VIRTUALREALITY

R E A L I Z I N G T H E P O W E R O F

E X P E R I E N C E , E X C U R S I O N A N D I M M E R S I O N

I N T H E C L A S S R O O M

T E A C H I N G R E S O U R C E G U I D E

PART 1: GETTING STARTED

Why Virtual Reality ------------------------------------------------------------------2

How to Use This Guide --------------------------------------------------------------3

Learning Strategies for Virtual Reality --------------------------------------------4

Tips for Getting Started -------------------------------------------------------------5

PART 2: LESSON PLANS

Lesson 1: A Mission to Pluto -------------------------------------------------------7

Lesson 2: Meet Three Children Displaced by War and Persecution ----------9

Lesson 3: Four Antarctic Expeditions --------------------------------------------12

Lesson 4: Time Travel Through Olympic History -------------------------------14

Lesson 5: Decode the Secret Language of Dolphins and Whales------------16

Lesson 6: Memorials and Justice -------------------------------------------------18

Lesson 7: The World's Biggest Physics Experiment---------------------------20

Lesson 8: Journey to the Hottest Place on Earth ------------------------------22

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Travis Feldler is the founder of TechRow, a social enterprisethat explores how to leverage immersive technology insideschools to improve learning outcomes.

Natalie Proulx is a staff editor at The New York TimesLearning Network. She is a former English Language Artsteacher and has written curriculum for a variety of subjects,including the humanities, STEM and virtual reality.

Getting Started

P A R T 1

WHYVIRTUALREALITY

HOW TO USETHIS GUIDE

LEARNINGSTRATEGIESFOR VIRTUAL

REALITY

TIPS FORGETTINGSTARTED

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In 2015, The New York Times pioneered a new form of storytelling: virtual realityjournalism. In an introduction to its first V.R. video, “The Displaced,” a documentary aboutthree children who had been forced from their homes by war and persecution, JakeSilverstein, The New York Times Magazine’s editor, wrote:

"We decided to launch The Times’s virtual-reality efforts with these portraits because we recognize that this new filmmaking technology enables an uncanny feeling of connection with people whose lives are far from our own. By creating a 360-degree environment that encircles the viewer, virtual reality creates the experience of being present within distant worlds, making it uniquely suited to projects, like this one, that speak to our senses of empathy and community."

Since then, The Times has created a series of 360-degree videos that transport users fromtheir living rooms to far-flung places — from Antarctica to Ethiopia, the depths of the oceanto Pluto, back to the beginning of the universe and through Olympic history. Five yearslater, V.R. might not have taken off in the way many hoped it would, but it still has thepotential to be a powerful tool for the classroom.

Virtual reality is engaging, yes — its novelty can be an excellent hook for learning — but itcan also be so much more than that. With The Times’s 360 videos, students are no longermere spectators, reading about an event or watching it unfold, but participants in it. Virtualreality can create a visceral experience, evoke memories, and foster empathy andemotional connection in a way that is rare in other mediums.

It can also make abstract concepts concrete — taking students inside a giant microscopethat smashes together subatomic particles, transporting them to iconic moments inhistory, or introducing them to people affected by the global refugee crisis.

And V.R. can take students to places they might otherwise never get the chance to go,whether that’s the Mississippi Delta, Antarctica or Pluto.

From a practical standpoint, what’s also useful about NYT VR is that the films are typicallyno longer than 10 minutes, so they are easy to fit into a normal class period withoutoverwhelming students.

In this guide, we offer you an array of examples to leverage immersive technology in yourclassroom using New York Times content and give you the tools to create V.R. lessons ofyour own.

Why Virtual Reality?

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Making predictions and observations and drawing conclusions.Asking media literacy questions.Having discussions and making claims grounded in text evidence.Practicing descriptive writing and communicating complex concepts.Using multiple literacies like reading, viewing and listening.Building empathy and taking the perspectives of others.

Use a video as an engaging hook at the beginning of a unit.Take a “virtual field trip” to build background knowledge on a culture, place, people,historical event or scientific concept you are studying.Make what you’re learning relevant to the real world by inviting students to connectwhat they’re studying in class to a VR video.

