History Report Video Project


Are you tired of reading 30+ essays designed to assess your students' understanding of history when the essays are either written by parents or collections of facts copied out of old textbooks? I was!
 Do you think worksheets help your students remember what they learned? I don't!

I wanted my students to be more engaged in history, and take their understanding of the content deeper, so now I have them work together to create videos.

After previewing the "California! Here We Come!" chapter in our textbook, which focuses on the migration of Americans to California during the 1840s, students select a topic they are interested in learning more about.
To create my student groups, I had my student reply on a simple Google Form indicating what topic they are most interested.


Once I have all the student requests, I create the groups. I like using this private form because students have to reply based on their interest, not based on what their friends want to study, or who they want to work with. Assigning groups also ensures that I won't get 7 videos on the same topic. 

After I announce the groups, I provide each production team this Google Doc. The Google Doc provides links to video examples and steps on how to accomplish this project. 

Students work together to research their topic and prepare their script. This process took about 2 1/2 weeks for all seven of my groups to finish their videos.




Benefits of this project over more traditional worksheets or essay assignments:
  • Creating a script forces students to really understand what they are learning
  • students are more engaged
  • students remember the project long after it is over
  • in addition to history, students learn technical skills in filming and editing
  • students learn to work in teams to create a project that would not be possible for an individual
Some tips, recommendations, and things to consider:
  • I used my iPad to film students in front of a Green Screen with the DoInk app (read my previous blog post about how I set up my green screen HERE
  • a tripod with iPad adaptor helps stabilize the camera
  • a clip on microphone ensures that your students' voices will actually be heard and are not that expensive. I also purchased a long audio extension cord so my students could stand further away from the iPad allowing for head to toe filming
  • have a quiet project for students to work on when one group is filming
How have you used video creation and green screens in your classroom?

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