Every year our Barrow 2nd graders embark on a month-long project to research 4 people from history and decide which person is most deserving of a peace prize that we named after our school. This project has gone through many changes over the years and is a project that we keep coming back to because so many standards are woven into it.

Our project begins with a Google Hangout with all 4 second grade classes. This year, we read Malala’s Magic Pencil and discussed her character traits. We also learned about the Nobel Peace Prize that Malala won. We used this information to create a list of character traits someone should show in order to be deserving of our peace prize.

Then, students researched 1 of 4 people from history using Pebble Go, Encyclopedia Britannica, and websites found in Destiny Discover. They gathered facts onto a Google doc shared with them in Google Classroom.

In art, students created an image of their person using watercolors.

In writing, students used their facts to craft a persuasive piece of writing to convince an audience to vote for their person from history.

Finally, students recorded their artwork and writing using Flipgrid so that it could be viewed by a worldwide audience.

That’s where you come in. Our 2nd graders want you to hear their voices. They want you to listen to videos about each of the 4 nominated historical figures and decide which person should win the 2019 Barrow Peace Prize. You can access all of the videos on this Smore.

At the top and bottom of the Smore is a Google form where you can cast your vote. Voting starts now and will end on February 24 at 12:00PM EST. We will announce the winner of the Barrow Peace Prize when we Skype with the Flipgrid team in Minnesota in early March.  Every student who researched the winning historical figure will be awarded a 2019 Barrow Peace Prize medal created on our 3D printer.

We hope you will watch and vote. We also hope you will share this project with your own students, networks, or people in your community. Anyone can vote. The students love seeing where people have viewed their projects and how many votes were cast.

Who will win? You decide! Click here to start.