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The Curtis Mansion

The Curtis Mansion ~~ Image © 2015 Olivia Ferguson

Published February 4, 2015 at 667 × 1000 in The Signs Around Town.

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About Mount Vernon

Straddling the Kokosing River in North Central Ohio, Mount Vernon is the seat of government for Knox County. It is a picturesque small city of between 15,000 & 20,000 residents in a county of approximately 60,000 to 65,000.

The patchwork of plains (more to the West) and increasingly rolling hills (more to the the East & Southeast) reveal that during a time prehistoric, this area was near the leading edge of the last glacier to visit Ohio.

Founded in 1805, Mount Vernon is either the biggest small town or the smallest big town in Ohio.
Either way, it offers many of the advantages of larger towns and cities, while keeping the quaint and friendly atmosphere of a smaller town or village.

In the heart of, and surrounded by, an agricultural region, the city has been a force in industry, education, commerce, and culture since before the Civil War.

The Historic Mount Vernon Walking Tour is designed to introduce the visitor and resident alike, to some of the people and ideas that helped shape our town and make it what it is today.

About The Tour

In September, students began viewing examples of walking tours from throughout the United States. They quickly decided what they liked and didn't like about what they viewed, and then developed their own rubric for evaluating walking tours and making sure theirs would be as well done as possible.

Student groups met only one day per month to work on research, and product completion. Even so, they were able to learn about and gain initial experience with some new technologies. Most had never heard of a QR code prior to September. They not only learned what it is, but also what makes good QR code and where codes should and should not be used. Now they have video reports linked to the walking tour signs via QR codes.

Many students had never heard their own voice after it had been recorded. Sitting down in a portable professional recording studio and creating the narration for their video reports was a highlight for many.

Social Studies is about more than history reports. Our students also learned that significant community projects usually happen only with the cooperative efforts of many people. The students are particularly grateful to Mayor Richard K. Mavis, the City Council, and The Community Foundation of Mount Vernon & Knox County, without whose support the is project would not have been possible.

They also received extensive help researching their topics from Janet Wacker, research librarian at the public library, and Mr. James Gibson at the Knox County Historical Society.

The Mount Vernon Walking tour is, in return, our students' gift to their community.

About Our Students

Academically gifted students aren't defined by the grades they get in school. Gifted students think *differently*. They have special needs that can be met, in part, by differentiating their curriculum. Academic rigor includes differentiation of content, process, and, in the case of this walking tour, the students' final product.

While our gifted students researched social studies topics typically investigated in grades three, four, and five, their final product gave them a particular challenge. It helped meet their need for a rigorous assignment, the opportunity for community involvement, and the understanding that they are creating a respectful & meaningful product.

Students not only have individual learning styles; they differ in the way they prefer to express their knowledge and understanding. The Mount Vernon Walking Tour gave our students an opportunity to experiment with some new ways of sharing what they know.

This tour is the creation of third, fourth, and fifth grade students from the six Mount Vernon City Elementary Schools.

As part of their Gifted Seminar, they have been encouraged to "look inward," to discover and understand their own strengths. Some are researchers, while some are writers, editors, narrators, photographers, technology "gurus", designers, or marketers.

They have also been encouraged to "look outward," in community service. Many of these young citizens are already involved, on their own, in numerous service activities.

This Historic Mount Vernon Walking Tour is their gift to this community.

Acknowledgements

Special "Thank You'" goes to each of the following people and organizations for their generous support of our students and this project:

Mayor Richard K. Mavis has offered invaluable advice, direction, and support to our students and to this project in governmental and funding matters.

The Community Foundation of Mount Vernon & Knox County, whose dedication to the education of area students is a cornerstone of our community. The foundation provided a grant without which this project would not have been possible.

Janet Wacker, Reference Librarian at The Public Library of Mount Vernon & Knox County, who graciously offered hours of reference service to our students & their teachers.

Aubrey Brown, whose early help and direction informed the teachers, and in turn the students, as they developed this project.

Jim Gibson at The Knox County Historical Society Museum. Mr. Gibson provided opportunities for our students to view and photograph artifacts and original source material. This definitely enhanced the students' understanding and provided additional data for their research presentations.

Mr. Timothy Kahrl, a Faculty Emeritus, from The Ohio State University, kindly donated his time to edit the text our students wrote for walking tour signs. Mr. Kahrl's understanding of grammar, punctuation, tone, and style proved invaluable.

Mr. Skip Trask, who donated four days of his vacation time and his professional grade portable recording studio, to help the recording of our students' scripts be the best they could be.

A multitude of our students' parents, who chauffeured their children to libraries, museums, and private interviews; who also served as extra sets of eyes & ears for their child's script. A special thanks to those who went above and beyond, to help edit sign & script text of students other than their own.

Devin Price responded to a request for functionality information regarding his WordPress Theme with a timely answer AND.... a donation of the theme for this project.
Devin's *Portfolio* Link is at the bottom of this page.

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