Community History Tour

We invite you to explore Noble Virtual Middle School's digital history tour of North Berwick, Berwick and Lebanon, Maine! Over the past seven weeks we have visited community landmarks, researched local history and interviewed community experts to uncover stories about our area's past and present. Our driving question was: how can we as historians uncover and share stories about our community? This project reveals the stories we have uncovered. As family members, we want to first thank you for offering your support to your students and to our program. We also wanted to tell you how very, very proud we are of the work your students have done and of what they have accomplished in such a short time. The list is lengthy! Your students have:

• explored and applied research and notetaking/sketchnoting skills

• learned how to cite research sources using the MLA format (8th ed.)

• discovered the difference between primary and secondary sources

• delved into the effect of perspective and bias in the stories we are told

• used open-ended questions, follow up questions and other interview skills

• drafted original historian's oaths

• practiced writing a successful "hook" paragraph to reel in their readers

• composed historical narratives from their research

• offered constructive peer feedback using the Two Stars and a Wish protocol

• created and agreed to team contracts

• utilized the group roles of facilitator, recorder, timekeeper and clarifier

• collaborated to create group websites with a page for each group member

• decided on a tour format and created the tour

• brainstormed questions for a feedback from

• created a scavenger hunt to encourage other students to explore the tour (an idea they came up with on their own!)

• reflected on each process to reveal successes and challenges

If you're looking for a little extra fun while you explore, try out this student-created scavenger hunt to accompany our tour!