Ken Giles set out to make history come alive for his students through music. What the Shepherd Elementary School teacher achieved was an unprecedented, full-length production that is now a national model for educators. Shepherd, located in a diverse section of Northwest D.C., is being featured in the current issue of Teaching Music for the program, dubbed “Songs of Freedom: 150 Years of American History and Song.”

Although it’s not uncommon for schools to put on musicals, “Songs of Freedom” stands out because Giles managed to take 25 songs, put them in chronological order, pick historical characters and then mold them into a cohesive story involving all 300 students on campus.