So...I seem to have been neglecting my blog this school year.  I have no excuses.  It is what it is, but I am here now writing about an activity I did in my seventh grade Social Studies Class today. 

We began a new unit on Ancient Greece today.  Early on in my teaching career I would have started the lesson with a KWL.  I would have created a lovely KWL on chart paper and posted it in class.  During the class I would have asked the students to raise their hand if they "knew" anything about Ancient Greece.  I would have looked at their blank stares and wonder why no one was raising their hand.  (Insert cricket sound here.)  After a few years, with a little more experience I would have added a partner talk into the mix to try and generate a discussion.  ( Insert cricket sound again.)  I would then have started to prompt the children or model my  thinking to start the chart.

About ten years ago, when I left teaching elementary school and returned to middle school, I was given a book by Janet Allen from the school's instructional specialist.  In the book,  More Tools for Teaching Literacy Content by Janet Allen I discovered the Content Pass.  I have been using it ever since.

What I do is I break the kids up into small groups and provide each group with a text set and a graphic organizer.  The text set could include any or all of the following:  Textbook chapter - clearly marked, internet site, article or non fiction texts. I encourage the children to use the text features ( index, table of contents, headings etc.) to help them find important information such as the geography and religion, or something that is interesting to them.  They are given 4-5 minutes to peruse the text and complete the chart by finding 3-5 facts and coming up with 2-3 questions.  After 4-5 minutes the students pass the text to the person on the right and start the process over.

Once this is done, no more crickets when you ask what you do you know about ... Instead, you get a room full of engaged students who can't wait to answer, a great discussion and a filled out KWL chart if you so desire.
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Summer is starting to wind down.  If you are like me you still have some summer adventures left to do, but you are starting to think about going back to school.

Here is some Back to School Humor to make things easier!
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Snow days are a mixed blessing.  I am grateful for a day off, but in June I will be cursing the day off.  That's it.  That's all I have to say for now.

Ok.  This year's presidential election has been very stressful whether you are a Democrat, Republican or belong to another party.  While neither candidate was the ideal candidate, I strongly felt that one was the better choice than the other.  My candidate fought long and hard.  Ultimately though she did not garner enough Electoral votes to become President of the United States, despite the popular vote.  I awoke today, stunned, in shock and with a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

 I have had a hard time shaking that feeling of devastation, dread and fear today, so this post is part catharsis, part soul searching and part information gathering.  It is an attempt for me to process and understand what is happening to this country.  Had my choice for President won, I am sure many people who voted differently than me would have had that same fearful feeling that I have now. No one wants that.

I hope that we as a country can put this incredibly draining election past us and work together for the greater good.  No matter what our race, religion or personal beliefs are, we as a country need to do this.  We need to heal. We need to work together and we need to move forward, not backward.  And we need to do this in a respectful, inclusive way.

What I want to do is learn and understand why Trump.  Why did our nation elect  Trump as our POTUS.  I hope that this learning and understanding will eventually lead to acceptance and ultimately support for the Commander in Chief.   Hillary Clinton said, "We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead. " I am not there right now.  I don't understand and I don't support Trump.  Yet.  I am hoping that someday I will.  I am hoping that my faith in this country will be restored.

This is what I see:

I see a man who is narcissistic and thinking only of himself.
I see a bully who uses his position of power to coerce people into doing things that they wouldn't normally do. 
I see an impulsive person with no self control.
I see a liar.
I see a man who does not accept any responsibility for his actions and blames others when things don't go his way.
I see a misogynist, a xenophobe and a racist.

How do I tell my students, or my own children for that matter, that bullying is not acceptable?  Or that lying and cheating does is not ok?  What about self control?  How do I teach integrity to these kids?  How can I teach these traits to my students when we as a nation have condoned it by electing someone who as recently as last week exhibited many of these characteristics?

These are some concerns:

I am concerned that he is not putting his business in a blind trust to avoid conflicts of interest. Instead he is handing it over to his children to run.  That is not a blind trust.
I am concerned that he did not release his taxes because he owes money to countries like China or Russia.  If this is true than it is also a conflict of interest.
I am concerned that he has many pending lawsuits surrounding his various business ventures.
I am concerned that since he has bankrupt several businesses he will do the same to the country.
I am concerned that he will offend many world leaders with his lack of professionalism and self control.

This is a request to all of the Trump supporters.  Talking only about Trump.  What qualities does he have that will "Make America Great Again"?  What do you see that I don't.  Help me to understand.  Help me have the open mind and give him the chance to lead as my candidate has said.


If you reply to this post please be respectful and polite as I am truly trying to understand, heal and move forward.

