What is Mission US?

 

MISSION US 2 - FLIGHT TO FREEDOM

NOW AVAILABLE!!!

 

Students and teachers - go to www.mission-us.org to get in on all the free action!!!

 

 

In 2010, WCNY’s sister station, WNET of New York City, launched a groundbreaking new multimedia educational project designed to engage students in grades 5-9 in American history.- MISSION US.  Developed by a team of educators, historians, public television representatives, and professional video game designers, MISSION US is a series of free, standards-based, quest-themed online history simulations, complemented by extensive resources including teacher materials and web-based interactions.  Major funding for the project was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with additional funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Since the launch of the first MISSION US title, Mission1: For Crown or Colony?, over 120,000 educators and students across the country have registered to play at www.mission-us.org.  Research evaluating the educational effectiveness of the first mission has been outstanding – students not only are engaged by the game, but learn and retain historical content and concepts.  These findings are important, especially since the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that only 17% of eighth graders perform at or above the proficient level in American history.  Utilizing media formats that young people embrace to help them learn is an innovative way to engage them in our nation’s history.

Flight to Freedom takes place in the years preceding the Civil War.  Students playing the game assume the role of Lucy, a young slave girl born and raised on a Kentucky plantation, who faces difficult life choices including whether or not to try to escape from the plantation to find freedom elsewhere.  Many communities in Upstate New York were actual stations on the Underground Railroad, so this video game has particular relevance to NYS students.

MISSION US Teacher Survey

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Mission 2: Flight to Freedom Educator of the Year

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NATIONAL MISSION US EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR IS FROM CENTRAL NEW YORK!

Marc Cizenski, a seventh- and eighth-grade U.S. history teacher at the Onondaga/Cortland/Madison BOCES’ Career Training Center in Syracuse, has been named the Mission US National Educator of the Year.

Cizenski, of Syracuse, was selected by New York City public television station THIRTEEN for his outstanding use of Mission US, an innovative multimedia classroom resource produced by THIRTEEN in association with WNET. Mission US is a series of free role-paying games that give middle school students a first-person perspective on American history.

WCNY selected Cizenski as its Mission US Regional Educator of the Year – and nominated him for the national honor – based on his work utilizing the Mission US games in his classroom with students in the REACH Alternative Program, which is designed to engage students who have not been successful in traditional school settings.

Congratulations Mark!

 

 

 

Regional Underground Railroad and Abolitionist Resources

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Lucy, the central figure in Flight to Freedom, lived in dangerous times. A slave on a hemp plantation in the 1840s, she has witnessed slaves running away and has to make choices about her own life. Flight to Freedom is not a Civil War game as it ends in 1852, but instead focuses on slavery and resistance to slavery.  During the timeframe of the game, the Federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed.  The law required that government officials, including Federal marshals, must arrest any fugitive slaves or be liable to a $1,000 fine for failure to do so.  As long as a slave-owner filed a sworn statement that the supposed slave was his property, the slave could be arrested.  As slaves (and free blacks) had few rights, including no ability to request a jury trial or even testify on his or her behalf, once arrested, the vast majority of slaves were put back in the hands of slave-owners, who often beat them or worse for running away.  Those accused of sheltering or helping a fugitive faced serious penalties including imprisonment and hefty fines.  Those who captured fugitive slaves were often paid a bonus or fee for their efforts.  Many free blacks were unfairly put into slavery as a result of this legislation. It’s no surprise that the Underground Railroad, a network featuring over 3,000 “stations” helping slaves travel from southern states to safety in northern states and Canada, should become even more crucial after the passage of this law. 

Many historical organizations across the region have done research on local ties to the antislavery/abolitionist movement as well as information on African-American life in the 1800s.  For example, the Mexico Historical Society in Mexico, New York has conducted walking tours of abolitionist sites and put together related printed materials.  The Oswego County Freedom Trail Commission and Committee has put together The Underground Railroad in Oswego County: A Driving Tour brochure that follows the Freedom Trail in Oswego County.  The Preservation Association of Central New York has extensive material available on its website, at http://www.pacny.net/

Additional Resource Links: 

Any community or organization who would like a link about their Underground Railroad research and materials considered for addition here should email WCNY at debbie_stack@wcny.org.

Join the discussion about the Mission US interactive history games, For Crown to Colony? and Flight to Freedom! Teachers - share how you are using the games in your classrooms and what you like or don't like about the games. Students - let us know how you like playing the games. Do you like learning about history in this way?

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