Chat Time!

As part of our new unit on the Gilded Age and Progressive Eras, we just started watching the film Gangs of New York.  Instead of pausing the film every time I want to point something out or every time a student has a question, I create a private chatroom at TodaysMeet.com.

TodaysMeet is a really cool (and free) resource for teachers and presenters who want to encourage a backchannel chat amongst their students or audience.  Backchanneling allows conversations to go on while something is being presented.  In this case, we watch the film while having an online conversation.  I can also print out a transcript of our conversation to give to the students as notes.  How cool is that?  Most students seem to really like this activity because it takes something they love to do (chat online) and allows them to do it with a purpose!  This type of 21st Century activity would not be possible if it weren't for the 1-to-1 laptop initiative, so I am very thankful for that!  Check it out in action:

I'd also like to give a shout out to Mr. Richard Byrnes, whose blog I follow to get lots of cool ideas on how to integrate technology in my classroom.

Civil War Speed Dating

Today we did a quick warm-up activity that allowed the students to share some of the more interesting information they learned from researching their Civil War papers.  We lined up a row of desks, each facing one another, then I rang a bell and the students shared information about their paper with their partner.  After a minute or two, I rang the bell and one side of the pair had to switch to a new partner, speed dating style!  Check out a little clip from the activity:

Carbetbaggers and Scalawags

Last week we did an activity to help review the major ideas and people involved in the Reconstruction period in US History.  The students put themselves into pairs and sat together at various 'stations' around the room.  At each station was a document that they had to analyze to figure out which phrase or term on their worksheet the document best represented and why. The documents were mostly primary sources that were political cartoons, pictures, letters, and even a poem (Walt Whitman's O Captain My Captain).

Every 5 minutes or so, I said 'switch' and they had to move to another document station.  This activity appeals to kinesthetic learners because it allows the students to get up and move around the room very often. It also appeals to the interpersonal intelligence because the students are working with others to figure out the meaning of the documents. They get to do a fair amount of socializing during this activity, which appeals to many students.

Above all, this activity challenges the students to think, interpret, and analyze when trying to figure out the meaning of the documents.  I had to tell them to exhaust all options and spend a good deal of time analyzing the documents BEFORE asking me for help.  They can sometimes be quick to ask for help before really spending time trying to figure it out on their own, which is something we are working on.

"The object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without a teacher."
                                                                                     ~Eliot Woodward

Here is a little video of the activity:

MLK Day

 Today we are given a day off from school in remembrance of a great American who tirelessly worked to make our nation better.  Did you know that today is actually a national day of service?  Instead of sitting around, get out and help your community and your neighbors by volunteering!

Here are a few inspirational quotes from Dr. King:
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

"Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him."

Holiday Break

We are now officially on holiday break!  The class before break, however, we took an exam for the first half of class then we made American flag ornaments...my gift to the students!  Here is a video of our little craft session:

Hero or Lunatic?

This week we are learning about sectionalism and the various events leading up to the American Civil War.  We've discussed how the geographical features and climate of an area can often determine what the economy of  the region is based on, both in the past and in modern day.  To illustrate this point, I told the students that I was planning on creating a citrus grove here in Maine and wondered if any of them would like to invest in my new business...

Needles to say, I had no takers!  But in all seriousness it did open up a discussion about geography, climate, and the economy which led us to examine how the North and the South were growing apart before the Civil War.

Another assignment that the students are completing this week involves reading about abolitionist John Brown and his actions at both Pottawatomie, Kansas and Harpers Ferry, Virginia and then formulating an opinion about whether he should be considered a hero for his actions or simply a lunatic.  I'll spare you the details about what he did at both of the places mentioned above and instead you can have that conversation with your student!  

 After reading the background essay about Brown, they have to analyze the primary source pictured below and use this to support their opinions. They were given a series of questions about the drawing to help them learn about point of view, bias, etc.

We will follow up by having a mini debate in class where they can each share their reasons for categorizing Brown as a hero or a lunatic.

Oregon Trail Simulation

This week we are finishing up a unit on westward expansion.  As part of one homework assignment, I had the students read an excerpt from the journal of Amelia Stewart Knight, a mother of 7 who gave birth to her eighth child while traveling west on the Oregon Trail. You can read this excerpt by clicking on the link (you may have to click on it twice) here.   Primary source documents such as this one are a really great way to get students interested in the topics we are studying.  Instead of just reading facts about settlers going west in the 1800s, they can read the experiences from a first-hand perspective, which is always more interesting!  

After the readings, we did an Oregon Trail simulation as a warm-up activity in class.  The class was divided into two 'wagon trains', each with a mother, father, wagon hands, and lots of children.  I told the students to bring 'western wear' to get in the spirit of the activity!

Before class, I used string to mark the Oregon Trail on the classroom map of the US.  Each of the two teams had a marker on the map to show where their wagon train was on the trail.  The object of the game was to get further along than the other wagon trail, with the most survivors and supplies, while getting through the 'obstacles' I threw at them along the way.

I printed up 18 slips of paper, each with a real obstacle or success that pioneers faced along the way in the 1800s.  Each team took turns picking slips of paper and then, based on what the paper said, they moved up or back on the trail, lost a family member or supplies, etc.

The twist was that I had taken several excerpts from the primary source journal mentioned above and printed them on the slips of paper.  If the student could tell me whether or not what I had read was in the journal, they could move up on the trail.  This was a great way to see if they had in fact done their homework and comprehended what they read!  Here are a few more pictures of the wagon trains:

YEE HAW!

Gratitude Cards

Before we left for Thanksgiving break I asked my students to write down things for which they are grateful.  Then we posted them on the bulletin board in our classroom.  Here's what they said:

 

I'd like to thank my mom, Helene, for always being so willing to help me out with all my crazy school projects including printing the gratitude cards and allowing me to make tons of color photocopies for the children's books with her awesome office photocopier and premium cardstock! 

5th Grade Field Trip

The day has finally arrived when we were able to share the American Revolution children's books with the 5th graders!!  This was the first time I did this project with my classes (I'm always trying to think of new and creative projects) and I think it went really well, overall.  The students seemed to enjoy their visits with the 5th graders and most books turned out great!  The skills the students used to complete this project were creative writing, editing/peer editing, historical research, blending history with fiction, and certainly cooperative learning because this was a group project.   Here is a video I created with pictures from the field trip...Enjoy!

We Shall Remain

This week my students will be watching Episode 2 of the PBS series We Shall Remain, which chronicles the Native American struggle to maintain their homeland amongst increasing numbers of white settlers throughout American history.  Episode 2 features the story of Shawnee warrior Tecumseh.  This is a moving and poignant documentary that tells the story of westward expansion from another point of view, that of the Native peoples.  If you'd like to watch this episode, or others, here is the link. This could make for a good discussion around the dinner table!

 Tecumseh