Students in AP World History recently took on a creative end-of-year project that combined music, filmmaking, and historical research. Instead of completing a traditional assignment, students created music videos about historical figures or events they had studied throughout the year. The project allowed students to show their understanding of history in a fun and memorable way while also testing their creativity and time management skills.

Sophomore Mayci Barney explained that the assignment gave students the opportunity to focus deeply on one topic that interested them.

Barney said, “We got to choose a historical figure or event we had learned about throughout the class that year and it was really fun to focus on one person and learn more about them.”

Students were responsible for writing lyrics, filming scenes, editing videos, and making sure their projects were historically accurate. Many students found that balancing creativity with factual information was one of the biggest challenges of the project.

Aubrie Bush said one of the most difficult parts was “making the lyrics match and flow.”

Even with the challenges, Bush said she was proud of the final result, especially her songwriting.

Bush said, “I was most happy with my lyrics.”

To make sure her video stayed historically accurate, Bush explained that she carefully checked her information throughout the process.

Bush says, “I would cross reference a lot of my lyrics to make sure they were historically accurate.”

Bush also shared that the entire project took her “like a day and a half” to complete.

For many students, the project became more than just a history assignment. It also taught lessons about responsibility, collaboration, and preparation.

“One important thing I learned when creating the project was not procrastinating,” Parker Buffington said. “It is something that you kind of just need to get done. Not one that you can really take your time with.”

Buffington created his project about the English philosopher John Locke and said the assignment helped him connect more personally with the historical figure he studied.

Buffington explained, “Well, my figure was John Locke, so I guess I kind of had to connect with him because I had to be able to learn stuff about him that I can implement the information into my video.”

Students also made lasting memories while creating their projects. Buffington recalled a funny moment while filming with friends.

“I was with my teammates, and we were all in my hotel room, and we were wearing shirts that we had just bought, and they said, ‘I got that dog in me,’ with a photo of a Chihuahua, and so, I think it was just really funny having all matching shirts,” Buffington said.

While students enjoyed the project overall, many also reflected on ways they could improve if they were to do it again. Barney said she would make changes to improve the final video.

“I would probably change part of the chorus, and get more film for it because I use the same footage for different scenes,” Barney said.

Barney also explained that the project included a variety of filming techniques and ways of presenting information.

“In the video, there’s a lot of different filming scenes and a lot of different information conveyed in different ways throughout the video,” Barney said.

By combining music, storytelling, and history, the AP World History music video project gave students the chance to express themselves creatively while strengthening their understanding of important historical figures and events.