With battle horses, cannons, wounded soldiers and a war-weary George Washington, seventh graders at H.C. Crittenden Middle School studied the American Revolutionary War and brought their research to life by creating virtual Lego sets.
After students studied the American Revolution, they learned about the war in Westchester County and narrowed the focus to what happened in the local community of North Castle. Working in groups, the students studied one of six nearby historical sites: Leonard Park, Merritt Hill, Smith’s Tavern, Elijah Miller’s House, Miller Hill and the Major John Andre Monument.
Once they completed their research using three sources, students wrote a letter to Lego about the historical significance of their site that tried to convince the company to produce their set. Using generative artificial intelligence, seventh graders created detailed, realistic images of their mock Lego sets and the minifigures and elements they would include.
Called History in Bricks, seventh grade social studies teachers created the engaging project this school year. They were inspired by the North Castle Historical Society’s upcoming celebrations of the nation’s 250th anniversary in July. Students used primary sources from the historical society for their research that included pamphlets and its documentary, North Castle: A Revolutionary Town.
“We hope that the students felt a deeper connection to and appreciation for local history through this project,” teacher Christina Vezza said. “The Lego set design helped them bring the whole story even more to life as they were really interested and driven to create the most accurate minifigures and elements that would help tell the story.”
The students were deeply invested in their work.
"It was great to watch students get excited about designing their Lego set to celebrate their community’s role in the American Revolution,” teacher Andrew Benowich said. “This experience really helped their understanding of North Castle’s role in the war. It felt real, it was creative, and they couldn’t wait to show off their final projects."
AI allowed students to stretch their imaginations beyond what they could build with actual Lego bricks. They told the AI tool how to dress their minifigures, what hat and uniform they should wear and even the expressions on their faces.
“This was so much more vivid and personalized,” Mr. Benowich said. “They were able to make a George Washington who was very specific to the event. His demeanor, his clothing and his expression fit what was happening to him as he was struggling to win the war.”
For seventh grader Mia Plutzer, whose group studied British spy John Andre, who was caught with secret American documents in his boot, creating with AI was the best part of the project. “It was fun to use and you could connect it to what actually happened and you could make the characters however you want and be very specific,” she said.
In the same group, Julia Goldstein felt that History in Bricks strengthened her research skills. “We had to find our own reliable source,” she said. “It was a lot of independent work and we got more responsibility in the project,” she said.
Creating the Lego set “gave us a fun way to learn about history and kept us intrigued,” she said.
Isabella Moyano, whose group researched Elijah Miller’s House, said the project “helped us understand more about the house and its importance to our American history.”
Meital Weissman, in the same group, said she felt their project came out well. “I think it has good elements that bring it to life and give it more importance,” she said.
“I loved it,” she said of History in Bricks. “I liked being able to learn more about our community. I also enjoyed being able to have the creativity to make these Lego sets.”
Hudson Price and his group studied Leonard Park, where French allied soldiers camped out toward the end of the war. “I thought it was really fun, making the Lego and learning about these historical sites that are in our own town,” he said. “It was great how it was interactive with a group.”
