D&E’s Tesar, Porterfield to lead workshop at conference
ELKINS — Two Davis & Elkins College representatives will take part in the 97th National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Annual Conference in San Francisco, Calif., in November. Dr. Jennifer Tesar, associate professor of education, and Jim Porterfield, director of the Center for Railway Tourism, will present a workshop titled “Reading ‘n Railroading: Bridging Railway Heritage with Literacy.”
The presentation proposal, submitted by Tesar, was selected by a peer review panel. In announcing the selection, the NCSS notes that only approximately 35 percent of proposed workshop topics are selected for the long-form presentation.
Tesar and Porterfield will demonstrate how children’s picture books can be used in grades K through 5 to build interest in railroad history and the contributions the industry made to American life and culture.
Porterfield, who developed the Reading ‘n Railroading concept, said it originated while exploring ways to build on the interest in trains generated by “Thomas the Tank Engine.”
“Thomas is intended for pre-school children,” he said. “Reading ‘n Railroading’s focus is on maintaining the enthusiasm for trains Thomas stimulates, while encouraging greater awareness of real trains and why they have always been important.”
A former social studies teacher himself, Porterfield adds, “the best way to do that is through interesting stories from real life and activities that challenge children to identify and solve problems.”
Tesar and Sue Talbott, a now retired literacy professor at D&E, became involved in the project when Porterfield approached them with a request to have their students devise literacy and learning activities for each book that engage younger students.
Tesar is a former secondary social studies teacher who currently teaches methods to pre-service teachers. As an active member of NCSS for the past 13 years she has presented at several of the organization’s conferences.
“When Jim presented his idea of Reading ‘n Railroading, I immediately thought of the benefits this program could have in helping teach social studies in elementary classrooms,” Tesar said. “The NCSS national conference is one of my favorite conferences to attend. My hope is that other educators who attend our workshop will use the lessons we have created in their own classrooms to support literacy integration in social studies instruction to enhance students’ understanding of how trains impacted cultural, historical and economic diffusion in early U.S. history.”
Each book’s Reading ‘n Railroading package includes teaching materials, activities customized to that book, a literacy component developed for the title, and items for use by schools, libraries and museums to encourage participation. Initial titles selected for the program include Gordon Titcomb’s “The Last Train,” Brian Floca’s “Locomotive,” Cynthia Rylant’s “Silver Packages” and Maria Beth Bartlett’s “The Little Yellow Trolley Car, a True Story.”
Last fall, Porterfield, Tesar, Talbott and the students presented Reading ‘n Railroading at the West Virginia Reading Association Conference. The program also has garnered the attention of the Clay Center in Charleston, W.Va., the National Park Service and public libraries in several communities.
The NCSS provides leadership, service and support for all social studies educators. The annual conference attracts more than 3,000 social studies colleagues to share the most current knowledge, ideas, research and expertise in social studies education.
For information on the Reading ‘n Railroading program, contact Porterfield at porterfieldj@dewv.edu or 814-574-5586.