Lori Fulton

Fulton’s innovative teaching idea, “The Lives They Carried,” is focused on helping senior students who are deemed at-risk because of learning issues and/or socio-economic situations to become more engaged with and inspired by reading. During the semester, the class will be reading Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried, which depicts the experiences of Vietnam War veterans. To help bring this literature to life, Fulton’s students will visit a number of veterans who live at the Veterans' Hospital in Battle Creek and the Veterans' Home in Grand Rapids. After conducting multiple interviews, they will create a living history website for each veteran telling his or her story about life, war, and its aftermath. These stories, as well as the experience of the student chroniclers, also will be published and provided in print form to the veteran and his or her family, as well as the local veterans’ associations. Fulton’s objectives are for both groups to benefit from this project — the veterans will be shown that they have not been forgotten. Meanwhile, the students will get to expand their reading comprehension; apply higher-order thinking skills; gain exposure to literature, technology and community service; and build a sense of pride for learning.