Gaming the Past

CCDS Ninth Grade Interactive Histories

The Twines here marked (CCDS AWH) were designed by my ninth-graders in Ancient World History at Cincinnati Country Day School during the third quarter of this 2016-17 year. The designers’ names have been replaced by their initials. I am very pleased and excited to post these as excellent examples of historical Twines and hope they will inspire similar projects at other schools and more discussion about Twine as a history pedagogy. For now, I want to include a few caveats that I think are important to appreciating the examples.

• These were selected from among the best projects. Best does not mean 100% historically accurate (whatever that means anyway) or always grammatically correct/stylistically elegant. Please remember: these are 14 and 15 year olds
• They were the product of a quarter-long research and design project see the specs and rubric I used that began with a short research essay on their historical figure and scenario
• They were revised after an initial grading for a revision grade
• I asked the students to do one more proofread before posting

Let me know if you have questions or comments, particularly if you’d like to try something like this in your own classes! (jmc.hst@gmail.com; @gamingthepast)

2019 Twines

Caesar and Pompey, by SS (Roman Republic)

2018 Twines

Students developing the 2018 Twines in my Ancient World History used the revised approach to the research paper and design I outlined elsewhere on Gaming the Past. The improved research specifications and instructions for how to design a historical Twine really showed in these works.

The Trial of Socrates, by WJ (AWH)

Alexander the Great and the Conquest of Persia, by LW (AWH)

Leif Erikson, by CH (AWH)

Bodhidharma, by JW (AWH)

Ashoka, by EB (AWH)

2017 Twines

Leonidas at Thermopylae, by BB (AWH)
Thermopylae, by DM (AWH)
Brian Boru, by RT (AWH)
Henry VIII, by AN (AWH)
Mary, Bloody Mary, by LR (AWH)
Joan of Arc, by HH (AWH)