Civil War Sallie Visited Room 224

Hi,

The following post was written by Ms. Naugle and posted on her blog about my visit to her classroom. Hope you enjoy -- Sallie

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I attend an online webinar every Saturday morning from the comfort of my sofa usually while still in my pj's and enjoying a good cup of coffee. I have learned so much about technology and Web 2.0 tools while attending theseClassroom 2.0 Livesessions.

The show on January 16th was titled "Civil War Sallie Technology Projects-Special Guest: Sarah and Jim Beeghley". (The entire session is archived here.) Sarah is a sixth grader from Carlisle, Pennsylvania who started a Educational Follow Me Project. She took her passion - the Civil War- and created Civil War Sallie. Sallie is a teddy bear that travels around to different Civil War battlefields, museums, and classrooms. Sarah, or should I say Sallie, maintains a blog, a wiki, and a Twitter account where she keeps everyone updated about her travels. After attending the session I decided to sign up to get Sallie to visit our classroom.

This huge box arrived at school Wednesday morning, January 27. Inside that box was Civil War Sallie and a ton of Civil War information. My students were all excited to meet her and read her accompanying information. They loved checking out all of the pins that she wears or carries in her knapsack. They took turns taking her to their other classes and home at night. On Saturday, February 1, two of my students and their families met me and Civil War Sallie at the Civil War Museum in New Orleans. The museum presented Sallie with a special pin and took photos of all of us to put in their newsletter. Dionne and Sabrina and Sallie had fun taking pictures, learning from the exhibits, and shopping for keepsakes at the gift shop.



Sallie even became an honorary member of the Who Dat Nation at our school's pep rally where we all cheered for our Saints football team to win the Super Bowl (which they did). Sadly the visit had come to an end, and it was time to send Sallie on to her next stop. She was headed to Mrs. Blazosky's 1st grade classroom in Clarion, Pennsylvania. (I know Tracy Blazosky through my online training with Discovery.) My students and I are glad we had a chance to be a part of this unique educational opportunity. Thank you, Sarah for your inspiring work.