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
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