"Palumbus migratorious, the Pigeon of Passage," etching by Mark Catesby, London, England, ca. 1731-1734. Acc. #1984-147, 1

CONTENTS

The Next
Electronic Field Trip is

The Industrious Tradesmen
December 8, 2005

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Mark Catesby, an English naturalist, spent several years studying the flora and fauna of North America. He published his findings in Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. The book included 220 hand-colored plates (which Catesby engraved himself) of birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, and mammals. One of the birds Catesby documented was the now-extinct Passenger Pigeon.

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Mark Catesby studied natural history in London. In 1712 he visited Virginia, the Carolinas, and the Bahamas where he observed, documented, and collected plant and animal specimens. In this lesson, students play a "whip around" game to learn vocabulary related to Catesby and his work. Then students conduct their own nature observations and create sketches to document their findings.

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Colonial Williamsburg offers a variety of quality instructional materials dealing with 18th-century life, including:

– Nature, Art, and Science (video with Web activities and teacher guide)
– Potions, Ails, and Smallpox Tales (video with Web activities and teacher guide)
– Ann's Story: 1747 (book)

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Revolutionary Program Approved by the State of California! On November 9, the California State School Board of Education unanimously adopted Scott Foresman History-Social Science for California. Dr. William E. White, Director of Educational Program Development for The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, is the author of this "revolutionary" program. California teachers worked closely with Colonial Williamsburg Foundation historians to write hands-on, minds-on activities for every lesson in the program.

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National Council for History Education 2006 National Conference. NCHE, an organization dedicated to promoting the importance of history in schools and society, and The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation present the NCHE 2006 National Conference, The Americas in World History, March 30–April 1, 2006 at the Renaissance Austin Hotel in Austin, Texas. Conference highlights include the following General Session speakers: Carol Berkin ("Patriotic Mothers: Women’s Role after the American, French, and Italian Revolutions"), H.W. Brands ("Andrew Jackson and World Revolutions"), and David J. Weber ("Spaniards and Their Savages in the Age of Enlightenment").

Exciting conference field trips are also available to The Alamo, the LBJ Presidential Library, the Bush Presidential Library, the Center for American History, the LBJ Ranch and Boyhood Home, the Texas State Capitol, the Texas State Cemetery, and the Admiral Nimitz National Museum of the Pacific War.

Come to the land of conquistadors, longhorns, revolutions, and presidents! Registration information is available in History Matters! and on the NCHE Web site.

— Chief Sealth (known as Chief Seattle),
in a speech to Federal agents attending a
Duwamish tribal council meeting, 1854