How do communities preserve identity, organize collective action, and shape the future of a neighborhood?
01 / Enter
Begin with the place and its evidence.
A bold, media-rich virtual exhibition about organizing, memory, and the fight to protect Philadelphia’s Chinatown.
02 / Investigate
Look closely, compare, question, and revise.
An inquiry arc moves from close observation to source comparison, discussion, and a learner-created conclusion. Multiple voices remain visible rather than being compressed into one authoritative narration.
03 / Demonstrate
Use evidence to make learning visible.
Complete the route with a sourced explanation, model, reflection, or creative response appropriate to grades 7–12.
A closer view from the No Arena experience
Look closely. Move at your own pace. Follow the object, question, place, or human story that asks for another step.
Learning objectives
Analyze posters, photographs, oral histories, and exhibition objects as evidence
Distinguish perspective, claim, context, and corroborating detail
Explain how place, memory, and civic participation influence one another
Construct an evidence-based interpretation or local-history response
Curriculum connections
C3 Framework Dimensions 1–4: questions, civic and historical concepts, evidence, and informed conclusions
CCSS ELA-Literacy RH.6–8.1 and RH.6–8.7: cite evidence and integrate visual information
National Core Arts Standards VA:Re7 and VA:Cn11: analyze visual work and connect it to cultural and historical context
