I was in love with the beginning of the passage, The Theory Behind the Historical Method, when we are at our last Foundations day. I liked it so much that I emailed direct quotes of it to one of my colleagues who has a great passion for history like we all do! She loved the parts I sent to her, they motivated both of us!!
For Tier One the part that I keep going back to is, "Seeking personal or local connections to history whenever possible." This is one of the unselfish reasons I enjoy doing summer workshops that are about history. In reality, the other parts are completely selfish! I love history, I love traveling, I love learning...see, they're all selfish! The unselfish reason I do it is for my students. Many of them will NEVER travel outside of the state of California, and many of them may never even travel outside of the County of San Diego. I love bringing back real pictures and stories of my experiences to get them motivated to want more out of their life. To show that history is still there for them to see. This is so encouraging to them and it really brings out passion for history that they never knew they had. It is truly a blessing to be able to be a facilitator of learning and joy for history. Bringing back primary source documents, reading secondary sources and historical fiction to bring it even more alive for them has been so fun! I also really enjoy bringing in different perspectives of historical events, like many of you do! My colleague, Nancy, is great about looking at a different perspective than me and it truly is a great collaboration and wonderful way to get me out of my comfort zone. By doing this she really allows me to bring more to my students than I would if I hadn't had a deep discussion with her.
I truly enjoy history and looking at Tier One, I know I can do an even better job of bringing it alive and making connections for my students.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Roanoke - An Unsolved Mystery from History Persuasive Essay
I am so excited about the lesson we are going to be doing! Jennifer Woods has really come up with a stellar idea and it will be a blast to teach. She is going to be able to get to it earlier than I will be, but I'll be eager to hear how it goes and to see how her students do before I teach it. The idea is going to be teaching a persuasive essay. We will be reading the book titled, Roanoke—An Unsolved Mystery from History by Heidi Stemple and Jane Yolen to the students. They will have to choose one of the different thoughts as to what happened to the Roanoke colonists. They will have to be able to answer the readers concerns and have a solid answer for their side.
It was really fun to hear about this idea and to develop it with a team! I love working with teachers from schools that are not similar to mine. I feel that the levels of creativity differ in schools with a different population. It is always a true pleasure to work with different people!! I look forwards to meeting next month to learn more and see how the lesson went in Jennifer's class!!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Dr. Denenberg Day 1, Part 1
Dennis Denenberg:
Day 1, Part 1:
(the products he is showing us are all on his website)
Expose the kids to may heroes on a regular basis. They don't see them often enough. They have to get to know the heroes. The one trait heroes all have in common is that they persevere.
Bring history to life for the students by using simple costumes (hats that can be made, bought from a thrift store), puppets (let the hero be the guide, let the hero narrate it).
Singing songs to a tune they know with the content that they need to learn.
Heroes fair, adopt a hero - read extensively and then create two content rich lessons. Then do colloquium. Look at www.heroes4us.com for the heroes fair.
Instead of getting the students' attention by singing a song, saying a quote. They will need to continue the song or finish the quote. The more you can sneak into your day, the smarter the kids will be. Sneak in a song, quote, poem, etc. to get their focus and constantly immerse them in who/what they're learning/have learned about.
Lifesize posters on your door. Put a quote coming out of the mouth of the historical figure. This will welcome the kiddos and "sneak" in history on a daily basis.
Don't skirt around religion. You have to teach about it in the context of their learning. Don't preach at them, teach them about how it impacted the person you are learning about.
We don't worship heroes, we admire their perseverence, their contribution. We should know and respect them. Appreciate what they gave us.
"Wear Your Hero": Make a vest or shirt. Then add pictures and details. All the students pick their hero, make their own shirt, and then present it to students in the other grades. Don't take the story out of hiSTORY, it's what draws in the students!!! Read and tell stories of history and heroes. You can even wear it and have the students ask the question to start the learning off.
Oftentimes in our society we don't even know about extremely important heroes in our history. (Jonas Salk, for example). Make sure we are constantly spotlighting these people.
There is (or should be more obviously) history all around us. There are learning experiences for our students all over (example: Will Rogers Airport, lifesize pictures, historical pamphlets, etc.). Heroes grab us. We take hold of them, accept them together.
"You can't teach what you don't know any more than you can come back from where you ain't been." Will Rogers We HAVE to keep teaching our students, and continue learning ourselves.
Begin a classroom motto. Look at the curriculum. Is there a hero that can guide that unit? Is there a quote that would be inspirational to our students? Have a motto up for a few weeks. It's empowering. Then switch mottos so they can experience much more. Let them know that they are going to pick the motto (power words). You can use it as a wrap-up of what you have just learned. Don't always pick the most obvious ones, pick mottos and quotes that are rich and powerful, but bring out more in them! Remember, don't always pick the white male people. Have them really research more, the "little people". Have each team form a committee to encourage their quote as the classroom motto. Then the class needs to vote on which one will be chose.