This school year I have been working with my homeroom to create a school wide mock presidential election.  We have spent weeks learning about and setting up the Mock Election at school.  Today our results are in.

There were 569 eligible votes.


Clinton - Kaine     372 votes 

Trump - Pence      147

Stein- Baraka ( Not  to be confused with Obama :) ) 26

Johnson- Weld      20

Kanye                       2

Spongebob    ​           1

And our own Julia Ann  1

Our next steps will be to compare the outcome of the national election with the results of our school election.

This year is off to a great start, knock on wood.  So far I adore my students, all 102 of them.  They have been well,  a good group of kids.  Notice I said so far!   I am currently working with a student teacher for the first time. I also have a pre-practicum student one day a week.  Yesterday, I got an email from another teacher in training who stumbled upon this blog ( Whoo Hooo!).  The signs are all telling me to share my knowledge, so I thought I would take this time to offer some sage advice for new teachers, veteran teachers and teachers in training.  Yeah I snickered as I typed that last sentence too.  It is more like some must have websites for the Social Studies Teacher.  Ryan, Kyle and Jacob this is for you.

1.   Rewordify.com

What it is

This is a website that allows you to simplify text that is difficult to read.  It has many features that allow you to create modified text for students.  Teachers can create many different types of activities including cloze readings, vocabulary lists with or without definitions and quizzes.

Why I Like it

This website is great for taking difficult to read primary source documents and making them student friendly.  I also like it because I can use it to differentiate text and scaffold lessons for the Special Education and English Language Learners.

​2.  Newsela.com 

What it is

This is a repository of articles on different topics.  The articles are not limited to just Social Studies.  There are articles in Science and Literature as well.  

Why I Like it

Despite the fact that when I first learned of this website I thought it was pronounced newsela  and not News E-L-A, I really enjoy using it.  I can find articles that cover many topics from US History and World history to current events.  The articles also come in a variety of levels, so I can print the same article at different reading levels allowing me to differentiate in the classroom.  

3.   CNN Student News 

What it is

This is a daily broadcast of the news designed for middle and high school students.  The news is about ten minutes long and anchor Carl Azuz is engaging and can be very punny with some of his stories.  

Why I Like it

This is a quick and easy way to expose students to current events.  It has sparked some interesting discussions in class.

​4.  Kahoot 

What it is

This is a website that allows you to create a game show like atmosphere in your classroom.  You create a little healthy competition in class as students vie to answer questions first.  This does require that each student or a group of students has a tablet, phone or computer to participate.  You won't believe how much students will beg to play again.

Why I Like it

I like this website as a way to review information in class.  This takes some prep ahead of time to create  a multiple choice question.  After the students have completed the kahoot, I can download the information on how each student answered and use it to inform my instruction.

On another note Polleverywhere.com is a similar type of interactive website and just as fun.   Here you can create open ended questions as well as multiple choice.  Students' answers are projected on the board.  The only thing missing is the game like atmosphere.

​5.   Pinterest

What it is

This is an online bulletin board that allows you to "pin" ideas and save them.  Pinners can create a variety of different boards to save ideas and concepts that they would like to use at a later date.

Why I Like it

This is a great way to stay on top of teaching practices.  Teachers share lessons, organizational tips, ideas, strategies and a variety of activities on their boards.  I use it as a starting point for new lessons.  I can take the ideas and use them as is or modify the idea to meet my needs for my classroom.


I would love to hear from you.  What are your must have websites for your class.

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These last few weeks have certainly been very chaotic.  Between readying my room for the new year, squeezing the last bit of summer activity in and trolling pinterest for last minute back to school ideas I have been very busy.  Oh yeah, somewhere in there is bringing my youngest to college too.

I am very excited that the school year is off and running to a good start.  I have new team members this year that I am looking forward to working with.  I am also fortunate to have a student teacher working with me until December.  So far my classes have been great, knock on wood.  

In the midst of all of this craziness, I decided to modify my behavior management plan.  I modeled it after something I found online here.  Though not exactly the same, I was certainly inspired by this post.

Here are the main points:

•  Tickets are handed out as positive reinforcement.
• Students are given a bathroom pass that allows them 5 trips for the quarter.  If they need to use it more than 5 times, they must buy a pass for 5 tickets.
• Rewards of varying ticket prices are available for purchase including pens, pencils, lunch with the teacher etc.
• Each student received a set of passes that included one of each of the following
  • Quiz Pass- automatic 100 on a quiz of your choice
  • HW Pass- excuses one HW assignment
  • Cheat Sheet- allows you to use notes on one test
  • Drop Pass- will drop your lowest classwork score.
    • Each of these can be used once at any appropriate time during the first quarter, all they need to do is staple it to the assignment
    • Students are responsible to keep track of their own tickets and passes.
    • About one week before the quarter ends, students can cash in the unused passes.  Each one turned in will be worth one point added onto their final average.  For example, if a student has an 87 average and turn in 3 passes they will end up with a 90.
  • New passes will be issued for the next quarter.

