Story map

In this lesson, we discussed the Underground Railroad and the testimonies from those who traveled on it to freedom. For this assignment, you will select three of these testimonies, digitally map them and create a Story Map using ArcGIS StoryMaps. You will add descriptors for each marker and finally provide a short summary description.

Instructions

• Select THREE testimonies from the Charles Blockson resource: “Blockson, Charles. Maryland. Underground Railroad. New York. Prentice Hall. 1987. 0139357432. pp. 95-123,” located in the eReserves under the “Library Resources” tab.
• Using ArcGIS StoryMaps, create a new Story Map and map these three routes by placing markers indicating stops on each route.
• Each route should include at least three stops.
• Place a marker at each stop, including (1) a title indicating which route the stop is on, and (2) a brief 1-2 paragraph description of that stop relating information from the testimony (E.g., What happened there? Why did they stop at that location? What were they feeling? Etc.)
• In addition, your Story Map should include a 2-3 paragraph summary discussing what lessons you’ve learned from reading about and mapping your chosen testimonies.

Specific Steps in ArcGIS StoryMaps

Getting Started:

• Open ArcGIS StoryMaps, login, and click on the + New story button to launch Storybuilder.
• Title your story something that reflects the assignment, e.g. “Using Testimonies to Map Routes along the Underground Railroad”
• Add a short introduction that you feel summarizes your StoryMap. (Optional: Add a cover image to your StoryMap if you’d like.)
• Click on the + sign next to where it reads Tell your story…
• Choose Map from the options
• Click on Start an express map.

Placing Markers for Each Stop:

• Search for the location of your first stop by using the search bar at the top. (Note, you can also click and drag on the map to find your location, but for this assignment please use the search bar to find your location.)
• After you’ve entered your location into the search bar and hit enter, StoryMaps will zoom to that location.
• In the pop-up window that appears, click on Add to map.
• Under ‘Map layers’ on the left navigation bar, you will see fields to add an image, rename the location title, and enter a description for your location. Add a brief description to this stop marker (see Instructions above)
• Search for your next location, and repeat this process for all your stops.

Placing Your Map into StoryMaps:

• Once you have markers for all your stops placed, center your point on the map and zoom to your desired view.
• Once you are happy with the placement of your map, click the Place map button.

Adding a Summary:

• Once your map is placed, you will see the + sign appear again under your map.
• Click on the + sign and select “Paragraph”
• You can type your summary here (or copy and paste it from Word). When done, just hit the “Enter” key.

Publishing Your StoryMap:

• At the top of the screen choose Publish.
• Choose My organization from the sharing option.
• Click the Publish story button.
• Copy the URL and paste it into the submission form below to submit your assignment.