South Dakota teachers embark on first-ever history road trips by Department of Education

It may be summer break, but that hasn’t stopped K-12 teachers from continuing to learn new things they can bring back to their students in almost a month when school starts again.

Teachers from across the state convened Monday in Sioux Falls to kick off a week-long east river road trip by the South Dakota Department of Education. A similar road trip also kicked off Monday in Rapid City to tour the western side of the state. About 240 teachers are on the road trips.

These trips are part of the DOE's support to educators as they work to implement new social studies standards by fall 2025.

More: What South Dakota's K-12 students will learn in social studies classes starting in 2025

Educators on the tour on the eastern side of the state started Monday by seeing the Old Courthouse Museum, the Pettigrew Home and Museum, the U.S.S. South Dakota Battleship Memorial and the Sherman Park Indian Burial Mounds in Sioux Falls.

The tour groups departed from Sioux Falls on Foreman buses to Brookings, where they took in the sights at the South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum and McCrory Gardens.

Tracey Larsen, an eighth grade social studies teacher at Patrick Henry Middle School in Sioux Falls, said she was excited for the trip because there were several locations she hadn’t been to, even though she’s from Britton, South Dakota and has lived in Sioux Falls for decades.

“Even in Sioux Falls, there’s things to learn about,” Larsen said. “The historical stories from South Dakota make learning exciting. Students love stories, so of course, they love social studies.”

More: What we know about the South Dakota Department of Education's Civics & History Summit

Zachary Wipf, a new social studies teacher for grades 6-12 in Iroquois, said even though he’s lived in South Dakota his whole life, he hasn’t dived into the history of South Dakota as much as this road trip is allowing him.

“East river is often overlooked” in South Dakota history, Wipf said. “Part of my eighth grade curriculum is on westward expansion, and this is good information to make it relatable to my students. Some of this (history) happened right in their backyard.”

Alison Day, a science teacher from Mitchell Middle School, said she was interested to learn more about South Dakota’s Native American cultures and excited to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder historic homes in De Smet and the Agricultural Heritage Museum in Brookings.

Native Americans “survived in nature, adapted to their environment and used everything,” Day said of what she learned from an exhibit at the Old Courthouse Museum. “They were so well-adapted that they made art. These are things to bring back to my students.”

More: $600K was spent to create SD's new social studies standards. Implementing them could cost millions.

This roadtrip is meant to explore the people, places and events prominent in South Dakota history, the South Dakota Department of Education said in a press release.

Other stops on the east river road trip will include the Dacotah Prairie Museum, Storybook Land and Wylie Park in Aberdeen; Ingalls Homestead, Laura Ingalls Wilder historic homes and Father DeSmet Statue in De Smet; Prairie Village in Madison; the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village; the Stavig House, Nicollet Tower and Wacipi Grounds in Sisseton; Spirit Mound in Vermillion; Mellette House in Watertown; Mead Cultural Education Center, Gavins Point Dam and Territorial Capital in Yankton.

Stops on the west river road trip will include the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Bear Butte, Crazy Horse Memorial and Wind Cave; the Mount Moriah Cemetery, Story of the Bison, Lawman’s Patrol, Broken Boot Gold Mine and Adams Museum in Deadwood; the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs; the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center in Lead; the D.C. Booth Fish Hatchery and High Plains Western Heritage Center in Spearfish; and the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Visitor Center in Wall.

SDDOE Secretary Joe Graves said in a press release the experience will broaden teachers’ knowledge about the state’s rich history, and they should come away with practical ideas for bringing historical stories into classrooms across the state.

Graves also said the SDDOE will launch a new website with South Dakota-specific civics and history resources soon, and will work with educators to identify possible state support over the next two years.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota Department of Education kicks off history road trips