So far the seventh and eighth graders are excited about this.  It has been much easier to manage then what I was working with last year, knock on wood again.

 Guess what?!! I got to be an archaeologist for the day!  I volunteered to help out for a day (#dignorth  #wanttogoback #notimebeforeschool) at an archaeological dig in Boston.  The site is at the Washington Garden right next to the Old North Church.

How did this happen? you may be wondering.  Well, I met Joe Bagley, Boston City Archaeologist, a few weeks back when I was taking the workshop through the Leventhal Map Center.  Joe brought the group on a walking archaeological tour of Boston.  During his tour he mentioned the upcoming dig at Old North Church.  He went on to say that if anyone was interested in volunteering to contact him.  My History Geek Radar perked up when I heard that.   That night I began bombarding Joe with emails and eventually texts that I wanted to volunteer.  I finally got a response after several days.  Archaeology in Boston keeps Joe very busy, so it took a while for him to get through all of his emails.  

So I picked a day that would work with my schedule and hoped on the train from Lowell and headed to North Station.  Ironically, I was reading  The Girl on the Train  when I took the train to Boston, but that is another story for another time.  Once I arrived in Boston, I made may way over to the dig site and introduced myself to Joe and some of the other volunteers.

Joe went over some important information about the dig site.  In the 1830s three tenement buildings were built on that spot.  A survey was done in June when two trenches were dug.  During that time, Joe and his volunteers unearthed what they thought were cisterns.  Our task was to begin preparing the site for the dig.  That meant removing shrubbery, hauling away benches and stone pavers- chop, lift, haul, repeat- who needs crossfit when you have an archaeological dig?  Later in the day some small excavating began.  I worked with a student profiling the land.  Well really I held a measuring stick while she profiled the trench.  I also tried to identify the color of dirt using a book called Munsell Soil Color Chart, not as easy as it sounds.  Others were digging down to a certain level.  A few small shards were found that day- some really cool things.

Throughout the day some Lookie Loos came and peeked in to see what was going on.  They were encouraged to come in and take a closer look.  I spoke to a few people about what was going on.  I did defer to someone more knowledgeable than me when I couldn't answer questions.  I asked one little girl what she thought we were looking for.  Her response, "Dinosaurs!".  

All in all it was an interesting day.  I wish I could have more time at the dig.  If you would like to learn more you can visit the  Boston Archaeology website, follow them on facebook and on twitter.

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This week I had the wonderful opportunity to attend professional development sponsored by Boston Public Library and the Leventhal Map Center.  The focus of this PD was Mapping the American Revolution.   We spent the week walking the Freedom Trail in Boston, touring historical sites like Old North Church ( I got to go up into the steeple... part of the way at least!  One if by land...) meeting with scholars and working with historical maps.  I have to say it was a great week!  I learned a lot and met some really great teachers.  I even had the chance to eat lunch in the Green Dragon, a tavern that was the secret meeting house of such notables like John Hancock, Paul Revere and the like!  How cool is that???!!!

So I wanted to share a few links that will be helpful in teaching about the American Revolution.


Leventhal Map Center

Leventhal Map Weebly

Paul Revere House

​Bunker Hill

South Meeting House

Old North Church

Old State House

Freedom Trail


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July 10, 2016


Sunday:

I am super excited today.  I left my comfy home, my husband and two boys and set of on what is becoming an annual NEH Landmark Workshop Adventure.  In the past I have journeyed to Fort Ticonderoga, Springfield Illinois and Kansas City, Missouri to be immersed in regional history.  This year's journey has kept me closer to home ( but no less exciting ).  I am in Deerfield, MA, about 90 minutes west of my home in Lowell.  

I arrived around 4:00 pm, checked - in and then settled into my living quarters before the program began.  It has been raining on and off all day, so wouldn't you know it ... the second I get out of the car with my suit case it starts pouring again.  Instead of doing the smart thing and get back in my car, I make a mad dash to the dorm. Soaked I put my stuff away and head to the Teacher's Center.  

We (the teachers) sat in small groups getting to know one another.  For some of us it is the first NEH experience, others are Veterans at attending these week long events.  After a few minutes, our esteemed program directors began to orient us on our week ahead.  Soon there after we piled into cars and vans and headed to the summit of Mt. Sugarloaf for our first activity.  Thankfully we drove to the summit and there was a covered pavilion area (yes it started raining again.)

