Login

Email Address: Password:
 

Interactive Research: A Time Period in American History

High School Social Studies Lesson Idea

 Duration: 2:49
It is important for students to have an understanding of our country’s past over the last 100 years. This gives them an appreciation for history and an understanding of what it was like when their parents or grandparents were young. Through the use of video, students can learn and share information about a time period in history.
 

Project Description 

Students first review research and documentation skills (including how to evaluate Internet sources and avoid plagiarism), as well as how to form a thesis. Students then choose a time period in American history. Students can work alone or in groups of up to three. After the teacher approves the topic, students research and gather resources, documenting their sources as they go. Students should identify appropriate music to represent that time period. Their projects can combine text, narration, music, photos taken with a digital camera, or photos or other images they locate on the Internet, on a resource CD, or from other sources. The video project should include the following elements from the time period:
 
  • Political figures
  • Famous musicians and actors
  • Any other important people of that time period
  • Historical events
  • Inventions
  • Icons
  • How the U.S. affected the rest of the world
 
After completing a storyboard of the project using AppleWorks, students use iMovie to assemble and edit their movie using iPhoto to import images and iTunes to add music. Students present a rough draft of their work and receive peer feedback. They then use this feedback to finalize their project. They share their final projects in a class presentation.
 

Outcomes 

After completing this project, students will be able to:
 
  • Understand proper research and documentation techniques.
  • Understand plagiarism and how to avoid it.
  • Evaluate the validity of Internet sources.
  • Understand how the U.S. was affected by the events and people from that time period.
  • Understand important aspects of American culture and how they arose.
  • Have an increased appreciation for history.
  • Have gained a better understanding of timelines and when events took place.
  • Understand how to present research through the use of visuals and music.
 

Technology Skills 

After completing this project, students will be able to:
 
  • Use iMovie, iTunes, and iPhoto to create an iMovie project.
  • Use the Internet for research.
  • Use a word-processing application to produce a storyboard of the project.
 

Assessment Suggestions 

  • Checkpoints along the way can be used to make sure research is proceeding correctly, theses are being properly formed, and the rough draft is complete. Quizzes can also be used to check student understanding of research and documentation, citing sources, plagiarism, and Internet source evaluation.
  • Students can have their projects assessed with a teacher-created rubric, preferably by a panel of evaluators. Both oral and written feedback can be given to students.
 

Tools and Resources 

Books
Joseph Gibaldi, The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , 5th edition

Internet
 
 
Tools
Macintosh computers, digital video camera (optional), digital camera (optional), Internet connection, iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, AppleWorks
 
 

First published on Jun 21, 2006. Content last updated on Oct 10, 2006.