The American stories project is a collaborative effort between educators Alisha Lindsey and Elizabeth Buhr and Think360 photographer Robert Campagna. The objective of the project is to help 8th-graders at Bradford K8 understand how photography is a means of telling powerful stories. This year-long project asked students to tell their stories by answering the driving question: What is my American story?

To help student explore and explain their American story, they were asked to identify the people, places, activities and individual stories that have shaped their lives. Students worked on a monthly basis with resident photographer, Robert Campagna, to understand how photography is a means of explaining their American story. In addition, students collaborated with visual arts educator, Elizabeth Buhr, to develop visual literacy strategies to support their understanding of how art supported the development of the American identity during the 19th-Century. Finally, as students explored the events of 19-Century U.S. History with educator, Alisha Lindsey, they were able to understand how storytelling is a means of understanding identity.

Students intended to showcase their work to their community in order to celebrate and inspire others to share their American stories. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 outbreak the larger community exhibit was not able to transpire. Thus, this website was born to honor the work of students and inspire others to share and document their stories during this unique time.

Thank you to the Bradford K8 PTA and Think 360 Art for their support of this project.