 What makes a hero?
discussion
about what makes a hero
Interview a neighborhood hero
Find a neighborhood
hero (see discussion about what makes a hero), then interview them to
find out more about what makes them so special. Use this Oral
History Interview process to learn how to conduct your interview:
Asking the right questions will help you get better stories and not
just "yes," "no," and "uh-huh" answers!
Be sure to get a signed release form so you can save the tape and use quotes from the interview.
Hall of Neighborhood Heroes
Research a
hero in your neighborhood (either present or past), then tell your hero's
story in a magazine article, video story, mural, oral story, epic poem
or play. Work with your language arts or visual/media arts teachers
to find out more about the special requirements for the form of storytelling
you've chosen.
Honor your
hero by nominating him or her to our Hall of Neighborhood Heroes (coming soon). Write a short form of your hero's story to submit for
to the Hall of Heroes. You may also upload a picture (photo or drawing)
of your hero. Be sure to get a signed release form for living heroes.
Saving Faith
Draw or photograph
the old churches or temples in your community. Research their history
by interviewing older members or clergy using the oral history interview
above and finding more facts in documentary sources. Submit your picture
and a few paragraphs about your house of faith to our online Saving
Faith Gallery (coming soon).
 Related video:
Ethnic Edibles
Talk to family
members to find the favorite foods from your cultural background. What
are the dishes people remember eating when they were growing up? What
were the favorite dishes? ..the least favorite? Does your family still
eat these dishes? Why or why not? What stories are told about special
foods in your family?
Collect the
recipes for some of these favorite foods, past and present. If your
older relatives still make these dishes by the "little bit of this-little
bit of that" method without a written, ask if they will teach you
how to make the dish. Then you can try to write down the process that
future cooks can use. You might also scan any old copies of recipes
that have been written down. Find out more about the traditions surrounding
this food:
- When was
this dish eaten (what meal, day of the week, Esc)? How often? Was
it served at any special times (holidays, birthdays, when someone
was sick, Sabbath meals, etc.)
- Who prepared
the dish?
- What was
served with it?
- Where
did the ingredients come from?
- Who especially
loved or hated this dish?
- What memories
does this food bring back?
If you find
a good recipe or a great ethnic food story, email
it to Chris Fennimore--you might find it on the "QED
Cooks" television show or "C
is for Cooks" Pittsburgh Magazine column!
Nationality Rooms Symbol Search
The Nationality
Rooms in Pitt's Cathedral of Learning are rich treasure chests of the
best of 26 cultures, represented by images and symbols from the highest
points of their civilizations. The Nationality
Room Symbol Search sends students on a mission to discover those
symbols and hypothesize about their meaning either online or during
an actual tour of the Rooms.
Begin with
a brief introduction of the concept of symbols by asking students to
give examples of symbols of the United States (flag, eagle, Great Seal
of the United States, Uncle Sam, the figure of Liberty, the Capitol,
the White House, etc.). Ask them what those symbols mean, and what their
purpose is, and where they are used. Almost all nations, religions,
cultures, and organizations have symbols that have taken on special
meanings because they stand for important shared values.
When the Nationality
Rooms were built, many national and religious symbols were incorporated
into their designs by proud descendants of their cultures. Try to find
them and interpret them on your tour of the Rooms or play our online
match-up game Nationality Room Symbol Search (version 4 or higher
browsers required). Or if you can visit the Nationality Rooms, play
the Symbol Search game in person:
Preparation:
Print out the paper versions of the 40 cards
included here preferably with a color printer on stiff paper and
cut them apart.
Procedure:
- Deal one
or two of the cards (there are 40 cards) to each member of your group
or class.
- While on
your tour of the Nationality Rooms, ask them to find the symbols or
details pictured on their cards.
- Write the
name of the Room were the symbols was found on the back of each card.
- Teachers
may email WQED's Learning Center for a key by return email. Alternatively, assign students in groups
of 2 or 3 and require that they confirm each others' sightings.
You might
follow-up your search for symbols with the discussion and art activities
in Symbol-eyes.
Related video:
Walking Tour of Oakland
Take
yourself on a self-guided two-hour loop of Pittsburgh's "second
Downtown" to see two universities, libraries, museums, houses of
worship and lots of interesting things along the way! See our directions
and tour and a route map.
Oakland Treasure Hunt
On
your next family or field trip to Oakland, arm everyone with something
to look for in this visually rich cultural neighborhood. This activity
makes an ideal companion to the Self-Guided Walking Tour of Oakland above. You might also pair it with Nationality Rooms Symbol Search above.
Preparation:
Print out the 52 cards included here preferably with a color printer on stiff paper and cut them apart.
Procedure:
- Deal two
or more Oakland Treasure Hunt cards (there are 52 cards) to each member of your group or class.
- While walking
through Oakland, ask them to find the building details and symbols
pictured on their cards (they include some interiors as well exteriors).
- Write the
street address where the photo was found on the back of each card
and mark the card number on the appropriate place on a map of Oakland.
- Teachers
may email WQED's Learning Center for a key by return email. Alternatively, assign students in groups
of 2 or 3 and require that they confirm each others' sightings.
Related video:
North Side Virtual Tour
Visit
the North Side right here on the web! Explore our interactive
map of the North Side, adapted from a Pittsburgh
Magazine (illustration courtesy of David
Coulson).
What
similar places can you find in your neighborhood? What places are unique
to the North Side?
Make
a list of North Side assets you would use to "sell" the North
Side to someone just moving to Pittsburgh from out-of-town. Write an
ad for the North Side to promote it as a place for a business or family
to relocate to.