Voting: Have the kids do it constantly. It is lost on our students nowadays. We have arrived at this place due to history.
Heroes: An unsung hero makes OUR world a better place. The big, well-known heroes are very obvious as to why they are historical heroes. Think about your parents, siblings, etc.
Wear Your Hero
Declaration of Independence
(Your birth certificate)
Wearing a simple hat
Books from Mr. Hildebrand
(Dr. Denenberg's Hero, 8th Grade Teacher)
Lifesize Hero Poster Dr. Dennis Denenberg
Dr. Denenberg Day 2, Part 1
Dr. Dennis Denenberg
Day 2, Part 1:
Fanny Packs (Similar to the mystery box): Fill a fanny pack with different items that represent a hero. Teach the hero or historical figure through the items that are in the fanny pack.
Hero Amusement Park Pamphlet: Front page = details about what is inside (location of the person), Chronology of their life, welcome letter to the patrons visiting (ex: Welcome! Please enjoy yourself as you ride the many rides in my park and learn about my life. Take in the wonderful surroundings of Arles that inspired many of my works of art. Thank you! Vincent). Inside = pictures and the "rides" that the person would be visiting. (Ex: VanGogh Sunflower Picture: "The Sunflower Swings: This ride is named after one of Vincent's most famous paintings, "Fourteen Sunflowers.")
Jobs Board: You put up a hero or historical figure and put details about the different roles that the characters played in pictures, but each of their jobs is a job for the classroom. Example: Ben Franklin
Hero Body Outline: Trace the outline of a student. In the outline they spotlight their hero/historical figure. They put details and pictures all over the body. On the back, they put characteristics about the person and have to explain why they chose those characteristics. Put these on their chairs for Open House.
Nobody is perfect! Remember, all heroes have flaws. Don't elevate the flaws, but don't hide them either. Introduce the flaws of a hero in a way kids can developmentally can understand them.
Hero Good and Bad Paddle: Teaching the kids things about the historical hero and have the kids decide if it was them as GOOD or BAD. This will spark debate for their decision. They will need to support it to their classmates.
Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame: (see handout) Have each student do their own work for Hall of Fame/Shame. Then compose teams and have them decide by answering a question whether their side gets to do Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame. Then they collaborate on their side.
Dr. Denenberg Day 2, Part 2
Dr. Denenberg Day 2, Part 2
Cobblestone Magazine: Dr. Denenberg is a regular columnist in the magazine, but it is just a great magazine!!
Joy Hakim - A History of US, All the People (A great book to get stories about historical heroes). She brings the stories back to American History. This can be a book that is used on its own, instead of the history textbook that we have. There are different volumes of these books. One of the great parts of her books is that she puts really interesting facts into her book. This really gets the kids into what they are learning. Fabulous stories and teaching materials that accompany it...they are hard to get. They're through Johns Hopkins University.
Jig-Saw: See the pack of papers that Dr. Denenberg handed out.
Check out this website for webisodes on history Freedom, a History of US:
Jonathan Sprout: American Heroes
Heroes Flag: They can design it on a computer, or draw it, they can even make their own out of fabric. They research a hero and do a picture that represents their accomplishments, their loves, their fame, etc.
Dr. Dennis Denenberg, Day 1, Part 2
Dennis Denenberg
Day 1, Part 2:
Ideas for at home:
Mystery hero on the fridge. Put it up on the fridge every few days so the kids become intrigued by who it is. Are they related to us?
Have the students write to heroes that are alive. Have them write letters to authors. Write them birthday cards to them too. Oftentimes they will send a response to you.
Hero cereal boxes. Use the ingredients and nutritional value to put that their hero is 15% bravery, 25% creativity, etc. Pick a hero from history and have them create a cereal box.
"Carry Your Hero" Tote bags: Similar to the hero shirt/vest, but having it be on a tote bag instead. Put not only stuff about the heroic figure, but also the people that helped them get to where they were. Example: Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey.Placemats about your hero: Get a piece of paper and have the kids make placemats about their hero. Tell the kids that they are going to put those placemats in a local restaurant.
Make your own activity books: Have kids make an activity book that goes well with your hero. You can get the details about your hero in the book. You can have older students write them and then teach the younger students about it. If you can plant the seed in younger students, then they will have a great love for history as they get older.
Decorate the bathroom door: You have the historical pictures of people on the bathroom door and the students need to ask if they can "visit" the historical figure instead of asking to go to the bathroom. She put more and more pictures up there so the kids know them well. Then add more people as the year goes on.
Bathroom Hall Passes: Put heroes on the bathroom passes. Their picture on one side and information on the other. You can do this and switch it every so often. They want to learn more, this is the perfect opportunity for them to do it!
Bookmarks: Have the students read about a hero and then they can make their own bookmark. You can distribute this to the other students in the class. This will truly make the person that created it feel so special!!!
Heroes on a Songsheet: Put a picture of your hero on one side and the song that you sing about them on the back side.
