NAMA Notebook Beginning

Welcome to the premier of the NAMA Notebook and (happy American Education Week). National Mall and Memorial Parks has so many resources for educators that it can be overwhelming, even for the rangers! This is our attempt to share curriculum ideas and best practices with each other.Coming off some challenging school years has given us some time to reflect and assess where we are as a park education program. While we look forward to more in-person field trips, we can celebrate the technology that allows for virtual programs. I can hear the groans from teachers who don’t want to consider another online session. But at National Mall and Memorial Parks, we recognized the value of reaching out beyond the physical park borders to meet students who may not have the chance to visit because of the distance.

I won’t forget the excitement and questions we got from students in suburban Los Angeles, fascinated by the Civil War stories we shared or the Chicago students who talked about our virtual visit long after I disconnected. While it can never replace standing in the spot where Dr. King stood to deliver his famous speech or looking up to the top of the Washington Monument, these experiences provide a chance for students to interact with a park ranger, get their questions answered and maybe be inspired to learn more or encourage a family vacation.

We worked hard to also keep relationships going with our local schools, who we couldn’t always visit in person. I was particularly exciting when a teacher wrote last year that after our virtual field trip, two students reported that they had visited the park with their families over the weekend. These first graders were so inquisitive that we needed a second virtual visit, this time with the park’s architect to answer all their questions about the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

Now that the school year is well underway, I think about a special program that was done for years before the pandemic. Washington, D.C. fourth graders from Janney Elementary School made it a tradition to start each year with a visit to the Lincoln Memorial. August 28 marks the anniversary of the March on Washington, which brought Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., among many speakers to the Lincoln Memorial to talk about jobs and freedom. These teachers use that event to start a conversation about the students’ dreams for the new school year. When they visit the park, each child shares his or her dream, while standing at a podium and microphone in the exact location where Dr. King shared his dream. This activity connects these students, who may have visited the Lincoln Memorial before, to the historic event that occurred here. It reinforces the power of place, as students recognize they are now part of that historic space, having spoken there too. After a picnic in the park, students usually visit the nearby Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial before heading back to school. Look forward to bringing this tradition back one day soon.

I will never forget the first year this school came out to do this program was on the actual anniversary, August 28. The teacher was determined to make this happen, even though the date fell within the first few days of the school year. She arranged the permission slips before school had started and coordinated the trip using public transportation for about 100 fourth graders and chaperones. As they were cleaning up their picnic lunches, the teacher lined everyone up, calling them off by number, as she had not yet learned all their names that early in the school year.This is one example of the many school students who come to National Mall and Memorial Parks each year to enhance their curriculum and connect what they are learning in school to real-world situations. This park has so many opportunities, whether in person or virtually, to engage students in all subjects.

We are eager to share suggestions for your students and look forward to hearing your great ideas for incorporating National Mall and Memorial Parks into your classroom. Let’s start the conversation here in the NAMA Notebook.

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• National Mall and Memorial Parks

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