Overview
Loudoun County has a long, rich, and important history, and by exploring the history of this particular place, we can also gain a better understanding of and appreciation for the history of our state, our nation, and the world. A local mill, for example, is just an old building. But it represents important changes in the lives of people who lived in Loudoun years ago, and it also is a manifestation of significant changes in American history, and in human history. Fading tombstones can tell stories, hint at mysteries, and help us appreciate who we are as a culture and where we have come from. Understanding this real, concrete, local history helps us understand the significance, the context, and the meaning of the world around us. It brings the abstractions of academic history into focus and makes them real.
In this project, you will investigate a specific aspect of Loudoun history that interests you, while bringing to bear a wide range of skills, concepts, and information you have learned in your history and English classes this year. On May 25 or 26 (on whichever day you have US
History), you will spend a day exploring several historical sites in our local community, learning about some of the fascinating stories associated with them. After our field trip day, you will be asked to select a research topic and then work in small groups of 2-4 to research one element of
Loudoun history, using on-line archives, primary sources, and secondary sources to pull together the stories involved in your topic, and weaving them into their larger historical context. Topics could be anything from transportation, to architecture, to civil rights, to music or fashion. You will connect the stories of these local events to the larger historical contexts at the state, national, and global levels. In your groups, you will create a narrated PowerPoint about your topic that will be converted into a video. These videos will be shown in class, and they will also be posted on the websites of our local western Loudoun towns and historical societies.
Your work in this project will be divided into 5 assignments, across two courses, as follows:
Assignment
Parallel Timeline
Images in the PowerPoint
Narration and text in the PowerPoint
Script for the Presentation
Works Cited page
Course
U.S. History
U.S. History
English class
English class
English class
Points
To start, you must get the attached permission slip for the field trip signed and completed by your parents by May 20. If you don’t plan on attending the field trip, please let your teacher know by May 13 so that we can plan for busses accordingly.

1.
Select group members
2.
Select topic
3.
Divide up topic into equal parts, with each person focusing on at least one important event
4.
Begin research and develop parallel timelines
5.
Use timeline to frame out PPT (or iMovie or MovieMaker)
6.
Write first draft of script.
7.
Revise script for sentence variety and label the sentence patterns you used.
8.
Peer feedback on script
9.
Edit script
10.
Finalize PPT with images
11.
Get feedback on your presentation from peers
12.
Add narration to PPT (all in one sitting with your group)
13.
Convert PPT to video.
14.
Present PPT in class and post on websites