People Need to Know ─ Confronting History in the Heartland

This narrative for educators and students follows a group of contemporary high school students and their history teacher Bill Munn as they research a 1930 lynching in their home town, Marion, Indiana. Author Robert Lucas grew up in Marion; he collaborates with history teacher Bill Munn, who was also Lucas’s teacher when Lucas was in high school. The students conduct interviews and create materials about the lynching, including online resources. Along the way, they learn about ethical issues related to historical research and deal with options for presenting history research to the public. The example serves as a demonstration of an innovative approach to curriculum, in which students create real-world results that others can access and use. Annotation c2016 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Robert M. Lucas is Assistant Professor in the Department of Elementary and Middle Grades Education at East Carolina University. He holds a PhD in education from Stanford University as well as a B.A. and an M.A. from Harvard University.