More Writing Please

I recently gave my U.S. History class an assignment of writing film analysis papers on the movie, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.  We watched the film as part of our Westward Expansion unit in class.  As I'm grading the papers I am realizing that students need to write more.  I'm seeing a lot of mistakes that I think can be attributed to lack of practice.  I'm trying to work more assessments into my courses that require more writing from students.  I also don't want my students to get to college and be blindsided by the amount of writing they are going to have to do.  I've been hearing a lot from professionals that I know that being able to write well is such an important skill.

In this day and age with texting, e-mails, twitter, and Facebook posts, being able to write and express yourself well through written language can set you apart from your peers in the workplace or in the college admissions process.  One important thing to remember in this discussion of writing is that there is a time and place for many styles of writing. It's okay to use shorthand when texting or tweeting.  It's not okay to use shorthand when writing e-mails to employers or organizations.  I'm worried our students are not understanding the difference in contexts. 

I think I can help solve the problem in my own small way by having more writing assignments in my classes and showing my students what quality writing looks like. 

Lightning In A Bottle

I recently had such a great day being a teacher that I thought I should blog about it. Let me explain.

In my World History class, we are currently working on infographics covering ancient Athens and Sparta. I split the class up into 5 teams of 4 to do the project. This was all done randomly by drawing names out of my Atlanta Braves batting helmet. Based on the students in the class, I wasn't concerned about any combination of kids working together. This is a very hard working and high achieving class as a whole. I decided the students would work together using Google docs to do the infographics. I taped an example to the cabinet from a McDonald's/Starbucks infographic I had found and told them to consult it for questions on what one should look like. Each team had a captain that made the doc and invited their teammates to join them in creating it and then explained the instructions to their group.

Any of you that have used Google docs have experienced the frustration with it. It doesn't always put things where you want them to, it doesn't always format things the way you think it should, etc. My students grew frustrated at work that would be completed and then lost due to a Google error. (This happened over the course of a few days)  I kept encouraging them to try again. When one of them would complain to me about it, my response was, "What should we do about it?" Which led to their answer, "I guess do it again." And my reply was, "Good answer." 

Some of the students didn't have a lot of experience with Google docs and were trying to learn it. I encouraged the whole class that we were using this experience to learn about ancient Greece and also to build our technology skills. That is some backstory of our project. 

So Thursday rolls around and the kids aren't as far along as I, or they, would have hoped due to technology issues with the site. I started class by saying, "Clearly we are having some technology problems that are keeping us from accomplishing our goal. What should we do about it?" One girl, who probably had the most work lost due to errors, and was well versed in my suggestions, answered aloud, "Push through it!" I laughed and said, "Great answer! But what else can we do? Let's talk about it." 

Another student spoke up and said, "What if we created our graphics and stuff in another application and then took screen shots and dropped them into the doc?" I told them I thought that sounded like a great idea. With that student's suggestion, the class was reinvigorated with hope of getting this assignment done. The kids then worked harder than I've ever seen them work. It was awesome.

One girl sitting on the floor with her group, looked away from her project long enough to say to me, "How about some working music Mr. B?" I plugged my iPhone into the speakers and turned on my classroom mix of music and we kept working along. And I do mean WE. I had my laptop with me and would go to whichever group wanted some help. Since they've shared their docs with me I would pull it up and basically join their group as I did some editing, researching, and troubleshooting. When we all got over the hump of whatever problem we were working on, I'd exit the doc and wait for another group that needed me. 

I saw kids helping kids and teaching each other. That was my favorite part. At one point, I heard a student call out to her teammate from across the room, "Can you get a map of Sparta in here?" The other girl replied, "I'm on it!" And then buried her nose in her work to get it done.

As I'm floating around the room, I just stopped and looked around. None of the students even noticed I was in the room for a while. They were just problem solving, teaching each other, and having a good time while they worked. Every one of them was focused on the mission. Textbooks were cracked wide open and screens were lit up as facts were checked, websites were being consulted for images, and kids were creating graphics to go into their project. I could have left the room and nothing would have changed. I knew then that I had to find a way to create more days like this in my classroom. 

Towards the end of the period, a student approached me and said, "Hey Mr. B, ours is bigger than we thought, we're thinking of doing two infographics together. Is that okay?" My response was, "I'm going to leave that decision up to you. Whatever you and your group think is best." You could tell he appreciated the freedom to dictate the course of his own project and I like not having to think for all the kids in the room. 

I also saw one of my more disengaged students get totally into this project. His teammates gave him a specific aspect to work on and he took ownership of it. He asked for feedback from me on his image selection and got some advice on how to insert text boxes, and even was proactive about calling a teammate over for help. 

That was Thursday. Friday was the final day of the project since I extended the deadline due to our tech issues and the fact that the kids just weren't done creating yet. Friday was full of more troubleshooting and teamwork. I'm excited to see the final project. I will hang them in my room with pride and those kids will remember how hard it was to create those stinking infographics on Athens and Sparta! 