Teach Our Lesson Plans. We’ve included eight lesson plans suitable for STEM and humanities classes that can betaught in one to two class periods. Each one is based on an NYT VR video, or series ofvideos, and includes activities for before, during and after the V.R. experience.

Practice Skills. Virtual reality is ripe for practicing a number of academic skills related to STEM and thehumanities. You can use the lessons in this guide or the videos on their own to teachstudents skills like:

Build Your Own Curriculum. Are you teaching about animal intelligence in biology? Reading a novel about refugees inlanguage arts? Learning about the civil rights movement in social studies? You can use anyof the lesson plans in this guide to supplement a unit you’re already teaching. Here are afew ideas:

You can also draw on the themes and learning strategies in this guide to create your ownlesson plans or units around an NYT VR film of your choice. Find many more 360 videos touse in your classroom in the 360 Video stream or the New York Times YouTube channel.

How to Use This Guide

This guide comes in two parts: (1) a framework forteaching with virtual reality and (2) a set of eight lessonplans, each based on an NYT VR video. It’s meant to beflexible based on your curricular goals and the needs ofyour students. Here are a few suggestions for using it inyour classroom.

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We suggest a few teaching ideas to get the most out of virtual reality with your students.

Roles and Goals Virtual reality is experiential; it asks viewers not just to watch the film, but also toparticipate in it. By giving students roles to play (astronauts, anthropologists, museumcurators, deep-sea divers) and having focused objectives (collecting data, sharing insights,making recommendations), teachers provide students with a mission to decode theirexperiences.

PartnersThis medium is all about exploration, inquiry and play, so while students will have alearning objective, they should also have plenty of time to follow their curiosities andinvestigate the new worlds they find themselves in. We suggest students watch the videoat least twice: once to explore and again to make specific observations related to theirroles and goals.

Exploration and Inquiry This medium is all about exploration, inquiry and play so while students will have a learningobjective, they should also have plenty of time to follow their curiosities and investigatethe new worlds they find themselves in. We suggest students watch the video at leasttwice: once to explore and again to make specific observations related to their roles andgoals.

JournalingAfter students view the V.R. video, they should have an opportunity to record theirobservations, synthesize their ideas and reflect on their overall experience. Each of ourlessons includes a journaling opportunity, such as the “If I Were There” and “Notice andWonder” protocols. Then, students can discuss what they wrote.

Learning Strategies for V.R.

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No standing up.If you are starting to feel dizzy or getting a headache, take the headset off.Do not flail hands or legs around to avoid causing potential accidents.

Internet: V.R. experiences can be downloaded or streamed. We recommenddownloading the experience to the device so that streaming issues are avoided.Mobile Device: Smartphones are essential to powering these experiences.Headset: Choose a headset that makes the most sense for the mobile devices thatyou are using. There are mobile device-agnostic headsets that could work with avariety of phones. Prices start under $10 for a simple cardboard viewer and go up fromthere. Most headsets also come with compatibility specs, so that you can be betterinformed on how to pair accurately.Without Headset: 360 videos can also be viewed without a headset, but theexperience isn’t as immersive. When viewing 360 videos in this format, you can dragthe screen while the video is playing to view the surrounding environment in 360degrees.Headphones: Headphones allow the user to be more immersed and reduce thedisruption to the experience that could arise from using speakers.Finding Experiences: The NYT VR app no longer exists, but you can view NYT VRexperiences via your mobile device on The New York Times, or via the YouTube VR orWithin apps on the Oculus. You can also find several Times 360 videos on TechRow, asubscription-based V.R. and video delivery system for the classroom.

A Tool, Not a CurriculumVirtual reality is not a technology that should replace other teaching resources; instead, itshould serve as a complementary tool that can enhance learning across disciplines. Aswith any new technology being introduced into the classroom, success depends onexpectations, an effective strategy and the practical details of how it is being used.

