2005 Beacon Award Winner
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Myrtle T. Robinson and Dr Twyla Tuten with the Hansom Wheels of SC
Hound of the Baskervilles Reading Project Middle School Myrtle T. Robinson and Dr Twyla Tuten with the Hansom Wheels of South Carolina designed a reading program that excited and inspired middle school students. |
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The Beacon Award Winner 2005: Myrtle T. Robinson and Dr. Twyla Tuten
Myrtle T. Robinson and Dr. Twyla Tuten, along with the Hansom Wheels of SC
THIRD ANNUAL HOUND AWARDS EVENT, 2004
(And they're still at it... at a Hansom Wheels meeting in February 2009, Kathy Newman reported that the 2008 Hound Project got some publicity at the SC Middle School Conference.)
The Winning Season
Because January 6, 2004, marked the 150th birthday of Sherlock Holmes, the introductory session to the third annual HOUN reading project was held on that date instead of November this year. Bob and Myrtle Robinson traveled to North Augusta where two sessions were held at Paul Knox and North Augusta middle schools. The teachers had arranged with their principals to combine classes. At each, in addition to the usual presentations, a decorated cake commemorating Holmes’ birthday was served along with beverages. Each student was presented with a personal copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles with an inscribed bookplate inside. Twyla Tuten arranged for the cakes and participated in the presentations.
The school project included reading The Hound of the Baskervilles and submitting an original creation based on the novel. Judging was held in April in North Augusta and the exciting conclusion was on April 24, 2004, in Columbia at the South Carolina State Museum where seven winning eighth-graders from North Augusta and their families were luncheon guests of the Hansom Wheels. All items submitted by the classes involved models of Baskerville Hall, Stapleton’s butterfly collection, new conclusions to the novel, puzzles, games, and posters, among others—were on exhibit in the museum’s Orientation Room for the entire day for public viewing.
Each winning student was presented with a Collector’s Library edition of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and a framed print of Sherlock Holmes created by Jak Smyrl. In addition, they and their families received free admission to the museum for the day.
Video tapes of the 1939 movie The Hound of the Baskervilles starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, just released that weekend, were donated to the libraries of the participating schools.
The approximate total of eighth graders exposed to HOUN in the three years the project has been carried out is 300. We have already purchased books for the next project, and we expect it to follow the general outline of previous years. We will have 94 students this year.
The bottom line is that we thoroughly enjoy doing the projects and we try to plan it so that the students enjoy it, too. I think it shows in the wide-ranging and often quite remarkable originality and creativity of their projects. We judge knowing nothing about students except which school they attend, and we don’t know how the teachers have graded the submissions. We were especially pleased to have an African-American girl as one of the winners in 2004. Most times, we can identify the sex by the student’s name, and we’ve seen that the sex distribution varies from year to year. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m personally interested in presenting something to the male students that has some "zing" to it, since many boys look at reading as a chore. I think HOUN fits the bill.
The Lesson Plan
by Mrs. Linda Longe, Paul Knox Middle School
Participating schools: North Augusta Middle School and Paul Knox Middle School, North Augusta, SC
Extent: three month unit
Novel reading
Enhancement of vocabulary and discussion of writing style
Time period discussion
Critical thought in solving criminal case
Reading The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Information concerning Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Teamwork
Students decide on project construction and partner (if any) in depicting the novel. They must be accurate according to novel content.
Science Enrichment
Students participate in a lab analysis of a crime scenario to determine solution to a fictional crime; use of forensics.
Mystery Minutes Series
Students work in small groups to study clues of a scenario and of characters in order to determine solution to a mystery which may involve any of the following: murder, robbery, jealousy concerning inheritances, or a position of power.
Assessment:
Students are required to complete a project concerning the novel, take the Accelerated Reader test and a written test prepared by the teacher.
The projects prepared by the students are submitted to a judging committee composed of Hansom Wheels members. Two winners (or sets of winners, if two students have worked on a single project) are chosen to be honored at a Hansom Wheels event. Winners’ parents, siblings and teacher are invited to attend.
In the beginning
(Published with permission from The Serpentine Muse, volume 19:1, Winter 2002.)
