This Was Going to be a Top Ten Blog Post List....

Yes, I realize this isn't a top ten list but I don't really care. Who decided ten was the perfect number for a list anyway? Stephen Davis suggested I go through my blog and pick the ones I would like to list as a kind of 'best of' thing, so here it is.

Student Commenting: A Letter to Students One of the few posts I was hoping that teachers would share with their students. I am actually pretty proud of this one.

I Had Cancer Sharing personal stuff can be hard, or very rewarding.

Hard Questions 8 questions that purposefully pushed thinking.

More Thoughts on Blogging (With or Without Students) I get these ideas through observing students and adults through their writing. This is a thought dump about blogging.

Why Blogging Isn't Transformational for our Students Yet I argue that our expectations are a bit out of whack.

EdCampKC: A Rather Painful Reflection  Because "online connections are not a good enough replacement for the relationships we develop off line" is just as true today as when I wrote it.

Maybe This Is Why We Don't Share Our Failures This one still stings a lot.

That Time My Network Didn't Become Trolls There is a story behind this, be prepared to invest the time when you read it. It is definitely worth it.

I Hide My Disability I credit this post for helping me become more comfortable in public. I have also had a lot of conversations with others who have similar issues.

A Teacher's Manifesto Occasionally something we create takes on a life of its own. I still get comments about this post. It also happens to be very much a work in progress.

Maybe Your Progressive Teaching Ideas Are Not What's Best for All Your Students This seems to be a theme that has cropped up again in my thinking.

Bambie, Frankenweenie, and Storytelling Emotional experiences are incredible learning experiences.

Today I Lectured My Class I didn't choose this one because of the content, but rather because I was willing to share something I wasn't really that comfortable with. I am still not for that matter. 

Quick Rant: Stop Complaining about Teaching Methods

Quick rant:

Quit speaking in absolutes about how any teaching method is bad. There are great worksheets, drill and kill lessons, and even valuable homework activities. When you talk in absolutes you immediately make teachers defensive. Instead of complaining about what you don't like, how about doing some real teaching and share what is working with your students. 

It's a Quote, It's a Pic, It's a QuotePic!

So I have been seeing pictures with quotes in them on Twitter for a long time. I decided that it might be fun to make some of my own so I found a site called Quote Cover and made a few.

Emoticons,Bernal Diaz del Castillo and Tenochtitlán

The Aztec people used glyphs to communicate. (Here is a great page that describes their writing system.) Why then would it not be appropriate for students to learn about the process of writing about an event in their history using our own modern glyphs, emoticons?

Today I will be reading experts of the excellent article Imperial City of the Aztecs: Mexico-Tenochtitlan by Inga Clendinnen to my students. (BTW if you don't know about Common-Place you definitely need to.) In it she describes Bernal Diaz del Castillo's astonishment at the magnificent of the Aztec capital city, Tenochtitlán. If you still have any misconceptions of the ability of the people in the America's abilities to create cities you will also be amazed.

The students will be place themselves in del Castillo's boots and write his story as if it were their own. Then they will transfer that story into emoticons. Students with phones or tablets can write them there and send them to me. Those without will do as the Aztecs did, write them by hand.

There is a myriad of things I am hoping my students learn. The students will have the opportunity to internalize the amazement of del Castillo. They will have the opportunity to use glyphs to write a story and reflect on the process of using pictures to convey specific meaning. They will be exposed to the idea of using emoticons in their daily interactions as well, if they aren't already doing so. There is also the bonus of students connecting today's technology with history, and for some of my Hispanic students it is really their history. 

Why Audience Size Is Important

I was recently in a conversation on Twitter that helped me solidify some thoughts on the need for a large audience for student blog posts. Many students have passions or hobbies that simply are not shared by their peers locally. When a student is sharing what they love, the larger the audience the more likelihood there will be others who share that same interest. Boom! instant community. Simply put, students need a large audience to help build their own community.

Some Questions Don't Have Answers Yet: Ferguson Protests

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Robert Dillon, @ideaguy42, did a Google Hangout into my classroom today to share with my students a little about the events taking place in Ferguson, Missouri.

One of my students asked, "Who is Michael Brown?"
I answered, "He was an 18 year old man that was shot by a policeman."
Another student asked. "Why did they shoot him?"
"We don't know yet." was my reply.

