Louisiana’s Historic Places

19 April 2007 by NCPTT (about the author)

Students work on animation

Two Galvez Primary School students work on a stop animation sequence for Louisiana's Historic Places:.
(Photo: Jeffery Guin)

Louisiana's Historic Places is a series of short animated vignettes on Louisiana history created by 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th grade students attending Galvez Primary School in Prairieville, Louisiana. The 23 Talented and Gifted (TAG) students were guided through the project by teacher Debbie Buco. Students were immersed in a curriculum of Louisiana history in addition to learning technical skills.

Several Foundation Skills were also addressed during the course of study, including:

Communication,
Problem Solving,
Resource Access and Utilization,
Linking and Generating Knowledge, and
Citizenship.

Pre and post assessments were administered to the group of students creating the film. These assessments measured content knowledge and attitudes toward historic features of the landscape. Significant gains were reported in the results from both assessments.

The direct benefit of this project was not limited to the students who created the short film. When the film was finished, all students in attendance at Galvez Primary School were asked to view and evaluate the film. All students viewed the short film and evaluated the film, gaining knowledge of Louisiana history and applying Higher Order Thinking Skills to the project.

Students edit Louisiana's Historic Places

Students edit animation sequences and add sound to Louisiana's Historic Places.
(Photo: Jeffery Guin)

The Discovery Channel aired this film for several months for a national audience here in the United States. This video has also been posted on the World Wide Web, with positive response coming from as far away as England and Norway.

This project was funded in large part by a grant from the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT). Additional funds for the project were secured from a private donor, the school district and the teacher. Funds from NCPTT were used to purchase an editing computer, digital camcorder, editing software and digital videocassette.