about this and learn about it? Because if you don't learn from it, these things will follow us. We're doomed to repeat it. So have those conversations with your kids, you know, challenge yourself. challenge the kids, you'll be pleasantly surprised, I think. Well, thank you so much, Rachel.
I truly appreciate you coming and sharing all this with us. Thank you. This was so much fun. Thank you for having me. It was so great to be on.