Phillip Lewis, a 5th grade teacher at Talbott Elementary School in Jefferson County, has received the Lottie and Alden Beverly Geography Teacher of the Year award from the Tennessee Geographic Alliance

Dr. Henri Grissino-Mayer recently received the following email from Phillip Lewis, a 5^th grade teacher at Talbott Elementary School in Jefferson County.  It came right after Phillip was notified that he had been awarded the Lottie and Alden Beverly Geography Teacher of the Year award from the Tennessee Geographic Alliance.  Phillip was chosen for the award based on a very strong letter of recommendation from his principal that stressed the success of his classes’ tree ring project.  The Lottie and Alden Beverly Geography Teacher of the Year Award is given annually and is made possible by a generous donation to the Tennessee Geographic Alliance from the Tom and Bruce Ralston families.

Hey Dr. Grissino-Mayer,

 

       This is Phillip Lewis. I am the elementary school teacher that brought the segment of the Red Oak tree for you to help me date this summer. I wanted to update you on my progress. I built a stand for the piece and it is now displayed in my 5th grade classroom.  The students have been researching dates to place on the timeline. The students are really enjoying the process and are very eager to learn as much as possible.  I recently won the Geography Teacher of the Year through the Tennessee Geographic Alliance.  Part of my nomination came from the way I incorporate the tree into our lessons. I want to thank you again for all the help you provided me and for helping me to achieve success in this endeavor.  I have enclosed some pictures of our progress so far.  We still have much to do but the kids can see the direction we are going.

Thanks again,

Phillip Lewis

      

The following is a video link about it:

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/256534/8/Tree-rings--ipads--history-teaching-tools