Historians as Work!

It's always exciting to plan and implement a new project, especially one packed with rich learning opportunities. Our school is turning 100 this year. So in honor of our centennial year, I designed an inquiry based project that would celebrate our school's history throughout the decades. My plan was to promote historical thinking as students analyzed primary sources and shared their findings in a digital story. What I did not expect was the high level of student engagement. Class periods seemed to be cut in half and students left class begging for more, a teacher's dream! I also got sucked in and was actively learning beside them as we uncovered the layers of our school's history.

The first step to creating the project was to identify the targeted skills I could integrate into the project such as:

- working in collaborative groups

- comparing/contrasting ideas

- analyzing primary sources

- inquiry & researching

- close reading, inferencing & summarizing

- sourcing & citations

- interviewing & presenting

Actually, the list of skills seemed to expand as the project evolved. For instance, I decided to weave in literary devices in order to prompt more descriptive writing.  The amount of technology skills embedded into this project was really off the charts too.

Building Background Knowledge

I invited colleagues to stop by our classroom to share stories about our school's inception. I felt this would give everyone a foundation of where and how it had all started. In the process, it ignited curiosity and a sense of excitement among the students.

   

The Time Capsule Hook

In order to kick off the project, I taught a mini-lesson on primary and secondary sources. I showed the students a clip of the 1795 time capsule that was recently found in Boston and another clip that revealed what was inside the capsule. I announced that we were about to embark on a similar mission to in order tell our school's story. They could not wait to start!

Creating an Archivist Mindset

Photographs:
To prepare my students to analyze photographs with a critical eye, I used a class activity I call Zooming In. Using my Smartboard, I revealed a photograph bit by bit, stopping to discuss: What do you wonder? What do you notice? What do you think? It was a great way to slow down the process of analyzing photographs. I would not reveal more of the photograph until all thoughts were exhausted. I was impressed by the questions and inferences students made. Students were surprised by how much information they could get from a single photograph.



Objects:
Prior to starting this project, I visited different antique shops around town to scout out unusual antique objects. Each group was assigned an object to analyze its design and purpose. Then, I brought out the modern day versions of the objects, so students could compare and contrast the objects.

 

Our school is very fortunate to have their own school archivist on staff, Jenny Winston. So, I took full advantage of her expertise and passion for primary sources. First, she and I worked closely brainstorming ways we could use the primary sources from our school's collection. After kicking around a few ideas, we decided on the concept of building decade boxes from the 1920s to the 1970s. She selected an assortment of primary sources, with 5th graders in mind, such as photographs, letters, newspapers, textiles, graduation rings, and yearbooks. She also scanned some of the sources from each decade and shared the Google Drive decade folders. So, the students had access to the digitized primary sources. They also had access to our school's virtual, interactive timeline and digital archives website which holds a larger collection than what could be found in their digital folders.

Decades GDrive folders with digital primary sources

On her first visit to our class, Jenny, brought a few interesting primary sources for the students to check out. She went over how to appropriately handle the sources in order to preserve them, by laying them flat to examine and turning the pages gently at the edge, all while wearing gloves. Honestly, there was something about the idea of students wearing white gloves as they handled the primary sources that transformed their mindset from a typical 5th grade student to a passionate archivist on a mission. It was like the white gloves came with investigative superpowers!

Let the Investigations Begin!

Students worked in groups of 3-4. They selected a decade of interest from 1920'-1970's and were provided a rubric. Each decade's inquiry was anchored with the same essential question, In what ways has USN preserved its traditions and evolved throughout the decade? Students were also provided with suggested focal areas of investigation (academics, sports, club/social, and facilities) but were encouraged to modify them as needed.  The project was easily differentiated based on the complexity of the primary source selection from different texts to photographs. Each primary source naturally provided the students with a breadcrumb trail to another source. Students were totally immersed in the challenge of piecing the puzzle together. One student made the connection of how he felt like Sherlock Holmes as he investigated. It was quite a scene to see their excitement as they connected the dots of their discoveries.

Analyzing Primary Sources

Technology Playing a Part

Technology only enhanced the process of investigating and reporting their findings. Students used the web to access secondary sources to answer questions that came up in their investigations like What is kitten ball? and How do you dance the jitterbug? They quickly discovered that taking pictures of primary sources allowed them to use the iPad as a magnifying glass, so they could zoom in and out on an image. Onsite reporting was a snap with a mobile device. Students used their iPads to take photos of the school and to interview faculty members. Our athletic campus is not located on our school's campus; not problem for my students, they cleverly realized they could use GoogleEarth to obtain street and ariel views. We used Book Creator to produce the digital stories. Students were encouraged to "smash" apps, and they did not hesitate to do it using PicCollage, Explain Everything and iMovie apps. Each student produced their own pages and later the group's pages were merged into one book.

                                                       

                                                               Book Creator Cover

It's Showtime!

Presentations were practiced in class and students were reminded not to read to the audience, but to aim at presenting the big ideas of their decade. They were also required to present dressed in attire representative of their decade. It was entertaining to hear a 5th graders interpretation on their decade such as how teachers never smiled in the 20s.

Changes for the Next Time Around...

It is wonderful when the outcome exceeds the expectations, and that's exactly what happened with this project.  The experience heightened my awareness that the level of student engagement and problem solving mindset increases significantly when primary sources are in the mix. This experience has motivated me to find ways for primary sources to be at the core of my instruction, promoting critical thinking and problem solving throughout the entire learning process. As I reflect, there are just a few items I would consider changing. In addition to the essential question, I provided students with supporting questions. A few students were paralyzed when they could not find answers to the supporting questions, even though they were told they did not have to answer all of them. While a few other students felt like they were done researching once the supporting questions were answered. I meant the supporting questions to be jumping off point not a means to the end. Next time, I would instead provide them with general questions that scaffolds the process of making observations & interpretations with the primary sources.

I feel we also underestimated the use of the digital primary source collection website. Initially, we felt the students would be overwhelmed by the amount of sources. However, once they figured out how to browse with tags, it was smooth sailing. Using the website would eliminate the need to share the decades GDrive folders. Groups collected and sourced their research on a shared GDoc. I might instead consider using Padlet next year.  I would also start off the project with each group researching the main historical events of their decade, before giving them access to the primary sources.

Lastly, I would consider a class trip to the Tennessee State Library of Archives next year prior to starting the research. This would add another level of authenticity to the entire experience.

While we will only be celebrating a centennial year once, I have a feeling this project will be experienced for many years to come!