Student Journal Assignments

During Covid19 Pandemic

 Notes:

  • If you have student work, particularly from around the country and world, please encourage students to donate it to archives. See options below.
  • If you develop a version particular to another content area, grade level, or community, please share it with ucbhssp@berkeley.edu. We will add it to the listed lessons.

Student Directions: Your job is to chronicle the changes you observe as your community, the country, and the world respond to Covid19. Each day, take note of what you are seeing and hearing on the news, among your friends, within your family, and in your community.

Bryan Shaw, Mt. Diablo Unified School District, California, USA

This assignment was created for a high school history class. A number of variations have been inspired by the original assignment.

Lorena Sanchez, Tracy Unified School District, California

Lisa Smith, Twin Rivers Unified School District

Dylan Davis, Associate Director, Institute of East Asian Studies, UC Berkeley

Emily Richards, Brentwood Union School District, California

ParaEducate, Davis, California

Andrea Carlisle and Trevor Diven, Palo Alto Unified School District, California

7th grade team, Wood Middle School, Alameda Unified School District, California

Sara Opeyany, San Ramon Valley Unified School District, California

        Justin Thomas, Garden Grove Unified School District, California

        Jordan Loughlin, Glenmary High School, Alberta, Canada

Heidi Senior, Reference/Instruction Librarian, Library, University of Portland, Oregon

Jeff Pollard, UC Davis History Project Teacher Leader, Sacramento, California

Kristen Reno, Youth Services Librarian, Edwardsville Public Library, Illinois

Crystal Scott, Eastlake High School, Sweetwater Union, Chula Vista, CA

        Sarita Shukla, PhD, Lecturer, School of Educational Studies, University of Washington-Bothell

        Bobby Brett, San Rafael High School with Phyllis Goldsmith, UCBHSSP

Hola Jordan,

It's so cool that you get to visit Mexico. I found some very interesting things about living there.  Did you know that Mexico has the largest university in Latin America. Another interesting thing about Mexico is they're culture. In Mexico their culture has many colorful items and beautiful art such as pottery, clothing, mosaics, and much more! Mexico is also very famous for their food like tacos, tamales, burritos, pozole, churros, and a bunch more different foods!  

Some things in Mexico can be very different from how you or I live in the United States.  For example, In Mexico they celebrate a traditional holiday from November 1st to 2nd which is called the day of the dead. The day of the dead is a day where you honor dead loved ones like family and friends and make peace with the dead. The U.S is different compared to Mexico because in the U.S let's say that in some holidays the days are slightly different like the U.S would celebrate mothers day every second sunday of May and in Mexico mothers day is May 10th. Another tradition that is celebrated in Mexico that the U.S does not is Mexican Independence Day which is celebrated on September 16 every year because it marks the anniversary of Mexico's independence from Spanish rule.

Otherwise, just like my family and I, we do many things the same.  For example, some aspects that are the same to our culture is that I also celebrate the day of the dead and my family also celebrates Cinco de Mayo which is May 5th in spanish. Me and my family also celebrate Quinceaneras, that's when we celebrate a girl that is latina or hispanic that is turning 15 years old. That's when you throw a huge party for the birthday girl which is very common in latin american and mexican cultures.

Have a great trip!  Bring me back a souvenir!

Saludos,

Nicole G

Archiving Student Work

Have your students created records of their experiences using one of these assignments? Encourage them to donate some or all of their work to an archive. Don’t forget yourself! Be sure to donate a copy of your assignment, as well as any more personal material you want to include.

Different archives have different age requirements, but generally speaking students age 12 and below cannot donate alone – they will need their parents to donate for them. Many digital archives only accept work from people age 18 and older.

Here are some options:

A Journal of the Plague Year – This archive, based at Arizona State University, will accept digital work directly from students age 13 and over. The archive accepts work from around the world and you can add your own tags to identify it as part of the #covidjournalproject.

San Francisco Public Library COVID-19 Time Capsule - This archive, based in San Francisco, will accept digital work directly from students. The website says its goal is to preserve the experience of people in San Francisco, but there is no specific limit (geographically) on who can submit. If you are in the greater SF Bay Area, this might be the archive for you.

Other local libraries and historical society archives – Many local libraries and historical societies are collecting COVID-related materials (digital and physical) for local archives. Seek this option you’d like your students’ work to remain in the local community.

Local college and university archives – Many colleges and universities have created digital archives to collect materials from students, faculty, staff, and people who live in the local area. Search for phrases like “COVID-19 Community Archiving Project” and “Covid-19 Memory Project.” Seek this option if you live near a college or university and you’d like your students’ work to remain in the local community.

I think the reason for using the verb ser in a sentence versus using star is because the verb ser

Link to Document: https://tinyurl.com/covid-journal-all

More Resources: https://ucbhssp.berkeley.edu/teacher-resources