Curriculum Coordinator at Flat Rock Middle School Receives Grant for History Project

Mitzi Talbert

Mitzi Talbert, a nationally board certified teacher (NBCT) at Flat Rock Middle School who serves as the curriculum, LEP (Limited English Proficient) and testing coordinator, has received a $1,318.22 grant from EnergyUnited’s Bright Ideas education program.

The grant will be used for a project called "Making History Come Alive."

“Students will make history come alive by building visual storylines of history and relating it to their life today,” Talbert said. “Students will be able to use a variety of resources to discover how history can repeat itself by exploring different concepts laid out in the new Essential Standards and discovering how the underlying themes keep resurfacing through history.

“Students have not been taught history through concepts before. When you think of a history class, most people think about facts like battles that happened during a war. Teaching through concepts asks students to look at the underlying reasons for the battles and compare those reasons to other battles going on today. Students will gain an understanding that knowing the reasons behind the battles can help them from occurring in the future.”

The Bright Ideas grants are available to North Carolina teachers for innovative, hands-on classroom projects that might not otherwise be funded. Previous winners in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools include Cynthia Needham at Griffith Elementary, Heather Stickler at North Hills Elementary and Dave Boyer at Kernersville Middle.

New applications will be accepted beginning in April. For more information Bright Ideas