I did not touch on this in my presentation, but two years ago, I organized a trip with my students to visit World War I and World War II battlefields.
The trip was not just about going to Vimy Ridge and learning about its history—although that would have been a good experience too. A few months before our departure, I ordered the military records of the soldiers who had attended Kelvin High School. I assigned each of my students a soldier who had died in World War I or World War II. They conducted research for a few months. They visited the soldiers' homes— if they still existed—to take photos. They contacted their living descendants. We then went to the cemetery to visit the soldiers' graves. Each student made a presentation on their soldier's life. I think that was a truly authentic experience. In fact, I know it was because the students were so affected by the experience—I was taken by surprise.
As I said earlier, we made a video in order to share that experience with our school and community. We even had an opportunity to meet some of the descendants who came to visit the memorial chamber we had created to tell this story.