Safety! Safety! Safety! We always recommend sitting when participating in V.R. experiences. Partners create anadditional safety measure because the partner who is observing can ensure that his or herpartner is safely experiencing the VR content.

Before starting, go over a list of dos and don’ts. Some of our personal favorites include:

Virtual reality can sometimes be an intensely emotional experience. Remind students thatif they are feeling overwhelmed, it’s OK to stop.

TechnologyTo get started, you’ll also need some basic technology. Here are some generalrequirements:

Tips for Getting Started With V.R.

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Lesson Plans

P A R T 2

A Mission to Pluto

Meet Three Children Displaced by War and Persecution

Four Antarctic Expeditions

Time Travel Through Olympic History

Decode the Secret Language of Dolphins and Whales

Memorials and Justice

The World's Biggest Physics Experiment

Journey to the Hottest Place on Earth

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Lesson

The NYT VR Video Seeking Pluto's Frigid Heart (8 min.)

A Mission to Pluto

On July 14, 2016, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft zippedpast Pluto and its moons, scanning the dwarf planet inunprecedented detail. Before this moment, the best imagesof Pluto were only a few fuzzy pixels wide.

In this virtual reality video, students will travel on NewHorizons, gliding through space at a million miles a day.They will fly over Pluto’s rugged surface and smooth places,stand on icy mountains, and watch the moon Charon rise onthe horizon and touch down on a frost-rimmed craterbillions of years old.

Roles and GoalsStudents have been selected to form a student space force to board the New Horizonsspacecraft traveling to Pluto. As members of this elite team, their goal is to document theirexperience and share their insights on the dwarf planet with their peers.

Before Your Mission to Pluto

What is Pluto?

How big is Pluto?

Where is it located in the solar system?

What are some of its defining features?

How many moons are in Pluto’s orbit?

Can life exist on Pluto?

Have students write down at least five facts they know about Pluto. For example:

Compile students’ facts into a class list. They might check their facts, or find out moreinformation on the Planets for Kids website.

Then, invite them to make a prediction based on what they already know: What do theythink it would be like to visit Pluto?

VIEW:The New York Times

YouTube VR

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Lesson

Location in the solar system

Surface features

Temperature

Gravity

Moons

Atmosphere

Now, students will experience the NYT VR video “Seeking Pluto’s Frigid Heart.” As theywatch, they should pay attention to Pluto’s unique characteristics. After viewing, they shouldrecord what they observe about Pluto:

A Mission to Pluto

During Your Mission

After Your Mission

What was it like to “visit” Pluto in the V.R. film? How close were your predictions to what

you experienced? Based on what saw, what do you think it would be like to actually go

there?

What are some of the defining characteristics of Pluto? How do those compare to what

you know about Earth?

What is one new thing we learned from the New Horizons mission to Pluto? What

questions do you still have about the dwarf planet?

What do these insights reveal about the universe we live in?

Students should report back to the space command center to share the insights theygained on their mission. Invite them to reflect on the following questions in writing ordiscussion:

To share what the New Horizons mission found when it flew past Pluto, The New YorkTimes created this interactive based on images and information from NASA. Invite yourstudents to demonstrate what they learned about Pluto by creating an original drawing orseries of drawings and annotating them with key information about the dwarf planet.

Further Reading and Viewing

NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft Sends Signal From Pluto to Earth

Images of Pluto From NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft

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Lesson

The NYT VR VideoThe Displaced (11 min.)

Meet Three Children Displacedby War and Persecution

More than 70 million people are currently displaced fromtheir homes by war and persecution. Half are children. Inthis V.R. documentary, viewers travel to Ukraine, Syria andSudan to learn the stories of three of those children.

Roles and GoalsStudents have been invited to form a student council to explore the impact of civil war onchildren, refugees and internally displaced persons in Ukraine, Syria and Sudan. Asmembers of this council, their goal is to share insights from their experience with theirpeers and identify ways they can support displaced people in their community and aroundthe world.

Before Your Trip to Ukraine, Syria, and SudanWhat do your students know about the global refugee crisis? Before they take off on theirtrip, have them create a K/W/L chart, either individually or as a class, to record what theyknow and what they want to know about the crisis.