COME THROUGH THE MAGIC DOOR WITH ME. . .*
*Arthur Conan Doyle, Through the Magic Door (Pleasantville, NY: The Akadine Press, 1999), p.5.*
by Myrtle Robinson
In April 2002, the Hansom Wheels scion of the Baker Street Irregulars hosted a weekend of activities in Columbia, SC. Included in the program was an outreach effort to interest young people in Sherlock Holmes. We hope other groups will follow our example. The following notice appeared in our brochure for The Intergalactic Sherlockian Weekend:
FOR THE YOUNGER GENERATION—In a competition sponsored by the Hansom Wheels, eighth grade language arts students from two South Carolina schools are reading The Hound of the Baskervilles and will prepare projects to compete for prizes for themselves and their schools. Prizes will be awarded at the Saturday luncheon at which winners and their parents will be guests.
Among our members is a high school mathematics teacher, Dr. Twyla Tuten, who lives and works in North Augusta, SC, approximately 100 miles from Columbia. She was enthusiastic about my idea to have middle school students read HOUN as a project and enter a Sherlockian competition. She contacted schools around the state and two eighth grade advanced placement class teachers in North Augusta were interested. Our October approach was late because teachers usually have their year’s plans in place in early summer. However, the schools had canceled a traditional trip to Washington because of September 11, and the teachers welcomed a project to fill the gap. They used HOUN in a study of Victorian life in general.
Since each student must have a copy of the book if it is required reading, we ordered 92 copies of HOUN. Seventy-two came in and were distributed in early January with the other twenty arriving a week or so later. I’m told twenty youngsters were "champing at the bit" by the time they received their copies. At the teachers’ request, Twyla visited each school to give an introduction to the Canon, Hound of the Baskervilles in particular, and some information about Arthur Conan Doyle. In mid-March the project ended, and the teachers graded the entries and selected 60 "products" deemed suitable for the competition.
By March 31, Twyla had the entries. Jo Bradford, another Hansom Wheels member, and I participated in the judging. We found entries all about Twyla’s kitchen and dining room, posters leaning against walls, and her computer prepared for viewing the PowerPoint entries. There were numerous posters, two 221B dioramas—one with Dr. Mortimer standing outside the door, models of Baskerville Hall, a plaster of Paris plaque, a collage of Sherlockian items, a board game, a model of the yew alley, and many more. Four entries were chosen, two from each class.
All entries were brought to Columbia with the three-dimensional items displayed on tables in the meeting auditorium and the posters in the hall gallery immediately outside. The PowerPoint entries were shown to the attendees. Since our Saturday programs were open to the public, the exhibits attracted a great deal of attention. The winning students and their families were our lunch guests, and our BSI speakers, David Hammer, Paul Herbert, and Don Izban, presented the awards and spoke to the group. The winners received a Sherlockian book other than Hound, autographed by the speakers and two other Baker Street Irregulars—Herb Tinning and my husband Bob Robinson, an award certificate, and a cartoon suitable for framing, especially commissioned for the weekend by a well-known Southeastern cartoonist and artist, Jak Smyrl. In addition, a complete Sherlock Holmes was presented to each school’s library with the accompanying note:
The Hansom Wheels, Scion of the Baker Street Irregulars, of Columbia, South Carolina is pleased to present to your school library a copy of The Complete Sherlock Holmes. This is part of the prize earned by the North Augusta students who participated in the project sponsored by the Hansom Wheels to mark the centennial of The Hound of the Baskervilles. It also marks the exciting Intergalactic Sherlockian Weekend in Columbia, April 26-28, 2002.
We hope that all of you will take a look at the Sherlock Holmes stories, and we know that you will enjoy Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson when you read their exciting adventures. Happy reading!
Pictures of the presentations were later sent to the students.
Our project was definitely a success. One student’s hometown newspaper did a feature article on her and her project, and the two teachers involved want to do the program again in 2003. We have promised copies of HOUN and possible participation of members of the Hansom Wheels in the introductory talks. Twyla will give an introduction in Victorian costume and there will be an awards event in spring 2003. At least one other school in the state is interested in a Sherlockian project. We want to keep the momentum going, and we encourage all scions to consider what they might do.
Sponsoring an activity for approximately 90 students requires at least $500 for purchase of the books with an education discount, prizes for students and schools, and luncheon expenses. We used an Aladdin Classic edition, published by Simon and Schuster, with a foreword by Newberry author Bruce Brooks. You’ll also need a contact with local schools, such as a teacher or administrator, and you should approach teachers in the spring prior to the school year. I will be delighted to share information with other scions contemplating a similar event. I can be reached at MTR@Lindau.net.
