For Educators

Georgia History FestivalEducational Resources and Opportunities

From Marshes to Mountains, Georgia’s Changing Landscape:
Geography, History, and Community


About the Georgia History Festival 2022 Focus of Study

The Georgia History Festival is the signature K-12 educational program of the Georgia Historical Society, reaching hundreds of thousands of students statewide. Beginning with the new school year in September, a variety of public programs, exhibits, events, and educational resources bring history to life for students of all ages and encourage Georgians to explore the richness and diversity of our state’s past. In addition to new online and in-person programming, the Festival includes popular annual events like the Colonial Faire and Muster living-history program held at Wormsloe State Historic Site, Savannah’s Georgia Day Parade, and the elegant Trustees Gala.

Each year, GHS selects a person or topic significant in Georgia's history as the focus of our educational programs and resources. The 2021-2022 focus of study will be, “From Marshes to Mountains, Georgia’s Changing Landscape: Geography, History, and Community.”

From online and in-person programs and events for the public, to new classroom resources and training opportunities for teachers, GHS will explore how land and our relationship to it have been crucial factors in creating social, cultural, economic, and political systems over time.

Georgia’s Westward Expansion Inquiry Kit for eighth grade Georgia Studies

A new inquiry kit from GHS poses the question “How did Georgia change during its period of westward expansion?”  Utilizing the Inquiry Design Model from C3 Teachers and Teaching with Primary Sources, students utilize historical markers and primary sources to identify factors that affected Georgia’s economic and political growth and westward expansion between 1789-1840.

View/download the Inquiry Kit pieces here:

Georgia's Westward Expansion Inquiry Kit Teacher Guide

Staging the Question: Understanding Historical Markers

Supporting Question 1: The Yazoo Land Fraud and Its Impact on Georgia

Supporting Question 2: Georgia's Five Capitals

Supporting Question 3: Georgia Moves West: Push and Pull Factors

Supporting Question 4: The Experiences of the Creek and Cherokee

Taking Informed Action: Create Your Own Historical Marker

 

Georgia History Festival Webinar Series:

Webinar: Using the Georgia’s Westward Expansion Inquiry Kit in the Classroom

October 14, 2021, 3:00 p.m.

For K-12 educators

GHS hosts a one-hour webinar featuring the new “Georgia’s Westward Expansion” student inquiry kit. Educators will be introduced to the Inquiry Design Model of instruction while examining a series of inquiry-based strategies and activities designed to facilitate student exploration of a curated set of primary sources.

Webinar: Hometown Stories on the National Stage: Using Local Resources to Teach US History

November 9, 2021

Partner Organization: Coastal Georgia Historical Society

Local stories detailing the unique histories in our communities and hometowns offer engaging windows into understanding the complexity and nuance of larger historical themes and events. Join GHS and the Coastal Georgia Historical Society (CGHS) in a one-hour webinar to discover how historical institutions bring local history to life for students, teachers, and the public.

Webinar: Georgia Day Statewide Art Contest: Theme, Resources, and Teaching Strategies

For K-12 educators

December 7, 2021, 3:00 p.m.

GHS and event partners host a one-hour informational webinar for teachers interested in the Georgia Day Statewide Art Contest. The webinar will provide an opportunity for teachers to ask questions, register for the contest, and learn how to use GHS resources to support teaching the contest theme, “Georgia’s People and Places.”

Webinar: Georgia Day Parade and Banner Competition: Theme, Resources, and Teaching Strategies

For K-12 educators

January 7, 2022, 3:00 p.m.

GHS hosts a one-hour informational webinar for teachers interested in the annual Georgia Day Parade and Banner Competition. The webinar will provide an opportunity for teachers to ask questions, register for the competition, and learn how to use GHS resources to support teaching the competition theme, “Georgia’s People and Places.”

“So, We Are Having an Event…”: Event Promotion for Historical Institutions: A Local History Webinar

February 17, 2022, 3:00 p.m.

Focusing on issues facing local history organizations across Georgia, this one-hour webinar features GHS staff in a discussion of resources and strategies for local event promotion both online and via traditional communication methods. This webinar will be beneficial for GHS Affiliate Chapters and other local history organizations hoping to expand their online reach and promote their events and programs to a wider audience.

 

Lisa LandersLisa Landers

Education Coordinator

Hello. Are you a parent or teacher with questions about participation in the Georgia History Festival? Please contact me at llanders@nullgeorgiahistory.com or 912.651.2125, ext. 152.
I look forward to assisting you.