Then, have students to look up the definitions of “refugee” and “displaced person.” Theycan add these definitions to their chart.

Finally, show students this three-minute clip (Facing History and Ourselves) of SamanthaPower, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, giving an overview of the currentrefugee crisis. Invite them to discuss what they learned and the questions they have, andthen add those to their K/W/L chart.

VIEW:The New York Times

YouTube VR

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Lesson

Now students will embark on their virtual field trip to Ukraine, Syria and Sudan by watching“The Displaced.” As they watch, they should pay attention to the moments of “connection”and “disconnection” they have with the three children profiled in the film. In what ways aretheir personalities, families, homes, hopes and dreams, and life experiences similar? In whatways are they different?

After students have finished watching, they can journal or make a list in a T-chart about the“connections” and “disconnections” they have with the children.

Lastly, they can add anything new they learned about the refugee crisis to their K/W/Lcharts.

Meet Three Children Displacedby War and Persecution

During Your Trip

After Your Trip

Which moments in the video were particularly surprising, moving or affecting to you?

What are some of the causes of displacement around the world? How does

displacement affect the lives of children particularly?

How was virtually visiting Oleg, Hana and Chuol different than learning facts about the

refugee crisis? What did it feel like to “be” there?

What are some things you found you had in common with these children? In what ways

are your lives different? What do you think it would be like to be forced from your

home?

If you could talk to these children, what questions would you ask them? What else

would you want to know about their lives?

Invite students back together to discuss their insights from the visit, either in writing ortogether as a class:

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Lesson

How You Can Help Refugees in the United States (The New York Times)

4 Ways You Can Support Refugees (Voices of Youth)

Taking Action to Assist Syrian Refugees (I Am Syria)

As members of this special student council, students should come up with a proposal forhow they can support refugees or people who have been displaced.

They might start by watching Ms. Power talk about small steps individuals can take to helprefugees in this one-minute video (Facing History and Ourselves).

Then, they can brainstorm actions they can take on a school level, a local level, a nationallevel and an international level. For example, if there are refugees at their school or in theircommunity, what could they do to support them? If students themselves are refugees, theymight share their experiences and what support they would want most from others.

Here are some more resources to get them started:

Students might choose one of the actions they brainstormed and develop it into a plan forsupporting refugees in their school, community or country.

Meet Three Children Displacedby War and Persecution

After Your Trip (cont'd)

Further Reading

The Displaced: Introduction

The Displaced: Oleg

The Displaced: Chuol

The Displaced: Hana

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Lesson

The NYT VR Videos The Antarctica Series (4 videos)

Four Antarctic Expeditions

In this collection of four V.R. videos, viewers explore life on, above and below the Antarctic ice.

Roles and GoalsYour school has decided to establish a student expeditionary force to Antarctica to explorelife around the continent. Students’ goal is to document their experience and share it withtheir peers so they can better understand the Antarctic environment and landscape as awhole.

Before Your Antarctic ExpeditionHave students choose the expedition they want to go on, or assign them to one, makingsure each excursion has an even number of people.

Invite students to convene with the other students who are going on their expedition. Intheir groups, have them discuss what they already know about Antarctica. Then, based ontheir prior knowledge and the description of their V.R. experience, have them make a list ofessentials they would likely need to take with them.

Finally, challenge them to make some predictions: What do they think they will find as theyexplore life on, above and below the Antarctic ice?

VIEW SERIES:The New York Times

YouTube VR(links below)

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In “Under a Cracked Sky” (10 min.), dive under eight feet of sea ice to swim withseals, explore ice caves and float above a dark seabed crawling with life.In “Three Six Juliet” (11 min.), fly in a helicopter through the McMurdo Dry Valleys,one of the most extreme environments on Earth.In “McMurdo Station” (9 min.), join the mechanics, cooks, drivers, firefighters,scientists and others who run a research station on the least habitable continent,thousands of miles from civilization.In “A Shifting Continent” (15 min.), fly with scientists in a military cargo plane as theyprobe the structure of the Ross Ice Shelf, a Texas-size chunk of floating ice.