Myrtle T. Robinson and Dr. Twyla Tuten, along with the Hansom Wheels of SC
THIRD ANNUAL HOUND AWARDS EVENT, 2004
(And they're still at it... at a Hansom Wheels meeting in February 2009, Kathy Newman reported that the 2008 Hound Project got some publicity at the SC Middle School Conference.)
The Winning Season
Because January 6, 2004, marked the 150th birthday of Sherlock Holmes, the introductory session to the third annual HOUN reading project was held on that date instead of November this year. Bob and Myrtle Robinson traveled to North Augusta where two sessions were held at Paul Knox and North Augusta middle schools. The teachers had arranged with their principals to combine classes. At each, in addition to the usual presentations, a decorated cake commemorating Holmes’ birthday was served along with beverages. Each student was presented with a personal copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles with an inscribed bookplate inside. Twyla Tuten arranged for the cakes and participated in the presentations.
The school project included reading The Hound of the Baskervilles and submitting an original creation based on the novel. Judging was held in April in North Augusta and the exciting conclusion was on April 24, 2004, in Columbia at the South Carolina State Museum where seven winning eighth-graders from North Augusta and their families were luncheon guests of the Hansom Wheels. All items submitted by the classes involved models of Baskerville Hall, Stapleton’s butterfly collection, new conclusions to the novel, puzzles, games, and posters, among others—were on exhibit in the museum’s Orientation Room for the entire day for public viewing.
Each winning student was presented with a Collector’s Library edition of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and a framed print of Sherlock Holmes created by Jak Smyrl. In addition, they and their families received free admission to the museum for the day.
Video tapes of the 1939 movie The Hound of the Baskervilles starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, just released that weekend, were donated to the libraries of the participating schools.
The approximate total of eighth graders exposed to HOUN in the three years the project has been carried out is 300. We have already purchased books for the next project, and we expect it to follow the general outline of previous years. We will have 94 students this year.
The bottom line is that we thoroughly enjoy doing the projects and we try to plan it so that the students enjoy it, too. I think it shows in the wide-ranging and often quite remarkable originality and creativity of their projects. We judge knowing nothing about students except which school they attend, and we don’t know how the teachers have graded the submissions. We were especially pleased to have an African-American girl as one of the winners in 2004. Most times, we can identify the sex by the student’s name, and we’ve seen that the sex distribution varies from year to year. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m personally interested in presenting something to the male students that has some "zing" to it, since many boys look at reading as a chore. I think HOUN fits the bill.
The Lesson Plan
by Mrs. Linda Longe, Paul Knox Middle School
Participating schools: North Augusta Middle School and Paul Knox Middle School, North Augusta, SC
Extent: three month unit
Novel reading
Enhancement of vocabulary and discussion of writing style
Time period discussion
Critical thought in solving criminal case
Reading The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Information concerning Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Teamwork
Students decide on project construction and partner (if any) in depicting the novel. They must be accurate according to novel content.
Science Enrichment
Students participate in a lab analysis of a crime scenario to determine solution to a fictional crime; use of forensics.
Mystery Minutes Series
Students work in small groups to study clues of a scenario and of characters in order to determine solution to a mystery which may involve any of the following: murder, robbery, jealousy concerning inheritances, or a position of power.
Assessment:
Students are required to complete a project concerning the novel, take the Accelerated Reader test and a written test prepared by the teacher.
The projects prepared by the students are submitted to a judging committee composed of Hansom Wheels members. Two winners (or sets of winners, if two students have worked on a single project) are chosen to be honored at a Hansom Wheels event. Winners’ parents, siblings and teacher are invited to attend.
In the beginning
(Published with permission from The Serpentine Muse, volume 19:1, Winter 2002.)
