Grade 7 social studies students at Herkimer Jr./Sr. High School have recently been studying reformers from the 19th century, but they’re using a modern twist.
As they’ve researched an important reformer from a specific movement (e.g. Women’s Rights, Education Reform, and the Abolitionist Movement), they’ve used social media to put themselves in that person’s shoes. The students have created social media profiles for their reformer using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok temples on Google slides.
Teacher Kelli Shepardson and technology integration/STEM specialist Richard Mathy Jr., have worked jointly on the project.
Shepardson said students had to choose which platform a reformer would have probably used.
“They had to get a sense of what type of audience were they trying to reach and how were they delivering their messages,” she said.
“The students seemed to really enjoy it. I think using the social media aspect helped them research their reformer in a more modern lens. Almost like what would this important reformer say publicly today if they were to choose a social media platform.”
Alexander Yudchits said the project was “great.”
“It was easy since I and many others can relate to it,” he said. “I would definitely do it again.”
Victoria Brinkerhoff said combining social media and history was fun.
“It was a good idea for a fun project to do even if we couldn’t work together because of COVID,” she said.