Living Legacy: Old Gray PBL
Overview: What defines a person's legacy? In this module, students will partner with a
local cemetery to conduct research and highlight local historical figures. In addition,
students will explore various time periods in American history and draw connections
between their chosen research subject and his/her contributions within and beyond their
lifetime. With the local cemetery as a partner, student groups will produce a documentary
and annotated bibliography that will be displayed on the cemetery's website as well as
archived at the local history center.
Follow Up Questions- posed by students: What is the value of memorializing the past?
Why do we study history?
How do we define our own legacy?
Context and Background: Old Gray Cemetery is located on the outskirts of downtown
Knoxville, approximately ¾ mile from the L&N STEM Academy’s campus. Established
in 1850, the cemetery is a prime example of both the garden era as well as Knoxville’s
history. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, stakeholders are particularly
interested in maintaining relevancy among the community.
Project Launch: Students were told they were meeting “clients” and that they would be
responsible for working in groups to supply a product that would serve as a community
service. A board member from Old Gray Cemetery was invited to meet with the class, as
well as an employee from the East Tennessee Historical Society. Students employed the
d. school process by empathizing and defining the needs of the clients.
The result: Students would be responsible for choosing a significant person buried in the
cemetery to highlight through extensive yearlong research. The end products would
include a professional documentary, to be posted on the cemetery’s website, and an
extensive annotated bibliography to be archived at the East Tennessee History Center.
Mini tasks:
-Annotated Bibliography formatting
-How to conduct historical research using primary sources
-Historical narrative writing
-Script writing for documentaries
-Gilded Age
-Economic, Social, Political implications for Knoxville (focus on 1890-1930)
-MLA Format
-Creating a documentary
-Professional emails
-Presentation skills
June 2014
August 2014
September 2014
Ms. Norton meets
with stakeholders to
establish basis for
PBL
AP Combined Class
Begins- Project
Launch
Class visits Old Gray
after completing
initial research
Research, Annotated
Bibliography
December 2014
January 2015
February 2015
March 2015
Bibliography
Review/
Preparation for
National History Day
Prep for National
History Day
Continuation of
Research
Regional National
History Day
Check in w/
Stakeholders
Completion of
Bibliography
School Wide NHD
Competition- 25 of 37
students selected to
move to Regional
competition
Begin Script Writing
for Documentary
11 students move to
state competition
(3 specialty awards)
4 students move to
national competition
April 2015
May 2015
June 2015
July 2015
Documentary
Production
Project Completion
Students represent as
National NHD
Competition
Planning meeting for
2015-16
All Stakeholders are
invited for
documentary viewing
October/November
2014
Teachers Debrief with
stakeholders and
deliver products
Teacher Reflection:
This PBL was successful on several fronts. Students took complete ownership of
their research and came to value utilizing reliable resources. They had the
experience- successes and obstacles- of conducting collegiate level research.
In addition, this PBL provided students the space to gain an appreciation for local
history as well as how Knoxville factors into U.S. History.
Student Reflections:
“This project forced us to do real-world research. It challenged us throughout the
entire year.”
“I enjoyed this project because we were producing a video for a client. It was
important to be historically accurate and do our best work.”
“I feel prepared to walk into any project now and know how to do research as well
as organize my progress.”
“I had no idea how significant Knoxville history is- there is so much here that has not
been uncovered.”