Implementation
Time Needed
In general, you will need two weeks to complete this FreedomQuest. You may need less time depending on the ability level of students, access to computers, and how much work students can do on their own time and on home computers. There are also optional steps that can be skipped.
Background
For preparation, you might want to review several books or articles listed in Additional Resources. Particularly relevant is "If Statues Could Talk: Using Monuments to Teach," Chapter Four in James A. Percoco's book, A Passion for the Past: Creative Teaching of U.S. History; it provides excellent perspectives on and suggestions for the classroom study of monuments.
Several teachers have created web pages showcasing results of their own monument/memorial design projects with students in the classroom. Review these sites on your own for inspiration and introduce them to your students as a way to kick off or conclude this FreedomQuest.
Structure
Monument to the Underground Railroad is organized using the standard WebQuest format-Introduction, Task/Questions, Process/Resources, Conclusion, Assessment, Teachers. Each section has been carefully crafted to build upon earlier steps and stimulate higher-level thinking skills. The Process section for students outlines the basic steps. Note when the class works together as the whole class, in small groups, or as individuals functioning in one of five roles. Because each class is unique, adapt any directions as needed for your own class. You can print sections as needed.
There is a deliberate sequence in Monument to the Underground Railroad that moves students from general to specific and information gathering to design.
Students work with a number of graphic organizers, or templates, in Monument to the Underground Railroad. These help scaffold the learning that occurs while students work, allowing them to see new relationships and insights as information is organized graphically. The templates are important tools, and each should be thoroughly completed and discussed before moving to the next step. Print and copy as needed, or project them overhead to the whole class.
Suggested Guidelines
Begin by discussing monuments in your local community. Which ones are students familiar with? What or who do they honor? Are any new monuments being planned in your area? What has the debate over them been like? A field trip to local monuments is a way to generate student interest in this topic. Look at local monuments from both historic and artistic perspectives.
The Introduction provides the context and purpose for the task that students will complete. Read and discuss with whole class, perhaps bridging it to the conversation about local monuments.
Make sure students understand the Task requirements. Having students complete several design elements stimulates creativity and higher-level thinking skills such as analysis and synthesis and encourages an inter-disciplinary approach. The designation of "required" and "option" items is applicable only if you plan to submit class designs to the Freedom Center. If you use this FreedomQuest only in class, you can determine which and how many task items are suitable for your students, based on the amount of time available and ability levels.
The "invitation" from the Freedom Center is modeled after actual requests for proposals (RFPs) for real-world monuments. This document adds reality to the FreedomQuest, in addition to providing specific details for the various design items. Remind students to check back to the RPF when they work on their design packages. Note that the Task is simulated, as the Freedom Center is not building a monument to the Underground Railroad. Neither are students actually building a monument; rather they are making drawings and a scale model of their design.
The Questions are broad ones designed to focus students on the "big picture" and link their study of the Underground Railroad with the FreedomQuest task. Keep referring back to the Questions throughout the project.
The Process section provides directions for students for each of the eight steps. You may adapt the directions as needed for your own classroom, especially in terms of grouping students.
You have some flexibility in Step One, the purpose of which is to provide background for all. If your class has already studied the Underground Railroad, you may want to skip using the research links and books. Use the Thinking about the Underground Railroad, however, as this provides a foundation for later student work.
For Step Seven, students form groups of five, choose roles, and divide up the work as they begin to create their monument and design package. Each role has additional links to use as needed for help in completing its specific duties. Assist students in selecting roles that best fit their skills and abilities. Each role consults with other roles to complete its duties. These are the five roles:
This is a summary of the graphic organizers and where they are used.
Assessment is in the form of a rubric that evaluates how well student groups complete the various required and optional items in the design package.
You may submit a completed design package to the Freedom Center in several formats-electronic files attached to email, files burned to a CD, or as hard paper copy. See the submission form for details. The Freedom Center would love to post a photograph of your class along with its design, but make sure you have parental permission for student's work to be published and their images used. Copies of release forms must accompany your submission.
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