The story of the Ferguson protests is much larger and more nuanced than a couple tweets can manage. Watch the video and see if you don't gain a better picture about what is happening. Those of us who have been following the story have lots of questions. Some questions won't get answered, some will and some probably don't have even answers that are coherent. That doesn't mean we shouldn't be asking them. 

Classroom Walkthrough 2014

A Case Against Expecting New Technology to Drive Engagement

When I first introduced my students to my 2:1 eMINTS classroom I thought my students would really love using computers to learn. I spent a lot of time teaching how to use them, how to keep them running (Windows...) and eventually how to access information with them. My students were very, very engaged. They weren't, however, engaged in the content I was supposed to be teaching.

Don't get me wrong, I am a slow learner. It took me a long time to figure it out. Their behaviors met my engagement checklist:

1. Were they active? Check
2. Were they excited? Check
3. Did behavior problems decrease? Check

The problem was I forgot the real purpose of the technology, which was to make it easier for me to give my students great lessons to learn the school's curriculum. Notice that wasn't on my list?

Over the years I have noticed that students are very engaged when introduced in new technology. More often than not the engagement is with the tool though and not the content being taught. The truth is, until the technology, hardware or software, is less 'new' the students will be more engaged in the tool than what they need to learn from the content. 

Once again I will point out, new technology is no substitute for great lessons. 

I Admit It, I Am Biased. I Prefer Classroom Teacher Led Sessions

Taken at #EdCampKC in 2010

I admit it, I am biased. I can't help it. When I go to a conference I want to hear classroom teachers talk about tools they actually use in class.

I have attended so many sessions on new tools facilitated by those not in a classroom who have not used the tool they are showing with students. I often leave those sessions baffled by how/if I can use them in my class. Usually the potential for use is limited, if it can be used at all.

I often talk about how instruction/learning should determine the tools that are used. (Usually I prefer to let students choose their own tools when possible.) Honestly, aren't we better than 'Here is a new tool that I found that I have never used in class but it is so cool. Why don't you use it in your class and be my proof of concept?'

I have never presented at a conference and shown tools I have not used. I always share what worked for my students and what I felt didn't. My goal is to add value to the session by sharing my experiences, not just introduce a bunch of new things that the teachers might be able to find some use for. Is it too much for me to expect the facilitator for the sessions I attend do the same?

Why Do I Have to Learn History?

Photo courtesy of Dr. John Strange

Photo courtesy of Dr. John Strange

Funny how a little question, only seven words long, can throw one for a loop. I had a student ask me that question an hour ago and I am still reeling from it. I'm reeling because I can't verbalize an answer.

The first thing I did was look online for an answer. Surely somewhere there is a cogent, well reasoned and yet simple answer. If there is one, I didn't find it. Google the question yourself and see what comes up. Better yet search videos using the question, plain horrible. Honestly, I doubt anyone can answer this one for me anyway.

I have always loved history, I have loved the stories that come from history. I love the connections I see between seemingly disparate events. I love recounting stories like Peale's Mastadon because of the connections between art, science, and exploration.

Now I am stuck trying to justify what I teach without any cogent thoughts appearing. Why do they have to learn history?

Owning Our Choices and Accepting Ourselves

Today my 7th grade students are creating Russian nesting dolls (Matryoshka). This is the art project for our geography chapter on Russia. Students can make their nesting dolls out of any characters they want, from typical pop culture choices to ones they make up on their own.

Later this week they will reflect on their choice in characters. Why did they choose superheroes? Why cartoon characters? Why did they want to make their own, new characters? The real goal of this activity is less about Russian art and much more about students identifying the choice they made.

 Too often we make choices based upon the people we surround ourselves with. We succumb to peer pressure or that inner voice that has been telling us for years we aren't cool enough and we need to work harder to fit in. The reality is the only people that we need to make happy or impress is ourselves and we can't do that hanging on to the old social pressures that used to make us question every decision we made. We need to take a stand in our classrooms and give our students opportunities to share their inner nerdiness. Give them their voice.

This post has been reposted on the #SKoN blog.

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Eastern Mediterranean Unit

Here is the link to my students' expected workload. I will attempt to explain the reasons behind my choices. 

