Learning Goals
Students will be able to analyze the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution’s Preamble, the Bill of Rights, and foundational American literature to explain how their themes, purposes, rhetoric, rights, and responsibilities shape contested ideas of American identity.
Students will be able to formulate open-ended oral-history questions and conduct an interview with an adult over 30 to investigate lived experiences and definitions of being American in 2026.
Students will be able to synthesize oral-history testimony, foundational U.S. documents, American literature, and evidence about diverse groups’ struggles to develop a warranted conclusion about what it means to be an American in 2026.
Students will be able to evaluate and revise their historical interpretation and communication in response to reflection, peer critique, teacher feedback, and audience questions.
Products
Oral-History Investigation Portfolio and Individual Reflection
Each student submits source analyses, inquiry-question development, an interview protocol and record, evidence notes, a claim with historical connections, milestone reflections, and an oral or written final reflection on growth in historical thinking, empathy, listening, and confidence. The portfolio documents methodology, conflicting evidence, limitations, feedback, and revisions that inform the team documentary.
What It Means to Be an American in 2026 Oral-History Documentary
Teams create and revise a short documentary that synthesizes members’ oral histories with foundational texts, American literature, and diverse groups’ struggles to present a supported conclusion while acknowledging tensions, differing perspectives, and limitations. Teams exhibit the film at the Our American Stories Expo, answer audience questions, and document how peer and teacher feedback shaped the final version.
No rubric has been generated yet.