EdCamps 3-22-13

This morning, I spent some fantastic time learning more about technology, and how to integrate it into teaching history.  I got to hang out with the amazing Adina, and we talked about Google docs.  My students are trying out the district cloud, and we are about to start collaborative projects about causes of the American Revolution.  Adina and I reviewed how to collaborate, revise, research, and even how to find the history of revision, and pull back old versions.  I am incredibly excited about the Google docs and the cloud.

We also spent some time discussing apps and how to use them for music videos.  We are all interested in rewriting songs in order to demonstrate student knowledge of history.  This part will be challenging!

Salem Witch Trials-so fascinating!!

We are beginning to work on our second writing/history project, about the Salem witch trials. Although we haven't officially started this yet, we are starting a meaningful anticipatory set by reading aloud The Witch of Blackbird Pond. We are about to start it next week, and even speaking of it has the kids fascinated and interested.

The main way we have chosen to differentiate is to provide choice. Similar to the building of a RAFT activity, we will be giving our students a menu of items to choose from. This will allow children to easily self differentiate. We have found that those who need a challenge choose it on their own. Those who are not up to the challenge can choose less intimidating choices. In our experience, giving an element of choice has been a very effective way to differentiate. I know I am really looking forward to sinking my teeth into this project!

Wordle

Look at my pretty wordle! I discovered wordle doesn't work on an iPad unless you buy the app but with some creative collaboration, I got it from my wonderful colleagues. I like the words that are big because they show my focus is on writing and history, the two exact things we are working with! I would like to see the word Students show up more.

Building a Personal and Intimate Connection to the Past

Of the Tier 1 historical thinking methods presented in the Historical Methods document, the one that appeals to me the most as a teacher and a person is "building a personal and intimate connection to the past." As I think of think of the writing my students will do, I absolutely love the idea of students making personal connections to history. It makes the whole difference between loving history, or finding it dreadfully boring. We already try to do this by reading historical fiction that matches the time period we are studying. When we got ready to study the Columbian Exchange, the kids were so excited I was shocked! They felt connected because of a book we were reading. When it comes to writing narratives, it would be excellent to put themselves in the shoes of a historical figure and write from their perspectives. This would help to strengthen that personal and intimate connection.

Group One Project-Persuasive Writing

Our group has found some excellent books about the most early colonies, Roanoke and Jamestown. The Roanoke book is called Mystery of History-the Lost Colony of Roanoke. The Jamestown book is called Blood on the River. We will choose 1 for our class and read and discuss it together. Building on what we learned from Dr. Fran Macko over the summer, we will be deepening the knowledge by exposing the students to a total of 3 sources, including the book. We have compiled a list of sources on a shared Google doc. We have plays the students can read in a reader's theater format, we have biographies of important figures from the 2 colonies, and some primary sources. Once we've had a chance to study the colony from 3 different sources, we'll embark on a writing assignment.

A persuasive writing assignment can be completed for Roanoke. Students can determine what happened to Roanoke based on the possible theories, and try to persuade us using evidence from our studies.

A narrative writing assignment can be completed for Jamestown. Our group member Teresa will be focused on this type of writing. We are all pretty excited about this idea!

Using Picture Books to Teach History

Today's morning session by Dr. Fran Macko was AMAZING! When it comes to teaching history using picture books, I have definitely drank the Kool-Aid. I agree with Dr. Macko on so many many points. I know that picture books really engage students of all ages, and that picture books make the content accessible to all. I realize that our world is becoming more visual and less textual, and that as a result we must teach our students to analyze images the same way we teach them to analyze text. I also understand that picture books make learning fun! I have already gone online and purchased every single picture book that Dr. Macko spoke of today, and I cannot WAIT to use these in my classroom! Thanks for a truly memorable session.

Analyzing Declarations of Independence

This morning, 8-17-11, we got to spend some time analyzing our Declaration of Independence using the SPEC model, and also comparing these to multiple other declarations. The group I participated in got to study the Declaration of Sentiments. This was a really fascinating exercise! I had never so carefully read our own Declaration, and it was great to break it down using SPEC. Truthfully, the very long list of complaints that preceded the Declaration sounded just a bit whiny! There were many reasons to be unhappy with England, right? :) The Declaration itself is quite short! I LOVED the way the women took the framework 80 years later and wrote up the Declaration of Sentiments. As we said to Anthony Fitzpatrick, the Declaration of Sentiments seems like a direct slap in the face to our society. It's as if the women are saying, "Hey people, it's time for everyone to benefit from the Declaration, not just you men!" We noted that the Dec. of Independence was far more political in focus, while the Dec. of Sentiments was far more social and cultural. It was equally interesting to hear about Declarations in Haiti, Texas, Liberia, and others. What a remarkable lesson! Thank you Anthony!