Lesson

If I were there, I would touch …

f I were there, I would see …

If I were there, I would hear …

If I were there, I would smell …

If I were there, I would taste …

If I were there, I would feel …

Now students will embark on their chosen Antarctic expedition from “The AntarcticaSeries.” As they watch, they should act like researchers, collecting data on their experienceto report back to their classmates. They will become the “experts” on this particular piece ofthe continent, so it’s important they take detailed notes about their observations.

They can use the “If I Were There” journaling protocol to record what they find:

What was interesting or surprising about your journey?What were some of the unique characteristics of the place you visited?What are the conditions like for researchers there?What have researchers learned from studying this specific piece of the continent? Inwhat ways might this research contribute to our understanding of the world, theuniverse or ourselves?

Could you see yourself doing any of the research jobs you observed in the V.R. videos?If so, which ones and why? If not, why not?How do you think the research conducted by scientists in Antarctica might affect theworld? In what ways might it affect your lives, if at all?Do you think it is worthwhile for countries to spend time, money and resources studyingAntarctica? Why or why not?

Have students rejoin their small groups and synthesize the data they gathered from theirexpeditions before sharing it with their peers. They can discuss the following questions:

Next, have at least one person from each group meet together in “teaching groups.” Inthese groups, each expert should have a chance to share what they learned on theirrespective expedition while the others take notes.

After everyone has had a chance to share, invite each group to discuss the followingquestions:

Four Antarctic Expeditions

During Your Expedition

After Your Expedition

Further Reading

Antarctic Dispatches

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Lesson

The NYT VR Video The Modern Games (9 min.)

Time Travel ThroughOlympic History

In this virtual reality experience, created ahead of the 2016Rio Games, The New York Times transports you to iconicOlympic moments throughout history. Viewers travel backin time to stand beside history-making track and field starBabe Didrikson, record-setting long jumper Bob Beamon,and the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt.

Roles and GoalsThe New York Times has invited your students to create a virtual reality documentaryexploring Olympic history. As members of this special team, their goal is to examine howThe Mill, the visual effects and content creation studio responsible for “The ModernGames” documentary, transformed archival imagery into historical settings viewers canvisit. Then, students will research and design a V.R. experience of another iconic Olympicmoment to add to the video.

Before Your Exploration of Olympic HistoryInvite students to share their memories of Olympic Games they’ve been to, watched ontelevision, or read or heard about.

Challenge them to be as specific as possible when describing their experiences: What dothey remember most about this moment? Where were they and who were they with? Whatsights, sounds, tastes and smells come to mind when they relive this memory? What werethey feeling? What thoughts were running through their heads? What was the social,political and cultural context during the year those games took place?

Then, have them explore the birth of what are known as the “modern Games” in Athens in1896, either via this New York Times retrospect or these artifacts from Olympic.org.

How were the modern Games different from the Greek athletic competitions from whichthe Olympics originated? What were some of the highlights of these first Games? How dothese Games compare to the ones your students have experienced?

VIEW:YouTube VR

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Lesson

If I were there, I would touch …

If I were there, I would see …

If I were there, I would hear …

If I were there, I would smell …

If I were there, I would taste …

If I were there, I would feel …

Now, students will travel back in time to some of the most iconic Olympic events in “TheModern Games.” As they watch, they should choose one event to focus on and use the “If IWere There” protocol to record their observations:

Time Travel Through Olympic History

During Your Exploration

After Your Exploration

What was it like to experience iconic Olympic moments through V.R.? What can welearn from this medium that we may not get from written texts, photos and videos?What role do the Olympics play in global history? What do they say about the culturaland political landscapes of the era in which they take place?Can the Games be an opportunity to break through social barriers to inclusion? Give oneexample from the video.

What event, moment or person will be at the center of your experience?What photo would you use as the setting for your scene?Who would you interview and why?What other sound effects would you use?Where would you position users in the scene? What effect will this location have ontheir experience?What experience would you want users to have as they navigate the video? What othervisual or experiential aspects might you include? Why?

