From the grand State Capitol in Jackson to the modest shotgun home of Elvis Presley in Tupelo, our historic buildings tell the story of Mississippi’s rich and colorful past.  By exploring the built environment, schoolchildren will not only gain an understanding of the principles of good design but will also learn the importance of historic preservation.

In order to foster an appreciation of our rich cultural and architectural history, the Mississippi Heritage Trust is proud to have developed a  historic preservation curriculum for school children in Mississippi available for download to any teachers who wish to implement the curriculum in their classrooms.  “The Mississippi Heritage Trust is proud to offer this excellent educational tool to teachers throughout the state.  It is our hope that the experience and knowledge students gain through the lessons and exercises will build a strong future constituency for preservation in Mississippi,” said Lolly Barnes, MHT Board President.    

Ten teachers have volunteered to introduce this important curriculum into their classrooms reaching approximately 300 students across the state in 2008 and 2009.  Along with the printed curriculum the teachers testing the curriculum also received an architectural grab bag kit with building components to help students learn about building materials and items used in historic buildings.

Download the entire curriculum (18MB) or download individual sections (less than 1MB unless otherwise noted):

Part One: Buildings, Neighborhoods and Towns
1 Lesson One: What Makes This Building Historic?
2 Lesson Two: Design in Architecture
3 Lesson Three: Structures, Systems & Materials in Historic

          Buildings
4 Lesson Four: How Buildings Are Used
5 Lesson Five: Neighborhoods, Towns and Cities

Part Two: Mississippi Landmarks
6 Lesson One: Rowan Oak (coming soon)
7 Lesson Two: Eudora Welty Home (coming soon)
8 Lesson Three: Walter Anderson Cottage (coming soon)

Supplementary Materials
9 What Makes This Building Historic? (1.5MB)
10 Is This Building Still Historic? (1.3MB)
11 Preservation Pair Up (3MB)
12 Lost Mississippi Landmarks (1.3MB)
13 Ten Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi for 2007
14 Geometric Shapes in Architecture
15 Architecture Style Guide (1.7MB)
16 Scale and Ratio in Architecture
17 Professional and Vernacular Architecture
18 Scavenger Hunt
19 Glossary of Structural Elements
20 Architectural Grab Bag
21 Basic Building Types
22 Adaptive Reuse
23 City Maps (8MB)
24 Recommended Websites
25 Evaluation

2008-2009 Pilot Program

Thank you to our Pilot Program Teachers and Schools:

• Mandy Clark, Franklin Academy, Columbus
• Steven Craddock, Cleveland High School, Cleveland
• Kay Franz, Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex, Jackson
• Susan Greer, Quitman High School, Quitman
• Martha Hamburg, Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex, Jackson
• Leann Hardage, Yazoo City High School, Yazoo City
• Frank Neal, Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex, Jackson
• Kate Roberts, Ward-Stewart Elementary School, Starkville
• Dorothy Sjostrom, Bay High School, Bay St. Louis
• Charles M. Yarborough, Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, Columbus
  

Thank you to Service Printers, Inc. of Flowood for their generous donation of printing the historic preservation curriculums for the Pilot Program.

This project has been made possible with funding from the American Architectural Foundation, the Mississippi Arts Commission and the Mississippi Humanities Council.

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