Social Studies; Technology; Language Arts; Mathematics; Visual Arts; Consumer, Family, and Life Skills

By: Joseph Gallo and James Falco

Teachers from the various disciplines

Academic Focus/
Core Curriculum Standards:

Admiration, responsibility, core values, citizenship.

Nostalgic remembrance improves community relations in town that is experiencing rapid development and change.

Project Description: Students will collaborate to organize and create a multimedia presentation and museum of the history of Long Branch, New Jersey. A core committee of student leaders will first research & collect data on one of five areas of interest. A structured five-activity approach will then follow, enabling classes in all disciplines to participate in the school-wide effort to promote pride in our town’s history. These activities will include: digitally re-mastering photos for several of the activities listed below; calculating the expansion of Long Branch since the Golden Era of the early 20^th century; evaluating the ecology of our beachfront and speculating its future, analyzing historical particulars using the literary work of such Long Branch natives as the former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky;, assembling this information into a museum and multimedia presentation for the students and members of the community to observe and internalize.

Target Audience: The Long Branch community

Project Scheduling:

Computer, social studies, graphic arts and language arts classes; additional work before and after school

Equipment Needed:

Digital Cameras, Microsoft Movie-Making Software, specific materials for activities

Technology: Students will digitally re-master photos for the info pamphlet, multimedia presentation, and photographic museum

Mathematics: Students will incorporate several mathematic principles in contrasting the expansion of Long Branch since the Golden Era of its time. 

Visual Arts: Students will digitally re-master photos of past and present day Long Branch. They will then organize them in a pamphlet, multimedia presentation, and a museum exhibit throughout the halls of our school, which will contrast the Long Branch of yesterday with the Long Branch of tomorrow. Finally, students will label the hallways of the high school based on research of notable local personalities.

Social Studies: Students will research several aspects of our town’s history by contrasting the town, which once drew national acclaim as well as the attention of seven presidents with the Long Branch of today and tomorrow.

Language Arts: Students will create a presentation board at the conclusion of the project, indicating steps and factors in its success. In the center “graffiti wall,” students will record their feelings as they complete the project. Also, an essay contest will take place.

Hurdles Encountered:

Expect some when taking pictures of old architecture.

Expect historian might be hard to schedule visit with

Performance-based Education: Completing the various components and levels within this project will require the cooperation and application of various skills and abilities, all monitored by teachers, but essentially performed by students. On-site research in the community, discussion/interview with local personalities, re-mastering of past, present, and future Long Branch snapshots as part of a larger collage exhibit, creation of a multimedia PowerPoint/video documentary, pamphlet creation, and hallway labeling all will require a variety of skills from students involved.

Cooperative Learning; Students in the core committee will be engaged in several of the aspects of on-scene research-gathering, documentation, and project synthesis, yet will also act as team leaders within the classroom. Individual classes will take part in the “Adopt-a-Hallway” program, as they name each of the hallways of the high school based on research of notable Long Branch citizens. A pamphlet and media presentation will necessitate a team approach and delineation of responsibilities.

Interdisciplinary Approach: A “mapping” of the community and its expansion will engage mathematics skills, while research and reflection will engage aspects of social studies and language arts classrooms. The committee as team leaders in separate classrooms must coordinate cooperation between teachers for resources and materials. A team of teachers is necessary for the project to work.

Personal Growth Outcomes:

Students will gain a better understanding of their community roots, the direction their community is headed, and what role they play in the story of Long Branch even into the future. Students will have the opportunity to tell a story about the local community to its very own members and citizens, while at the same time beautifying their school and proving its relevance to the same community. They will practice good citizenship while demonstrating responsibility, effort and teamwork.

Celebration: The school will celebrate the completion of the project with a special assembly, replete with media coverage.

Recognition: Local TV and newspapers will cover the event. The hall will contain a list of the researchers and the classes who participated in producing the presentation.

Key Findings: Student interest in the project has been high. Students reveal a changing perception of their town and the growth of pride in its rich past and hopeful future.

Community Involvement:

Students will engage community members and leaders such as local historians, township officials, and members of Monmouth University in the process of collecting data on Long Branch’s past and present-day situation. Completed information pamphlets will made available to the public at local civic centers, schools, and students’ families.

Parents may participate in the research and interviews.   Local contacts in the Historical Society as well as Monmouth University have pledged research cooperation.

Students will reflect on the way in which the project changed their perception of their town and share their new knowledge with others. They also will discusstheir roles within the community by noting what they may have in common with local heroes of the past and present. Lastly, they will write a personal reflection on the importance of teamwork throughout the project. A guestbook will be available in relation to the exhibit where peers can comment on the final products.

Student drafts will be reviewed by teachers as well as the core committee members themselves. Grades will be given for the creation, proofreading & editing of thee pamphlet. Individual classes will be graded for their participation in specific aspects of the project, such as the video presentation and adorning the hallways.