Day 1 the students will label and color a map of the countries covered. I want the students to have a good idea of where the countries are and their physical regions. They will also reflect on the map and what they learned from the process.

Day 2 the students will define and draw the six vocabulary words from the chapter. The students will have to define the words using their own words, not just copy them from the book. They also will draw a picture of what the word means to them. This requires them to both access and store information in different parts of their noggins.

Day 3, 5, 7 and 8 the students read from the text and answer comprehension questions. Many/most of us learn a great deal through reading and this is great practice for them to read with a purpose and learn to find information in text. 

Days 4 and 6 the students will watch videos on Turkey and Israel by Rick Steves. I love that series since it covers so much of the culture of the areas in a relatively short time. The students will have a worksheet to keep them on task and a reflection after the video is finished. 

Day 9 the students will do a review over the material covered as well as write a comprehensive reflection. If you think that I am having my students reflect a lot, I am. If I believe that reflection is the most important practice in learning (and I do) then I need to make sure my students have the opportunity to do it regularly.

TigerCorp Part 2: It's Lending Time!

This post is a follow up to TigerCorp: An Attempt at Service Based Learning

TigerCorp (those from our junior high that invested in our Kiva.org group) made our first loans today. Each class has a representative that chose from a varieties of lendees that I chose over the weekend. I had each one sit down and review them and vote for which three they thought would be best to donate to. Here are the three loans we made. 

Kana De Yanaoca Group from Peru

Thomas from Uganda

Gagik from Armenia

We ended up making micro loans to people living on three different continents. The loans will be used for helping outfit a market stall, expanding a poultry house to meet demand, and to help buy more cows and pigs. The choices the students made not only reflect our cultural diversity but also our local agricultural culture here in Noel. 

Note Taking, Moleskines, and Modeling

I am working with students on note taking skills. (I don't know why I waited so long, but better late than never.

Today we started with watching a couple videos on taking notes and I had some real, personal discoveries.

1) Note taking is a life skill. There is absolutely no reason we need to emphasize note taking in schools as a thing we do in schools. We need to be much more deliberate about teaching it as a positive lifestyle choice. Why should note taking only be done at school?

2) Note taking is an act of learning. Mind blown! While the implication that all things we do in school are directed toward learning, how often do we really think about what we have students do in class as an act of learning? This concept will change both how I teach note taking and how I personally take notes.

3) Note taking should help with big ideas or concepts, not emphasizing facts. I used the analogy of knowing when Columbus 'discovered' the West Indies instead of the cultural implications. The former is an answer on Jeopardy, the latter a way to understand our complicated society. If the students take notes to memorize facts they are doing it wrong. If you model note taking as a way to record facts you are doing it wrong.

4) Note taking is personal. What works well for the person sitting next to you may not (probably won't) work best for you. Of course if you insist on copying notes instead of making your own you probably aren't interested in learning the stuff anyway.

Have you heard the expression 'Do as I say, not as I do'? I may not have coined it, but I sure exemplify it. I need to model note taking keeping in mind the four things I outlined above. Instead of modeling learning, it is about time I model authentic learning.

Here are the two videos we watched today. 

TEDGlobal 2011: Tom Wujec on visual note-taking from TED Blog on Vimeo.

TigerCorp: An Attempt at Service Based Learning

I had read about Kiva.com on Karl Fisch's blog several times over the years. I don't know exactly what caused me to decide to get involved this week but I am jumping in with both feet. I received permission to start a Kiva 'club' (for want of a better word) that students could join by donating money to make micro-loans. 

I decided I wanted student input into the loans but I also wanted an efficient way to organize the students so I came up with the idea of creating a corporation, TigerCorp, and have students purchase 'shares of stock'. For a $1 donation the students get one share. Each share allows the student to have a vote for our corporate board. Each class (I have six) will elect one board member. These board members will meet and decide on which loaning opportunities to choose on Kiva.com

Fortunately Kiva has a low barrier for entry, it only takes $25 to get started. While this is a very large amount of money for my students, if each student brings just $1 we will have almost $150 to lend! Basically I am asking they give up one candy bar or pop to help change someone's life. 

The students will have lots of learning opportunities, we will be learning about the countries where we loan the money, about payment schedules, about how to be a good steward of money, how to make group decisions, and the board members will be presenting all of this information to their classes.

