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The counties of the Tennessee Valley are featured. This is where I started the class, thus its title.

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These slides highlight the counties in the Appalachian Highlands.

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I use PastPort as a guide for what areas to highlight, counties to include, and stories to cover.

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PastPort Education Guide

Use lesson plans designed to accompany the Alabama Bicentennial PastPort and download PDF copies of the PastPort for use in your classrooms.

Designed as a guide to Alabama's historic destinations, the Alabama Bicentennial PastPort is a passport to the past. Presented by the Alabama Bicentennial Commission and co-sponsors Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc., Airbus, Verizon, and Alabama NewsCenter, the PastPort encourages people of all ages to explore every corner of the state. The guide features destinations-including historic sites, museums, and landmarks-in each of Alabama's 67 counties combined with historical information and beautifully designed original artwork.

The lesson plans in this PastPort Education Guide were developed by Dr. Lesa Roberts for teachers to use along with the PastPort in teaching students about historical sites in all regions of Alabama. To download the education guide, click the red button below. To download sections of the Alabama Bicentennial PastPort in PDF form, click the corresponding region links below. The PastPort can also be downloaded as a free, interactive mobile app complete with additional content provided by the Encyclopedia of Alabama on your mobile devices.
PastPort Education Guide
For more information about the Alabama Bicentennial PastPort, click here.

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Use lesson plans designed to accompany the Alabama Bicentennial PastPort and download PDF copies of the PastPort for use in your classrooms. Designed as a guide to Alabama's historic destinations, the Alabama Bicentennial PastPort is a passport to the past. Presented by the Alabama Bicentennial Commission and co-sponsors Mercedes-Benz U.S.

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This book has stories that enhance my slides.

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Kelly Kazek's book also contains interesting stories to include with my slides. She has agreed to come and speak to our class in October.

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We had limited success but lots of fun making rockets when we learned about the Saturn V rocket and Huntsville's role in the space program.

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How To Make a Matchbox Rocket Launching Kit

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This book has information I have used to round out my slides, as well as pages for students to color. We colored the one for Shelby County.

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We visited the Alabama 200 Exhibit when it came to town. We also visited the GeoDome at Birmingham Southern

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The Meyer Planetarium at BSC, which was an integral part of Birmingham's fabric until it closed in 2009, will be reborn this year as a high-tech video presentation of Alabama's natural wonders. The college's Southern Environmental Center (SEC), which has designed, created, and found funding for the project, hopes to open the new Geodome Visual Arts Theatre in the spring of 2018.

The Geodome will be the first of its kind in Alabama, and will be utilized by as many as 10,000 schoolchildren and community organizations that currently visit the SEC's Interactive Museum and EcoScape Garden on campus, said SEC Director Roald Hazelhoff.

"We are excited to offer area children and others this incredible new resource for learning about Alabama's geography, ecology, and place on the planet," Hazelhoff said. "This is a great way for BSC to fulfill its mission of encouraging all members of our community to engage with the wider world and for the SEC to take its educational outreach to the next level."

Inspired in part by immersive experiences like the Soarin' ride at Disney's Epcot Center, the Geodome will use interactive 4K videos that blend GIS mapping, drone footage, and more to allow visitors to travel from Birmingham to the Gulf of Mexico along Alabama's waterways to learn more about the state's ecology without leaving their stadium seats. Another focus will be on educating school children on their local geography, an important factor in weather and emergency awareness, Hazelhoff said.

Inside the building, the former star chamber will be reconfigured into a 46-seat theater. High resolution 4k equipment will project on a giant floating screen, with sound provided by an IMAX-quality sound system.

Future plans call for an indoor-outdoor event venue and a lower level virtual classroom. The SEC plans to draw on the work of BSC students-especially those majoring in Media and Film Studies, Urban Environmental Studies, Education, and Creative and Applied Computing-to enrich the program.

The Geodome was created with generous funding from a number of donors, including EBSCO Industries, Elton Stephens Jr., the Stephens Foundation, the Robert Meyer Foundation, and Margaret (Peggy) Monaghan. Its launch comes as Birmingham-Southern celebrates "100 Years on the Hilltop," a commemoration of the 1918 merger of the college's two parent schools in Birmingham.