When we first got to the top of Sugarloaf it was eerily enveloped in fog.  We really could not see what I was assuming was a phenomenal view.  Dinner of pizza and salad was provided for us.  We ate and enjoyed each others company under the pavilion,  cuz we certainly could not enjoy the view.  Then, something spectacular happened, the fog slowly started to lift and the setting sun started to peek out behind the clouds.  The view was stunning!  

We had a discussion about the land use of the Native Americans, the English Settlers and why the land has some of the most fertile soil of the region.  After returning to the dorms, I ventured down to the local watering hole  with some of the other teachers.  All in all I would say that day one was a success.


July 11, 2016

Monday:

Today was a jam packed filled day, in a good way.  We were kept busy and engaged all day.  We began with a lecture from the lead scholar, Kevin Sweeney.  

After that we broke out into small groups and rotated through a series of interactive sessions.  One of my favorites was going to the Indian House Children's Museum.  There the museum educators led us through three different activities.  Our first stop was in the kitchen where we were asked to complete two tasks.  One was churning butter and the other was making Switchel.  With the Switchel, the only guidance that was given was we had to make a palatable drink using these ingredients(ginger, vinegar, water and molasses).  We had no idea how much of each ingredient was needed.  It was trial and error.  I was skeptical, but we surprisingly enjoyed a somewhat palatable refreshing  drink.  Who knew?  I later Goggled it and found the recipe. You can find it here.  The homemade butter was served at dinner.  

The next activity involved looking at and discussing 18th century period clothing for men women and children.  It seems to be that the phrase "Time to cut the apron strings" , comes from the children's clothing.  They were literally tied to their mother's apron strings until they were about five years old.

,Image Source:  http://1704.deerfield.history.museum/popups/artifacts.do?shortName=ahimunquatdeed

My group had a great discussion about this document.  There was another walking tour, this time with Margaret, and a chance to hear some first person narratives of the people of Deerfield - all of which were fascinating.  At one point during the day another scholar and I had a bit of free time and wandered down to the old cemetery.  There we found Margaret giving the last tour of our NEH group.  Since we didn't get a chance to go there with her earlier, we tagged along.  It ended up with us walking through a meadow and having to climb over a fence to get back to the street.  Sorry there is no photographic evidence of this, you will have to take my word.


July 13, 2016

Wednesday:

Today was a road trip day.   My kind of day!  We began in the morning walking around some historical Native American Indian sites.  The first site is now a neighborhood but we had some interesting discussions about the history of the land as we walked around.  We then went to another area.  This one was a wooded area.  We walked around an Ancient Indian burial site.  A local Indian performed a blessing at the burial site.  I was going to take pictures, but I felt like it would be intrusive.  Basically he said a prayer and scattered tobacco to the four cardinal directions.  Then he had his wife do something similar for balance.  We hiked through this area and occasionally stopped to have a discussion.

Next we boarded the bus and headed to Fort Number 4.  This was a civilian fort.  Small but interesting to see. 

  July 14, 2016

Thursday

Thursday night, our last night we had a lot of fun.  We were brought to the tavern to learn about well, taverns.  There was punch, lots and lots of  rum punch.  We got a chance to hang out, play colonial games like Nine Pin (tabletop bowling), checkers and oh yes... Dancing and Music.  Not just any music, colonial musicians playing fancy colonial dancing music.  Um did I mention there was dancing.  Sorry no pictures, I was too busy dancing!
Needless to say this was a very fun night and late night.


July 15, 2016

Friday

Ah the week has come to a close.  Today was about wrapping up the week and getting ready to go home.  I have to say I am glad I was able to attend the program! Once again I want to give the National Endowment for the Humanities a great shout out for making these fabulous programs available to teachers.  Thanks!

For those of you who are interested for next year...  http://www.neh.gov/divisions/education/summer-programs

 It has been a long 9 days of state testing that culminated today. Finally,but not without a little Seventh Grade Hijinks fun after the testing headed! Curious?  Read on!

It all began a few weeks ago at my common planning meeting with the seventh grades Social Studies department.  We decided that we would design and make Roman shields with the seventh graders. We began to plan the project. Thanks to my niece who works at Sam's club, I got pallet sized pieces of cardboard donated and a trip to Michael's for some painting supplies, we were ready to begin. I cut the cardboard in half and made some samples for the teachers.

