Resources for using the
Philadelphia World Heritage City film...

Philadelphia: America’s World Heritage City is a 28-minute documentary which David B. Brownlee wrote and narrated for Global Philadelphia Association (GPA), and Sam Katz of History Making Productions (HMP) produced and directed in 2016.  Philadelphia offers a glimpse into the formation and development of our city.  The film spans centuries, touching upon the growth of some of Philadelphia’s unique neighborhoods and how far Philadelphia has come from the 17th century. 

Philadelphia tells us a lot about what it means to be a World Heritage City, and about heritages that we celebrate here.  Each year since 2015, we have commemorated Philadelphia's status as a World Heritage City.  The city celebrates World Heritage Day on the fourth Thursday of May annually, and in 2020, we just celebrated an entire week of virtual festivities for families and educators! Watching the film (in 13 subtitles) can spark many projects and activities. 

HMP and GPA created a teacher guide (which includes authentic assessments) and student materials for classroom use with the film.  Philadelphia energizes us to tour our world-class city.  If you were making a film, what would you include about your family’s or your students’ own neighborhoods and heritages here?  If you are implementing digital learning resources across English Language Arts and Social Studies, Philadelphia and its classroom materials can be the foundation. 

For younger learners, Marilyn Russell’s (98.1 WOGL) reading of our Philadelphia World  Heritage Coloring Book is a great starting point.

Seeing Philadelphia or listening to a reading of the Philadelphia World Heritage Coloring Book can make us curious about our own family’s and students’ international heritages, and about other World Heritage Cities, too.  Maybe you can imagine a visit to the city where your family emigrated from, even buddy up with another person to decide what to take on the trip?  How about becoming a travel detective to learn more about the selected city, then tweet about the results?  So many cities to choose from, such as Istanbul, Turkey which is located in both Asia and Europe, has been a major trading outpost since the time of the Greeks and Romans, and has a giant Lego miniature park!  

Understanding our city and learning stories of our own ancestors who migrated to Philadelphia from other countries can strengthen our family's global connections.  Adding knowledge about other international cities equips us, our children, and our students to step confidently into our role as global citizens....and deepen all of our roots, starting right here in Philadelphia!