Posted inThe Pitch, Uncategorized

WyoHistory.org debuts new education package

WyoHistory.org debuts new education package

(Press release) — Online encyclopedia WyoHistory.org presents a new education package especially for students, teachers and others who enjoy learning more about the state’s history. The package includes lively articles on nine historic sites on the Oregon Trail in Wyoming enhanced with interactive maps, extensive photo galleries, videos of inquisitive fourth graders touring the sites, field-trip lesson plans for teachers and quizzes for students.

Visit WyoHistory.org
Visit WyoHistory.org

Visitors to WyoHistory.org can access the new package linked prominently near the top of the home page, www.wyohistory.org.

WyoHistory.org Editor Tom Rea and Designer Steve Foster created the easy-to-navigate instructional package by working with Natrona County and Casper College educators, students and museum professionals, and using up-to-date mapping information drawn from public sources with the help of the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office.

Rea notes that all Wyoming fourth graders study the Oregon Trail. He said he hopes the resource will make the trails even more attractive to them, their teachers, their families—and anyone else interested in Wyoming’s past.

“The great thing about the Oregon Trail in Wyoming,” Rea says, “is that so much of it still looks like it did in the 1850s,” when traffic on the trail was at its peak. “The space, distance and landscapes on the trails help bring history alive for students of all ages,” he adds.

He says he hopes the maps, directions, photos, videos and lesson plans will help more teachers find time to take kids on field trips on the trails — always a challenge as schools ask teachers to do more and more with each available day.

All of the lesson plans offer notes for elementary, middle and high-school teachers on how the plans address specific requirements in the Wyoming State Social Studies Standards at each of those levels.

High school students from Star Lane Center in Casper created the videos by filming and interviewing elementary students when they toured sites like Fort Laramie, the Guernsey Ruts, Fort Caspar, Independence Rock, Martin’s Cove, South Pass and Fort Bridger.

The WyoHistory.org website, a project of the Wyoming State Historical Society, has been on line since 2011 and officially launched in March 2013. The Wyoming State Historical Society is a nonprofit membership organization approaching its 61st birthday. For more information, contact Rea at (307) 277-3275 or email editor@wyohistory.org.

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Posted inThe Pitch, Uncategorized

WyoHistory.org debuts new education package

WyoHistory.org debuts new education package

(Press release) — Online encyclopedia WyoHistory.org presents a new education package especially for students, teachers and others who enjoy learning more about the state’s history. The package includes lively articles on nine historic sites on the Oregon Trail in Wyoming enhanced with interactive maps, extensive photo galleries, videos of inquisitive fourth graders touring the sites, field-trip lesson plans for teachers and quizzes for students.

Visit WyoHistory.org
Visit WyoHistory.org

Visitors to WyoHistory.org can access the new package linked prominently near the top of the home page, www.wyohistory.org.

WyoHistory.org Editor Tom Rea and Designer Steve Foster created the easy-to-navigate instructional package by working with Natrona County and Casper College educators, students and museum professionals, and using up-to-date mapping information drawn from public sources with the help of the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office.

Rea notes that all Wyoming fourth graders study the Oregon Trail. He said he hopes the resource will make the trails even more attractive to them, their teachers, their families—and anyone else interested in Wyoming’s past.

“The great thing about the Oregon Trail in Wyoming,” Rea says, “is that so much of it still looks like it did in the 1850s,” when traffic on the trail was at its peak. “The space, distance and landscapes on the trails help bring history alive for students of all ages,” he adds.

He says he hopes the maps, directions, photos, videos and lesson plans will help more teachers find time to take kids on field trips on the trails — always a challenge as schools ask teachers to do more and more with each available day.

All of the lesson plans offer notes for elementary, middle and high-school teachers on how the plans address specific requirements in the Wyoming State Social Studies Standards at each of those levels.

High school students from Star Lane Center in Casper created the videos by filming and interviewing elementary students when they toured sites like Fort Laramie, the Guernsey Ruts, Fort Caspar, Independence Rock, Martin’s Cove, South Pass and Fort Bridger.

The WyoHistory.org website, a project of the Wyoming State Historical Society, has been on line since 2011 and officially launched in March 2013. The Wyoming State Historical Society is a nonprofit membership organization approaching its 61st birthday. For more information, contact Rea at (307) 277-3275 or email editor@wyohistory.org.

Leave a comment

WyoFile's goal is to provide readers with information and ideas that foster constructive conversations about the issues and opportunities our communities face. One small piece of how we do that is by offering a space below each story for readers to share perspectives, experiences and insights. For this to work, we need your help.

What we're looking for: 

  • Your real name — first and last. 
  • Direct responses to the article. Tell us how your experience relates to the story.
  • The truth. Share factual information that adds context to the reporting.
  • Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the reporting or other commenters.
  • Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
  • No more than three comments per story, including replies. 

What we block from our comments section, when we see it:

  • Pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish, and we expect commenters to do the same by using their real name.
  • Comments that are not directly relevant to the article. 
  • Demonstrably false claims, what-about-isms, references to debunked lines of rhetoric, professional political talking points or links to sites trafficking in misinformation.
  • Personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats.
  • Arguments with other commenters.

Other important things to know: 

  • Appearing in WyoFile’s comments section is a privilege, not a right or entitlement. 
  • We’re a small team and our first priority is reporting. Depending on what’s going on, comments may be moderated 24 to 48 hours from when they’re submitted — or even later. If you comment in the evening or on the weekend, please be patient. We’ll get to it when we’re back in the office.
  • We’re not interested in managing squeaky wheels, and even if we wanted to, we don't have time to address every single commenter’s grievance. 
  • Try as we might, we will make mistakes. We’ll fail to catch aliases, mistakenly allow folks to exceed the comment limit and occasionally miss false statements. If that’s going to upset you, it’s probably best to just stick with our journalism and avoid the comments section.
  • We don’t mediate disputes between commenters. If you have concerns about another commenter, please don’t bring them to us.

The bottom line:

If you repeatedly push the boundaries, make unreasonable demands, get caught lying or generally cause trouble, we will stop approving your comments — maybe forever. Such moderation decisions are not negotiable or subject to explanation. If civil and constructive conversation is not your goal, then our comments section is not for you. 

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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