Student Creativity Brings American History To Life
I was blown away by my Grade 11 American History class projects this year. The students researched the life and times of different American presidents, and then presented what they discovered to the class. That doesn’t sound very revolutionary, but the project included an interactive class activity and a 21st century learning product, and that’s where the magic happened.
One of my students studied President John F. Kennedy. He produced an oversized map of Dealey Plaza and assigned each classmate the role of a witness who was there the day JFK was assassinated. Each student received a photograph of who they were supposed to be and their witness testimony, and shown where they were located on the map and what they saw from that vantage point. With this information, the students discussed who they thought shot JFK – which is still is one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, despite Lee Harvey Oswald’s conviction. The students came to some really interesting conclusions based on the different testimonies they explored.
Another phenomenal project was from two students studying President Lyndon B. Johnson. For their interactive activity, they staged a meeting of LBJ’s administration team and assigned their classmates to roles such as Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury and Secretary of Defense. Each student was given character profiles and policies that needed to be proposed or passed. To make it even more interesting and realistic, candy cigarettes and iced tea in bourbon bottles were used as props, because LBJ’s meetings always involved drinking and smoking.
These students also created a segment called If LBJ Could Text. Using a visual of an iPhone, they depicted various texts received and sent by LBJ. There were texts from Ladybird Johnson saying she had discovered that he was having an affair, texts from his Secretary of State, and texts from various administration members about what was going on in Vietnam. LBJ was portrayed having multiple text conversations simultaneously about different things and the boys showed how he might have responded. It was so interesting because not only did they capture elements of LBJ’s foreign policy, but also things about his personality – such as that he often made decisions while his administration stood outside his bathroom. They really humanized the president, which makes it so much more interesting for the audience.
My hope is that by digging into history in creative, interactive ways, my students enjoy thinking about the causes and effects – how things happened, why things happened – instead of just seeing history as a series of dates and facts.
Read more about Alicia Hawryluk
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Another phenomenal project was from two students studying President Lyndon B. Johnson. For their interactive activity, they staged a meeting of LBJ’s administration team and assigned their classmates to roles such as Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury and Secretary of Defense. Each student was given character profiles and policies that needed to be proposed or passed. To make it even more interesting and realistic, candy cigarettes and iced tea in bourbon bottles were used as props, because LBJ’s meetings always involved drinking and smoking.
These students also created a segment called If LBJ Could Text. Using a visual of an iPhone, they depicted various texts received and sent by LBJ. There were texts from Ladybird Johnson saying she had discovered that he was having an affair, texts from his Secretary of State, and texts from various administration members about what was going on in Vietnam. LBJ was portrayed having multiple text conversations simultaneously about different things and the boys showed how he might have responded. It was so interesting because not only did they capture elements of LBJ’s foreign policy, but also things about his personality – such as that he often made decisions while his administration stood outside his bathroom. They really humanized the president, which makes it so much more interesting for the audience.
My hope is that by digging into history in creative, interactive ways, my students enjoy thinking about the causes and effects – how things happened, why things happened – instead of just seeing history as a series of dates and facts.
Read more about Alicia Hawryluk
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