Reformer Rap

This week we are learning about reform movements of the 1800s as well as the Progressive Era (a period of social activism and reform during the 1890s to 1920s).  Topics include the temperance movement, increased educational opportunities, improved working conditions, food safety regulations, improving city life, as well as political reforms.  

 For some reason, whenever I am getting ready to start this unit about reformers, I always think of the song Informer by Snow (a one-hit-wonder from the early '90s).  I decided I was going to write my own lyrics and create a rap about reformers!  As I've mentioned before, I am ALWAYS trying to find new and engaging ways to present information to my students and music is a really fun way to do this.  I used the GarageBand application on my Mac to record the song! Here is my version (you can follow along to the lyrics written below):

Reformer Rap Lyrics

Hey yo’ what’s up class? I’m Gold Rush and

I’m here to represent the U to the S to the History…

Reformer, society will never be the same

Because you fought for a change

Because of you I get minimum wage,

We've really got swag now (repeat twice)

You say you don’t need an education,

but Horace Mann he said you need one

He took land taxes and started a fund

so you can get schooled and have lots of fun

Reformer, society will never be the same

Because you fought for a change

Because of you, I won’t be treated like a slave

We've really got swag now (repeat twice)

You see that food that you’ve been eatin’

Well check out the label and get to readin’

The Jungle exposed meat inspection and the

FDA created for our protection

Reformer, society will never be the same

Because you fought for a change

Because of you, many peeps have been saved

We've really got swag now (repeat twice)

You work decent hours with heat and light

But some people didn’t and that wasn’t right

Labor unions formed and started to fight

Now you get over time for workin’ at night, reformer

(pause)

Reformer, society will never be the same

Because you fought for a change

Because of you, I get a minimum wage

We've really got swag now (repeat twice)

My girl, Dorothea Dix, conditions for the mentally ill she fixed

Jane Addams…helped people get up and at ‘em

Jacob Riis, his photographs create memories

Reformer, society will never be the same

Because you fought for a change

Because of you, my life won’t go down the drain

We've really got swag now (repeat twice)

 

Bears and Bulls

No, we aren't discussing sports teams, we are discussing stocks and the causes of the Great Depression.  I taught the students a little trick to remember the difference between an upward trending market (bull's horns go up= bull market) and an downward trending market (bear's claws go down= bear market):

We only cover some basic economic concepts during this course as they will be going more in depth next year.  I know my little trick works because the Social Studies teachers who get my students tell me they always know the difference between Bull/Bear markets without them having to review it!

Another way to introduce the students to the concepts of how stocks work is by playing a stock market simulation game.  There are some really great online simulations and some students are very familiar with the stock market, but for our purposes, I just wanted a quick little in-class activity to get us started with this topic.

Students had 3 fictitious companies in which to invest $60. I always personalize the companies with the names of kids in each class, for example, "Tyler's Toys", which is a small but fun way for me to get them hooked. The pairs of students decide how many shares they wanted to invest in each company.  We then rolled a die to see which company would be impacted by one of five random events, each event changing the value of the companies worth for better or for worse.  I based the variables on real events that have happened in recent years:


Variables

Event #1:  Study comes out proving your product has health risks, price of your shares drops by 50%

Event #2:  Oprah features your product on her show, price of your shares increases by 4.

Event #3:  CEO of your company is convicted of tax fraud, price of your shares goes down (divide current price in half, then divide in half again).

Event #4:  Car companies across the country layoff thousands of workers, people stop spending as much on non-necessities, price of your shares drops to $1.

Event #5:  Government gives everyone in America a stimulus check which increases spending across the country, price of your stock goes up by $3.

The goal was to gain money with smart investments, understand that playing the stock market is risky, and practice a little math (they had to calculate the new value of their stocks after each event). 

How I Became a Teacher

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week I thought it would be nice to share the story of how I became a teacher. It all started in second grade with a teacher named Mrs. Kelly Rich.  She was kind, caring, and inspired me to be my best.  That year we were to perform a class play called Little Bunny Sue and each student had to audition for a part in the play.  I wanted a small part somewhere in the back but Mrs. Rich picked me for the lead role.  I hesitated because I wasn't sure I could play such an important role.  She responded with full confidence in my abilities, which in turn gave me confidence to play the part.  From that point on, I decided I wanted to be a teacher just like Mrs. Rich, inspiring kids to be their very best!  I even made my little brothers and all the kids in the neighborhood come over to play 'school' with me throughout my childhood so I could play 'teacher'.  As I got older, my desire to become a teacher only got stronger.

(Miss Rush graduating from nursery school!)

 I had always loved American history.  I thoroughly enjoyed books, movies, and stories that were based on historical events such as the American Girl series.  I always thought it was fascinating to learn what it was like to live in other time periods.  I even saved up my allowance for a year to buy Kirsten, my first, and only (those things aren't cheap!), American Girl doll!!

