We have just started our Manifest Destiny unit. There is a lot of information I want to cover related to the local effects of westward expansion – leading from Native American Life to the Whitman Mission Massacre to the treaty that created the Umatilla Indian Reservation located east of Pendleton.
To facilitate this, I am going to ask the students to create “storyboards” (a glorified version of a comic strip). I am going to cover about 12 different events, asking the students to take notes as we cover those events through readings and video clips. After two days of note taking, students will get to choose 6 events each to place into storyboard form.
I am hoping that the goal of gathering information to include on this project will help the students focus on the material. We’ll see how it works!
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Sounds interesting. How many panels per story board are they required to use? What are the dimensions that they have to work with (8 1/2 by 11 inch paper, or poster board)?
It sounds like a great way to break up several days of note taking.
The students each chose four events to include on an 8-1/2 x 11 storyboard. I encouraged students to work in teams of 2 or 3, which most did, to create storyboards spanning 8 or 12 different events. They all did a good job, and enjoyed the creative process of putting their notes in picture-form. Some of the storyboards turned out to be fantastic, and we hung a lot of them up around the classroom.
Next we are going to look at the treaty itself (that created the Umatilla Indian Reservation), and the students will answer questions about the terms of the treaty. Then we’ll be about ready to begin our 4-week Civil War unit.
Thanks for the comment!