I’m just back from my second teaching visit to the International School of Dusseldorf. It is, without question, my favorite school visit of the year. Not only do I get to share my passion for turning kids on to history with a truly talented and dedicated teaching team, I also get to work with amazing young minds in a world-class learning environment.

There is nothing more rewarding than seeing light bulbs going on before your very eyes. And this happens on a regular basis at ISD!

You can read about my mandate with Grade 7 here. I also worked with Grade 6 students to give them a taste of what’s to come next year when they, too, will be asked to mash historical research up with digital storytelling to create interactive historical narratives of their own invention.

I am proud and honored to be part of such a 21st century interdisciplinary educational program. And I enjoyed enlisting my ISD colleagues in our search these past eight months for the keys to unlocking history for kids.

Here's what we came up with...