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Places from the Field Trip

Fort Boonesborough State Park
Old Fort Harrod State Park
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Exploring Kentucky and Frontier History

Kentucky Historical Society
Check out this site to learn how to access a host of resources related to Kentucky’s history.
Filson Historical Society
The Filson Historical Society, located in Louisville, maintains a large library of historical resources, including many primary source materials, covering the period from the era of the pioneers to the Civil War. It is free and open to the public and offers various activities and packages for school trips. Call (502) 635-5083 for additional information and reservations.
Frazier International History Museum
History comes alive at this Louisville museum, a state-of-the-art facility built around an outstanding collection of weapons, armor, and personal artifacts once owned by historic figures.
Kentucky Virtual Library
This wonderfully comprehensive online research tool provides access to major libraries and resources throughout the state.
Graphic Enterprises
Kathy and Jim Cummins, who own Graphic Enterprises, take photos and video of various events at Fort Boonesborough and other Colonial reenactments. Their site includes an online newsletter for reenactors called “The Pioneer Times” as well as a page dedicated to Fort Boonesborough, with articles and photos of events held there.
Tracking the Buffalo: Stories from a Buffalo Hide Painting
This site from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History encourages students to explore the lives of Native Americans and the role of the buffalo in their cultures through legends and artwork. The “You Be the Historian” section lets students experience how historians use primary sources by actively interpreting a buffalo hide to learn about the lives of Northern Plains Indians.
Mount Vernon—Home of George Washington
This site offers outstanding resources for exploring early American history, George Washington and the presidency, and the American Revolution.
Oracle ThinkQuest Education Foundation
Look for the “Pioneer’s Journey to the Frontier” project, created for ThinkQuest by an elementary class in Texas. It tells the story of the pioneers’ journey from home and includes information on why and how settlers traveled to the frontier as well as fun facts and activities for students. (ThinkQuest is a competition that offers teachers and students a project-based learning experience. Students work in teams to build innovative and educational web sites to share.)

Ideas for Teachers

Kentucky Humanities Council
This site includes information on teaching resources, Kentucky Chautauqua performance booking, grants, book suggestions, and more.
Library of Congress Educators’ Site
National Endowment for the Humanities
The NEH site is an excellent source for social studies lesson plans and classroom materials.
Kids Gardening
Developed by the National Gardening Association, this site offers activities and resources to involve children with gardening, including information on how to raise a “Three Sisters Garden.”
Read • Write • Think
The International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English collaborated on this huge collection of ideas for incorporating writing into lessons in a wide variety of subject areas, including social studies.
National Geographic Society
This site includes lesson plans tied to national geography standards, maps, and many other education resources.
The Educator’s Reference Desk
The lesson plans and other education resources on this site were submitted by U.S. teachers.

Organizations

Kentucky Association of Teachers of History
The KATH is a service organization for anyone concerned about improving the quality of history education in Kentucky. Members include elementary, middle school, high school, and college and university teachers as well as administrators and public historians.
National Council for History Education
This nonprofit corporation is dedicated to promoting the importance of history in schools and society.
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