 A few days later I got this brilliant idea to go to the party store and get Roman Soldier helmets for the teachers.  I roamed around the store for a few minutes and I found an aisle with some leftover Halloween costumes.  There were swords and shields and the like in the aisle.  I hunted and searched through the merchandise to find what I was looking for, but to no avail.  I went to find an employee and see if there were any Roman helmets somewhere else in the store.  I cannot believe what he told me.  He said," You are a week late.  A women came in last week and bought all the Roman Helmets I had left for a school project."  Honest, you can't make this stuff up.  So I settled for plan b, Spartan Helmets.  After all Greece and Rome have a similar culture.  Plus the Spartan helmets are far more intimidating.
​

During the nine days of testing, I saw my seventh graders every day.  They worked very hard cutting, painting and designing their shields.  We put the finishing touches on today. 

Ready for the Hijinks?

After lunch, I had an inkling for some impish behavior. I told the kids of my nefarious plan, wink wink, and they were game. I donned my Spartan helmet, had the kids make crumpled up paper ammo and lined them up in the phalanx.  Now trying to keep a class of giggling seventh graders quiet for a surprise attack on another Social Studies class is no easy task.  We marched down the hall in Phalanx formation, ammo in hand past the office, past the cafeteria during 8th grade lunch to the class.  My principal, who is somewhat of an imp himself, followed us with a camera to capture the attack.  Unfortunately, our attack did not happen.  My colleague and his class were awol.  After a few grumbles and groans of disappointment we decided to go upstairs and attack the other  Social Studies class.  

Still in Phalanx formation, minus my camera wielding principal, we somewhat stealthily, but very much giggly ascended the staircase and made our way down yet another hallway.  This time our attack was somewhat successful, somewhat pitiful but very much impish and fun.  This time our target class was outside in the hallway getting ready to paint their shields.  Because they were in the hall, it was not quite a sneak attack, however when we got close enough the crumpled paper ammo was lobbing through the air.  Paper balls where everywhere.  Kids were laughing and a great time was had by all.  

​Oh yeah, I know there will be retaliation.

   Wow, I just blinked and we are already half way through May.  How the heck did that happen?  Wasn't it just last week that we were on winter break??  Well, maybe not last week.  I can't believe how much I have neglected writing this blog.  With that being said, I thought I would do a quick update on some of the goings on in my classroom.

Recently in 8th grade we played a couple of video games in class.  First we went old school and played Oregon Trail.  I found a streaming version online here.  I thought I was going to hear complaint after complaint about how terrible the graphics were, but instead I was pleasantly surprised at their reactions.   I can't believe how much the kiddos really enjoyed it, snakebites and all!  They asked to play it again the next day.  The other game we played recently was called Flight to Freedom and can be found here.  In Flight to Freedom the students had to help Lucy escape slavery.  Cyber learning at its best!

Seventh graders recently debated about the Elgin Marbles and whether or not they should be returned to Greece.  If you don't know what the Elgin Marbles are:  The Parthenon was a temple built in Ancient Greece to honor the Goddess Athena.  The Marbles in question are sculptures that adorned the temple.  Fast forward to the early 1800s when Greece was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.  Lord Elgin, the British Ambassador to Turkey, removed the marbles and brought them to England where to this day they are on display at the British Museum.  The problem is Lord Elgin, may or may not have had permission to remove said marbles hence the debate, "Should the Elgin Marbles be Returned to Greece?"  Both seventh grade classes had heated discussions and have written well structured arguments with evidence to support their side of the debate.

I still can't get over that the year is almost done.  I have so much still to teach, so much to do.  Ack!  That's ok.  I will manage, I always do.  I work well under pressure.  I am just looking forward to making the most of the time I have left with my 8th graders, before I ship them off to High School.  
     

I just read this and thought it was worth sharing.

http://hechingerreport.org/how-finland-broke-every-rule-and-created-a-top-school-system/

Hi All,

​I'm trying to raise money for video equipment for my 8th graders so they can make Student Documentaries. Currently my project is on DonorsChoose.org. For the next 4 days, DonorsChoose will match ANY donation made to my class. If you have the time and the funds, we would really appreciate a donation. Even $1 will help (because really it will be $2 when DonorsChoose matches it). Please do not feel obligated to donate.

IMPORTANT: If you decide to donate within the next seven days, enter the code [EMPOWER]. DonorsChoose will only match dollar for dollar if the code [EMPOWER] is entered.

Link to my project: http://www.donorschoose.org/project/creating-student-films-in-the-history-cl/1856868/?rf=link-siteshare-2016-01-teacher-teacher_357591&challengeid=113683​  

​Thanks so much for even considering a donation.

Sung to the Tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

On the first day back from Christmas break my principal gave to me an unannounced observation.

On the second day back from Christmas break my principal gave to me two ancient textbooks
and an unannounced observation.

