Using the GRPM Collections as Your Tool for Discussion.
Students will be returning to school this fall after months of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While collaborating with local teachers and preparing for the upcoming school year, the GRPM’s education team asked the following:
“How can we support students’ social and emotional needs as they return to school environments? How can we help learners process some of their thoughts and anxieties related to the COVID-19 pandemic?
The GRPM’s COVID-19 Digital Collection is a free resource available to support educators in facilitating conversations with students to check on their well-being, while also building a sense of classroom community. The Collection features stories submitted by the West Michigan community, shared through various types of expressive media including journal reflections, photographs and videos. These perspectives demonstrate the multitude of ways individuals have been impacted by COVID-19 in their jobs, schools, places of worship, homes and more. These stories can encourage meaningful dialogue and act as a reminder that we are all in this together.
Self-Portrait.
This self-portrait was created by pastel artist Deborah J. of Holland, Michigan. This piece represents the fear, sadness, loss, and anguish felt by the artist during quarantine. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many artists created pieces to depict COVID and how it impacted everyday life.
Classroom Activity Prompts.
Beyond the social-emotional value of the COVID-19 Digital Collection, it also provides an opportunity to supplement learning about primary sources in social studies. It serves as an example of history in action and offers a chance for students and teachers to contribute to the development of new primary sources that will impact future generations.
If you’re looking for ways to incorporate the COVID-19 Digital Collection into your classroom this fall, consider tasking students with the following prompts:
1. Explore the gallery from the perspective of an archaeologist living 100 years into the future.
- What do these primary sources reveal about our society and the events of the COVID-19 pandemic?
2. Practice your creativity!
- Write a letter to somebody in the future describing the COVID-19 pandemic.
- What advice would you give them to prepare and respond to a similar situation?
- What lessons have we learned from this crisis?
3. Analyze the gallery in preparation for a class discussion. Consider:
- Which entry or entries stand out to you? Do any remind you of your own experiences?
- What are similar themes you notice throughout the Collection? Alternatively, how have people responded to this differently?
- Were there any stories you heard that surprised you?
4. Submit videos, photos and stories to contribute to this project.
- Play a role in documenting history and preserving stories that future generations will study!
Teacher Testimony.
Matt Vriesman, a World History teacher at East Kentwood High School, recognized the educational value of participating in this real-world project. In May 2020, he developed a writing assignment to engage students in documenting history.
“This project provided an extremely relevant way for students to sharpen their historical thinking skills. All year, students practice the ability to contextualize and analyze primary source material and they were really excited about turning that around and becoming creators, rather than the consumers of history. It led to thought provoking discussion; how will future students analyze our actions and reactions?”
With their reflections, students described how their lives were changing and their feelings about how school, state and federal leaders were handling the crisis. Their writing is a powerful record of their opinions, fears and new routines:
- “COVID-19 didn’t feel like a reality until it changed our reality. I never imagined it would be a possibility to end the school year mid-March, yet it happened overnight with no warning.”
- “The biggest challenge has been online schooling because a lot of it is busy work, I’m not actually absorbing any new information, and I personally work better in a classroom environment.”
- “My day-to-day personal life has also changed a lot. I almost never leave the house and I haven’t seen any of my friends in a long time…I’m really just scared that it’s gonna be like this for a long time.”
- “Yesterday, I gave my grandma a hug for the first time in 3 months. We both cried. I miss a normal life, but I miss hugs the most.”
To talk through ideas and details on how to submit student work or how to implement activities in your classroom, contact groups@grpm.org.