Q: How to integrate maker ed in my existing history curriculum?

A1) Check out this series by William Gurstelle ReMaking History (Volume 1: Early Makers. Volume 2: Industrial Revolutionaries   Volume 3: Makers of the Modern World (pub. Date 2/25/17). He also wrote Defending your Castle and Art of the Catapult. Great titles

 

A2) I haven’t posted the directions yet but I had students in 3rd grade make a historical talking quilt. It uses a Makey Makey, Scratch from MIT and felt squares (laser cut if you can) to create an interactive quilt that plays a recording (one per square) when touched. Students record an snippet for their square, say the Boston Tea Party, and when that square is touched it plays their narration.
You can see a sample of it hanging behind me in the recent “ask a maker” session from maker ed that can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qzv7IrvGO4
A3) Depending on the grade level and the type of making that you’re interested in, there are many possibilities for integration.
For instance, using 3D modeling to recreate historic architecture via Minecraft (or even 3D printing these using TinkerCad or Morphi App). Other possibilities could be around materials/tools like making authentic looking, cosplay style armor or fashion from a specific period (ie Ancient Rome), reenacting a battle using robots (Ozobots, Sphero, NXT etc) .
Here’s a book with some additional ideas: http://www.makershed.com/products/remaking-history-volume-1
A4) Have you ever seen the CBS show Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation? It’s a fascinating combination of history and maker education. I could see this show being a great springboard for discussion and just driving home the “maker” inspiration
A5) An example of how I have done that: http://worlds-of-learning.com/2016/10/06/engineering-enduring-understanding/

1 Comment

  1. Kevin Day

    Fantastic…! Can’t wait to dig into this. Thanks, friends….

    Reply

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