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Local History and Government A Look into the Past of Jackson County This unit is designed to correlate with the 3rd grade North Carolina Standard Course of Study. "A Look into the Past of Jackson County" will increase children's understanding about community life in Jackson County through oral history. Back to Collection List American Women of Impact Throughout the course of history, women have struggled to craft their own place within American society and culture. Each woman profiled on this web site is a unique example of independence, determination, talent, and spirit. This web site will continuously be a work in progress as students continue to add biographical profiles of women they respect and admire. Through reading, researching, and gathering primary resources when possible, high school level students will explore the genre of biographical profiling. Writing is a significant key to learning and most of the activities associated with this web unit center around writing or literature. Back to Collection List Cherokees in Macon County History and Folklore Cherokees in Macon County History and Folklore Back to Collection List Clay County and the Nation in the 1930s This unit plan takes a look at the community history of Clay County, NC in the 1930s and the present through education, commerce, history, landscapes, and the arts. Back to Collection List Clay County, Then and Now: 1901-2001 – Jennifer Gibson This unit plan takes a look at the community history of Clay County, NC in the 1930s and the present through education, commerce, history, landscapes, and the arts. Back to Collection List Cross-Curriculum Scrapbook During this project, each fourth-grade student creates a scrapbook based on historic figures, places, and events in the history of Western North Carolina. This collaborative project involves the fourth grade and visual arts teachers, the media coordinator, and computer lab assistant. This project will focus on five areas: traditional mountain music and dance, the Cataloochee Valley, the Civil War in Western North Carolina, the Cherokee, and the Zebulon Vance Birthplace. Back to Collection List Daisy Zachary McGuire This project will explore the history of dentistry in Jackson County from the 1860's to present day dentistry in Jackson County. Back to Collection List Electrification of Clay County This unit will focus on the working of electricity, the light bulb and Lake Chatuge. Back to Collection List Four Generations of Appalachian Families This unit will focus on the comparison of families in the Appalachian Mountains. Back to Collection List Gem Mining Cowee Valley, located in Northern Macon County, in Franklin, North Carolina is an area rich with gem mines. Gem mining is a hobby and tourist attraction. Students will learn about the history of gem mining in Cowee Valley. Students will explore types of soil, rocks, map skills, cultural traditions, community interaction, and economic resources of this community in relationship to gem mining in our area. Back to Collection List Haywood County Career Choices This unit is designed to direct students on the path of a career choice for a promising future in the job world. To help students identify and search for their ideal career. To show them what type of jobs are a good match for them and what types of jobs they should avoid. To help them discover their strenghts, weaknesses, interests and capabilities. To give them insight and clarity into the fundamental nature of the careers that will work well for them. We will take them on an exciting journey through the past to the future to discover how their ancestors made their living. This journey will include past history and the present future of jobs and trades in Haywood County. This project was designed to work with grades second through twelfth grades. Back to Collection List Haywood County Communities Where have we been? Where are we now? Where are we going? Major changes have taken place over the last one hundred years. Some communities have grow, some have stayed the same, and some are no longer. This unit will focus on these changes and the impact that they have had in the lives of our families and friends. Back to Collection List Hiking Through History on Kephart Prong Through this website, teachers and students will be able to learn about the wider history of the region through examination of a particular watershed, Kephart Prong in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Back to Collection List Historical Tidbits of Cherokee County Cherokee Country holds a vast storehouse of historical knowledge awaiting the curious minds of those willing to explore. The Cherokee County's historical aspects that I would like to explore and examine are Cherokee County courthouses, handicrafts, schools, various points of interest, railroads, and notable people. My goal, through the exploration of these areas, even though on a small scale,is to open the minds of, and entice students to explore their heritage. The objective of this unit is to create such a desire in the students. Back to Collection List History of the Pigeon River This unit focuses on the study of the history of the Pigeon River in terms of geography, settling, economic development, biomes, and environmental concerns. Back to Collection List Impact of Hiwassee Dam on Cherokee County This is a unit of study designed to acquaint students with a working knowledge of local history, an understanding of man-made environmental changes, and the economic impact brought to this area through the building of Hiwassee Dam. Students will trace the steps of heartbroken families who were displaced, and recognize the strides made from the boom of employment and services. Back to Collection List Jackson County Local Government This project will explore the local government of Jackson County, NC. We will learn about the history, organization, and present day governmental system of the county as we study local governments in general. Back to Collection List Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest This project is a sixth grade mathematics unit which integrates the history of Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest and utilizes resources from the Library of Congress. Back to Collection List Lake Chatuge This project is a series of digitized story problems which reinforce fifth grade math competencies while giving students a broad overview of our lake. As students work through the series of problems they will learn the history of our