Remixing History: The Cigar Box Project

              I watched the "Remixing History: The Cigar Box Project" video on K12 Online at http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=459. It was a really interesting video for me. I am a Secondary Social Studies student with a BA in History. This teacher came up with a really cool idea for a history project. The kids designed panels for cigar boxes to tell the history of a historical Canadian figure. They worked with a graphic design specialist. They visited an archive room to see primary sources of the historical figures. In the end, they designed and built their own cigar box. Some of the kids got really involved and detailed with their boxes. I think that is an awesome way to surround kids with history and give it context. I feel hands on is the best way for students to absorb and understand history. The kids had an end result to all of their hard work and they were proud of their cigar boxes. I will definitely try and do something along those lines once in the classroom.