Brief Summaries of
Practioner Examples for
Middle/High School Level
The House That Simon Built: Students Investigate the History of a North Portland Mansion
At Open Meadow Alternative School in Portland, Oregon, students were curious about the Queen Anne styled residence that houses their school. Teacher Elizabeth Jensen encouraged her students to explore the history of the home as well as their suspicions that some of the homes former occupants might yet be lingering. The goals were both to develop writing skills and to get the students connected with the community where they attended school. Drawing on original documents, archives, and interviews, the students reconstructed the history of the 1910 Benson-Chaney home.
