Embedded Files
After their expeditions, Grosvenor Teacher Fellows inspire and involve their students in impact projects and outreach programs that center geographic education.
Storytelling for Impact, Part I
The first story I had to write was one about my experience on the expedition using only 5 photos, a real challenge. I decided to write a story called "Silent Stones Speak" about the stories that inanimate objects tell.
Storytelling for Impact, Part II
This part was easy - I had to choose a format for telling the story of my expedition. That's this Website! I hope it will be helpful to teachers who are looking for information about applying to be a GTF. But more importantly, I hope this page shows the impact my expedition and fellowship have had on my students.
Impact Projects
THE ROMAN SHOE PROJECT
Archaeological artifacts spark so many questions in my students and me. Whom did they belong to? How were they made? With what tools? What kind of lives did those makers live? What stories do those makers have to tell? Inspired by the ancient Roman shoes I saw at the archaeological site of Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall, at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow, Scotland, and at the British Museum in London, England (places I visited on my expedition), I developed a project for my students that would guide them in learning about ancient Romans as they walked "in their shoes." Using National Geographic's Explorer Mindset, my students used geographic perspectives, problem solving, and curiosity to design and craft their own pairs of Roman leather shoes.
A Roman technology student at Glasgow Middle models the leather shoes she crafted while standing on the Roman road a previous class built.
You can read more about the project concept here. I wrote extensively about the project on my blog (all posts are linked below):
1. Stepping into Hands-On History
2. Baby Steps with Bullae
3. A Guest Speaker from Left Field
4. SHOEperstars!!
5. The HEELing Art of Shoemaking
6. Digital Footprints, the Sources for this Project
7. Worn Down
In May of 2025, I presented our project and research at an international conference focused on experimental archaeology. Here's my recorded presentation.
HANDS-ON HISTORY: WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS
Inspired my experience with this fellowship, I have proposed (and will officially be offering) a new elective class to start during the fall of 2025. In this class, we'll focus on place-based learning, partnering with the Indigenous tribes of Louisiana, the Louisiana Division of Archaeology, and the newly-built South Branch of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library down the street from our school. We'll be exploring an oral history project about a sheep farm that inhabited the land where the library is located, among many other things. We will continue to explore archaeology and the artifacts that have stories to tell about the people who made them, used them, and owned them, whose voices have long ago faded away.
Outreach Activities
BOOK STUDY:
During this school year, my students and I are doing a book study. My librarian found 25 free copies of Mark Aronson's If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge (a National Geographic publication). It tells the story of an archaeologist who believes he can't make any new discoveries at Stonehenge because it's been studied to death, but with the help of another archaeologist from Madagascar, they make a ground-breaking discovery about this UNESCO World Heritage Site. We read a chapter per month together, and then use this little National Geographic Explorer Mindset journal I created to help them reflect on the story.
Glasgow students climb the 80-foot mound at Poverty Point UNESCO World Heritage Site.
FIELD TRIPS:
A big theme for 2025 and the following years is travel. The students love to hear stories about my travels, but I wanted to give them the experience of traveling themselves. I planned two exciting "extended field trips" that my students can attend, one for very little.
In March of 2025, we traveled to the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Louisiana and one of the few in the South: Poverty Point, part of the 3400-year-old monumental mound-building culture of indigenous people. With grant assistance from the US Department of Education (our school has funding for field trips through a SEED Grant), our transportation fees were free, and thanks to the generous support of our state parks, our two-night stay in cabins on-site was free. My students only had to pay for their food and souvenirs!
In April, I was supposed to lead students on a trip to the Getty Villa in Santa Monica, CA. This museum houses one of the nicest collections of classical antiquities in the USA. We were also planning an excursion to the Channel Islands National Park to experience a beach hike and boat ride. However, the fires that burned through Los Angeles nearly destroyed the museum and postponed our trip. The students and I held our collective breath as we watched the live fire maps back in October of 2024. We were heartbroken for the people of Los Angeles and decided to postpone our trip to the fall of 2025 to give the city time to recover. We are crossing our fingers for all to go as planned next fall.
The itineraries have two things in common: National Parks or Historic Sites and the outdoors. All students will get a National Parks passport so that they can start to collect the stamps at national parks, historic sites, recreation areas, etc. I want my students to learn to travel and experience the wonder around them!
The process of getting students interested in these trips, reaching out to their parents, and training them to prepare for the trips was carefully planned. See an overview here. I also developed numerous student training sessions based on National Geographic's Explorer Mindset. The sessions were offered via Google Meet and in person. Students learned and practiced how to visit museums, use their phones appropriately, ride transportation respectfully, and many other things that prepared them to travel with friends.
STUDENT-LED ARCHAEOLOGY OUTREACH EVENTS:
In November, my students led archaeology activities during an event we called "Can you Dig It? A Night of Hands-on Archaeology." They used what they learned in my Roman Technology classes to present to students and parents from all over our school district. I wrote about the process of planning and executing this event in a lengthy blog post here.
On Saturday, April 5, 2025, my students offered a hands-on history event at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum in downtown Baton Rouge. At his event called "The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Egypt," students offered mini-lessons on ancient writing, archaeology, mummification, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, pyramid building, and much more.
ADVOCATING FOR THE GTF PROGRAM TO OTHER TEACHERS:
In November, 2024, I was asked to speak to the National Teacher of the Year Program's 2024 cohort of state teachers of the year about my experience and expedition. (presentation link, video link)
In February, 2025, I spoke to the Alabama Classical Association about the GTF program.
GTF Ambassador Photos
Here are a few photos that capture the spirit of the GTF program.
On the way back from a zodiac excursion, we were warned to look out for Viking raiders. We were confused to find these very friendly Vikings handing out spiked hot cocoa...actually, the head chef and his ride or dies giving us a treat to remember! Everyone on board the National Geographic Explorer took such great care of us and all the travelers.
Deb Freitag, my GTF shipmate, took this photo of me waiting for a zodiac to arrive at the ship. Getting on the zodiacs was always the most exciting part of any day on a Lindblad expedition!
Deb circles around the back of our ship in a zodiac. The back deck of the ship was a beautiful spot to watch the sea.
One of my favorite shots of Deb and me, at the Ring of Brodgar in the Orkney Islands. It captures the mystical quality of so many of the places we visited.
Near the center of the ship is a beautiful rendering of the shield of National Geographic. Those are my feet! Just a reminder that I, little ole NathGeo, got to experience an amazing journey and shared the excitement with my students.
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