To learn more about visiting the Geodome, visit www.bsc.edu/sec.
About Birmingham-Southern College:
Birmingham-Southern College is a four-year, private liberal arts institution in Birmingham, Ala., founded in 1856 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It enrolls some 1,300 students from more than 34 states and 9 foreign countries. Learn more online at www.bsc.edu.
About the Southern Environmental Center:
The Southern Environmental Center (SEC) is the largest educational facility of its kind in Alabama, dedicated to showing individuals how they can protect and improve their local environments. Its programs include the award-winning Interactive Museum and the Hugh Kaul EcoScape garden on the campus of Birmingham-Southern College, its EcoScape program is nationally recognized as a model for urban revitalization; and the SEC co-manages the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, home to three federally endangered species of fish.

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The Meyer Planetarium at BSC, which was an integral part of Birmingham's fabric until it closed in 2009, will be reborn this year as a high-tech video presentation of Alabama's natural wonders. The college's Southern Environmental Center (SEC), which has designed, created, and found funding for the project, hopes to open the new Geodome Visual Arts Theatre in the spring of 2018.

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The main resource I have used for this class is The Story of Alabama by Virginia Van der Veer Hamilton. Publisher is Viewpoint Publications, Inc.

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We played the Mississippian game of Chunkey.  In lieu of a clay disc and spears, we used what we could find easily without fear of accidental impalement: a two-pound weight and rulers taped together.

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The books we will have read include The Gold Disc of Coosa by Virginia Pounds Brown, 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey by Kathryn Tucker Windham and Margaret Gillis Figh, Go South to Freedom by Frye Gaillard, and The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis.  All of these are available at Amazon.com.

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We made our own gorgets using quick-dry clay available at Wal-Mart.

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This video and website were helpful as we made our own gorgets.

https://smarthistory.org/mississippian-gorget/

http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1130

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We listened to Kathryn Tucker Windham read some of her tales from 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey and collected some ghost tales of our own.  The author's  recordings are available on the NPR website at the following link.

https://www.npr.org/2014/10/31/360337448/spine-tingling-with-a-twang-great-alabama-ghost-stories

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We watched several videos of Alabamians reciting verses from Walt Whitman's Song of Myself on filmmaker Jennifer Crandall's website Whitman, Alabama.

https://whitmanalabama.com

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We discussed various local artists, cartoonists, filmmakers, and musicians using information found on the website  http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/.

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We will incorporate Alabama Bicentennial Breakout EDU games available at the Alabama200 website.

http://alabama200.org/educators/lesson-plans-and-activities/breakout-edu-games/

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Based on Alabama Indians the students created their own unique tribes.

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We collaborated to create a notebook project unique (to our class) that covered the semester.

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We are having our students create a notebook that has information about Alabama's symbols, land features, and interesting facts.

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Alabama Word Search Puzzle
Can you find all the vocabulary words in the interactive word find puzzle that are associated with Alabama? Hundreds of games in one! The words you search for change each time you play the puzzle. Game is printable if you want to play with paper and pencil or use for vocabulary dictionary skills. The puzzle will contain ten words chosen at random from the following list:
Aaron, AL, Ala, Alabama, Auburn, Birmingham, Carver, Chickasaw, Choctaw, coal, Cole, Confederate, cotton, corn, creek, cross, Davis, Decatur, Desoto, Dixie, Dothan, Gadsden, Hoover, Huntsville, iron, Keller, King, limestone, Mays, Mobile, Montgomery, peanuts, Riley, soybeans, steel, Tuscaloosa, Tuskegee, Yellowhammer

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Alabama Unit of Study - Learning Games, Printables, Activities for Kids | Alabama Symbols

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Alabama Word Search Puzzle Can you find all the vocabulary words in the interactive word find puzzle that are associated with Alabama? Hundreds of games in one! The words you search for change each time you play the puzzle. Game is printable if you want to play with paper and pencil or use for vocabulary dictionary skills.

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The Sloss Speaker’s Bureau brings the history, importance, and story of Sloss Furnaces to you!

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Bring the Stories of Sloss to You!

