I came across this video yesterday from Two Guys where they share why teachers are superheroes. I absolutely loved this idea. I think the ideas they came up with are awesome. However, I think there are more reasons why teachers are Superheroes. So I am hoping you will help me create a @flipgrid about why teachers are awesome. Here is the link to add your video ​https://flipgrid.com/3349de 

I think this could be a great way to start the year. I hope you will share this with other teachers, or maybe admins will share this with teachers when we have the grid filled up.

I also think this topic can or should include all those who work in education. We have amazing staff who engage with students and they assist and guide students in their learning journey. So if you want to include other roles in your message, please do as I hope we all look at every adult in our buildings as educators. 

Thanks for all who create a video and share this with others. 

This morning I overheard a conversation a woman in church was having with my wife regarding my daughter. She was commenting on how my oldest daughter did a good job reading in church and mentioning the times she has played piano. All very good things, and I am very proud of my daughter. However she said, your daughter must be gifted and talented. 

I think my daughter is an amazing young woman. She is a voracious reader, plays piano and just began lessons to learn how to play the clarinet. While I am very proud of her, I cringed at the idea of the label of gifted and talented. Upon hearing her comment, I immediately found my mind flashing to other conversations I have had about the concept of gifted and talented and the impact that label can have on students. Many people have discussed how telling students they are smart, or good at something puts pressure on them to be afraid to fail. They feel like they have to live up to the label and if they aren't successful they must not be smart or good at something. I have already witnessed these struggles with my daughter. She gets very frustrated when she isn't able to play a song on the piano the first few times she attempts it. I on the other had took years of guitar lessons and can't play a song. 

The idea of labels doesn't just impact students who are perceived to be good at something. In my years of education, I have seen more often the labeling of students who struggle with learning concepts. We have labeled students quickly and these labels impact the way students view themselves. There is the alphabet soup of labels that have been used to identify students for decades. These labels while intended to help educators provide appropriate services for students, has in many cases replaced the student's identity. When students and teachers see the student as their label and not a person with unique talents and needs we have negatively impacted that student's ability to be successful.

Labels dehumanize the individual. It lumps them into a group of characteristics or qualities that we assume everyone with that label has. If we see students and people as labels we miss out on their special qualities, their individual talents, interests and potential. Labeling is something we do in society to help us understand something that is complex. However we should know that the this doesn't tell a complete story. That is like thinking everyone who is American is the same. We know that isn't true as we come from diverse locations, have various experiences, and see the world very differently. The same is true for our students.  

Students are more than labels. They need to be nurtured, and supported to meet their potential. Students have talents and areas where they need assistance, but we must see them as amazing people first. The idea of labels has unduly put pressure on some students, while diminishing the belief of success in others. Students have unlimited potential if we take the role of being their greatest supporters and cheerleaders. We must never be the reasons they stop believing in themselves. 

My plea to you is stop labeling students and your own children. They will often live up to the labels, and unfortunately our labels are of extremely low expectations. Instead see them as someone who will make a difference in this world and it is our job to help them reach that potential. 

This has been a very busy summer, but the past few weeks my daughter's and I have begun extending the length of our bike rides. Where we live, we are on the outskirts of town where there aren't a lot of residential streets to venture through. We have gotten tired of the same routes, so we decided to expand our route and venture further into town. 

We All Want to Lead
While these excursions have been great experiences as I get to hang out with my kids, be outdoors, and get some exercise, they have taught me a few things. One of the first things is that everyone wants a chance to lead.  During our rides we have experienced many discussions of who gets to lead. They each want their turn, and they want to be able to decide where we go and how we will get there. As I mentioned before our choices are fairly limited, so our last few adventures have allowed us to open the door to possibilities. 

There Are Times We Need Guidance
It is true that everyone wants to have their voice heard, and have the opportunity to chose the direction we travel, there are also times when they don't want to lead. I found this out when my youngest was leading our ride down a new path through town. Normally she is out in front and we are riding at a pretty good pace and things are going pretty smoothly. But during this ride we were going in a different direction and heading toward a round about on a fairly busy street. I noticed that she was slowing down. We were all bunching up and I was thinking the two kiddos might end up bumping into each other because the pace had slowed so much. I realized she wasn't racing ahead because she wasn't sure where to go. We hadn't been this way before and she wasn't sure how to navigate the obstacles of the round about. Once I realized this and gave her instructions on how we were going to proceed, she was fine. We got to the round about, navigated our way through and she took off again on the other side of the street. 