Hopefully within a couple weeks we will have something to show on this badge.

How About Teaching Our Families to Have Regular Parent/Child Conferences?

I just read a post by Dean Shareski and as I was commenting I had an epiphany of sorts. The hard facts about assessment isn't necessarily giving good ones or even getting good feedback from them. The hard part is sharing what we learn to a third party, think parents or admin. At some point it quits being a first person account and becomes a first person guesstimate.

We don't have ways to adequately find out what our students have learned. Students only allow us to know what they want us to know, even when it comes to what they have learned. An assessment won't show everything even with a cooperative student. The best way to 'assess' what a student has learned is to have a conversation with them.

Last week my school held the annual parent/teacher conferences. The junior high had students lead the conference, basically we facilitated a conversation between the student and their parent. The kind of conversation that should probably be happening regularly at home.

Why don't schools regularly encourage, model, bribe, or otherwise get parents and students to sit down and have these assessment conversations?

This Week in History October 14: How Washington Held It All Together

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/24.109.88

We will be reading Washington's Crossing a couple days a week and spend the other days continuing with our timeline. This week while I am gone on Monday the students will be reading about the colonies fighting in the Revolutionary War. The students will choose between writing a short persuasive paper from the point of view of one of two women from the time period.

• If they choose to write as Molly Pitcher their topic will be: Why Women Belong on the Battlefield 
• If they choose to write as Abigail Adams their topic will be: Why Women Deserve Suffrage

I love the story of Mrs. Adams trying to influence her husband John to step up for the women:

I long to hear that you have declared an independancy-and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If perticuliar care and attention is not paid to the Laidies we are determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.

Abigail Adams, March 31, 1776

Tuesday and Wednesday we will be reading from Washington's Crossing. The focus on these two days will be on how General Washington had to change his leadership style to accommodate the different soldiers that came to the army. How difficult was it for him to take men with disparate ideas of leading and following and make them into a disciplined (enough) fighting force to survive the first year. 

Thursday the 8th grade will be on a field trip. Friday they will be reading about the little known fighting that took place in the south and the west during the Revolution. 

This Week in History October 7 Declaration of Independence and Washington's Crossing

This is a big week, we are starting out with using our Kindles for the first time of the year. We will be using them with both the Declaration of Independence and the book Washington's Crossing. The Declaration is in the textbook, but I want them to get comfortable with the Kindles before we start reading the book.

First up is the Declaration. I am starting the lesson using my friend Eric Langhorst's great break up letter.

Declaration of Independence

Break Up Letter

I'm not sure how to start this letter but I feel we need to talk. I've been thinking about us a lot lately. Things used to be so great - it was like we were M.F.E.O. I mean everyone said it was perfect. I really thought we would be together forever but then things changed.

I feel like you started to take me for granted. You just started to do whatever you wanted and never even asked me about anything or how I felt.

I've been thinking about this for a while and I don't want to hurt you but I think it is time we broke up. I mean it's just not going to work. I need some time by myself to see what it is like on my own. I'm sorry things didn't work out but I do think YOU are the one to blame. Sorry but "US" is over.

The American Colonies

Here is the post that I found the the break up letter at.

http://speakingofhistory.blogspot.com/2008/10/teaching-declaration-of-independence-as.html

Amazing Tour Guide Lecture at Independence Hall

This lecture is about 10 minutes long and really speaks to the history geek in me. Even if they students won't be excited about this, my excitement will definitely show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHsxjbnh5Go

We will be going through the Declaration looking specifically at the list of grievances and comparing them to the events that we examined over the past couple weeks. The students will identify a grievance they believe should have been included but wasn't. 

Washington's Crossing

Here is the picture we will be discussing, Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_by_Emanuel_Leutze%2C_MMA-NYC%2C_1851.jpg

Audiobook Beginning- 1:20 Intro and Background not in the book

This isn't found in the paper edition or the Kindle edition.

1:25-22:25 Introduction- The Painting Kindle page 1 location 117

This introduces the creation of the painting as well as some of the criticism of the painting. 