When I took U.S. History with Mr. Terry Christy during my junior year of high school, I knew there was no turning back...this is what I wanted to do.  Mr. Christy was adored by every student who entered his classroom.  He had such enthusiasm for history and for teaching that you couldn't help but be interested in what he had to say.  In my eyes, he had it all...he loved history and loved to teach; two things that really inspired my future career choice.

 (high school graduation)

So, in the fall of 1999, off to college I went to major in Secondary Education with a concentration in Social Studies (my focus was U.S. History).  Because of the way the curriculum is set up in most colleges, you don't get to do your student teaching until your very last year.  By then, there is really no turning back!  I spent the first semester observing my mentor teacher, Mr. Marc Halsted, and taught a lesson here and there.

Then second semester arrived...time for me to teach full time...all on my own...training wheels off!  Suprisingly, it wasn't scary in front of the class but instead it felt really natural.  The scary part was just how much work it was.  While most of my non-teaching friends were still livin' it up during our last semester of college, I was spending hours at school, then coming home and spending hours reading, grading papers, and trying to come up with fun, engaging lessons.   I had to have a real soul-searching conversation with myself about whether or not I could do this kind of work for the better part of 35 years. Fortunately for me, my mentor teacher told me he thought I was a really talented, promising young teacher and that he really hoped I didn't give up.

(college graduation)

You know how this story ends because you are here reading my blog about teaching!  Although with this career choice comes an incredible amount of work, stress (mentally and emotionally), and responsibility, it also provides me with so much JOY.  My students are so funny and creative and I don't think I can express what it feels like to know that, even in some small way, I have taught someone something they didn't know before or that I played some role in helping them become the people they want to be.  I am one of the lucky ones...I knew from an early age what I was supposed to do with my life and that is TO TEACH.

I've had many, many teachers throughout the years to whom I am eternally grateful.  

Some of these people include, but certainly aren't limited to...

-Mrs. Rich...not only do our names sound alike but you planted that very first seed of the 'teaching' bug inside my brain

-Mrs. Diamond...for teaching me my times-tables

-Mrs. Mountford...for helping me master those darn 5-paragraph essays with which I am now torturing my sophomore students

-Mr. Christy...for showing me that enthusiasm is contagious

-Ms. Carter...for introducing me to my other love, Sociology!

-Mr. Halsted...for showing me the ropes of this business they call teaching

-Professor Nathan Godfried...from whom I learned so much about American history

"Better than a thousand days of diligent study, is one day with a great teacher." ~Chinese Proverb

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Happy Birthday Fenway!

I was lucky enough to end my April Vacation with a trip down to Boston to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the opening of Fenway Park! The celebration began by commemorating 100 years of history at Fenway Park with a large-scale pregame ceremony. The Red Sox played the New York Yankees, the same team (then the New York Highlanders) they played on April 20, 1912. Both teams wore 1912 throwback uniforms!

Part of the pre-game ceremonies included welcoming back and honoring former Red Sox players.  We just happened to be walking into Fenway as all of the players were getting off the busses and got some great photographs!  In the photos below are Pedro Martinez, Terry Francona, Mo Vaughn, and Nomar Garciaparra followed by a group shot of players from yesteryear!

It was so special, even for a person who isn't necessarily a die-hard baseball fan, to be a part of history.  All of these memorable players in one place was quite remarkable! There was even an attempt to set the Guinness Book of World Records record for the largest toast (with sparkling grape juice)!

 Anyone who is interested in the Red Sox history should check out this website.  

You can take a virtual tour of Fenway Park through the years and read about the history of the park, the city of Boston, and baseball!  The website also highlights members of the Red Sox Hall of Fame and offers an interactive tour of the Park with videos.

If you're in Boston, you can always take a guided tour of Fenway Park.

 The 100th Anniversary of Fenway was an amazing experience that I won't soon forget!

The Future is History

As we enter into our Gilded Age unit (more lessons from this unit), we've been discussing technology and its impact on society. As a way to hook students into this lesson, we read a list of predictions about the future that were made by Americans in the 1950s.

Some of the predictions have come true, like the flat screen tv, but others have yet to happen.  Nonetheless, the list provides the basis for much discussion. For instance, we discussed the root causes of warfare as well as how people could in fact live to be 115 years old.  After discussing the future of yesterday, we took our discussion back to cutting edge technology of the late 1800s.

Steel production, oil refining, the telegraph (Samuel Morse), telephone (Alexander Graham Bell), and light bulb (Thomas Edison) were all part of our discussion.  I used video clips and digital resources to explain each item.

