This Living History project connects elementary students and senior citizens with a writing assignment in a real-world context. Students will review what philanthropy is and be motivated to respond through voluntary action. Students will write their autobiography for the author page. They will interview their senior friend from a local senior center or retirement home several times. They will explore the local museum with that person to discover why people came to this area. They will work in pairs to write poetry and the biography of their senior friend. They will create and publish a Living History book about each senior citizen to be presented at a Celebration of Living History at the center or home.

The learners will:

• develop sensitivity to the needs and contributions of seniors.
  
  
• read literature to build knowledge of seniors, people’s roots and family history.
  
  
• expand awareness of the senior-care facility.
  
  
• create a “Remembering Box” for a senior friend.
  
  
• compare and contrast his or her own life with that of the senior.
  
  
• write a personal timeline and autobiography.
  
  
• compose a timeline and biography of the senior in chronological order.
  
  
• use the senior’s name to create a poem with characteristics about that person.
  
  
• report early state history to the senior friend.
  
  
• learn about recent state/community history.
  
  
• use world/state maps to demonstrate where he/she and the senior came from.

Students will be assessed on their sensitivity through observations, questions, comments and journal entries throughout the project. Their ability to write timelines and a history in chronological order will be determined by the orderliness of the Living History Book as well as by their autobiographies. Their English Language Arts skills will be demonstrated in the mechanics of their writing. Students will evaluate their own books before turning them in to be graded, using the rubric in Lesson Four: Publishing the Living History, Attachment Five: Living History Rubric. Students will complete a Living History Reflection at the end of this process in Lesson Five: Celebration of Living History, Attachment Three: Living History Reflection.

This project answers so well President Bush’s call for “companionship for our seniors” as mentioned in his Jan. 28, 2003, State of the Union Address. He went on to say that we can “transform people one heart and one soul at a time.” This project does that…it transforms the young as well as the elders!
This project looks overwhelming…it is a big commitment. However, it began very simply as a visit to the local nursing home to read to seniors. It has developed into this bigger project. I suggest you begin small and add to it as you are comfortable and/or have time. You can easily adapt this unit to any grade level student. You may use other literature of your choosing.
If you are doing the two-and-a-half month version of this project, it is important to share life and death issues with your students. It is possible that their senior friend may not live to the completion of the Living History project. Students must use flexibility in perhaps having to change partners if their senior friend is unable to participate. These issues should be discussed ahead of time and support given if there is a loss of a partner. If they have all of the needed information, they can write the biography of the deceased and present it to a family member. This can be a wonderful, heartwarming experience for all.

As the groundwork is laid for the Living History project, students will be reminded of what philanthropy is. We will read two books together which will make them more aware of the circumstances and feelings of some senior citizens. In our class, we had a brief encounter at the retirement home on Halloween, and we sent holiday cards to the facility in December. We invite an employee of the living center to come in January to give us hands-on sensitivity training and to become aware of the realities of life as an aging person.
Before you begin, you will want to line up a partnership with a nearby senior center or care facility. You may want to write a mini-grant to cover costs of busses, paper, ink, binders, flowers, etc.

The excitement and response after the first visit and interview is enough to keep me doing this project each year. I continue to be amazed at the sensitivity and rapport the students and seniors have for each other immediately. Try to write down quotes as you hear students discussing things, like “My girl had red hair just like I do.” or, “Our Senior Friend still has his memory…it’s a good one…he told us so much!” or, “We got candy from our lady!” or, “I don’t want to leave yet; it wasn’t’ long enough, When are we going back?” or “We got all of the questions answered!”