In my never-ending quest to help students with content-related vocabulary, I tried something different with my unit on the Causes of the American Revolution. I gave students the traditional study guide with terms and definitions, but I also created coloring pages to accompany it. Their comprehension of the terms was far better than in the past, and it was a fun activity too!
Basically, I created a visual for each of the terms and had the kids color and/or add to it. Some of the terms I left blank for the kids to create their own visual for the term.
I wanted to try something different because I have been teaching this unit for 20 years and am always looking to change things up. I also wanted to tap in to some of that creativity that can often get lost in a middle school classroom. I like to color! I like to use crayons in middle school! The kids do to. I throw on a little colonial music in the background and they color away!
I only had the kids complete the first coloring page in class. The rest I assigned as homework. I divided up the 22 terms into coloring pages of 4 - 6 terms each.
I'm looking forward to using this technique for my unit on the Constitution. I'll check back to let you know how that goes!
In the meantime, the link to the study guide, coloring pages, and traditional quiz that I use for vocab for this unit can be found HERE
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Sunday, April 12, 2015
This is the week we have all been waiting for...
The New York State tests will be administered to public school students in grades 3-8 this week. That is, if any of them will actually be sitting for it. I have been a teacher for 18 years and am a parent of three children. My oldest, a fourth grader, will not be taking the tests. This was a decision that my husband (also a teacher) and I have made based on our beliefs as educators and as parents. We believe the tests are wrong on so many levels.
We believe that school should be about learning. Not testing.
We believe our children should be educated by teachers. Not testers.
We believe our children SHOULD be tested. On a regular basis. By their teacher. Spelling tests, math tests, science and social studies tests. My kids take 2-3 tests per week. My kids study and prepare for tests. We take the time to do it right. They learn test-taking strategies and when they receive the test back, we talk about questions they got wrong and why. They learn from their mistakes.
We do not believe that SAT practice for "college readiness" is developmentally inappropriate for a 9 year old.
At the risk of sounding melodramatic, this is a sad time for public education. I am sad for my kids because all they come home with are EngageNY handouts to practice for tests. These kids are in elementary school for goodness sake. They should be learning, yes. But having fun too.
I am sad for my profession. I don't blame elementary school teachers for all of those EngageNY handouts. They want the kids to do well on the tests. Their job depends on it. In a nutshell, Governor Cuomo's message to teachers: "Teach to the test. Your students must do well or you will lose your job."
I don't know what will come of the NYS ELA tests this week and the math tests scheduled for next week. What will the end result be of all of the kids opting out? I hope, I really hope, that positive change will happen.
Why? Because in all of this talk of testing and teacher evaluations and opting out NO ONE is talking about the heart of the matter: the kids. Our governor is talking about testing kids as a means for evaluating teachers, not as a tool for helping kids and helping teachers to drive instruction. I wish he would visit our schools to get a first-hand look at what is going on. I wish he would elicit teacher input when creating curriculum. I hope he gets a wake-up call this week. I hope our legislators get a wake-up call this week. Enough is enough.
We believe that school should be about learning. Not testing.
We believe our children should be educated by teachers. Not testers.
We believe our children SHOULD be tested. On a regular basis. By their teacher. Spelling tests, math tests, science and social studies tests. My kids take 2-3 tests per week. My kids study and prepare for tests. We take the time to do it right. They learn test-taking strategies and when they receive the test back, we talk about questions they got wrong and why. They learn from their mistakes.
We do not believe that SAT practice for "college readiness" is developmentally inappropriate for a 9 year old.
At the risk of sounding melodramatic, this is a sad time for public education. I am sad for my kids because all they come home with are EngageNY handouts to practice for tests. These kids are in elementary school for goodness sake. They should be learning, yes. But having fun too.
I am sad for my profession. I don't blame elementary school teachers for all of those EngageNY handouts. They want the kids to do well on the tests. Their job depends on it. In a nutshell, Governor Cuomo's message to teachers: "Teach to the test. Your students must do well or you will lose your job."
I don't know what will come of the NYS ELA tests this week and the math tests scheduled for next week. What will the end result be of all of the kids opting out? I hope, I really hope, that positive change will happen.
