THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 20, 1994 TAG: 9411180179
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Education
SOURCE: BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
FEW PEOPLE REALIZE that George Washington once invested in a company that planned to drain parts of the Great Dismal Swamp for its fertile soil.
Or that Elephant's Fork's namesake was a huge, elephant-shaped billboard promoting a men's clothing shop that stood guard over the intersection for decades.
A new program, ``Hands-On Geography: Exploring Suffolk,'' is designed to make such historic tidbits come to life for Elephant's Fork and Mount Zion elementary schools' third-graders this spring.
Audrey Beck, a third-grade teacher at Elephant's Fork, has spent the past two years designing the curriculum focusing on Suffolk's history, geography, people and natural resources. She will use speakers, a special desktop map and a walking tour through historic downtown in the project.
Earlier this year, Beck was awarded a $1,374 grant from Union Camp Corp. to help get her six-week project started in two schools.
If it is successful, Beck hopes to see it implemented in third-grade classes divisionwide. She believes this would provide a good introduction to curriculum in Virginia history taught in fourth grade.
``These kids need a sense of belonging and they need to know about where they are living,'' Beck said. ``They need to know what Suffolk is all about.''
Students will be given a basic map identifying schools, highways and local landmarks. Designed by Elephant's Fork art teacher Wendy Byrd, the map is coated in plastic and can be written upon by students, Beck said.
The map will include Riddick's Folly, Sleepy Hole Park, Obici Hospital, Cedar Hill Cemetery and Planters Peanut Co. To help students learn where Suffolk is in relation to the rest of Hampton Roads, the opposite side of the map will feature nearby localities.
``There are so many historical points of interest right here that people don't even realize exist,'' Beck said.
``And it's important they realize where they are in relation to other places in the region. A lot of our students have no idea of what goes on outside their own home, . . . and this will help them relate to places outside the area.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Audrey Beck, a teacher at Elephant's Fork Elementary School, has
received a grant from Union Camp Corp. to develop her pilot
curriculum, ``Hands-on Geography: Exploring Suffolk.'' by CNB