Diving deep into their study of the American Revolution, fourth graders at Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School made videos to share their thoughts about the war that led to the independence of the United States.

After learning about patriots and loyalists, the young historians had a digital debate using Flipgrid. Each student had to decide if he or she would have supported independence of the 13 colonies or would have defended staying with Great Britain. They had to cite historical evidence to back up their arguments in the 90-second videos.

The videos were shared on teacher Leighann Ruggiero’s class page, and students had to create response videos to two of their classmates, giving reasons why they either agreed or disagreed. Students said they enjoyed the opportunity to use technology to share their opinions and have respectful debate with their peers.