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."

PBL & Inquiry with National History Day: Year 1

National History Day. When I first heard about it, I was thinking it was a day where the government decided to recognize History teachers, or our country's history. Little did I know that not only was I wrong, but I had come across a program that inspired and influenced what I do in the classroom.

In the 2015-2016 school year we were working on IMPACT!, our project on Mount St. Helens and how it has impacted our local community in Southwest Washington, the state, and the world. I knew I wanted to try and do NHD, so I designed a project that would incorporate one of the products for the program. Students made documentaries about the the many different impacts it had on science, including how it changed what we now about how life restarts, how glaciers work, and of course how volcanoes erupt. There are many other threads that can be pulled as well, like how it personally impacted the people who lived around the mountain and how they lost everything, but gained new perspective. The students got to choose what the focus of their film would be, as they told one of these perspectives. To launch the project we took all of our 7th and 8th graders to Mount St. Helens so that they could experience first hand themselves.

As we went through IMPACT!, we partnered

with @MtStHelensNVM, @MSHInstitute, and @USGS to bring in geologists, hydrologists, biologists, authors, and forest rangers. We also had parents, and other community members come in to share how they had experienced Mount St. Helens in different ways. That year the theme for National History Day was Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange in History. I wasn't sure exactly how to implement this, so I just kept it posted in the classroom as we researched, inquired, and worked. Some of my students. Some documentary teams focused on one of these ideas, such as how we have shared what we now know about predicting volcanoes with others around the world to help prevent loss of human life. Some looked at how we have explored the mountain to see how life begins, or how some people explore and climb it to learn about perseverance and themselves.

One team, however, took on all three of the topics and we decided to take their film to the Southwest Washington Regional event. I was not exactly sure what to expect at our first NHD competition, but myself along with all of my students and parents had an absolute "blast!" The girls presented their film, and then answered questions from the judges. At the break, we found out that they had qualified for the finals for that day, and that they would present again in the afternoon. They presented again, and we waited... Finally, the awards ceremony took place. In our category, group/team documentary, the top four (4) teams would move on to the state competition to represent Southwest Washington. Low and behold, the girls placed fourth at regionals, and it was on to state!

This is where the girls really took to heart all of the skills they had learned throughout our year and, with their perseverance, put everything together yet again. The judges left the team some really nice feedback, which the girls were able to absorb and break down into usable pieces. (We work on teacher and peer feedback all the time using the Glows and Grows technique) The re-worked different sections, removed and added captions. They re-recorded with new pacing, switched out images, and really strengthened their overall product. 


The last step in our process was heading to the state competition in Auburn, Washington. The team was ecstatic and in that perfect place between nervous and confident. We decided that we would make sure to support all of the other teams that were competing in our room, so we camped out and watched all of them. And while I have  bias, I believe they knocked the presentation out of the park. When we left to wait for the finals results we were very confident that they had a top three (3) film from our room. 

While we waited for the results, we explored some of the other categories. The one that impressed us the like no other were the exhibits. As we meandered through them all, and saw the excitement and curiosity that they generated from our students and parents, I know that we would have to create some of our own for the next competition. This would become Get Up, Stand Up!, which I will detail in an upcoming post.

Unfortunately, only the top two (2) from each room move onto the state finals. The girls were grinning ear to ear after their experience and I marveled at not only what they had done, but what ALL of the students there had done. As we left that day, the parents and students thanked me for a tremendous experience. From that point on, I knew that I would not only be participating in National History Day, but I would also be advocating for it to be done in as many schools as possible.

Here is their film, Beyond the Blast!

Bringing History Class to Life

Augmented reality is a fantastic new technology that can be used in many different types of classrooms. There are a couple different types of AR apps out there, but the one I use the most is the app Aurasma. What Is like about this app is that it is FREE and it is duel-platform so it will work with Apple or Android devices.

You can download it here on iTunes or on the Google Play store.

Augmented reality allows you, and your students to make almost any object into a scannable interactive code. This is fantastic for history, art, english, science, and pretty much any other class out there. My classes and I have used this app to explore different cities, and create interactive museum exhibits that allow the students to analyze, evaluate, and explore different primary sources and their meaning. The app is very easy to use and allows teachers to create separate private channels for the information to be stored so that student privacy remains intact. Here is a tutorial video that I made for one of my classes to help them with the Aurasma creation process.

After the videos have been uploaded, and the auras created, the really fun part begins. Since my classes use private channels with Aurasma the students need to subscribe to the channel in order to see the auras and have the images come to life. I do this by sharing the channel URL with my students via email or our Canvas LMS. Once, the students are subscribed to the channel they are then free to explore and venture around the room to see the different videos linked to the images/objects. This is a different way to showcase and share the students' work and learning. It allows to student choice in exploration and is visual, auditory, and kinesthetic in nature.


The first time that I used this was in a 7th grade World Cultures classroom. We were doing a Trip Planing project where the students had to plan an entire month long trip to a country in the Eastern hemisphere. This included creating a day by day itinerary, cost analysis sheet, Google map and KML file with locations visited, "booking" airfare, and a digital story taking us through their country's capital city in a day. The final product resulted in the students making digital stories using the app Puppet Pals HD, with themselves as the tour guide. The students then linked there videos to a postcard from that country using Aurasma. Finally, the students used iPads to scan the different postcards around the classroom and traveled the world through their classmates' eyes. Here is a short video showing how it looked.

Augmented reality can also be used to create interactive museum exhibits. My U.S. History classes used Aurasma and the app Tellagami to bring our museum exhibits to life. Tellagami is another free and duel-platform app that allows students to dive in deeply to the analysis and evaluation of primary sources.

You can download it here on iTunes or on the Google Play store.

The students were tasked with creating a museum exhibit that revolved around the concept of equality and how it has evolved throughout our country's history. The students were allowed to choose a specific era, or movement, to focus on and then they had to create an exhibit that incorporated analysis and evaluation primary source documents and information about some of the individuals involved during the era or movement. During this project we also took a field trip to the Oregon Historical Society, where the students got to see how exhibits are made, learned about the different elements that make exhibits successful, and got to conduct research in the museum's library. The students then brought this new knowledge back to school and incorporated it into their own exhibits. We then had the students set up their exhibits in and allowed them to explore their classmates' interpretations with their own devices.

Here is the Tellagami tutorial that I made for the students, and an example video that they made and linked to an exhibit.

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!