Kathryn Walbert

Teaching & Learning

For Students

Primary: K | 1 | 2
Elementary: 3 | 4 | 5
Middle: 6 | 7 | 8
Secondary: 9–12

About LEARN NC

Kathryn Walbert holds a Ph.D. in United States History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She directs LEARN NC's efforts to develop instructor-led and self-guided materials for professional development in a range of topics in United States and North Carolina history. She has developed and taught the online professional development courses African American History to 1950, The Civil Rights Movement in Context, American Indians in North Carolina: Past, Present and Future, and American Indians in the United States. She is also the author of several articles for LEARN NC, including a series on using oral history in the K-12 classroom and "Beyond Black History Month."

In addition to her work on historical topics, Dr. Walbert is an instructor in the COLT program. She currently teaches Assessment and Evaluation in Your Online Course and a new course, Differentiated Instruction in Online Courses, which she also developed.

A long-time associate of the Southern Oral History Program, Dr. Walbert has been using oral history in her own research and training others in the craft for over ten years. Her doctoral research focused on Southern women, both African American and white, who became teachers after the Civil War, and the role of teaching in shaping their identities. From 2001 to 2003, she was an academic skills instructor at Duke University. She now serves as a consultant on U.S. history, oral history, and academic skills to LEARN NC and other organizations.

Resources developed by Kathryn Walbert

Records 1–17 of 17 displayed.

Alternative discussion formats: Class discussions often take one of two forms — either question-and-answer sessions, in which the teacher throws out questions and students answer them, or debates. Both of these formats are useful, but adding a few more ideas to your teaching repertoire can make for more variety in the classroom and provide more opportunities for engaging discussions. This edition explains how to manage dicussions in the form of a public relations campaign, a trial, a talk show, or the design of monuments, memorials, and museum exhibits.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: edition; Media: document
The 2004 presidential election in historical context: Historian William E. Leuchtenburg talks about past presidential elections and how the 2004 election fits or defies precedents.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: article/single page
Alternative discussion formats: A public relations campaign: By creating a PR campaign for a historial or literary figure, students can practice a wide range of thinking skills.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: lesson plan (grades 6–12); Media: document
Alternative discussion formats: History and literature on trial: Putting historical or literary figures on trial makes a lively and challenging alternative to a class debate.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: lesson plan (grades 6–12); Media: document
Alternative discussion formats: Monuments and memorials: Creating monuments or memorials for historical and literary figures encourages students to think creatively and provides a lively structure for an in-class discussion.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: lesson plan (grades 6–12); Media: document
Alternative discussion formats: Museum exhibit design: Designing museum exhibits encourages students to think creatively and to use a wide range of thinking skills.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: lesson plan (grades 6–12); Media: document
Alternative discussion formats: The talk show: The talk show is a format with which students are already familiar, and it provides the structure for a great discussion.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: lesson plan (grades 6–12); Media: document
Beyond Black History Month: Go beyond approaches that marginalize African American history by "shifting the lens" to look at events from new perspectives.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: article/single page
Incorporating oral history into the K–12 curriculum: Oral history techniques for use with students at all levels, from kindergarten through high school.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: article/single page
Mountain dialect: Reading between the spoken lines: This lesson plan uses Chapter 13 of Our Southern Highlanders (available online) as a jumping-off point to help students achieve social studies and English language arts objectives while developing an appreciation of the uniqueness of regional speech patterns, the complexities of ethnographic encounter, and the need to interrogate primary sources carefully to identify potential biases and misinformation in them. Historical content includes American slavery, the turn-of-the-century, and the Great Depression.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: lesson plan (grade 8)
The North Carolina mountains in the early 1900s through the writing and photography of Horace Kephart: Students will develop an understanding of daily life and culture in the mountains of North Carolina during the early 20th century through photographs and written sources; practice visual literacy skills and gain experience analyzing visual and written sources of historical information; and learn to revise their early analyses of historical sources and to synthesize the information found in different kinds of primary documents by planning a museum exhibit.; Author: Kathryn L. Walbert; Format: lesson plan (grade 8)
Oral history and student learning: Oral history enriches historical knowledge; enhances research, writing, thinking, and interpersonal skills; gives students a connection to the community; and helps all students feel included.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: article/single page
Oral history links and resources: Guides, tips, lesson plans, and examples of student projects on the web.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: article/single page
Reading primary sources: An introduction for students: A step-by-step guide for students examining primary sources, with specific questions divided into five layers of questioning.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: article/single page
Teaching about Thanksgiving: Resources and activities to help you bring historical accuracy, cultural sensitivity, and a broader context to discussions about the quintessentially American holiday.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: article/single page
Ten questions for planning an oral history project: Plan ahead to avoid frustration and to ensure that your students get as much as possible out of an oral history project.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: article/single page
The value of oral history: Why use oral history with your students? Oral history has benefits that no other historical source provides.; Author: Kathryn Walbert; Format: article/single page