Why? Because in all of this talk of testing and teacher evaluations and opting out NO ONE is talking about the heart of the matter: the kids. Our governor is talking about testing kids as a means for evaluating teachers, not as a tool for helping kids and helping teachers to drive instruction. I wish he would visit our schools to get a first-hand look at what is going on. I wish he would elicit teacher input when creating curriculum. I hope he gets a wake-up call this week. I hope our legislators get a wake-up call this week. Enough is enough.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Cyber Monday (and Tuesday) Sale!
Hello and happy holidays!
I am having a sale at my TPT store...20% off all of my products!
Happy shopping!
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
20% off everything in my store!
If you need a back-to-school boost, this is it! Everything in my TPT store is 20% off! Click on the sale banner below to link to my store. Have a great school year!
Monday, March 31, 2014
Monroe Doctrine: Hands off the Americas
Good morning! It is SNOWING here in New York! There must be three inches on the ground! Mother Nature was a day early with her April Fool's joke!!!
Ok, I'm done venting :) Moving on to today's topic:
This was such a bold foreign policy move for the United States to make as a (relatively) new country. This differentiated lesson utilizes partner work, whole class reading, primary source analysis and political cartoon analysis. To begin the lesson, I use this topic as a means to review U.S. foreign policy - up to that point. We review:
1. Neutrality Proclamation
2. Washington's Farewell Address
3. The XYZ Affair
3. Louisiana Purchase
4. War of 1812
This review is a nice way to reinforce the difference between domestic and foreign policy. It also serves as a way for kids to see, visually, how foreign policy begins to change in the early 1800's from one of (relative) isolation to one of involvement.
Then we conduct a whole class reading of a brief description of what is going on with our neighbors to the south: Central and South America. I regret that I no longer discuss individual revolutions. Time always works against us Social Studies teachers! Our curriculum is added to literally every day and I no longer have time to devote to revolutionaries like Simon Bolivar.
Then we get into some sticky territory. Let's be honest. The U.S. was not just looking out for these newly independent countries, but our own interests as well. There are some classes that are insightful and mature - for 12 year olds! I can have an intelligent discussion about what this really means. Other classes just can't handle it. You have to read your own students to see what level and direction your discussion takes.
Then it's time for some primary source analysis. When I first started teaching I would actually read the entire doctrine with my honors class and pull it apart, analyze, discuss....it was awesome. But, no can do anymore. So I pull some key lines from the doctrine now and we basically translate each line. I do love this though because it really gives us a focus and helps us to find the true meaning of the document.
The next activity is primary source cartoon analysis. The cartoon above is so simple, yet powerful. The middle school students get it. This is what they remember about the Monroe Doctrine. We will end the class with a discussion of modern-day U.S. foreign policy in terms of getting involved. Acting like a "policeman" or "security guard" of the Western Hemisphere...or our larger world.
Click HERE to check out my full lesson complete with handouts, teacher answer keys and accompanying power point.
Ok, I'm done venting :) Moving on to today's topic:
Hands off the Americas!
This was such a bold foreign policy move for the United States to make as a (relatively) new country. This differentiated lesson utilizes partner work, whole class reading, primary source analysis and political cartoon analysis. To begin the lesson, I use this topic as a means to review U.S. foreign policy - up to that point. We review:
1. Neutrality Proclamation
2. Washington's Farewell Address
3. The XYZ Affair
3. Louisiana Purchase
4. War of 1812
This review is a nice way to reinforce the difference between domestic and foreign policy. It also serves as a way for kids to see, visually, how foreign policy begins to change in the early 1800's from one of (relative) isolation to one of involvement.
Then we conduct a whole class reading of a brief description of what is going on with our neighbors to the south: Central and South America. I regret that I no longer discuss individual revolutions. Time always works against us Social Studies teachers! Our curriculum is added to literally every day and I no longer have time to devote to revolutionaries like Simon Bolivar.
Then we get into some sticky territory. Let's be honest. The U.S. was not just looking out for these newly independent countries, but our own interests as well. There are some classes that are insightful and mature - for 12 year olds! I can have an intelligent discussion about what this really means. Other classes just can't handle it. You have to read your own students to see what level and direction your discussion takes.
Then it's time for some primary source analysis. When I first started teaching I would actually read the entire doctrine with my honors class and pull it apart, analyze, discuss....it was awesome. But, no can do anymore. So I pull some key lines from the doctrine now and we basically translate each line. I do love this though because it really gives us a focus and helps us to find the true meaning of the document.