Timelines: Make it so that it is applicable to the period in time. Make it the "big ideas" during that period of time. Don't jumble it with too many people. Revolutionary War ideas: Musket, flag, uniform, horses, Thirteen Colonies, Marching Footprints from boots.
Heroes Calendar: Hero of the month, each month has details about important historical figures. You can have it be specifically about one person throughout the year where on important dates big events happened.
History Biography Blocks: The kids creat an eight-sided block with details about the person. You can put a special item inside that represents their hero. Example: Helen Keller special item could be something in Braille. Name and Lifedate on one side. Other details on the other ones. Pictures are needed also.
Heroes Lunch Bags: Make lunch bags with information about your historical hero. Draw pictures, write about them. Once you have done yours, then you need to share it with three other people in your class and report out about what you have learned.
Freezer Bag Heroes Quilt: Put together a bunch of freezer bags with pictures on one side and their information on the back. You leave the zipper part open so you can switch these out for others so they can learn about more people.
www.myhero.com - You can write on that site who your unsung hero is. The kiddos can write on that website who their hero actually is.
Dr. Fran Macko, August 18, 2011
Fran Macko, Ph.D.
Using Content Picture Books in the History Classroom (Morning Session):
No child is too old to be read to! It's the one time they are totally enthralled, and completely focused!
A picture is worth a thousand words, a really good picture book is invaluable. The kids can really learn text through illustration.
Picture books are quick, manageable for the students. You can teach it in one class period. They remember more because they can see exactly what they are learning. The kids these days are very visually stimulated and this really speaks to that. It is a shared experience, especially when you read it aloud. All of the students are participating in the reading of the book. ELs, and learning disabled even have that shared experience.
With the visual stimulation that kids need, teaching them to be visually critical is very important. It helps them learn new concepts and new ideas. Pictures are good for all people to access, no matter their reading level, language level. It helps them understand what they're learning in a non-threatening way.
You can reinforce literacy skills in a very safe and effective way.
Beginning with a picture book is a great way of building prior knowledge for what we are going to be learning. Many good picture books have kids or young teenagers as the focal character. It brings them into the learning.
They get involved in the character and what is going on.
Picture books bring to life the "little people" and really bring to life the importance of the unsung heroes.
Get the book list from Fran Macko (Yvonne will email)
The Scarlet Stocking Spy book and Teacher Resource Guide is on the Foundations Website. It could be used as a template for the other books we use. Build different lessons based on the other picture books we are using.
Additional Ideas for Using Picture Books:
*Use the books as a dramatization. They can act out what they are reading. Puppetry, plays, etc.
*Journal their predictions. Don't read the whole book at once, break it up into smaller parts. Write a summary. What was your historical learning? How do you connect it to something we've already read?
*Create their own picture book. Illustrate it. Use figurative language to bring it to life. ABC Book of the American Revolution. A book report that wraps up the important people and events in the war. You can even use this for many different areas of history.
*Read a book and then have the kids make their own heroes cards.
**Look at the powerpoint she distributed. It is full of the detail we need!**
Foundations Overview: August 15 - 19, 2011
Foundations Training, August 15 - August 19, 2011
Day 1: I was excited to begin the Foundations training this week! Sharon was a great presenter and I really enjoyed learning more about farming and trade in Virginia and the Caribbean. In hind sight it is interesting how important the Caribbean Islands were after the French and Indian War when France not only needed to give back their land in North America, but also their land in the Caribbean. What a great thing to learn about the different attitudes people had towards their place in society based on God's plan (Chain).
I really enjoyed doing the comparison between DeTocqueville and Watson. I liked then looking at his perspective after he wrote about America. The activity of comparing different sets of documents and people's perspective is so rich and usable in the classroom. You can even do this with art.
Day 2:
Political Transformations in the 18th Century. Such great information on the religion in the colonies and in Europe.
I LOVED doing the runaway slave ads chart! The kids are going to really enjoy doing this. One thing that I forget to do is bring in the slave ads from the other regions in the 13 Colonies, instead of just focusing on slavery in the south. Use this one next year as a wrap up activity. Make sure to first have the kids read the ads and then guess what region in the colonies they are from.
Day 3:
Making Sense of the 18th Century Empire - The French and Indian War
I really enjoyed Sharon's presentations today on the road to the Revolutionary War. This alternate perspective is something that I leave out far too much when I'm teaching the colonies, and acts. Be sure to have the kids read "Duel in the Wilderness" and also some things from Washington's journal.
DON'T FORGET OUR WRAP UP PROJECT:
Wrapping up Anthony's presentations we decided to do an activity with "What's my address?" for the Native American regions. We would first do a SPEC on the Native American Regions as a summary to what we had already learned throughout the lesson. Each region will have their address, but have it be done to focus on each part of that region. One region will have an address hitting on the geography, the food, homes, important people, religion or government. Then we will have the students write them out and present them to the other groups. They are to guess what region is spoken about and what area is addressed in the region (geography, religion, etc.).
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