Invite students to come back together to discuss their experience:

Now, it is students’ turn. Assign small groups to choose one of the Olympic Gamesthroughout history and design a V.R. experience for an important event, moment or personat those Games. They can learn more about how The Mill constructed the scenes in “TheModern Games” in this behind the scenes video.

As they put together their experience, they should consider the following questions:

Students can present their designs via a mood board or story board created on Canva. Or, ifthey have the resources, they can produce their own V.R. videos.

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Lesson

The NYT VR Video The Click Effect (7 min.)

Decode the Secret Languageof Dolphins and Whales

Until recently, most research on sperm whales’ communicationhad been conducted from a boat. Why? For one, few scientistswere brave enough to swim with the world’s largest predator.And the animals tend to be scared off by the burbling of scubagear or submarines and robots. The best option for studyingthese mammals is free diving: diving dozens, sometimeshundreds, of feet on a single breath of air.

In this V.R. video, viewers join a journalist and a marine scientiston a free dive as they capture the secret “click” communicationof dolphins and sperm whales.

Roles and GoalsStudents have been invited to form an elite diving team to investigate the secret languageof dolphins and whales. As a member of this elite team, their goal is to document theirexperience and test their hypothesis on whether whales and dolphins are “intelligent.”

Before Your DiveFirst, have students research the animals they will be studying during their free dive:dolphins and sperm whales. They should compile a list of basic facts about the two species.

Then, if they haven’t already brought it up, explain that both animals use echolocation, aform of sonar that allows animals to “see,” and perhaps communicate with each other,under water.

They can test this out with an echolocation activity from Education.com. You’ll need at leasttwo students to participate. One student will stand in the center of the room, blindfolded. Totest his or her ability to locate sound, the other student will move around the room, clappingtwice. Each time, the blindfolded student should point to where he or she thinks the soundis coming from. (If students are not in the classroom, they can watch this short videoinstead.)

Ask students: What does this experiment tell you about echolocation? Why might this skillbe useful to whales and dolphins? Whether echolocation is a “language” is a topic scientistshave debated for decades. Do you think it can be considered a form of communication?Why or why not?

VIEW:Within

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Lesson

Now students will free dive with whales and dolphins in the V.R. video “The Click Effect.” Asthey watch, they should make observations of the animals’ behavior.

When they are finished, they might create a T-chart, on one side citing evidence from thevideo that supports the claim that dolphins and sperm whales are intelligent, and on theother, evidence that might contradict that claim.

During Your Dive

After Your Dive

What was it like to virtually free dive and swim with dolphins and whales? How was itdifferent from reading about them in the warm up?What is one important discovery about dolphins and whales’ use of echolocation thatscientists made in their research?Fabrice Schnöller, a marine researcher, says that other animals can “see the world in adifferent way.” How did you see the world in a different way through this experience?James Nestor, a journalist, claims that “Tens of millions of dollars are spent every yearlooking for signs of intelligent life in the universe. But there’s already intelligent life inthe universe, and it’s right here,” in our oceans. Do you agree? Why or why not?

Invite students to come back together to share the insights from their dive. They can reflecton the following questions in writing or discussion:

Have students write a report to send back to the lab summarizing their findings. After thisexpedition, do they believe that dolphins and whales are intelligent in the ways we conceiveof intelligence? If they do not feel like they can answer this question yet, they can make alist of questions they would need to know the answers to before reaching a determination.How might they go about researching and collecting data for these questions?

Further ReadingOpinion | A Conversation With Whales

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Decode the Secret Language of Dolphins and Whales

Before Your Dive (cont'd)Then, invite students to develop a hypothesis based on what they’ve learned so far: Aredolphins and whales “intelligent” in the way that humans are? That is, can theycommunicate, learn, understand and socialize? What more information would you need toknow to answer this question? How might you go about collecting data to prove or disproveyour hypothesis?

Lesson

How should a community memorialize a painful history — such as a murder, a riot, alynching or a massacre inspired by racism?