Lead From Behind, Lead From the Front
The traditional thinking about how to lead is that you are out in front. During our rides, I tend to be in the back of the line, or to the side if there is a sidewalk and a bike lane I ride in the lane while they are off the road. In the position from the back of the line I am able to see what they are doing and help direct them as necessary. This happens most often when we are all on the road and I need to remind them to stay to the right. I wouldn't be able to do this if I were out in front. Front the front I couldn't see them veering out into traffic or away from the side of the road. I wouldn't be able to protect them. The other important aspect of leading from behind is that I allow them the opportunity to take on the role of leader. They get to choose our path and make decisions. 

On the other hand there are times when I needed to move to the front to help them negotiate situations. They needed help in determining if they could cross the street, and how to navigate the busy round about intersection. By moving to the front, I took the decision making burden and risk off of their shoulders and made it for them. After we crossed the street, I turned the leadership back to them. This allowed them to experience being a leader and having control over our journey. 

Leadership is a partnership not a position
While on our bike rides, while I may be the adult in the group, I can't physically force my kids to pedal their bikes or even go for a ride in the first place. I have to work with them to agree on where we want to go. If not, we don't move forward. The same is true for leadership in general. I have come to understand that success comes through a collaborative effort. I love the example of the lone nut video. If you are trying to make change, but don't have others working with you towards the same goal, you are a lone nut. But if you build consensus and support for your effort you are able to move forward. The thing to remember as you move forward is that while you might be the "Leader" you are only going forward if the group is on board with your mission or vision. 
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What does the 4th of July mean to you?

As I recently found out not everyone is aware of the text of this document that has helped shape the course of events that have allowed this small group of colonies to become one of the most powerful nations in the world.  NPR shared the complete text of the Declaration of Independence a document written over 200 years ago, but some saw it as an attack on the current Trump administration or a call for violent revolution to our current government. Here is the article with some examples of responses to NPR. What should we make of the responses to NPRs posting of the Declaration of Independence? 

This week I like many others enjoyed time with family and friends. We watched some fireworks and took a break from work to enjoy the experiences that were available to be present with others. What I found myself conscious of was the fact that I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about why we have the 4th of July as a day off of work and a day we celebrate as a National Holiday. I didn't think about the events that lead up to this day, or the sacrifices that people made to allow us to celebrate our Independence from a government that was tyrannical and unresponsive to the needs of the people.  I realize that I didn't take time to reflect on the meaning of this momentous occasion.

Tonight I have just a few questions that don't have to be answered right away. I hope you will take a few minutes or hours or even days to contemplate your responses. We are not in the normal 1 hour time slot as I want to honor the meaning of Independence Day with reflection.  

Tonight our chat is going to be just a couple of questions posted and allow you to respond with video responses.  This could be you creating a selfie video, or creating a voice over of images that represent your answer, or videos you have found that represent your ideas, or links to resources that fit the situation.

Questions
Q1. What does the 4th of July mean to you?
Q2. How do you honor the ideals of Independence Day or the sacrifice others made to allow us to have our freedom?
Q3. Are we, as a nation living up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution? 
Q4. How do we instill the ideals of America especially Independence and Freedom into our students so they understand the value of these concepts and act to ensure them for all? 


To share your videos - you can create a flipgrid video. This is the first time I am attempting to use Flipgrid, so let the adventures commence!  Here is the link https://flipgrid.com/7b976d 
Here is the flipgrid for Q2 https://flipgrid.com/2640fd 
Q3 and Q4 you can create additional posts to flipgrid, or just create videos or text posts to share your ideas. 

You can use flipgrid to create your video, or upload one that you have already made. Join the conversation about what the 4th means to you. 

