The Discovery Guide is a two-volume, heritage-based educational curriculum
designed for primary and secondary students, respectively. To create
this unique resource, the Allegheny Ridge Corporation put together
a team of teachers, curators, historians, museum educators, preservationists
and folklife specialists, all of whom contributed a great deal to
the project. This is a site-specific curriculum, in that it offers
educational experiences based around existing historical resources
which can be visited throughout the Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area
in western Pennsylvania.
The Guide is targeted to grades 4 through 7. It is in the form of
a loose leaf notebook, so that the pages, sections, lessons and activities
can be removed. Each site has its own section, so that the book can
be used to familiarize students with any one or all of the sites.
Suggested sites to visit include the Allegheny Portage Railroad
National Historic Site, the Railroaders Memorial Museum, the Horseshoe
Curve National Historic Landmark, the Johnstown Flood National Memorial
and Museum and the Johnstown Incline. If you cannot visit the sites
in person, there is a video entitled "People of the Ridge", which
takes you to each of the sites without having to leave your classroom.
There is also a cassette tape of original songs entitled "Men of Steel
- Songs of Pennsylvania's Working Class Heroes" that is informative,
as well as fun.
The Discovery Guide adheres to all of the existing and proposed
educational standards developed by the Pennsylvania Department of
Education. This resource was piloted in 13 schools along the Allegheny
Ridge, and was evaluated by the Program of Instructional Systems at
the Pennsylvania State University. The recommendations of these studies
have now been integrated into the Discovery Guide.
The Allegheny Ridge Corporation believes that all children in the
Commonwealth should have a sense of who they are and where they come
from. We believe that the Discovery Guide is an important step in
that direction.
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