 To illustrate exactly how the telegraph operated, we took a virtual visit to the Museum of Obsolete Objects.
  It is fun to explore all of the items in the museum that have been replaced by more advanced technology.  The students really enjoy discussing both the technology of the past as well as what it is been replaced with today.

To end the lesson, the students were asked to choose an invention from the past, describe what current piece of technology does the same job, and then make a prediction about what will replace the technology in the future. Making predictions also brings the lesson full circle to where we began, which was reading other people's predictions about what American society would be like in their future!

Civil War Research Paper

Two of the skills that my students work on throughout the school year are writing and research.  They are assigned two project based research projects and two traditional essays.  This trimester the students were asked to choose any topic they wanted to research as long as it related to the American Civil War.  They were required to use a minimum of 4 different sources, including a book and a primary source, and then had to write a research paper, complete with thesis, using MLA formatting.

As illustrated in the screen shot above, my comments (the yellow stickies) when grading the essays are very comprehensive.  This is because each student is given the opportunity to go back and revise their paper based on the feedback they are given.  We meet to discuss their revisions and then they can earn back half the points that they lost on the original essay.  I want to encourage good effort on the first attempt but also want to encourage them to revise their papers so they can learn from their mistakes and become better writers.  I'm sure you can imagine that grading 70 papers with such detail takes a good amount of time and I appreciate the patience of both parents and students as you wait anxiously for the grades!

Museum L-A

We recently went on a field trip to Museum L-A, which "...documents and celebrates the economic, social and technological legacy of Lewiston-Auburn and its people."  The museum is housed in what was once a fully functioning textile mill (in the Bates Mill complex) whose origins date back to the 1850s.   As part of the tour we were able to see how shoes are made, discuss the history and origins of the industrial revolution, explore child labor issues, and see actual spinning and textiles machines.  

My hope is that by actually visiting the mill and seeing it first hand, the students will have a better grasp on what the industrial revolution was all about, particularly here in Maine, and will remember these concepts far longer than if we had simply read and discussed them during class!

The tour started with an explanation of how shoes were constructed in the mill...

We then had a round table discussion about the industrial revolution, cotton, and textile mills...

If you look closely at the right in the picture above, you can see the many 'shoe lasts' that remain in the mill...here they are from another angle:

Here we are touring what was once the main floor of the spinning and weaving workshop.  Most of the workers were French-Canadian and Irish immigrants...

We saw where they hid the child laborers when the inspectors came! They would put the children in the tall barrels and place piles of cotton over them...

Our guide explained how the spinning and weaving machines worked and the students got to explore a bit...

A special THANK YOU to the staff and volunteers at Museum-LA.  It is clear how passionate you are about keeping Maine's history alive and sharing your knowledge with young people!  We had a great time!

Civil War Ghost Hunting

Hmm, what a provocative title!  We are indeed studying the American Civil War and as part of our studies we've discussed the unbelievable amount of carnage in the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  As if the battle isn't interesting enough, I'm always trying to find new ways to engage my students and what better way to do this than with a ghost story?

One of my friends from college grew up in Gettysburg.  Her mother Stephanie's house, The David Stewart Farm, dates back to pre-Civil War times and was used as a make-shift hospital for Confederate soldiers after the battle.  Supposedly there are a few 'spirits' who live in the house, one being a Civil War soldier! Both a medium and a paranormal 'ghost hunter' team have been to the house to communicate with the spirits.  The following is a video of one of their visits:



Whether or not you believe in 'spirits', it's a pretty interesting video and an even more fascinating part of history!  I've been wanting to visit Gettysburg for a long time and I'm hoping maybe this summer I can pay a visit to Margaret and the other spirits on Stephanie's farm!

Great Advice!

As we start our unit on the American Civil War, I thought I'd share this humorous response:

This isn't from one of my students, it was a response found online, but funny (and true!) nonetheless!

Manifest Destiny Art Analysis

We are finishing up our unit, The Expanding Nation, where we have been studying post-Revolution American government as well as westward expansion. One recent lesson was the analysis of John Gast's 1872 lithograph, American Progress, which has become a visual representation of Manifest Destiny (the idea that it was God's intent for America to expand).

As a class we discussed the concept of Manifest Destiny as well as symbolism.  Then, in pairs, students were asked to brainstorm and come up with a list of the different elements in the painting and what each represents in terms of westward expansion, also keeping in mind the title of the piece, American Progress.

Next we discussed the symbolism in the painting.  For example, the right side of the painting is lighter to represent the fact that progress and technology had already come to the eastern part of the United States. The figure in the middle seems to be bringing technology and progress to the 'unenlightened' West.

Art analysis is a wonderful way for students to develop critical thinking skills and, in the case of this painting, it allowed us the opportunity to review what we had learned and read about throughout our unit of study.  Additionally, this painting allows for further discussion of primary source documents, much like this lesson.