I am not a perfect teacher by any stretch of the imagination. These kinds of days don't happen all the time. I'm still trying to figure out this teaching thing. But these last couple days with my world history kids have left me going home feeling on top of the world. They've been knee deep in ancient Greece and technology for the last week and I know they've learned a lot and I can't wait to give them an assessment to prove it.  I couldn't have a classroom like this without the freedom from my school to use technology, play music, let kids sit on the floor, and basically create the environment I want to.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go try to figure out how to catch lightning in a bottle.

Concept Based Teaching

Starting last year, I have been working with some Social Science teachers in the area to explore and develop concept based units in my classes. We started with a pilot unit to see how things will go. We have all just started teaching this unit in our classrooms over the past week. Let's stop here and talk about what a conceptual unit looks like. Instead of just plowing through the decades chronologically like a standard history class, we look at different concepts that have to do with a main idea. For our westward expansion unit, the big idea is, "Opportunity is a catalyst for change." With that as our backdrop, we then focus on topics like the great migration of settlers to the plains, the subsequent effect on Native Americans and the culture clash that ensued. We have based our unit on 3 main questions:

1. What causes people to move geographically?
2. How do differences in culture lead to division?
3. Does prosperity for one group mean exploitation for another?
The questions are supposed to be broad and hard to answer on purpose. With those questions as our guide, we are working to understand this period in history.

My initial feelings on the unit are good. I like how it's going for the most part. So far, I feel as though it is really teacher directed. That's the only part I'm not crazy about. I like to see my students take a more hands-on approach. My fellow teachers and I have had discussions about how hard it is to make social studies totally hands-on. Unfortunately there are time when we have to front load a learning task with a keynote presentation and lecture. I personally think that is somewhat true, but I don't think I have explored every single way of teaching social studies. There has to be a way to make any subject hands on for students. This is part of my learning and growing as an educator and I'm still in process. On the whole, student engagement is up in my classroom and kids are responding well to the unit. I'm excited to keep going and get their feedback after the whole process is complete.

Constitution Day

In honor of Constitution Day, the students will be exploring the Constitution Day website located here. http://constitutioncenter.org/Sieze_the_Vote/

August 2011-Top of the 1st Inning

It's August and we are back in school here at Newell-Fonda. I am excited to be working with the kids again. It was a busy summer of baseball and college classes and I'm really looking forward to being in the classroom again. As a second year teacher, some things are easier this year. I'm not learning a new building, a lot of the students know who I am, and I've got many of the school day routines down.
However, it's never been more apparent to me that I have a long way to go as a teacher. Everyday is a new challenge and I continue to work on my craft as an educator. This year, one of my goals is more effective integration of technology in my classroom. It's one thing to load a YouTube clip and show it in class. It's another to embed a video clip into a lesson and have it contribute and flow seamlessly with what we are studying. I'm also looking for new ways to have students utilize technology and become academically savvy with tech instead of only using it for social networking purposes.
As this year progresses, I know I'll be able to see myself making strides in these areas. The goal is to see student engagement and achievement rise alongside my skills.

The end of the 3rd Quarter

The third quarter is quickly coming to an end. Wednesday March 9th, 2011 is the last day of the quarter. Students should be checking their grades and making sure all of their work is finished up and turned in.

Springing Ahead

The calendar is quickly turning pages and spring is creeping in on winter. There are many great things happening in Newell-Fonda Social Studies.

In World Geography, students are studying the continent of Africa and learning about the different environmental challenges that the continent is dealing with. We will be hearing from people who have visited Africa as well as from someone who is currently there in Morocco. The students always enjoy getting to interact with people who have lived what they are learning about. The students have also been using cool applications like www.prezi.com and iMovie to make projects about the places they are studying.

In U.S. History class, students have been creating movies and podcasts about World War I. The movie project was based off of the start of World War I. I saw a lot of creativity and the students technology skills have shown great improvement since the beginning of the year. Their podcast project is to create a World War I radio show. Students have been researching events, creating commercials, and practicing their radio voices in order to make a creative and informative project for the class to listen to.

In Contemporary Issues class, the students have just finished their 3rd episode of "The Mustang Report." Each episode is packed with world news stories, national news headlines, and the latest happenings from the Newell-Fonda community. There is also a sports report and the Mustang Moment of the Week that always brings a laugh.

In World History class, students have been studying the Renaissance and Reformation. They have really gotten into the material and have realized what a period of transition this was for the world. We have taken a Renaissance art tour in our classroom, watched a real printing press being used via YouTube, and tested out our own art skills that Renaissance painters had developed. Currently, the students are finishing up research projects on some of the most influential people from that time period.

It's a great time in Newell-Fonda Social Studies and much of it has to do with the hard work and creativity that the students are putting forth.

Back to the Classroom

Now that winter break is over, the students are back in the classroom and ready to learn. After a break for reading and reflecting, I also am eager to get back to teaching and helping the students succeed.
In World Geography, we are turning our attention to the continent of Europe and the many people groups that live there. We will be talking with some people who have spent time in European countries and will gain from their perspective.
In United States history we are heading into the late 1800's and birth of big business and the development of new technologies. We've got some simulation games lined up for the students to get time experiencing the material.
In World History we will be studying the growth of the church in Europe during the Middle Ages and the culture change and conflict that sparked.
Stay tuned for more news on what's happening in Newell-Fonda High School Social Studies!