I went to a conference a year ago or so and remember someone posed a question about the value of youtube to education. They had asked how much do we learn ourselves from watching youtube videos. A few years earlier than that I might not have had the same response, but I have found the power of youtube in my own life. I have included a few examples of the things that I have learned from watching youtube videos. While many of these are about home repair, the list would be immense if I included all of the videos I have watched to learn something new. These would include TED Talks, Khan Academy, and a multitude of science videos, and others including many created by students making videos on their own time centered on their own interests. 

I learn a lot from watching these videos. I am a visual learning who understands things better by seeing them done. I know many of our students utilize youtube to learn the things they are passionate about, sometimes it is how to do a new trick on their skateboard, bike, with a fidget spinner, or to pass a level of a video game. Others turn to it for opportunities to learn about books, movies, celebrities, they are interested. The list of interests and opportunity for viewing and more importantly creating content are endless. 

Youtube is one potential way to tap into student learning. We can leverage it as a place to house content for students, but it can also be a great example to inspire students to create their own content. Students can demonstrate their learning through the creation of videos, tutorials, and other projects that demonstrate their mastery.

Beyond Youtube, we have the opportunity to move education forward through more individualization of their learning. If we offer students choice in how they will present their mastery of learning, we will be more likely to engage their interests and allow them to shine. If we provide them more choices in the topics they will study, the more likely we will see our more reluctant learners engage in the activity. This could be as simple as allowing students opportunity to choose which book or story they will read.

Another example of this is our High School Social Studies teachers are approaching history in the 11th grade through various perspectives. Students are able to choose which path of study they want to embark upon. They can choose from War and Conflict, Culture and Religious studies, to several other perspectives that they will explore historical events from. This allows them choice in the way they will explore events of our past.

The idea of individualized education takes planning and foresight and effort, yet it is a path we must begin the journey forward. Our students have access to information on a scale we have never seen before. They have opportunities to learn anywhere anytime. This should be embraced as a positive in light of the potential to change the structure of education. 

How did your New Year begin?  Mine started with a 5 mile treadmill journey.  It is part of my resolution to get in better shape, lose weight and be healthier, something I have been putting off too long.  I turned on Netflix and lost myself in the show I was watching.  When I finished I turned on Amazon Music and the first three songs gave me inspiration that I am on the right path.  

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I wish all of you great joy and happiness in this new year.  I hope you will reflect on what makes you happy, and what you wish to achieve this year.  I am hopeful that this year provides you opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.  May God bless you and your families in 2017 and beyond.  

Green Screen Videos

• The use of a green or blue screen background can be a game changer for student projects.  There are multiple posts about DoInk an iPad app that helps create videos using a green screen that is very user friendly and is used by elementary students.  There are other options like WeVideo (paid) and iMovie (Mac) that you can also use.  Students can create scenes or transport themselves to locations that they are then able to demonstrate their knowledge of.  

Travel Brochure

• Students can use a multitude of tools to create travel brochures. The trifold paper model is effective, but students  could use Google My Maps where they place pins in various locations and then add images and videos to demonstrate their knowledge.  Students could also create a travel video where they travel to these locations via the green screen background and take you on vacation with them.  Students could design the perfect vacation not just in modern times, but also to historic destinations where they travel back in time to ancient Rome, Egypt, etc. Here is an example lesson I created for a Travel Quest. 

Tour Guide -

• students could create a video or product where they showcase the area they live.  They could create a travel video of their school, local community or a local attraction. The end goal here would be to showcase this production by sharing it with a global audience.  This could be shared with a class in another state or country like I did with our Culture Video project in Sociology.  It could also be more real world if you connected with the local chamber of commerse or group in your community where students' products could be used by these organizations as a resource to promote the community.  Imagine seeing the wonders of the community through the eyes of young people.  There would be a lot of language skills utilized to make these products that would be infused into the final products.

Do your students want to try their hand in radio or TV?