The Sloss Speaker's Bureau brings the history, importance, and story of Sloss Furnaces to you! Our Curator and Historian at Sloss Furnaces, Karen Utz, can speak on a number of topics to fit your needs. Whether you need a presentation for your library, organization, luncheon, or any other kind of event or gathering, the Sloss Speaker's Bureau brings an interesting and educational experience to wherever you are. Some presentations include:

Sloss Furnaces: The Industrial Evolution of Birmingham's Iron Plantation

A Sense of Place: Like It Ain't Never Passed (African-American Life in Sloss Quarters)

The Role of the Convict Leasing System in the State of Alabama

Man Food: Recipes from Pig Iron Rough Notes Magazine, 1928-1950

Spirit of Steel: Music of the Mines, Mills, and Railroads of the Birmingham District (History of African-American Labor Music)

Tuxedo Junction: Alabama Contribution to American Jazz

The Haunting of Sloss Furnaces

In addition, we can host these talks at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark if your group would like to visit us.

Rather than hosting a generic event or gathering, make it unforgettable with one of our fun and informative presentations. We can even tailor the material to make it especially relevant to your location, group, or event. So contact us today to find out exactly how we can help you!

For more information about these topics or to book a presentation, contact Karen Utz at (205) 254-2281 or email karen.utz@birminghamal.gov.

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Bring the Stories of Sloss to You! The Sloss Speaker's Bureau brings the history, importance, and story of Sloss Furnaces to you! Our Curator and Historian at Sloss Furnaces, Karen Utz, can speak on a number of topics to fit your needs.

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"Just a weird news reporter, reporting weird newsJust a weird news reporter, reporting weird news"--Kelly Kazek is author of many books, including the book used as one of the resource for the slides in our class, Forgotten Takes of Alabama.

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NEW! INVITE BIGFOOT: If you invite me to come speak on southern oddities and legends, you can also hire "Bigfoot" (Sweetums in his Bigfoot suit) to join in the fun for an additional fee.

SPECIAL BOOK CLUB OFFER: Free author visit with purchases of my new book "Not Quite Right: Mostly True Tales of a Weird News Reporter."

Have you been looking for an upbeat read for your next book club selection? If you think your group would enjoy reading and discussing my new humor book, "Not Quite Right: Mostly True Tales of a Weird News Reporter," I have a special offer for you.

Book club members will receive a discount on orders of multiple books: Orders of up to 5 copies of NQR will receive a 15 percent discount; orders of 6-25 books will receive a 20 percent discount and orders of 26 or more will receive a 25 percent discount.

If book clubs with more than six members order copies at full price, I will come visit your group when you host your discussion after you finish reading. I will come at no cost up to a 90-minute drive from my home (I am in Huntsville, Alabama, so as far as Birmingham or cities in all directions into Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi). If you are more than a 90-minute drive away, I would charge a small stipend, just enough to cover travel expenses.

Other topics
I often speak to church groups, civic clubs, classrooms, historical societies and all kinds of organizations. Sometimes I speak on a topic from one of my books, or I can give a humorous talk. The type of talk determines if there is a fee, but any fees are nominal.

Some topics include:

The Quirky World We Live In. Do you know how many Stonehenge replicas are there in the U.S.? Or where the World's Largest Catsup Bottle is located? Or who was Mrs. Jack the Ripper? Anything and everything is on the table for discussion, from roadside attractions to mysterious tales.

The Quirky South. A regional take on quirkiness that includes roadside oddities across the south, origins of southern phrases and outsider art, among other things.

Historic Properties. Have you ever wondered the story behind abandoned historic asylums that dot the south? Or about quirky sites like the Spaceship House or the haunted Jekyll Island Millionaires' Club? Ask, and I can answer.

Odd Travels. This presentation includes discussions and photos of fun roadside attractions across Alabama.

What You Didn't Learn in Alabama History Class. This can be done in the "straight" or quirky versions, with straight history being little-known facts about Alabama during its "Wild West" days, during the Revolutionary War, towns flooded to create lakes and more, and quirky history including the tale of Mrs. Jack the Ripper, the Wolf Woman of Mobile and ghost towns.

Just about any variation of any theme on roadside attractions and fun history.

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NEW! INVITE BIGFOOT: If you invite me to come speak on southern oddities and legends, you can also hire "Bigfoot" (Sweetums in his Bigfoot suit) to join in the fun for an additional fee. SPECIAL BOOK CLUB OFFER: Free author visit with purchases of my new book "Not Quite Right: Mostly True Tales of a Weird News Reporter."

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Find resources for maps, games, and information.

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We will share some of the resources we have used for our Bicentennial Class. These resources can be used anytime for teaching Alabama history, but with the bicentennial, more than usual has become available. Enjoy!

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Slides that highlight the counties of the Fall Line Hills.