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A Cultural Study of Arkansas and Saline County for Eleventh Grade Non-College American Literature
Alma J. Hahn
Benton Senior High School, Benton, Arkansas
Subject: English
Grade: 11
"The photography element was the key to the success of the
unit."
Purpose and Description of Project
Alma Hahn used this hands-on research and writing project to teach
her students how American and English literature relates to present-day
culture in central Arkansas. The unit included group field trips,
creative writing, speaking activities, and displays-all illustrated
or documented with photographs. Another purpose was to use the
final evaluation conference to help students understand how a
teacher evaluates this type of project.
Activities
The emphasis of the literature unit was on the influence of early
English settlers as they traveled from New England across the
Appalachians to the Ozarks. Following 10 days of class study,
students divided into research groups and selected a topic to
pursue from a list that ranged from historical sites to local
ghost stories to the nearby aluminum plant. Two days were spent
planning the projects which were to encompass original research,
a written report, photographs, a class presentation, and a creative
activity. Most of the work was done outside the classroom as students
carried out research in school and county libraries, newspaper
files, cemeteries, a local museum, private homes, and nearby Hot
Springs National Park. As they documented their work with photographs,
students called on the training given them by a history teacher
(and professional photographer).
To satisfy the requirement for creative work, students chose an
in-class activity- "tellin' tales," a form of oral literature
dating from a period when most settlers could not read. Each group
also gave a 20- to 40-minute presentation to the class on what
they had learned. Their photos and reports were displayed for
everyone to study. Hahn met with each student to discuss the evaluation
sheet given out at the beginning of the project. The students
were given good experience in self-evaluation as each was allowed
to have a voice in deciding her or his grade after they compared
actual efforts to previously set goals.
Materials, Resources, and Expenses
The resources needed varied from group to group, but most participants
made use of libraries, the state's history commission, Hot Springs
National Park, and personal interviews with local citizens.
A school history teacher/photographer discussed the art of picture-taking,
demonstrated how to use the
camera,
and assisted with specific problems that came up during the project.
Outcomes and Adaptability
The project provided these nonacademic students with an interesting
and meaningful substitute for the traditional, required research
paper. Student interest was sustained, and because they enjoyed
their work, they accomplished more than they expected. The students'
self-esteem was raised as other students, including those from
advanced classes, showed interest in, and sometimes envy of, their
work. Creative writing improved, and the project provided inspiration
for the daily entries in the students' personal writing journals.
Hahn found that the use of photography enabled her to see first-hand
what the students were doing and it helped students who did not
read and write well to express what they had learned.
Hahn suggests that this research unit works equally well for eleventh
or twelfth-grade students. The basic techniques employed, including
the documentation of research through photographs, could be incorporated
into science, history, government, social science, and math studies;
and the project could be adapted "for any level from elementary
students to college students."