New Tech Institute
Teachers: Ryan Jones and Bonnie Alcorn
Course: English and American History
Grade: 9
Driving Question:
What do combat veterans and their families experience during war and after returning home?
Project Snapshot
*Student groups are assigned a war or conflict to investigate and report to class
*Students create a historically fictional scenario to create a scrapbook
*Combat veterans from 5 wars are invited to NTI for student interviews
*Students record the veterans’ stories for the Library of Congress Veteran Archives 
Student Products
*Historically Fictional Scrapbooks
*Student interview combat veterans and transcribe their first-hand accounts to send to families and Library of Congress Archives
Teacher Reflection
“Every single student is engaged in this project. They use this opportunity to demonstrate their respect for combat veterans and the overall experience is amazing. The fact that these students are able to record history and have it placed in the Library of Congress gives them a sense of being a part of something bigger than themselves.”
Student Reflection
“I will never forget this experience”
“I can read about it, hear it, do a project over it, but until I experience it myself or through another person, I really don’t feel it. This project helped me feel the experience”
“My veteran never heard of PTSD. He said that you just did what you had to do and were happy to come home and forget about it.”
Community Reflection
“Our family had never heard the stories my grandpa told these NTI students. He passed away 3 months after the interviews and we are extremely grateful to have his experiences recorded.”
Watch the news clip here:
