Tens of thousands of students are expected to participate in an electronic field trip commemorating the 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, according to the groups producing the blended learning experience.
The National WWII Museum in New Orleans and a local public television station, WYES-TV, are collaborating on a live webcast and package of educational materials targeted at 5th through 8th grade students.
The “field trip,” which is open and free to any registered classroom, will air on December 7, which is the 75th anniversary of the attacks, and will feature live student reporting with attack survivors, opportunities for live Q&A’s, instant polling, and virtual visits to the USS Arizona Memorial, the Pacific Aviation Museum, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, and The National WWII Museum.
Registration information, lesson plans, viewing instructions, primary sources, and other teaching materials are all available on the WWII Museum’s website.
Chrissy Gregg, the museum’s virtual classroom coordinator, said the webcast, which will feature student reporters is “designed for and about young people.” She’s hoping that students who tune in “get a sense of what people their age were doing at that time.”
Last year, the museum and TV station put together a similar electronic field trip called “We’re All in This Together,” commemorating the contributions of young people to the war effort, which is still archived and available for use.
For those interested in other new-media ways to get students engaged, the National Park Service has announced that it will be selling a Google Cardboard-compatible virtual reality app to commemorate the occasion.
Photo: Pearl Harbor survivor Jimmy Lee and student reporter Emily Bresnan
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