lake, the current uses of the lake and gain a feel for our future with the lake. Back to Collection List Life in Swain County at Proctor and Hazel Creek The content area of study will encompass the disciplines of social studies, reading, math, and computer technology. The scope of the unit is to acquaint the students with their cultural heritage by comparing and contrasting pioneer life in Swain County to the changes that have occurred over a period of time. The concepts will be taught in the third grade from the N.C. Standard Course of Study. Back to Collection List Local Franklin Community of Burningtown This instruction includes study of the history of the Western North Carolina, Macon County, and more specifically the adjoining communities within the town of Franklin known as "Burningtown," "Cowee" and "Tellico". Back to Collection List Logging Communities of Swain County The project covers three main themes: a) logging communities b) resources of the region and c) environmental impacts of logging on the region. Back to Collection List Macon County Cherokee Heritage This unit focuses on the presence of a large ancient Cherokee Indian village which was located in Cowee Valley, a community in Franklin, North Carolina. The lesson is integrated into Language Arts, Social Studies, Physical Education and Art. Narrative writing is also part of the plan as an important focus in Fourth Grade. Back to Collection List Mountain Crafts and Traditions This unit is designed for 4th graders studying North Carolina history. Students will explore aspects of mountain life around the turn of the century as well as aspects of mountain life today and assess changes to crafts and traditions over time. Students will be active participants in quilting, carving, cooking, blacksmithing, singing, dancing, soap-making, and other craft activities. Back to Collection List Our North Carolina Mountains and The People Who Have Lived Here This unit is designed to give 4th and 5th grade students an understanding of the rich, diverse history of the North Carolina mountains and the people who have called these mountains home. Students will gain an appreciation for the mountain ecosystem, the Cherokee culture, and the impact of the European settlers Back to Collection List Pioneering Communities A major theme for young children is communities. To help students gain a better understanding of their communities, I feel looking at communities of the past is both interesting and informative. During our study, we will look at earlier settlers in our area. We will investigate things like houses, transportation, clothing, cooking, work and play. We will invite older family members or people from our community to come into the classroom and share pictures, artifacts and stories. We will collect artifacts for a classroom museum and plan to visit our local historical museum and the Foxfire exhibits in Mtn. City, Ga. Back to Collection List Pioneering Days in Highlands This project will consist of a four week journey back into the pioneering days of a small mountain town, Highlands, NC. After taking an in depth look at the establishment of the Highlands area, students will then begin a historical journey in which the daily life of a typical pioneer family will be examined. Roles of both males and females, housing, economic factors, and artifacts will all be researched to help students grasp a strong understanding of life of a pioneer. Schools, churches and modes of transportation will also be traced. This unit will allow students to savor in the entertainment resources used, and it will allow them to have enjoyment as they learn about the beginning of their hometown. This unit will end with a look at Highlands today; we will compare our knowledge of life today with life of a Highlander during the late 1800's to early 1900s. Back to Collection List Pioneers of Western North Carolina Students in a home school setting will compare the pioneer period and the present; therefore, there will be a greater opportunity for students to go on field trips and explore hands-on activities. The focus will be on Franklin, North Carolina, but the information can be used to study other areas in Western North Carolina. A Pioneer Sampler will be used as the primary textbook. Back to Collection List Prominent Figures in the Appalachian Mountains This unit involves the study of different societies, cultures and people by utilizing literature. Back to Collection List The Copper Mine at Eagle Creek The story of the copper mine that evolved along the banks of Eagle Creek in what is now the Fontana Lake Reservoir and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Back to Collection List The History of Removal in Swain County This is a project whereby fourth graders examine three events in the history of Swain County in which people were relocated - the formation of the National Park, the construction of Fontana Dam, and the Trail of Tears. Back to Collection List The Hooper Bald Project No bald in the Southern Appalachians has a more improbable history than Hooper. In the more than 130 years of white-man history, it has been reachable only by foot, horse, wagon, or jeep. Yet it had the first bathtubs in Graham County. The first Angus cattle in Western North Carolina fattened on its wild grass. Fourteen Russian wild boars arrived there in 1912 and the problems and pleasures caused by their progeny will make Hooper Bald remembered for generations. Back to Collection List The North Shore and the Road to Nowhere This project is about a promise made by the federal government to Swain County, NC, to complete a road to replace access restricted by the formation of Fontana Lake. This promise has yet to be fulfilled. Back to Collection List Timber in Haywood County This unit includes study and lecture on the history of the timber industry, student interviews and technological research on past heritage and knowledge of the lumber industry, a look at animals and possible impacts logging may have had on their habitats, and culminates with students making recycled paper. Back to Collection List Where I Am From: A Journey of Self-Discovery This is a semester long unit plan that gives students the opportunity to discover their heritage and make connections between their past and their present. Students will also examine the effects of the Depression on Clay County, NC and the nation, and will read Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Students will create a writing keepsake which details their self discovery and reflection. Back to Collection List