Hidden History of Holland 
                                                                                   By:  Cathy Engel

Project at a Glance :

Students in Creative Writing (10-12th grade) will pick a research topic of hidden history within Holland, Michigan. They will then investigate the topic, discover interesting facts, stories, and historical moments to later share in a series of podcasts.
       
Driving Question:

How can we share the Hidden History of Holland?             

Standards:

• W11-12. 2a-f, W 11-12.3a-e, W 11-12.7,  W11-12.8, W 11-12.10, SL 11-12.1, SL 11-12.2, SL 11-12.3, SL 11-12.4, & SL 11-12.5

Team / Culture Building:

• ​Hopes, Fears &  Norms
• Values Cards
• Creative Sequence DNA. 
• Conduct a survey to see what students' interests include.

​Entry Event:

• Visit the Holland Museum for a full tour that will also include hearing some of the stories of the Holland Fire, early settlers, and businesses from Holland that may or may not still be here. ​

Stakeholders:

• ​Holland Citizens
• Holland Museum (still need to contact them)
• Local Business Owners
• Local houses of worship

Empathy Building:

• Students will be talking to local historians and members of the community to learn the interesting moments from Holland’s past. 
• Stakeholder Map
• Empathy Map
• Consulting the Experts
• Touchstone Tour

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

• Once students have chosen their specific topic, students will do preliminary research about the event, location, or time period. From there, they will do a lot of interviewing to better understand the story. 
  
• Students will also learn how to podcast. This will take some time listening to existing podcasts and talking to podcasters about their craft. ​

Incubation:

• Students will do some initial brainstorming to get some ideas on the table. Following the initial brainstorming students will  complete a series of protocols to help them create and extend ideas.
• Brainwriting 
• How would [       ] solve this?
• Idea Quota
• Rule of Thirds
• Yes, and Can it…? ​protocol
• Combin-ide-ation

Checking in:

• ​Weekly check ins - where are they at the in the process?  What can they improve upon?  Students will create a Padlet to show their progress throughout the project.
• Pluses and Deltas​

• Elevator Pitches 
• #Moodboard

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Solution Building:

• ​Students first podcast episode will discuss the work they have completed and tease the upcoming story. 
• NUF test will help students decide which stories are the best to share.
• $100 test (List ideas- choose which ones have the most potential) 
• Stakeholder Feedback - students will connect with stakeholders often and well before they complete an their final podcast.
• Elevator Pitch
• Poster Session 

Critique and Revision: 

•  Students will potentially have to focus on the top two ideas rather than many since they will create a total of four episodes (2 detailing the work, 2 the actual stories).
• Critical Friends
• Meet with the Stakeholders for feedback.

Authentic Audience:

•  Holland Museum staff
•  Local community members 

Final Presentation:

• Students will record two podcasts that will (hopefully) be able to be streamed and hosted on Holland Museum's website.
• Students are given voice and choice by choosing the topic of their podcast and how they present their information. They can create a mystery, investigation, conversation, humorous look, among many other formats for their podcast.  ​
• Click on the Padlet link below to  explore podcasts created by West Ottawa High School students.
  

Click here for teacher's full plan.

​Reflection and Feedback:
 

• The teacher will use the Validation rubric to provide feedback to students.
• The podcasts will be shared with the Holland Museum to be shared on their website.
• Students will complete a short reflection on the work they completed, how they worked with their team and what they learned through the  process. ​

Click here for the teacher's Journey through PBL on Padlet . . .

Meet the Educator:
Cathy Engel teaches English 11 & 12 at West Ottawa High School.

     "PBL helps build the gap between curriculum and the real world."