Voices Not Forgotten

This past spring our students were studying several different themes throughout our school. To help students with their understanding of the Holocaust and the Japanese Internment we were honored to have two survivors from each of the events come and speak to our students, the staff, parents, and other community members. We recorded the event so that their voices will not be forgotten.

This is their story.

Our 6th graders were looking at the refugee crisis in Syria and writing about what the Unites States should do to help/not help. We looked at the Jewish refugees from the S.S. St. Louis as an example of refugees being rejected, and the Huguenots as refugees being accepted. We then visited a Syrian refugee camp using Google Expeditions, so that the students could see and feel a little bit about what their life was life before they wrote their argument.

Our 7th and 8th graders were writing about constitutional issues, and they were curious about the new Executive Order 13769 the the president had just issued, and had been blocked by federal judges. We went back and read and explored Executive Order 9066, and then did the same with Executive Order 13769. The students then compared the two orders, and wrote about their constitutionality of them. They investigated what Amendments they may have violated, or what parts of the Constitution supported the thinking behind them. It was a very robust, intelligent, and adult conversation. I was extremely proud about how they handled themselves about such a topic.

The other grades that were involved were our 9th and 10th graders. They looked at the science of hate, and what makes someone act the way they do. They used the info from this event to further their understanding of fear tactics and the role they play in fostering an environment of hate. They then built exhibits that show how marginalized groups in society have had to deal with hate, and what could be done to fight against hate in our society.

A huge thank you goes to the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center and the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education for their help in providing speakers for our event.

U.S. Artstory: Fusing History & Art

This past year I have had the opportunity to visit Washington, D.C. twice during the school year. Once for the NCSS annual conference, and another on spring break with 35 of my students and some parents. Both of the visits yielded some different inspirations for

project. When I was there for the NCSS conference I had the remarkable opportunity to hear Representative John Lewis speak. To say I was enamored would be an understatement. His passion for standing up for what he believed is unparalleled, along with his ability to influence others. He has authored the March Trilogy to bring the Civil Rights movement and his story to life for a new generation. These graphic novels enable young students to access the concepts and material from this important period in our country's history. I HIGHLY recommend these books for any classroom. 

It was the story about the development and evolution of the books, however, that gave me a new idea and perspective for a project. I loved how the images and graphics made this content relevant and accessible for younger children. And, as I walked around and visited the monuments and museums of Washington, D.C., including the Newseum, it stuck me. As a Social Studies educator and amateur photographer I believe that paintings, pictures, and art can tell us a great deal about our past. So, I decided that we would do a project that analyzed different events in U.S. History through an artistic lens. 

At the beginning of the U.S. Artstory, I had students participate in a Breakout EDU that I designed which revolved around important events in American history, and their artistic representation of them. Then, students were given an event/image and they had to put themselves in chronological order without talking. This served a couple of purposes, one it builds non-verbal communication skills, teamwork, and it serves a content pre-assessment by showing me how they can interpret an event/image by just looking at it. Once the students put himself in the order that they thought was correct, I had them sit down and conduct some research on their image/event. They were given the title of the image, and that was it. They then had to find the 5 W's of the image. Who created it, what the event was, where did it take place, when did it take place, and why they thought the event took place. They could not talk, and only had twelve minutes to do the research. At the end of the time, they then had to put themselves back in chronological order without talking. 

As we went around the room and learned a bit about the different images and events students started to ask questions which would become the catalyst for the project. We then hung the images up on our wall so that we could reference them throughout U.S. Artstory. Over the next week students had the time to play around on Google Arts and Culture, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and other sites as they looked at different events and how they were portrayed. At the end of the week that had to select an event that would serve as their research topic of the project. 

As we moved forward in the project we analyzed different images using different tools and techniques. This allowed students to see how each way had pros and cons. They then had to choose three (3) different images/representations of their event to analyze and conduct research on their event. This occurred over a couple of weeks with students working at different paces. Since this was our end of year project, I was very hands off as they were demonstrating all of the research, citation, writing, organization, analyzation and other skills we had been working on throughout the year. 

The objective of the final product was for students to synthesize their learning into an artistic interpretation of their event. We then held an art gallery night that was open to the public where students showcased their learning through art. Per usual I was blown away! The students rose to the occasion, just like the always do, and everyone left more educated, more cultured, more confident, and we had fun learning and teaching about history. This is why I LOVE project-based learning. Are there some things I will tweak the next time I this, absolutely. However, this is one project that will definitely stay in my rotation.

Recreation of Norman Rockwell's "The Problem We All Live With" and a modern take on the event.

Dr. King during his "I Have a Dream" speech.

A collection of pencil drawings of images from WWII.

An interpretation of the "Falling Man" complete with flickering L.E.D. lights and dry ice.

A modern interpretation of the "American Progress." 

A clay model of "NEXT!."

The first footprint and moon landing photos made out of cake.

A soldier going into harms way during battle in WWII.

       

Life size re-creations of "We Can Do It" and "Rosie the Riveter" had audience members dressing up!

Using a green screen and Photoshop to re-create "The Assassination of President Lincoln."

Needlepoint cross stitch of the "Migrant Mother."

An interpretation of life in a Japanese internment camp using pastels.

A colorized representation of the atomic test at Frenchman's Flat.

A collaborative piece to show the different perspective of the Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage.

A mixed media piece title, "The Arms Race." 

"The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor," painted with tea.

  

A Van Gogh inspired version of "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper."

Lego sculptures of the Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address.

Replica pistols of the Hamilton/Burr duel, and a word cloud made of the insults they used towards each other.

They made a music video for John Lennon's "Imagine," which they played the piano and ukulele, and the 9/11 poster.

Some pencil and mixed media pieces about the Vietnam War.

A laser etched and painted map of the California gold rush and mining locations.

A wood burning interpretation of "American Progress."

A pixelated art piece of Fort Vancouver of the Hudson's Bay Company.

A pixelated representation of the "Pile of Bison Skulls."

Teaching Civics/Government Through Project-based Learning

For a long time, even in my own schooling, learning about how our government and the civic process works has been a process of memorization and not very engaging. I firmly believe that because of this, our society has become apathetic towards civic responsibility and civic engagement. I have seen firsthand people trying to get out of jury duty, people not voting, and in general not wanting to get involved for they do not understand / see the value in our civics processes. This is a problem. In order for our country to fully function we need our citizens to know and understand what is going on in their local, state, and national political arena. So how can we create an engaging way to learn about our government and how it works? Enter project-based learning and design thinking.

When this past school year began our U.S. iHistory class hit the ground running. I had the students participate in a government themed Breakout EDU event that I created as part of our project launch. Our first project, How It Works, was going to have our students learn about the branches of government by engaging them with the Constitution, having them write an explanatory essay, and then working together to create a game (board, video, or other kind) that will teach others about a governmental process. When the students figured out all of the clues and got into the Breakout box, they got a URL to our project sheet, and their very own pocket Constitution that I even covered in some faux leather to make it more appealing and lasting. These are middle schoolers, after all...

Using the DEEPdt process as my springboard I posted the following question on our whiteboard. 

"What do we need to know about _______ in order to create a _____game that teaches about ________?" 

This served as our guide throughout the project. By posing this question to the students, we were better able to focus our work and understand why we were working on certain content, criteria, and pieces during the project. When a student asked why do we need to know about the Electoral College? I pointed to the question. When they asked about Judicial Review, I pointed to the board. 

Now all of the content and concepts weren't integrated into every game, but they weren't intended to be that way either. What it did allow is for students who choose to have a game that talked about checks and balances to know how each branch of government worked with one another, and how they provide balance so that no one branch becomes too powerful. It allowed students to dive into the election process and create a portion of their game that dealt with the primaries as well as the national election. It allowed students to see how members of a jury (and local community) play a role in determining the outcome of a case that may have national implications.

I've been made into a game piece... life goal accomplished.

When it came time to design the games, we spent several days playing different board games, online games like iCivics, and card games. Now some may see this a waste of time, but in reality it was an integral part of our process. If we were to create a game of our own the students needed to understand different design element and how different parts of games did things well, or poorly for that matter. 




In the end, every team had a game that they showcased and presented to one 
another. We took turns playing them and had blast learning for them and giving feedback to the creators. I watched as the students learned from one another not only about governmental process, but also how to use the 3D printer, and laser engraver. A couple of the games will be tweaked and possibly turned into actual products that could be put up as kickstarters for other classrooms to use. 

Not only do the students have a deeper understanding of our Constitution, the branches of government, and civic/governmental processes, but they also engaged with their own learning, grew their communication skills, and had fun. 

