AP U.S. History has started their first month-long research project of the year, covering the geography and migration of different ethnic groups within, and to, the United States.

“So, with a project like this, there’s one main research question that the students have to answer, and that’s centered around why certain groups immigrated to the US and how they’ve adapted throughout time,” AP U.S. history teacher Allen Harris said. “And it doesn’t have to just be centered on one time period or the [time period] we are learning about in class – it can be any time throughout history.”

The project tackles the immigration of multiple different ethnic groups to the United States. Students can do a simple poster board or diorama presentation, or go outside of the box and create a song to display their information.

“We’ve left the presentation of the research pretty open ended,” AP U.S. History teacher Kenneth Schiumo said. “With topics like this, we want to add at least one element that allows students to express themselves to make it more engaging for them and the audience.”

To many students, this project is simply a grade to be fulfilled, but it’s also something else: understanding. On campus, there are people from all kinds of backgrounds, and history classes are not typically centered around minority groups.

“We don’t really talk about how people of color especially came to the United States, or even why,” junior Aditya Seelaboyina said. “I think it’s important to learn about the history of all the people living here.”