The next activity is primary source cartoon analysis. The cartoon above is so simple, yet powerful. The middle school students get it. This is what they remember about the Monroe Doctrine. We will end the class with a discussion of modern-day U.S. foreign policy in terms of getting involved. Acting like a "policeman" or "security guard" of the Western Hemisphere...or our larger world.
Click HERE to check out my full lesson complete with handouts, teacher answer keys and accompanying power point.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Lewis and Clark: A Children's Book Project
Once upon a time, a group of students were given a project about Lewis and Clark...
I have taught the unit on Lewis and Clark for over 15 years, but have changed it just about every year because I'm not always happy with how I present these ground-breaking explorers to my students. But I have finally created something that I am truly happy with and, even better, it is a fun, student-centered alternative to what I have done in the past:
A Children's Book Project!
Students really take charge of their own learning by completing a detailed web quest to gain detailed background information about the Lewis and Clark expedition. Then they organize the facts they learned from the web quest in a planning packet. Finally, they use the planning packet to create a children's book showcasing all they have learned.
Story time? In middle school?
Yes. My colleagues may tease me but I like to break from what can be hum-drum, boring, same ol', same ol' and have story time with my students as a culminating activity to this unit and project. Some students like to read their book aloud. Others ask me or another student volunteer to read their book. Either way, I have all kids leave their children's book on their desk and we have a "gallery walk" in which the kids "visit" each other's desks and skim through a fellow student's book. It's always a fun day!
No paper-and-pencil test here....
Yes. This project is a graded and takes the place of a traditional paper-and-pencil test on this unit.
Depending on the make-up of your school and/or district, this could even be an opportunity for your middle school kids to visit lower grades and read aloud to the younger ones :) Great community connection here!
Time is always a factor. But I love the culminating activity (day it is due) so much that I make it happen. I may do a flipped lesson somewhere else in the Jefferson unit to make up a day or two. Depending on the year and how much time I have, I make a timeline for the students with target dates for when they should have different aspects of the project completed. While this may be time-consuming because I check up on the kids' progress (or lack thereof!) it generally results in better projects and few (if any) missing projects on the day it is due.
Take a look at some previews of the lesson and a detailed timeline here
I have taught the unit on Lewis and Clark for over 15 years, but have changed it just about every year because I'm not always happy with how I present these ground-breaking explorers to my students. But I have finally created something that I am truly happy with and, even better, it is a fun, student-centered alternative to what I have done in the past:
A Children's Book Project!
Students really take charge of their own learning by completing a detailed web quest to gain detailed background information about the Lewis and Clark expedition. Then they organize the facts they learned from the web quest in a planning packet. Finally, they use the planning packet to create a children's book showcasing all they have learned.
Story time? In middle school?
Yes. My colleagues may tease me but I like to break from what can be hum-drum, boring, same ol', same ol' and have story time with my students as a culminating activity to this unit and project. Some students like to read their book aloud. Others ask me or another student volunteer to read their book. Either way, I have all kids leave their children's book on their desk and we have a "gallery walk" in which the kids "visit" each other's desks and skim through a fellow student's book. It's always a fun day!
No paper-and-pencil test here....
Yes. This project is a graded and takes the place of a traditional paper-and-pencil test on this unit.
Depending on the make-up of your school and/or district, this could even be an opportunity for your middle school kids to visit lower grades and read aloud to the younger ones :) Great community connection here!
Time is always a factor. But I love the culminating activity (day it is due) so much that I make it happen. I may do a flipped lesson somewhere else in the Jefferson unit to make up a day or two. Depending on the year and how much time I have, I make a timeline for the students with target dates for when they should have different aspects of the project completed. While this may be time-consuming because I check up on the kids' progress (or lack thereof!) it generally results in better projects and few (if any) missing projects on the day it is due.
Take a look at some previews of the lesson and a detailed timeline here
Monday, March 17, 2014
St. Patrick's Day TPT Sale!
It's St. Patrick's Day today and why not have a sale, right? For today only everything in my store is 20% off! Come check out the lessons and activities I have posted...I hope you can use them in your classroom too! Click the banner above to link to my store. Have a great day!
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