University of Missouri-St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri, 63121

Last updated on June 23, 2026

Grant awarded by

TPS Midwest Region

Region

Midwest

Organization Type

College/University

Congressional District(s)

1, 2, 3

Fiscal Year Of First Grant

FY 2026 [10/01/25 - 09/30/26]

Contributing Organization(s)

Madison School District, Monroe County, Missouri; Warren County Historical Society, St. Paul's Marthasville, St. Ignatius of Loyola, Marthasville, Christ Community Lutheran School, Kirkwood, Ferguson Florissant School District music

Organization description

Our mission: We transform lives. As the metropolitan, land-grant, research institution serving the most diverse and economically important region in Missouri, the University of Missouri–St. Louis delivers exceptional educational, research and engagement experiences that inform, prepare, challenge and inspire.

Project description

“Missouri Foodways & Chautauquas” builds on our Foodways research project, adding Missouri traditional music via civic oration with music from historic municipal events, such as Chautauquas, studying the nation’s growth with historic sites near immigrant travel routes in the Booneslick region.

Thus, our plan was to further develop and nurture formed partnerships by identifying and extending the use of primary sources to teachers, students, local citizens and historical society members, to include Missouri historic music along with GIS for students for mapping, displaying, and sharing their learning at mini Chautauquas. Communities celebrated the nation’s founding, liberty & democracy, by enacting events and programs such as flag raisings and orations at Chautauquas beginning in the 1800s. We used local and national primary sources from parades, picnics, speeches, public readings, lyrics, and included Missouri’s music history as a foundation. Cultural traditions with music emerged during these celebrations, thus, we added Missouri’s music and oration with invited oral histories, foodways, and music pertinent to the region (folk music, fiddling, ragtime, and blues), each which unexpectedly helped democracy grow through stories, perspectives, and lyrics of individual and collective freedoms. Home to Scott Joplin (ragtime), fiddlers, and the blues via African American voices and migration, we engaged with the primary source and GIS training for teachers and students to learn and map this history to capture and to share results. GIS Story Maps of our graduate teacher researchers are included here: https://arcg.is/1yrzOX3

https://arcg.is/8mujK0

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e608249493a84d55961999f2d518016e

Student Responses to Primary Sources of St. Louis Civil Rights Using Blues and Ragtime Primary Sources

Examining Differentiation and 9th Grade World History Students’ Primary Source Analysis

Researching Foodways & Chautauquas

TPS project focus

Academic Courses
Apps/Online Interactives/Games
Curriculum
Grants
Teaching Materials
Workshops

Content focus

Access
Advocacy
Civics
Cultural Studies
Equity and Inclusion
General Studies
Geography
History
Information Literacy
Music
Religion
Research
Science
Technology
American Revolution
Civil Rights
Civil War

Audience

Administrators
Archivists
Classroom teachers
Community members
Curriculum coordinators
Musicians
Researchers
Students
Teacher candidates/Student teachers
University faculty

Level(s)

6 - 8
9 - 12
Adult learning
Graduate

Population focus

African Americans
Learners with disabilities
Low income
Rural
Seniors
Urban

Organization Contact

Sarah Coppersmith

sarahacoppersmith@gmail.com

Visit website

TPS Products

Curriculum, Research Findings, Framework to Analyze Primary Sources
[pdf]
Curriculum, Research Findings, Framework to Analyze Primary Sources
[pdf]
Professional Development, Research Findings
[pdf]