Should it create informational markers, preserve old structures and build statues?Should it try to teach future generations what happened? Or, should it do nothing in anattempt to move on to a better future?

Invite students to do a quick-write responding to the following questions:

After students have finished writing, have them discuss their response with a partner.

The NYT VR Video Remembering Emmett Till (8 min.)

Memorials and Justice

In this 360-degree documentary, students will travel withAudra D.S. Burch, a New York Times correspondent, to theMississippi town where Emmett was killed. They will visitseveral key locations to explore the cultural reckoninghappening now and examine the role that physicalstructures related to the Emmett Till case play in theefforts to memorialize him.

Roles and GoalsStudents have been invited to form a student team of curators to help memorialize Emmettfor the Emmett Till Interpretive Center. Their goal is to visit the places that make up thenarrative of what happened to Emmett and make suggestions for how the center cancommemorate this painful history.

Before Your Visit to the Mississippi Delta

VIEW:The New York Times

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Lesson

One location that stood out to me was … because …One quote that resonated with me was … because …One emotion I had while watching was … because …One question I have is …

Now, students will travel to the place where Emmett’s murder took place, in the virtualreality documentary “Remembering Emmett Till.” As they watch, they should pay attentionto the various markers of Emmett’s story shared in the film, as well as their own emotionalreactions.

Have students journal about what they saw and heard, and how it made them feel. Theymight use the following prompts:

What happened to Emmet Till over 60 years ago? How are the two communities wherethese events happened still grappling with the legacy?Should the Emmett Till Interpretive Center stop trying to replace the bullet-riddledhistorical markers, as a way to show the world that some people still want to erase thispainful history? Or should they rededicate a new marker, to ensure that vandalismdoesn’t prevent people from learning about these events? (You can read this 2019article to get an update on this story.)Do historical signs and markers matter? Do you ever read them? Are they important tomaintain?What do you think the Emmett Till Interpretive Center should do next to help preservethe legacy of what happened in these towns? After watching the film, what would youadvise?

Have students come back together to discuss what they learned. They can reflect on thefollowing questions in writing or discussion:

Have students visit the Emmett Till Interpretive Center’s website to learn more about thecenter’s work. Then they can use their new knowledge to provide additional insights intoanswering the key question: How should these two communities memorialize this painfulhistory?

Invite them to write up a proposal or sketch a design of one way these communities couldcommemorate Emmett’s legacy.

Memorials and Justice

During Your Visit

After Your Visit

Further ReadingEmmett Till’s Murder, and How America Remembers Its Darkest Moments

Emmett Till Memorial Has a New Sign. This Time, It’s Bulletproof.

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Lesson

The NYT VR VideoInside CERN's Large Hadron Collider (6 min.)

The World's Biggest Physics Experiment

In this virtual reality experience, viewers travel beneath thefields of Switzerland and France to tour the largestmicroscope ever built. They’ll explore the ins and outs ofthe machine, hear about its future, and study the remnantsof the Higgs boson, a long-sought particle that helps explainwhy there is mass, diversity and life in the cosmos.

Roles and GoalsStudents have been invited to form a committee to study the Large Hadron Collider,developed by physicists at CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research, before itcloses for upgrades. Their goal is to learn how the microscope works and share theirfindings with their peers.

Before Your Tour of the Large Hadron ColliderHave students begin by discussing these questions: Why are microscopes important? Whatdo we use them for? What are some things we’ve learned about our world that we wouldnot know without them?

Then, invite them to read about how CERN’s Large Hadron Collider works:

The collider is a kind of microscope that works by flinging subatomic particles around a 17-mile electromagnetic racetrack beneath the French-Swiss countryside, smashing themtogether 600 million times a second and sifting through the debris for new particles andforces of nature. The instrument is also a time machine, providing a glimpse of the physicsthat prevailed in the early moments of the universe and laid the foundation for the cosmosas we see it today.

What might scientists learn about the universe from this machine? In what ways might thisknowledge be useful to us?

Finally, have them brainstorm questions they would want to ask the physicists of CERNabout the collider.

