While many Mona Shores High School staff were putting their finishing touches on a southern spring break trip, two teachers went north to speak at the Michigan Council for the Social Studies conference in Traverse City. Fifth-year social studies teacher Alexis Sims and second-year English teacher Andrea Fazer shared the details of their summer 2025 educational tour of important landmarks related to The Great Migration. Details of the trip can be found here. The focus of their presentation was on local connections to this period of American history as well as how those experiences were incorporated into classroom lessons. The trip was funded by a state grant that was awarded to only eighteen school districts in Michigan.
Ms. Fazer discussed how the experiences helped her develop inquiry-based lessons that supported her students' development of rhetorical and language skills during literature study and writing activities. Students investigated historical questions, allowing them to consider the importance of current issues related to the history of The Great Migration and providing historical context to literature study.
Ms. Sims focused on teaching U.S. History standards through the lens of local connections to World War II, industrialization, and the Great Migration. She emphasized how students used case studies to connect national trends to local realities. Allowing students to focus on this local element makes learning more relevant and impactful.
Though relatively new to the teaching profession, Ms. Sims and Ms. Fazer are going above and beyond to develop their craft and give their students experiences to bring literature and history alive in the classroom.
