Teacher Professional Development

The Frazier History Museum education team is pleased to offer a regular rotation of engaging and interactive teacher professional development sessions and educator events throughout the year.

We are hard at work planning our next offerings which will be announced on this page when they are ready. In the meantime, please scroll down to review past offerings.

Any questions may be directed to education@fraziermuseum.org.

past Sessions:

Catch Me if You Can:
Poetry as an Access Point to KY’s Civil War History

November 4, 2023
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Cost: FREE for educators
Registration: Advance reservations are required, click here to sign up!

The arts can serve as a powerful gateway for exploring and grappling with our nation’s history. During this powerful session
reflective pieces written in response to 19th century primary sources will help us investigate the time period.

Danville, KY native and Kentucky Poet Laureate, Frank X Walker, recently wrote a collection of poems titled “Load in Nine Times” inspired by African Americans in Kentucky before, during, and after the American Civil War.  Each poem is written in direct response to a historic photo or document – offering a unique lens for examining the source and bringing humanity to the stories they help tell.

In partnership with Reckoning, Inc. – the poetry and related artifacts hang at the Frazier History Museum within The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall exhibition.

Join us for a morning of discovery as we collaborate with Reckoning, Inc. to share background information and strategies for utilizing these unique resources in the classroom.

Participating educators will:

• Hear an overview on utilizing The Reckoning’s resources to support inquiry-based learning, with several big and small curricular examples. 

• Use standards-aligned inquiry materials, created using the project's resources, we will walk through their structure, review how they could be enacted in the classroom, as well as demonstrate ways teachers can adapt or build their own versions.

• Explore examples of integrating poetry into inquiry processes, using work from Frank X Walker, demonstrating how creative arts can be a means, and end, of inquiry processes.

• Enjoy a guided tour highlighting the poems and related documents within The Commonwealth exhibition.

• View a new performance focused on Lucie and Thornton Blackburn, a young couple who escaped their enslavers in Louisville in 1831 and went on to have international impact.

Light refreshments will be provided, and participants will leave with resources, as well as be entered into a prize drawing.

To view Frank X Walker reading his poem, Catch Me If You Can, click here.

PRESENTERS:
Megan Schanie, Frazier Museum – Sr. Manager of Educational Programs
Brian West, Frazier Museum – Actor and Teaching Artist
Carly Muetterties, PhD, Founder of CommonGoodEd & education consultant for Reckoning, Inc.

Special thanks to the Louisville Metro Office of Equity for supporting free admission for educators.

Please contact education@fraziermuseum.org with any questions.

They Fought for Freedom: Black Kentuckians
and the Civil War

February 8, 2023
4:45–7:45 p.m.
Cost: FREE
Registration: Advanced reservations are required—click here to sign up!

By the end of the American Civil War, Black soldiers made up ten percent of the Union Army, including over 23,000 in Kentucky. Why is it difficult to uncover their stories? How did Black soldiers impact the war? Join us for an evening of discovery as we partner with Reckoning, Inc. to share stories and resources from their KY U.S. Colored Troops Project.

The session begins with an overview on utilizing The Reckoning’s resources to support inquiry-based learning. Using standards-aligned inquiry materials, created using the project’s resources, we will walk through their structure, explore how they could be enacted in the classroom, and demonstrate ways teacher can adapt or build their own versions.

Two inquiry-based units of focus will include: What hidden stories do primary sources tell? and How did Black soldiers bring freedom?

Afterwards, teachers will join the public for a discussion titled “Help Me Find My People: How Archival Documents can Connect African Americans with Enslaved Ancestors.” Reckoning, Inc. will share the challenges of moving past the 1870 “brick wall” when researching African American ancestry—as well as a recent breakthrough that is unlocking a wealth of information and resources for educators and families exploring their genealogy alike.

PRESENTERS

Intro Session focused on The Reckoning, Inc. Educator Resources:
Megan Schanie, Manager of School and Teacher Programs, Frazier History Museum
Carly Muetterties, PhD, Managing Editor, C3 Teachers and Education Consultant, Reckoning, Inc.

Public Program Moderator:
Rachel Platt, Director of Community Engagement, Frazier History Museum

Public Program Guests:
Dan Gediman, Executive Director, Reckoning, Inc.
Abby Posey, Research Director, Reckoning, Inc.
Jackie Burrell, Volunteer Genealogical Researcher, Reckoning, Inc.
Charles Lemons, Military Historian

Special thanks to LG&E and KU Foundation for supporting this program.

Professional Development Credit: JCPS has approved 3 hours of PD credit for teacher completing this session. Educators who do not work for Jefferson County Public Schools should check with their individual school or district to request credit approval. A letter documenting attendance will be provided to all attendees.

Participating teachers do not need to sign up for the public program separately. Making reservations to the PD will hold your spot at the program.

Please contact education@fraziermuseum.org with any questions.

The Journey:
exploring Local connections to the UNderground railroad through inquiry

September 13, 2022
4:45 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.
Cost: FREE
Registration: SOLD OUT - please email mschanie@fraziermuseum.org to be added to the waiting list for this session

How should we remember the Underground Railroad? Educators will explore this question and receive training on a focused-inquiry highlighting local connections to slavery and the Underground Railroad. Led by Summer Amro, M.A.Ed., teachers will utilize the Inquiry Design Model Framework to consider a series of supporting questions, tasks, and sources that ultimately lead students to meaningful action.

A key source includes The Journey - an audio experience created by the Frazier History Museum education team that highlights significant local landmarks connected to slavery and the Underground Railroad and shares the story of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn who fled Louisville to avoid sale and separation in 1831.

 Educators will then join the public for a Bridging the Divide program commemorating Underground Railroad Month through stories, music, art, and the special reading of names unearthed through the (Un)Known Project.