ILLINOIS HISTORY FAIR TEACHER WORKSHOP SEPTEMBER 27 IN SPRINGFIELD TO FEATURE ROUTE 66

SPRINGFIELD, IL - The history of Route 66 and how it can be presented in the classroom will be the focus of a teacher workshop to be held Saturday, September 27 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library at Sixth and Jefferson Streets in downtown Springfield.  Teachers can earn Certified Professional Development Units (CPDUs) at the free workshop, which is being held in conjunction with the annual Route 66 Festival in Springfield and is sponsored by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA).

The workshop begins with registration at 8:30 a.m., followed by a 9 a.m. session by Route 66 author and historian Tom Teague.  He will give a power point presentation about the famous 2,400-mile "Mother Road" which will be available for free classroom use.  Teague will also survey Route 66 internet resources and provide an annotated list of Route 66-related websites at no charge.

The workshop continues with "Towanda's Historic Route 66," presented by Fred Walk of Normal Community High School.  Walk and his students spearheaded an effort to transform a two-and-one-half-mile stretch of Route 66 through Towanda into a linear parkway, providing a graphic way to understand the geography and history of Route 66.  Teacher workshop participants will see slides and receive handouts about the project.

"History Online" presented by the IHPA's Educational Services will involve a discussion and demonstration of internet sites that may be helpful or harmful for students.  The workshop will conclude at 2 p.m. with "The Springfield Race Riot of 1908," an individual performance by Rebecca Van Tine of Union High School in Biggsville, Illinois.  This performance prepared for the annual All-Illinois History Expo qualified Van Tine for the National History Day competition in Washington, DC this summer.

To register for the workshop, teachers should call IHPA at (217) 782-2981 or visit the agency's website at http://www.state.il.us/hpa/teacher.htm.

Illinois Historic Preservation Agency