The Madison County Herald from Canton, Mississippi • Page 13

MOCRALD.COM THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2003 THE MADISON COUNTY HERALD SB Our GlQSsrooms IMs going on in oor schools 'Trades Onir Trace' Local students produce booklet, video on historical landmark vv AUaWWaW leW. md JUm-4 Mae Hnhea ire- 3 nnrnL(, A I iirmL By Lucy Weber Iweber9mcberal4.com MADISON Madison Middle School students are sharing information they learned in their own backyard with students across the state. Eighth-grade students spent this year learning about the nearby Natchez Trace Parkway. They produced a literary magazine full of artwork, poems, historical narratives and useful information about the winding roadway. They also produced a video NTV, Natchez Trace Television" and a Web site.

American history teacher Tom Watts directed the Tracing Our Trace project under a $15,000 grant from the National Geographic Society. "We're only a mile from the Natchez Trace," Watts said, yet students knew very little about the road that is part of the National Park Service and an important piece of Mississippi history. Watts said he asked students before the project, and some didn't know the Natchez Trace ran through Madison County. "I wanted kids to learn more about this great national treasure and what it has done for our region," he said. "So many historical events occurred along it." Copies of the magazine and video have been mailed to the 997 public schools in the state that teach Mississippi or American history.

"Throughout Mississippi, they'll see our products," he Mid. "What school did this? It wasn't Clinton. It wasn't Tishomingo. It was Madison Middle School. "The individuals I've told about it are real excited.

We're hoping that this will draw interest and help other school realize how close they are to the Trace." Jtlf WorWy ThaHM Madison Middle School students (from left) Kingsley Permenter, Yunha Rim and Jamaa Redd prepare Natchez Trace video tapes and booklets for mailing to schools throughout Mississippi. Some of the students' artwork is shown at right comprising the front and back cover of the booklet entitled "Tracing Our Trace." being 48 pages. Watts uid. "It turned out much better than expected," he said. "I'm amazed at bow much talent there is at Madison Middle School" The video was written and performed by Ann Campbell's gifted class.

The 20-minute video, which had a filmmaker a consultant, bad students filming, editing and producing. The video offers a fun look at the history by mixing news segments, an original music video by the Natchez Trace Chicks and a segment on robbers on the parkway called The Outlaw Hunter." The Web site can be accessed by going through the school's computer link at www.madi-son.kl2.ms.usmms.htm. Before the concentrated study on the Natchez Trace, Watts uid the school library didn't contain one book dedicated to the topic. With the grant, he said each social studies clau now has a 30-volume set a resource for students to use when teachers start discussing the late 1700s and early 1800s in American history. "Now, we've got something to teach on the Natchez Trace," Watts uid.

Watts uid he worked on project funding through grants before when he wu in the military and working at the Pentagon. "I've worked with $100 million projects, but this was probably the most rewarding thing I've ever done." With the Natchez Trace project over, Watts uid he's likely to tackle another project. "I'd love to do it again, maybe with another historical event in Mississippi, our region or Madison," he uid. "In American history, we talk about Washington, DC. or the West, but we want students to know that in Madison County just as much exciting history has happened as anywhere else." mm MvTka at itTMmgwro mmm 1 (ana I cmm, tnaiawv MM A (a oa tm Ma a I I 1W at i back to us and we can see if we can make improvements," he uid.

The Natchez Trace study mainly concentrated on the 30 miles or so that the roadway winds through Madison County, Watts uid. The local segment goes from Brashear's Stand to the Upper Choctaw Boundary. At the first of the school year, the majority of eighth-graders wouldn't have known that a "stand" was what an inn was called on the Trace, Watts uid. All the students were given a 10-queslion test before the project started to determine what they knew about the Trace, he uid. "On average, most had about groups." said Brock, who visited the middle school twice to present programs to the students.

As part of the eighth-grade history curriculum, the teachers have always discussed the Natchez Trace but not as indrpth as they did this year with the emphasis from the grant. Watts uid. "I wanted the kids to learn more about it," he said. Watts uid he wants to find out how other school use the video, magazine or Web site to teach about the Natchez Trace by sending out a survey along with the materials. "They can send (the survey) nMI Sm Oat fNjMt mt: one or two questions right," Watt uid.

A test at the end of this school year showed the students had increased their knowledge of the Trace. Most students had 80-90 percent of the questions answered correctly, Watts uid. The Tracing Our Trace" project involved all the eighth-grade teachers. They did art, science, reading and writing, history and geography projects," Watts uid. The literary magazine, edited under the direction of teacher Beth Kellogg, wu supposed to be 24 pages but there wu so much good material that it ended up DEE tteo PM CMTMII aaaa IMWdQvOTIHB IOOOaCt a- MM I trort mm-h ca so aim 0mf an KM Mlllif wmmmmmmmm -I tt Caa Pkm xj Of UVIMO OIMtrTaMaMa fujQ .11.

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