On the third day back from Christmas break my principal gave to me three long emails, 
two ancient textbooks 
and an unannounced observation.

On the fourth day back from Christmas break my principal gave to me four new students,
three long emails,
two ancient textbooks 
and an unannounced observation.

On the fifth day back from Christmas break my principal gave to me five reams of paper,
four new students,
three long emails,
two ancient textbooks
and an unannounced observation.

On the sixth day back from Christmas break my principal gave to me six parents calling,
five reams of paper,
four new students,
three long emails,
two ancient textbooks
and an unannounced observation.

On the seventh day back from Christmas break my principal gave to me seven sets of data,
six parents calling,
five reams of paper,
four new students,
three long emails. 
two ancient textbooks
and an unannounced observation.

On the eighth day back from Christmas break my principal gave to me eight teacher meetings,
seven sets of data,
six parents calling,
five reams of paper,
four new students,
three long emails. 
two ancient textbooks
and an unannounced observation.

On the ninth day back from Christmas break my principal gave to me nine extra duties,
eight teacher meetings,
seven sets of data,
six parents calling,
five reams of paper,
four new students,
three long emails. 
two ancient textbooks
and an unannounced observation.

On the tenth day back from Christmas break my principal gave to me ten schcedule changes,
nine extra duties, 
eight teacher meetings,
seven sets of data,
six parents calling,
five reams of paper,
four new students,
three long emails. 
two ancient textbooks
and an unannounced observation.

On the eleventh day back from Christmas break my principal gave to me eleven days for testing,
ten schedule changes,
nine extra duties,
eight teacher meetings,
seven sets of data,
six parents calling,
five reams of paper,
four new students,
three long emails. 
two ancient textbooks
and an unannounced observation.

On the twelfth day back from Christmas break my principal gave to me twelve state standards,
eleven days for testing,
ten schedule changes,
nine extra duties,
eight teacher meetings,
seven sets of data,
six parents calling,
five reams of paper,
four new students,
three long emails. 
two ancient textbooks
and an unannounced observation.

You sang it didn't you!


Have a wonderful 2016!  Enjoy the second half of the school year. 
​

Professional Development opportunities that is! The application process is open for such awesome summer Seminars such as National Endowment for Humanities or Gilder Lehrman.   Both of these seminars provide a small stipend to help with travel expenses.  I have  been fortunate enough to attend programs sponsored by both groups.  I have blogged about them in the past.  Check it out here,  here or here.  There are other opportunities out there for teachers as well.  Some you have to pay for out of your pocket and some with small stipends like these.  Keep your eyes out and take the time to apply.  It is well worth it.

It's not often you get the opportunity to spend a week with other Social Studies Teachers, learning content and touring historical places you may not have had the chance to visit before.  Who knows, you may run into me!

 thenWhether you celebrate, Kwanza, Hanukkah, Christmas, Festivus or even nothing at all teaching in the Middle of December is tough.  The days are shorter and darker.  They kids are excited and anxious for break and the teachers are stressed.  On a side note, did you know that stressed is desserts spelled backwards?  So go ahead and enjoy the endless supply of peppermint bark in the teachers' lounge.

The question becomes, how do I keep my students engaged for these last few days before the Vacation?  By the way, as I am typing this on my prep I am avoiding the giant pigsty of a desk that needs to be cleaned and the book shelves that need to be organized.  Across the hall is the music room where I have been listening to "Frosty the Snowman" and a variety of other Christmas Carols being sung loudly and enthusiastically with the eighth graders that just left my class.

Way off topic already.  So...what do I do to keep them engaged?  Why prove that Santa is real of course.  I found an old copy of the letter written by Virginia O'Hanlan in 1897 archived by me many, many years ago in my file cabinet.  

Me:  "Who here believes in Santa?"
Eighth Graders:  Eye rolls and groans
Me: " What if I told you that I had a primary source document that proves Santa is real?"
Eighth Graders: Less eye rolls and groans this time, surprisingly a few perk up to listen.
Me: "It all started when..."

I built a little background information for them by talking about the letter that Virginia wrote to the editor of The Sun in New York way way back in 1897.  We chatted for a few minutes and then analyzed the primary source using the document analysis sheet I created a few years ago.  You can find it here at my TpT store.  After analyzing the document, we watched the cartoon " Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus."

I found two cartoon versions on youtube, each about 22 minutes long.  The first one was the one I remembered from the 1970s and the second one was a much newer version.  Interestingly enough, I offered the choice of which one they wanted to watch.  The first group watched the newer version and the second group went for the cheesy cartoon from the 70s!
  

For some reason, the newer video is posted in 3 parts.