COME THROUGH THE MAGIC DOOR WITH ME. . .*
*Arthur Conan Doyle, Through the Magic Door (Pleasantville, NY: The Akadine Press, 1999), p.5.*
by Myrtle Robinson
In April 2002, the Hansom Wheels scion of the Baker Street Irregulars hosted a weekend of activities in Columbia, SC. Included in the program was an outreach effort to interest young people in Sherlock Holmes. We hope other groups will follow our example. The following notice appeared in our brochure for The Intergalactic Sherlockian Weekend:
FOR THE YOUNGER GENERATION—In a competition sponsored by the Hansom Wheels, eighth grade language arts students from two South Carolina schools are reading The Hound of the Baskervilles and will prepare projects to compete for prizes for themselves and their schools. Prizes will be awarded at the Saturday luncheon at which winners and their parents will be guests.
Among our members is a high school mathematics teacher, Dr. Twyla Tuten, who lives and works in North Augusta, SC, approximately 100 miles from Columbia. She was enthusiastic about my idea to have middle school students read HOUN as a project and enter a Sherlockian competition. She contacted schools around the state and two eighth grade advanced placement class teachers in North Augusta were interested. Our October approach was late because teachers usually have their year’s plans in place in early summer. However, the schools had canceled a traditional trip to Washington because of September 11, and the teachers welcomed a project to fill the gap. They used HOUN in a study of Victorian life in general.
Since each student must have a copy of the book if it is required reading, we ordered 92 copies of HOUN. Seventy-two came in and were distributed in early January with the other twenty arriving a week or so later. I’m told twenty youngsters were "champing at the bit" by the time they received their copies. At the teachers’ request, Twyla visited each school to give an introduction to the Canon, Hound of the Baskervilles in particular, and some information about Arthur Conan Doyle. In mid-March the project ended, and the teachers graded the entries and selected 60 "products" deemed suitable for the competition.
By March 31, Twyla had the entries. Jo Bradford, another Hansom Wheels member, and I participated in the judging. We found entries all about Twyla’s kitchen and dining room, posters leaning against walls, and her computer prepared for viewing the PowerPoint entries. There were numerous posters, two 221B dioramas—one with Dr. Mortimer standing outside the door, models of Baskerville Hall, a plaster of Paris plaque, a collage of Sherlockian items, a board game, a model of the yew alley, and many more. Four entries were chosen, two from each class.
All entries were brought to Columbia with the three-dimensional items displayed on tables in the meeting auditorium and the posters in the hall gallery immediately outside. The PowerPoint entries were shown to the attendees. Since our Saturday programs were open to the public, the exhibits attracted a great deal of attention. The winning students and their families were our lunch guests, and our BSI speakers, David Hammer, Paul Herbert, and Don Izban, presented the awards and spoke to the group. The winners received a Sherlockian book other than Hound, autographed by the speakers and two other Baker Street Irregulars—Herb Tinning and my husband Bob Robinson, an award certificate, and a cartoon suitable for framing, especially commissioned for the weekend by a well-known Southeastern cartoonist and artist, Jak Smyrl. In addition, a complete Sherlock Holmes was presented to each school’s library with the accompanying note:
The Hansom Wheels, Scion of the Baker Street Irregulars, of Columbia, South Carolina is pleased to present to your school library a copy of The Complete Sherlock Holmes. This is part of the prize earned by the North Augusta students who participated in the project sponsored by the Hansom Wheels to mark the centennial of The Hound of the Baskervilles. It also marks the exciting Intergalactic Sherlockian Weekend in Columbia, April 26-28, 2002.
We hope that all of you will take a look at the Sherlock Holmes stories, and we know that you will enjoy Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson when you read their exciting adventures. Happy reading!
Pictures of the presentations were later sent to the students.
Our project was definitely a success. One student’s hometown newspaper did a feature article on her and her project, and the two teachers involved want to do the program again in 2003. We have promised copies of HOUN and possible participation of members of the Hansom Wheels in the introductory talks. Twyla will give an introduction in Victorian costume and there will be an awards event in spring 2003. At least one other school in the state is interested in a Sherlockian project. We want to keep the momentum going, and we encourage all scions to consider what they might do.
Sponsoring an activity for approximately 90 students requires at least $500 for purchase of the books with an education discount, prizes for students and schools, and luncheon expenses. We used an Aladdin Classic edition, published by Simon and Schuster, with a foreword by Newberry author Bruce Brooks. You’ll also need a contact with local schools, such as a teacher or administrator, and you should approach teachers in the spring prior to the school year. I will be delighted to share information with other scions contemplating a similar event. I can be reached at MTR@Lindau.net.