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Mon-Sat
9 AM - 5 PM
Sun
12 PM - 5 PM

Telephone:
218-299-5511
Room Rental:
218-299-5515

Landmarks: Explore Your Community!

What Is Tales & Trails ?
Tales & Trails is an annual anthology of essays written by Red River Valley students from grades six through twelve. Every year a new topic is chosen that reflects a different aspect of Red River Valley history. Selected essays are chosen for publication. Each published author receives a complimentary copy of the book and is honored at the Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center awards banquet in the fall.

In writing for Tales and Trails, students are able to understand the heritage of the Red River Valley, and in so doing, learn about their communities and themselves. They are partners with Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, which sponsors the Folk History Project out of a conviction that researching history, drawing conclusions, and the exchange of ideas about heritage enhances life in the Red River Valley. The students will help create a written connection to landmarks in the Red River Valley, which can be read for generations to come.

Educational Goals of Tales & Trails 2003

• Motivate students’ interest in Red River Valley history
• Create context to use important written and verbal skills
• Allow students to write for a “real” audience
• Publish the exemplary work of the Red River Valley’s young writers
• Preserve the oral history of what life is like in the Red River Valley

How Can Your Students Get Involved?
Contact:

Rachel Asleson, Exhibits & Education Director
Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center
(218) 299-5511 ext. 225
Rachel.Asleson@ci.moorhead.mn.us

Meeting the Graduation Standards

North Dakota Standards

SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS
GRADES 5-12

Standard 1: Nature and Scope of History
Standard 4: Social Studies Resources
Standard 6: Geography
Standard 7: Culture
Standard 8: Sociology and Psychology
Standard 9: Sovereignty

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS
GRADES 5-12

Standard 1: Students Gather and Organize Information
Standard 4: Students Engage in the Writing Process
Standard 5: Students Write for a Variety of Purposes and Audiences
Standard 7: Students Understand and Use of Principles of Language

Minnesota Standards

GRADES 6-8

SOCIAL STUDIES
History and Citizenship

INQUIRY AND RESEARCH
Accessing Information

WRITE AND SPEAK
Interpersonal Communication

GRADES 9-12

SOCIAL STUDIES
Human Geography
Institutions and Traditions in Society

INQUIRY AND RESEARCH
History Through Culture
Recorders of History

WRITE AND SPEAK
Interpersonal Communication

Complying with the Rules

Meeting the Requirements

1. All essays must include a title, author, school, grade, and teacher.
2. Essays must be submitted by May 1, 2003 with a copy of the student information sheet.
3. The essay topic must fit the theme for 2003: Landmarks: Explore Your Community. The landmark must be located in the Red River Valley.
4. Research for the essay must include at least one interview with someone who is a valid source about the landmark, and at least one other secondary source.
5. The essay is to be a finished product with complete content, full organization and development, and carefully proof-read.

Evaluation and Selection

1. Essays will be screened first for compliance with the rules.
2. Essays that comply will be scored on their depth, clarity, historical insight, and readability. They will be recommended for publication on the basis of scores. The scores will not be available for student or teacher review.

Submitting Copy

    1. Individuals or a class may submit work in the following format:

• Disk/CD or by email
• Must be in text file or MS Word
• Any photos must be included: 300 dpi

    2. Send disks (postmarked May 1, 2003 or earlier) to:

Tales & Trails
HHIC
PO Box 157
Moorhead MN 56561-0157
or email essays to:
Rachel.Asleson@ci.moorhead.mn.us

Understanding the Assignment

Theme: Landmarks-Explore Your Community

This year’s Tales & Trails theme is Landmarks-Explore Your Community. A landmark can be described as “an object marking the boundary of a country, district, or neighborhood…serving as a navigational guide” (Oxford English Dictionary, 1993). Landmarks have been used for centuries as tools for travelers on a journey and yet; the significance of these landmarks is sometimes lost. Landmarks may include objects that are natural, such as a stream, hill, or tree; or man-made objects like boundary markers, gravestones, church, government, or school buildings.

Objective

Interview a person who is well acquainted with a landmark in your town, community, or neighborhood. The individual may be someone from the local historical society, someone who has a personal tie to the landmark, or someone who understands the value of the landmark such as a grandparent or parent. Write an essay describing the landmark and its importance in the Red River Valley, the community, a neighborhood, or a family, using the oral history interviews as the foundation. Find out why or how the landmark came into being, how it became significant and its’ significance today. After the essay is complete, submit a copy to your teacher for consideration. Once students from across the valley have submitted work, a panel will select essays to be published in the 2003 edition of Tales & Trails.

Get ready for the interview

1. Find out about the landmark: use sources such as the Internet or encyclopedia.
2. Explore different aspects of the landmark and find an area of interest to you. Make a list of questions.
3. Plan the interview. Select the most important questions and arrange them in order.

Interview

1. Tell the interviewee that he or she will probably be quoted in Tales & Trails. Ask for permission to record the interview or take notes.
2. Describe the project to the interviewee and answer any questions he or she may have for you. Mention some of the information you have found out about your landmark. This should lead into your questions.
3. Thank the interviewee and ask if you can check back if you need more information.

Pre-writing essay ideas

1. Read through your notes and/or listen to your recording if you made one. Add details that you remember but have not written down yet.
2. Check the accuracy of facts given to you by the interviewee and from other sources.
3. Tell a family member or friend about what you learned. It will help you figure out what is important and interesting to you and others.

Write Essay

1. Ask yourself, “Have I done what the assignment request”.
2. Focus on the main points of your research and interview to create an outline of your essay.
3. Create a first draft of your essay.
4. Ask a teacher, family member, or friend to read through your essay and to correct any grammatical errors, and to suggest how to improve your essay.
5. Make any revisions necessary.
6. Hand in a final draft of your essay to your teacher.

Essay Length

GRADES 6-7 250-500 words (1-2 pages)
GRADES 8-9 500-750 words( 2-3 pages)
GRADES 10-12 750-1000 words (3-4 pages)

Printable Student Information Form
(include one form per student)