The second  group seemed to enjoy the activity a little more than the first.  To each his own I guess.

Teaching the Declaration of Independence usually results in groans and eye rolls.  This year I wanted to engage my students right from the get go, so I did what I do best when planning to teach concepts in a new and exciting way, troll the internet.  I stumbled across an idea to introduce the Declaration of Independence in a unique way. It is called "The Break-Up Letter."

Here is what I did...

After I greeted the kiddos as they walked in the door, I instructed them to review the Content Objective on the board and complete their warm-up activity.  I asked them to list what they know ( or think they know) about the Declaration of Independence as the warm-up.  After a few minutes I had them draw a line under the last thing they wrote, asked them to get up and talk to at least 5 different people and record the new ideas below the line. (More on this activity another time).  While they were happily flitting from person to person I pretended to find a note on the floor.  I made a big production about paper on the floor and asked all of the kiddos to return to their desks.  I told the class that I was very annoyed and tired of picking up their stuff off the floor, after all I am not their mothers.  As I was saying this, I unfolded the paper and read what was on it to myself.  Insert dramatic acting here.  Some how the kids "convinced" me to read the letter aloud.

As I read this letter, there were lots of gasps, giggles and groans.  Well groans is not quite the right word but it fit alliteratively with what I was going for.  In all reality the groans were more like "Oooooh".  Once I finished reading the letter, I refused to say who it was from at first.  After some begging and groveling from the eighth graders, I relented and said " The American Colonies."  At first there were many looks of confusion until one bright little chippy student said, "She's talking about the Declaration of Independence."  Love, love, love that the connection was made!

Boy it sure is easy to pull of a practical joke with eighth graders.  And it is not even April Fool's Day, although that would have made the joke that much better.    I deserve an Academy Award for best performance of an annoyed middle school teacher.  Well maybe not an Academy Award, but I thought my performance was pretty convincing!  

So class continued as we built some background information by reading and annotating an article on the Declaration of Independence and answering some comprehension questions.  We discussed how the Declaration of Independence is the first document of its kind, but many other people have modeled their declarations after ours.  We talked about how Thomas Jefferson was part of a committee of five men selected to draft the document.    We even learned that Jefferson made about 80 revisions and looked at the original draft, complete with cross outs and mistakes.  You can see that document here.  Through out the discussion there was the occasional ,"Wow she got us good," comment! 

So where do we go from here?  Next we will read the actual document and break it down into its different parts.  After that I want to have the students read  and analyze the deleted passage on slavery.  

You can view a brave soul, far braver than I with his video of the break up letter to his class here.

You can see another blogpost about this lesson here.  Ok, I just realized I did not include a copy of the letter.  Oops, sorry about that.  You can find the letter I modeled mine after on the blog post above listed above.

Whoo Hoo!! Super excited today.  Today is the day my guest post was published on Minds in Bloom.  Click the link and check it out.  Let me know what you think!!!

Seems to be a week of firsts for me.  The first first my guest blog being published on Tuesday on the Minds in Bloom blog.  Super excited about that!  My second first this week is my very first Powtoon.  "What's a Powtoon?" you ask.  Well, let me fill you in.  A Powtoon is an online animation studio.

My 8th graders are beginning a research project.  It is an assignment that the Social Studies department took over to help the ELA department at my school with their Non Fiction Writing module.  We are using traditional research skills and following MLA format to write a paper on one of the causes of the American Revolution.  I wanted to use some sort of video or powerpoint to introduce using notecards, so naturally I began trolling the internet for some inspiration.  I stumbled upon the Powtoon site and the rest is as they HISTORY!

Remember before you watch this video... It is my first attempt at a Powtoon.  I will be providing anchor charts and I will be modeling note taking skills with my little historians in class, and THIS IS MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT A POWTOON.  I am not yelling.  I am showing excitement! ;)

So here it is:
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Hi All!  Just wanted to let you know that I just finished writing my first  guest post for the blog Minds in Bloom.  It is about using graphic organizers in the Social Studies class.  I will  let you know when it will be up on their site.  So very excited.  That being said, if anyone is interested in writing a guest post for this blog on any pertinent Social Studies topic, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Love, love, love my talented kiddos!  This is what some of the kids did during my prep period!  The girl in blue is being eaten by Frankenstein!  Happy October!

Today my seventh graders and I ventured out of the classroom and into an archaeological adventure on this day the autumnal equinox.  We have been studying Early Man in Social Studies.  Our current unit includes such topics as the Stone Age, Neanderthals and Prehistory.  My esteemed  Social Studies colleagues and I thought that it would be fun and interesting to go to America's Stonehenge in Salem, NH. (About 40 minutes from our school in Lowell, MA.)  

