Life in the Time of COVID-19

The Pandemic Through the Eyes of PCS Juniors

Kelsey Flood, our AP US History teacher, understands very clearly the demands of being a PCS student having graduated from the school herself in 2009. When the Shelter in Place order first came into effect, her immediate concern was for the mental well-being of her students, and how she could best help them to cope.

“I wanted to find a meaningful way to check in with my class, to discover how they were dealing with this unprecedented situation,” explains Kelsey. Ever the historian, Kelsey came up with the idea of asking the students to produce their own primary sources relating to the pandemic. “Our students are living through an historical event of enormous proportions, and I wanted them to create their own primary source that they could look back on in years to come. Each day in APUSH we analyze different materials for historical context, this project gave them the opportunity to create their own.”

Kelsey wanted this to be a task that her students could enjoy, something that would both calm and inform. She told her class that she was happy to review any kind of material that they wanted to give her, never anticipating just how diverse that would be. Click on the links above to see some examples of what her students produced. For best viewing make sure ad blockers are off!