NPR Ina Jaffe radio show referenced in the introduction (7 minutes) http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=1138252&m=138252

Parodies of the painting:

Obama: http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/0pzFEcf6UBw/maxresdefault.jpg

Far Side: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/gw/cartoon.gif

Lord Stanley: http://images.fasocdn.com/3379_817175l+v=201212051556/lord-stanley-and-the-penguins-crossing-the-allegheny.jpg

Lichtenstein: http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/10/08/Style/Images/SA-LICHTENSTEIN3911349735650.jpg

My Little Pony:  http://derpicdn.net/thumbs/800/600/2013/03/23/21_21_42_177_277740__UNOPT__safe_twilight_sparkle_rainbow_dash_pinkie_pie_fluttershy_rarity_applejack_princess_luna_princess_celestia_derpy_hooves_big_macintosh_parody_artist_gennadykalugina_george_washington.jpeg

Klingon: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2O9sGIRVNFPvS3yGYJKggwTT-LxD2C1E5x-MvpNGo_4eil-DZF_QMKVoBPaqxSosjPQbaSsiB8YLwGlRIl6-daafBh3lH2tVNt-EQD_WIakf2mLnJYNs-Ppl_6Ln5aQ0UNNAhXugEnA/s1600/Klingons_Crossing_the_Delaware_by_judgefang.jpg

After reading the introduction we will listen to the NPR radio show and view some of the parodies created of the painting. The students will be tasked with creating their own parody picture.

22:25 Chapter 1 The Rebels Page 7 location 225

We will begin reading the first chapter. I will display the picture of George Washington below that is referenced in the book. We will continue reading the chapter the following Tuesday.

George Washington by John Trumbull (1780) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/24.109.88

Hard Questions: How Many Days of School Is It Acceptable to Miss?

This question is partly born out of the jealousy I feel for my online tweeps that are talking about going to conferences I am not attending.

Last year I missed six days of school because I was attending or presenting at conferences. This year I plan to miss seven. Honestly that is a lot of days outside of the class. If I miss five or six more because of illness that will be two weeks of school missed!

How many days of school did you miss last year for conferences? How many do you plan to miss this year? How many missed days become too many? Are we attending too many conferences during the school year?

Examining Fame Using Longfellow's 'Paul Revere's Ride'

Why do some become famous while others do not?

This essential question is the guide for this lesson. The students will be examining the role of Paul Revere and Joseph Warren from Revere's famous ride to the Battle of Bunker Hill. We will look at what Paul Revere and Joseph Warren contributed to these famous events. 

Here are the links to the media we will use in class along with pages 134-135 in our textbook.

Andy Griffith Lexington and Concord http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3boDX-3iRJg
This link fits with our emphasis on storytelling in history. We will look at the events that Andy describes and his storytelling ability.

Lexington and Concord Map http://www.paulreverehouse.org/ride/virtual.html
This is used for a good anchoring visual of the lands through which this event took place. 

‘Real’ Story of Paul Revere http://www.paulreverehouse.org/ride/real.html
This is the facts that are given through the Paul Revere House website. This is used as a resource that isn't from Wikipedia.

Longfellow’s Midnight Ride of Paul Revere http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4hUMQG3MI8
The poem is the basis for the discussion. 

Paul Revere's Ride http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Revere's_Ride

We will look at why Longfellow wrote the poem. We will discuss if his goal to create a nationalistic feeling was appropriate for the time period.

The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker
Hill  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_death_of_general_warren_at_the_battle_of_bunker_hill.jpg
This is a painting of Joseph Warren's death. The purpose is to again emphasize how media is manipulated and also as a visual anchor for Dr. Warren.

Joseph Warren http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Warren
We will look at Warren's roles specifically with Revere's ride and the battle of Bunker Hill. We will also discuss his last run in with Revere after his death (fascinating stuff!)

Ode to Joseph Warren http://books.google.com/books?id=3r-ClEcWHsQC&pg=PA217&

Ode http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode

We will look at this ode and try to decide why it did not become as popular as Longfellow's poem.

After learning the stories of Revere and Warren the students will write an ode to Dr. Warren using the following rhyme scheme: ABABCDECDE
The goal with this is to have the students experience writing a poem with a specific rhyme scheme. They will use the information they gather from our examining of Warren's life to help. 

If you talk about Revere, Warren, Longfellow's poem or the historical events what goals do you have for your students?