Classroom History Hour

The Classroom History Hour project is an effort to tap into the fun and excitement students feel when they watch a good History Channel documentary about a historical person or event. For this project, students will choose a topic relevant to the current unit of study (13 Colonies, Industrial Revolution, Great Depression, World War 2, ect)and create a video documentary of approximately 5 minutes about this topic. The group of students will do all relevant research, create a story board, write the script, film the video, and edit the video. This project will make history a very hands on subject. The students will create a real project from start to finish and have a final product to be proud of. While there might be other ways to complete this project, a Flip Video camera is small, compact, and easy to use. Once the video is filmed, the students will use an editing program to clip and organize the video clips they have already filmed. In the end, these videos will be posted online to be viewed by all.

The Classroom History Hour gives real students a chance to demonstrate their knowledge of history in a real tangible way. The whole project is hands on from start to finish and it gives the students a chance to use and apply the material they learn in class in a more thorough, more significant, and more "real" way than any test or essay ever could. The access to one video camera opens the door to a world of possibilities for students.