Whitley County 3rd grade teachers indicated that their students lacked a general knowledge of Kentucky heritage and general understanding of what their state had to offer.  Each students is required to take the Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress (K-PREP) tests, starting in the 3rd grade.  These assessments measure many subjects including Reading, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Writing.  

The 4-H Agent wanted to create a hands-on learning experience outside of the classroom that would directly relate back to the required school curriculum, The 4-H Agent created a fall field day experience at the Whitley County Extension Office that incorporated the 4-H, Agriculture, Horticulture, and Fine Arts agents along with volunteers to teach 25 minute lessons. The main purpose was to give students a social studies based experience to learn about their Old Kentucky Home.   This six hour learning experience included rotations such as:  Food Works (history of Kentucky foods), Butter Churning, Pottery, Livestock, Leadership Development, Pumpkin Patch & Pumpkin Pie Lesson, Gardening and Basket Making.  Each station had a hands on component, that allowed student to "feel" history.  

107 students from Whitley Central Intermediate School, along with 21 adults were able to take part in the experience.  To evaluate the success of the program, students were given a pre-test and post-test about their opinions towards social students. The initial outcome showed a 23% increase in general interest in social studies after attending the field day.  87% of students indicated that they had a better understanding of what it was like living in "Old Kentucky."  94% of students indicated that they felt more competent in the subject matter.  98% of students indicated that they felt the hands on experience was the best way for them to learn about social students.

Teachers at WCIS will be monitoring MAP test scores throughout the rest of the school year to find the intermediate outcome as they progress in their state testing.  They have already seen a greater interest in social studies curriculum as well as a general increase in working knowledge of Kentucky's past.