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How The Monuments Came Down
In collaboration with Field Studio
Educators' Resources
LInks to the film, a Smithsonian Forum panel discussion, the VPM Curriculum Guide, a Bunk Exhibit, and additional New American History Learning Resources for teaching about monuments and memorialization.
Standards
C3D2.Civ.9.9-12 Individually and with others, students: Use appropriate deliberative processes in multiple settings.D2.Civ.10.9-12 Individually and with others, students: Analyze the impact and the appropriate roles of personal interests and perspectives on the application of civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights.
Virtual film screening and panel discussion held December 2, 2021. View the film here, then revisit the panel discussion.
This collection of Learning Resources does not follow our traditional New American History 5Es model. We share it in collaboration with our friends at Field Studio, creators of The Future of America's Past. We hope you will find these resources helpful as you and your students explore the ways we view history through monuments and memorialization.
This Curriculum Guide, developed by 2019 National Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson, includes resources for using the film both in its entirety and with smaller clips provided in the PBS Learning Media links included below.
The following curriculum resources from PBS Learning Media includes links to shorter clips from the film to use with the VPM Curriculum Guide.
Listen to this brief audio clip from NPR, All Things Considered, where filmmakers Hannah Ayers and Lance Warren discuss their film, How the Monuments Came Down, about 160 years of history in Richmond, VA., and the removal of the confederate statues along Monument Ave.
The following New American History resources are provided to help follow up on a broader classroom discussion on monuments and memorialization and contested landscapes across the country. First, explore the topic with this Bunk Exhibit.
The following is from our New American History Learning Resources Library, a 5Es model of learning experience for APUSH and high school history classes to explore monuments and memorialization in more depth.
This post from our Executive Director, Ed Ayers, via our New American History Medium blog, first appeared on our website in June of 2020, setting the historical context for the protests following the death of George Floyd, and the demand for the removal of the Confederate Monuments in Richmond, Virginia and other cities across the United States.