
At
the
beginning
of
the
school
year,
when
Hampton
Middle
School
social
studies
teachers
Jamilla
Afrane,
Maria
Chopin,
and
Riley
O'Casey
collaborated
on
teaching
virtual
social
studies
lessons,
they
questioned
how
best
to
engage
students
with
the
material.
That's
when
an
idea
emerged:
Let
the
experts
come
to
the
students.
"This
was
an
opportunity
for
all
of
Hampton's
eighth
graders,"
stated
O'Casey.
"The
unit
can
be
difficult
for
students
to
understand,
so
having
an
expert
there
to
answer
questions
helps
them
tremendously."
For
each
social
studies
unit
they
taught,
O'Casey
and
her
colleagues
contacted
and
invited
an
expert
in
that
field
to
speak
to
students
through
Zoom.
Virginia
State
Senator
Jeremy
McPike
and
Prince
William
County
Supervisor
Victor
Angry
joined
students
earlier
in
the
year.
"They
explained
their
role
as
a
senator
and
supervisor
and
the
students
then
asked
a
myriad
of
questions,"
said
O'Casey.
Most
recently,
for
their
judicial
studies
unit,
the
students
spoke
with
representatives
from
the
Prince
William
County
sheriff's
office
and
with
the
new
Prince
William
County
chief
of
police,
Peter
Newsham
"The
students
asked
about
current
events,
parts
of
our
unit
they
may
not
understand,
such
as
jurisdiction,
and
what
the
guest
presenters
liked
and
didn't
like
about
their
job,"
said
O'Casey.
"They
are
asking
questions
that
mean
something
to
them,"
she
noted,
stating,
"It
hooks
them
and
makes
them
interested
in
the
unit."