ROCK SPRINGS — The award-winning documentary film “Dear Sirs” is now available to Wyoming educators.
The film and a classroom-ready curriculum are provided through support from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, the Wyoming Community Foundation, and the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation. Access to the film and curriculum is provided as an option classroom resource.
The film follows Rock Springs filmmaker Mark Pedri as he retraces his grandfather’s experience as a World War II POW through photos, letters, and a firsthand investigation. The curriculum was written by Caroline Allen, a Rock Springs-based social studies teacher curriculum developer. The curriculum is designed for English language arts, history and social studies classrooms at the middle school and high school levels. Curriculum development was supported in part by grants from Wyoming Humanities and informed through collaboration with the National WWII Museum
“When I found out the details of my grandpa’s experience as a POW, it changed my life. I knew I needed to tell his story, and every step of the process taught me more about my grandpa, myself, and why these stories matter so much in the grand picture of history,” Pedri said. “Bringing it into Wyoming classrooms is especially meaningful because students see themselves in the story and they engage with history in a way that they’ve never experienced.”
More about the film can be found at dearsirsfilm.com.