America's Stonehenge is an ancient site dating up to 4,000 years ago.  It's origins are unsure, but archaeological evidence of the site ranges from 4,000 years ago to the 1800s.  There are many different theories about who was there originally.  Some think it may Native American, others believe that it could have been early European Explorers.  Whoever it was created a site that shows they were well versed in astronomy.  The site is an accurate astronomical calendar. 

When I first booked this field trip, I did not realize that today was the autumnal equinox.  Once I did figure it out, I am not going to lie.  I touched a few stones ala  Claire Randall Fraser from the book series Outlander/Starz television series.  I was wondering if being at a magical astronomical calendar on a magical day such as the equinox if I would be transported back in time like Claire.  If you haven't read the books by Diana Gabaldon or seen the Starz series based on the books, you are missing out.

I guess I needed to be there without my students for me to be magically transported back in time.  After all, how would that be explained to their parents?  
     "Well, Mrs. Smith your daughter's teacher was with Janey at the beginning of the field trip, but the kids tell me she disappeared into thin air. "

Imagine if some students transported with me!
   " So I have some good news and some bad news for you Mr. Johnson.  The good news is your child is getting a great education in history this year.  The bad news is that your child has been magically transported to the year 1659 with her history teacher."

All kidding aside, we had a great trip.  We started our day with a quick movie to introduce us to the archaeological site.  Once the movie ended we went hiking on a trail that led us through time from prehistory through the nineteenth century.  We stopped and explored the different sites.  At the end of the trail we discovered an enclosure that housed alpacas, the llamas smaller cousin.  Very cute!  After lunch, there was some more fun as we went on an archaeological dig simulation.  

The students really had a great time.  We saw many different monoliths and stone structures on our hike.  After lunch the students went to the archaeology simulation site and spent about 45 minutes digging for artifacts like real archaeologists.  Who would have thought that a bunch of seventh graders would love digging in the dirt!

So if you live in or around Salem, NH and are able to bring your students there I highly recommend it.

Below are a couple of links for more information about America's Stonehenge.

In seventh grade we have been working on developing skills to learn about and understand the past.  We have explored the connection between geography and history.  We learned that weather patterns, water supply and the landscapes affect the civilizations and the people  living there. Knowing the geography of an area can explain why certain  historical events happen the way they do. 

The students were introduced to some important vocabulary; prehistory, history, archaeology, oral traditions, artifact and excavate. I wanted them to understand the difference between prehistory and history.  In a nutshell, prehistory is the period of time before writing and history begins once writing is developed and people can record the events that happen in their civilizations.  Archaeologists examine artifacts that have been excavated and draw conclusions about their purpose.

What better way to understand words like archaeologist and excavate then to become apprentice archaeologists on a  hot, Friday afternoon.  So I donned my Pith Helmut and engaged the students in archaeology.

The science teacher on my team laughed when he saw me in my get up and said I looked like Smokey the Bear.  I beg to differ, Smokey the Bear wears a ranger hat, I was wearing a pith helmut.

I am sorry, I don't see the resemblance. LOL!  I tried to convince him that I was wearing an archaeology hat, and that it was not the Smokey the Bear hat.  He didn't buy it.  I even showed him a picture in between classes of the archaeologist on the bottom of the vocabulary page.  It was her that I was trying to be.  Minus the khaki pants and vest of course.

Once we reviewed vocabulary we had a brief discussion about what this simulation represents and we set out to work.  Students worked in pairs to carefully excavate the chocolate chip "artifacts" from the cookie "site".   They were given tools that included toothpicks, paintbrushes and plastic clay sculpting knives.  Voila- Chocolate Chip Cookie Archaeology and lots of fun!

Directions for Chocolate Chip Archaeology.

Imagine that you are an archaeologist in an exotic land.  You have been working at a site for a very long time.  You and your team of archaeologists have finally stumbled on a site that is full of ancient artifacts.  You are now tasked with the job of carefully excavating the fragile artifacts so they can be examined, catalogued and eventually sent to a museum were many people will enjoy them.  You must be very careful.  The artifacts that were made thousands of years ago could break very easily.  If they break, you may not be able to identify their purpose and learn about the civilization.  The more whole artifacts that are excavated the better chance you will have to draw conclusions about the civilization.


Granted the activity was about my students, especially the second language learners and Special Education students, understanding the words archaeologist, artifact and excavate, but I see the potential of a creative writing or research assignments to extend the learning.



***** On Monday, I checked to see if they remembered the definitions for archaeologist, excavate and artifact and was happy to discover that the students did! Whoo Hooo!!