Google Tour Builder

Google Tour Builder is a fantastic new way for students to explore the world. It is a new beta tool that allows users to create a tour just like they would a Slides presentation, except each location appears in a Google Earth window on the screen. This can be used to explore many different topics in the Social Studies. 

Here is the sample tour I made for my class, JZ - San Francisco

In the latest project my class is working on, the students are studying different cities within the United States that have hosted a World's Fair. Over the course of the project students will create a Google Tour that will also host various information that they learned throughout the unit. The students are creating a City Fact Sheet, a World's Fair Fact Sheet, a Trip Itinerary, a Cost Analysis Sheet, and a Digital Tour of the World's Fair. All of the items get to be hosted within the home place mark of their Google Tour. 

Check out the project sheet here: U.S Trip Planning Green Sheet

The project can be adapted to fit what you are studying in your classroom. This started out as a project where students planned a month long trip to a country in the Eastern Hemisphere. The fact sheets can be made to fit the material that you are researching. Feel free to make copies of the materials, and use them how you need. So take a look around at Google Tour Builder, and allow your classroom to expand its' walls to the entire world!

Google Tour Builder Tutorial

*Here are some of the great tours that my students made for our project.

Student 1 - St. Louis

Student 2 - Chicago

Student 3 - New York

Student 4 - New Orleans

Student 5 - New York

The Dream of the 1890's is Alive @ iTech... Continued

     During the weeks before and right after winter break, my students were studying the concept of westward expansion in the United States.  One of the parts to the Westward Bound! project was to have the students learn and explore what it was like back in the 1890's.  We did this by using a copy of the Sears Catalog from 1897.  Using this primary source, along with their research, they wrote about traveling back in time and buying gifts for each of their family members.  For more info on this essay assignment, see my earlier post; The Dream of the 1890's is Alive @ iTech.  

     Overall, I was pleased with the results.  I believe that there was some very authentic learning that took place.  I enjoy this style of student inquiry, here are some of the student examples from the project.  Enjoy!

-   Student 1   -   Student 2   -   Student 3   -   Student 4   -

The Dream of the 1890's is Alive @ iTech

     I am not sure who is having more fun during our current class project, my students or me.  Right now my U.S. History students are in a project called Westward Bound!  In this project, the students are studying the era of westward expansion and life on the frontier.  The students are creating fact sheets as they research and become experts in two of the areas of study from our G.R.A.P.E.S. categories (Geography, Religion, Achievements, Politics, Economics, and Social Structure) on either the Oregon, California, or Santa Fe trails.  After they research, and become experts in their areas of study, they will begin working on some others parts to the project.  

     The other pieces to the project include creating a board or video game about life on the trails / frontier, a final large group presentation with visual aids, and writing an essay called The Dream of the 1890's is Alive @ iTech (I'm a Portlandia nut).  I got the idea for the essay from Twitter when a link to Mr. Fladd's blog TeacherToys and his post More Christmas Shopping, Still Without a Flux Capacitor crossed my feed.  As I read through his post, I kept thinking about how cool it would be to do something similar in my own classroom.  

     As I began developing my Westward Bound! unit I thought that an adaptation of this assignment would fit in perfectly.  The students get to analyze primary source documents, create a story about life on the frontier, and justify their analysis.  Here are the requirements of the essay: 

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The Dream of the 1890's is Alive @ iTech

     In this assignment you will be traveling back in time to the year 1897.  Imagine that your entire current family has traveled with you on your trail (Santa Fe, Oregon, or California) and you have established a new life and become rooted in your new home out west.  You are now living in your new frontier city of Santa Fe, Oregon City, or Sacramento.  It is getting close to the holiday season, and you are in charge of buying gifts for your entire family.  You will have $20.00 total to spend, and be buying your gifts from the Sears catalog from 1897.  As you write your essay, you will have to answer the following questions/facts:

•    Describe your family.  

                        How many people are in your family?

                        How old are they?

                        What do they do for a living?

•    What do you buy as gifts for your family?  

                        How much do they cost?  

                        Why are you picking that gift for that person?

•    What would the cost of the items be adjusted to current day prices?

•    If you had the same amount of money from 1897, adjust to today's prices, what could/would you buy your family from the Sears website?

You can use this website to help you do the cost conversions. http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

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     I am excited and anxious to see the results of this as we progress though Westward Bound!  It is a great feeling to see the students so engaged and excited everyday.  And, the conversations that are being had between students are informative, educational, and fun!