clair057

Over on the Facebook page for this blog I’ve been posting a series of pictures this week I’ve simply sourced as “Library of Congress”, but the source goes much deeper than that.   The pictures are wonderful depictions of world scenes beginning in the 1890s through the 1930s. I’ve featured some here. The collection was put together by Frank and Frances Carpenter, a father-daughter team, during their world travels. The photos were used to illustrate his writings regarding travel and his world geography textbooks. I love to snap pictures myself. Over the last five years I’ve taken approximately ten thousand photos, myself, but over his lifetime no telling how many photographs Frank Carter produced. The Library of Congress collection contains 5,400 photos in albums, 10,400 loose photos, and 7,000 glass and film negatives.     Frank Carpenter was a journalist whose assignments took him many interesting places.   Being a writing myself, I love the fact that he took his...

One of the maps available from The Atlas of True Names Take a look at the map I posted above.    Notice something strange?    This map is from The Atlas of True Names. This site….. The Atlas of True Names …..is a truly unique resource.   The website states its purpose is to reveal the etymological roots, or original meanings, of the familiar terms on today’s maps of the World, Europe, the British Isles and the United States……The ‘True Names’ of 3000 cities, countries, rivers, oceans and mountain ranges are displayed on these four fascinating maps, each of which includes a comprehensive index of derivations. You can read more about the site from The New York Times or from Spiegel Online .   Apparently these maps have been around since 2008, but I’m just now seeing them.   Yes, I know that’s hard to believe, but somehow I overlooked them. You can order the maps here . So, instead of me telling you how I would use them in the classroom…….....

I have this deep dark secret. I’ve never really shared it with anyone. My secret doesn’t exactly fit the image many have of me….the quiet unassuming married school marm who in the past has lugged home not just one but two large bags each night filled to capacity with papers to grade, materials to review and to plan lessons with, paperwork to complete, and an assortment of other effects that teachers just seem to accumulate. Teachers just have that image...always doing the right thing, always saying the right thing, always being where they are expected to be, but I have this desire… If I could….if the timing was right…..if I had the funds….if my health was better…..if I didn’t have so many obligations…if ….if….if….if….if… IF I actually had the nerve I would run away. Yes, you read that right. ElementaryHistoryTeacher would love to run away. The reason? Well, to travel, of course. I want to see and experience the world. I want to see the Great Pyramid, the Great Wall of China, and see...