VIEW:The New York Times

20

Lesson

What was your experience like inside the collider? What are some things youdiscovered on your tour?Why was the discovery of the Higgs boson so significant? How did the collider aid inthat discovery?How do you think the research conducted by physicists using the Large Hadron Collidermight affect the world? How might it affect you personally?

Gather the students back together to share their insights with each other about CERN’sLarge Hadron Collider. Students can discuss what they learned using the following prompts:

Now, have students create a model to illustrate how a subatomic particle would travelthrough the Large Hadron Collider.

The model can take any form students like, but they should remember that the goal is tohelp their peers understand how this microscope works. They might create a drawing or adigital illustration. If they have the resources, they can build a virtual model using 3-Dsoftware or a physical one using clay or some other material. They could create a comic or ashort video that follows an animated proton on its journey through the collider. All modelsshould include labels of the key elements they portray.

They can find more information in the article “It’s Intermission Time for the Large HadronCollider.”

Finally, invite students to reflect: What did they learn from creating their model? What areits limitations? In other words, what is the model not able to show? What questions did thisassignment raise for them?

The “racetrack”

The detectors

Compact Muon Solenoid

Atlas

The computer banks

Now, students will travel beneath the French-Swiss countryside to tour the microscope inthe V.R. video “Inside CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.” As they watch, they should payattention to the different parts of the machine and how they work.

After the video, students should jot down what they learned about the followingcomponents of the collider and the role each plays:

During Your Tour

After Your Tour

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The World's Biggest Physics Experiment

Lesson

The NYT VR Video The Land of Salt and Fire (6 min.)

Journey to the Hottest Place on Earth

Tectonic shifts are disrupting the traditional way of life forpeople in the Afar region in Ethiopia. In this V.R. video,students will be transported to Dallol, Ethiopia, the hottestplace on Earth, where they will travel with camel caravansacross salt flats and active geothermal zones, to find outhow the Afar people are adapting.

Roles and GoalsStudents have been invited to form an anthropological expedition to document life in Dallol.As members of this team, their goal is to document their experiences and share insightswith their peers to better understand Dallol’s unique geography and people.

Before Your Excursion to Dallol

How would you describe the landscape of Dallol?

What is unique about it?

Where does the salt trade predominantly take place?

How is salt mined? What tools are used?

What might you expect to see on a visit to Dallol?

Before visiting the people and places they are studying, anthropologists always conductbackground research. Have students do this by first finding Dallol on a map. Next, invitethem to spend a few minutes doing a Google image search of “Dallol” and “salt trade,” animportant economic activity in the region.

Then, discuss what they notice and wonder about what they see. Ask them:

VIEW:The New York Times

YouTube VR

22

Lesson

If I were there, I would touch …

If I were there, I would see …

If I were there, I would hear …

If I were there, I would smell …

If I were there, I would taste …

If I were there, I would feel …

Now students will embark on their expedition by watching the NYT VR video “The Land ofSalt and Fire.” As they watch, remind them that anthropology is the study of human societiesand cultures, so they should pay special attention to how the people of Dallol havedeveloped their society and what role the environment has played in it.

After they’ve finished, they can use the “If I Were There” protocol to record theirobservations:

During Your Excursion

After Your Excursion

What was interesting or surprising about their trip to Dallol? What did it feel like to “be

there”?

What role has the salt trade played in the lives of the Afar people over generations?

What are the forces that are changing the Afar people’s traditional way of life? How are

they adapting?

How can an environment influence a people’s way of life? How does the environment

where you live influence how people live and work in your community?

Invite students to reconvene and discuss the discoveries they made. They can reflect onthe following questions in writing or discussion:

The goal of anthropologists is to publish their findings so they can share what they’velearned with the public. Students can create a one-pager to share their insights with theirpeers. They can summarize their findings with an illustration, a quote and a question theymight want to ask the Afar people. Post the one-pagers around the classroom and havestudents do a gallery walk, or invite them to present their work in small groups.

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Journey to the HottestPlace on Earth

Further Reading

Voyages: The Danakil Depression, Ethiopia