Make
a list of "things the North Side needs" that you would present
to City Council or the Chamber of Commerce to make this neighborhood
an even better place to live and work. Write a letter to the editor
or a council member to propose what you think are the most important
improvements you would suggest.
You
can can arrange a guided walking tour of the North Side by emailing
or calling Pittsburgh History and Landmarks
Foundations' Education Coordinator (412-481-5808).
Related video:
South Side Flats Scavenger Hunt
Go
on a walking tour of the South Side Flats. This neighborhood is part
of the Mainstreet Program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
because it is one of the longest and best preserved Victorian neighborhoods
in the country! Hunt for architectural details and mark where you've
found them on a map of the Southside. This activity is provided by Pittsburgh
History & Landmarks Foundation. You can can arrange a guided
walking tour of the South Side by emailing or calling PHLF's
Education Coordinator (412-481-5808).
Preparation:
Print out the paper versions of the 50 cards
included here preferably with a color printer on stiff paper and
cut them apart.
Procedure:
- Deal two
or more South Side cards (there are
50 cards) to each member of your group or class.
- While walking
through the neighborhood, ask them to find the building details pictured
on their cards.
- Write the
street address where the photo was found on the back of each card
and mark the card number on the appropriate place on a map of the
South Side.
- Teachers
may email PHLF's Education Coordinator for a key by return email. Alternatively, assign students in groups
of 2 or 3 and require that they confirm each others' sightings.
Related video:
Strip District Stroll
Take
your class on a stroll through the The Strip District from 17th through
21 Streets. This activity is provided by Pittsburgh
History & Landmarks Foundation. You can can arrange a guided
walking tour of the The Strip District with additional activities by
emailing or calling PHLF's Education Coordinator (412-481-5808).
Preparation:
Download and print out the Strip
District Stroll map (37k) in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Print in
"landscape" mode on legal size paper and choose "fit
on page" in your print settings. Distribute one to each student.
Before your tour (or simply as a class activity if you don't
plan on making a tour):
- Read Pittsburgh
Magazine article "Uncovering
Secrets of The Strip" by producer Rick Sebak and watch some
of the related video segments from The
Strip Show.
- Try to
mark some of the places mentioned on in the article or on the video
on the map.
During
your tour:
- As you tour, think about the strengths of The Strip, its needs, and problems
that it has. Keep a list of these strengths and needs on the tour
map in the spaces provided.
- Mark the
each building on the map as one you would "save" or "demolish"
if you were trying to solve some of the problems The Strip has while
keeping its strengths. Mark good examples of good signage that you
find. (Use the symbols in the map key.)
- Take a
picture of some of the vacant structures you would like to see put
to a new use.
- List each
ethnic group represented in the shops in The Strip (remember to check
inside -- many stores represent many groups!).
After your
tour:
- Make a
class list of the strengths of The Strip, its needs, and problems that it has.
- Design
a new use for the vacant structure you photographed in the Recycle,
Reuse activity.
- Find on
the globe or world map the nations the various ethnic groups came
from that you discovered in The Strip. Is there a concentration in
one area or another? Why might that be?
Related video:
Cartoon
map mural of your neighborhood
Visit
the our interactive map of the North Side,
adapted from a Pittsburgh Magazine (illustration courtesy of David
Coulson), then make one of your neighborhood.
- Find
a map of your neighborhood. Download maps of Pittsburgh
Neighborhoods at the City Planning site. Outside of Pittsburgh,
you may wish to contact your municipality of a map (find contact information
for Allegheny
County municipalities on the county site). Locate geological maps
and aerial views of your area by searching the Terraserver:
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/
- Isolate
your neighborhood and enlarge that section of the map on to mural
paper.
- Take
a walking tour of your area if possible. Note any important features
for a neighborhood map.
- List
the most important features to include on the map
- Assign
partners two or three features to research, then illustrate cartoon
style and write an explanatory caption.
- Glue
the feature to its location on the map. Key with a number and
attach the numbered caption alongside the map.
Uncovering
Secrets
Read the Pittsburgh
Magazine article "Uncovering Secrets
of The Strip" by producer Rick Sebak and watch some of the
related video segments from The Strip
Show. What secrets are hiding in your neighborhood? Every community
has them, you just have to find them! Get everyone in the class involved
in uncovering the secrets. Here are a few ways to track them down:
Have the class
list on the chalkboard some things they've always wondered about your
part of town. (Why do train tracks run right through the center of town?
Why do the streets parallel to the tracks have stop signs, but those
perpendicular to them, do not?) Identify people who might know the answers
and assign students to interview them.
- Ask older
adults in town about things that used to be, but are gone now. Find
pictures and stories to reconstruct them! (You can also contribute
these secrets to our Stuff that's Gone Gallery(coming soon).)
- Ask other
people in the community what they've always wondered about. (What
is that little building down by the river? What was ____ Street named
for? What did that rusty old machine do?)
- Ask older
adults their most vivid memory about your community. What has changed
the most about town? What surprises them most about your neighborhood
today? What was the community most noted for in the past? How did
it make it's living? How did it have fun?
- After you've
collected some "secrets" do as much research about each
as you can though oral history, library research, checking back issues
of community newspapers. Write up the secrets and illustrate them
with contemporary photos, if possible, or find historical illustrations
like old photos, newspaper clippings, or maps.
Publish your
secrets!
- Talk to
the local newspaper to see if they'd be interested in publishing your
secrets and illustrations.
- Create
an exhibit for your school or a local gathering place like a bank
or municipal building.
- Create
a web page about the secrets you discover! Let
us know and we'll link to it!
- Film your
own video documentary about your communities secret stories and treasures.
See Rick Sebak's "How we make these shows" article for tips
on telling the video story of a community.
Related video:
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