• Radio Broadcast
  • ​When I was in middle school we had to create a radio broadcast which included a playlist of songs, some DJ banter and the most fun, commercials.  We had to design and perform commercials for our assigned products.  It incorporated writing, collaboration and communication skills, and I still remember doing the project to this day. 
• Sports reporter
  • Recently the Twittersverse was consumed by people asking for Jo Buck to be replaced as the announcer for the World Series.  Many of us can relate to the experience of bad broadcasters, but do we really know what it takes to call a game well? I have seen many students try to emulate their favorite ESPN anchors when doing projects.  Let students tap into their interests and use those personalities to present their ideas. 
• Newscaster
  • Turn your current events, or basic presentation into a full blown news report.  Let students work on their skills as a journalist and report the news.  This is even better when used in conjunction with a green screen and the ultimate is by using Touchcast with this.  Touchcast however is an app that you might have to look at terms of service- it can't be used by all age groups.  
• Game show
  • Students may or may not be jeopardy fans, but they could create their own learning activity by emulating a game show.  I had students create contests that their classmates had to participate in that combined knowledge through answering questions and physical tasks like shooting a basketball to earn points.  When you get a really fun example that students enjoy you steal it and make it your own for review or formative assessment activities. 
• Talk show
  • This can be similar to an interview activity.  However my vision here is to have one student play the part of the host and the other role play a character, historical figure, expert, etc. who will answer questions to demonstrate knowledge of a topic or concept.  
• Weather report
  • This is not -"The weather today is..." but rather report on weather events.  I have done this the past couple of years with 3rd grade students and a green screen.  Students this year edited their own videos with assistance, but they did most of the work themselves.  
• Let them record themselves doing one of these activities -on a topic of their choice--

​Interviews

• Similar to the Talk Show but in this activity they go out and find an expert or interesting person to interview.  There are many activities where we ask students to talk with community members or their parents to learn about the world around them or their own culture.  Providing students the tools to record these interviews allows students to edit it into something more visually appealing and interesting to view.  (That is relative to the interview being written and the student writing up the conversation or verbally restating what the person they interviewed said). 

​The creation of video ​products is so open ended that I couldn't possibly cover all of the potential examples in this post.  I hope you will add your ideas to the comments section to help extend the learning for others.  Here are some of the topics that I have come up with.  The greatest thing with video projects is it allows students to present their learning but without the pressure of public speaking.  Students can do multiple takes in order to get it right.  They can also create a product that can be shared and experienced by more than just the teacher or class they present to.  

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Public service announcements

• In Social Studies we often discuss social problems or issues facing our world.  Students often develop a sense of injustice and a call to activism when they learn about some of these issues. I have found students to become very engaged in a cause when something connects to them personally.  PSAs are a great way to let students have a voice about issues that can be local or global.  Students are able to learn more about the problem and find ideas for action that their peers and community can take to make a difference.  The PSA is information and a way to garner support.  
• Start small for younger students - This could be creating PSAs for recycling, anti-bullying, conflict resolution, etc.  The most successful projects are ones that provide recommendations for immediate actions to be taken by the audience. 

Choose your own adventure videos- viewer has opp to choose course of learning

• I have been promoting Choose Your Own Adventure story creation for awhile.  I have created a Google Form with the structure and have seen it done with Google Slides or within Google Docs.  I really like the activity because it provides creativity in the creation of the final product but more importantly it gives control to the audience.  They get to choose where they want to go and the path they will take in their learning journey.  
• An alternative to writing the story to create a CYOA is to create a video and then use YouTube to create annotations within the video that link to other videos or parts within the video that students created.  

Voiceover presentations​​

• A tool that I think is under used is the voiceover tool in video editors like iMovie or WeVideo. Students can add images or video clips to the video editor and then record their voice over the images.  This can be done with a presentation by saving the slides as images and uploading them to the editor and then having students record their presentation.  Think about not having to listen to presentation from every student for 3 days straight.  Students can present their information and share the results with their classmates to watch on their own.  I have found that I didn't need studetns to view every presentation to understand the concept we were studying.  By providing this alternative students are able to practice and rerecord their ideas instead of winging it on the day of the presentation.  We tend to see much better results of the presentation as a result.  

Screencasts

• Screencasting is similar to the Voiceover presentation above except students are able to record their screens while they talk through what is happening on the screen.  Students can show a presentation this way, could provide a tutorial, or explain their thinking on a math problems as they solve the problem on the screen.  Students have used this for peer editing.  They will record themselves talking through the highlights or edits they made on a partner's paper to help the writer better understand their comments or edits. 

Debates

• Debating a topic to demonstrate your own knowledge isn't a new concept.  It is one that I remember engaging in as a student.  We debated issues like censorship, the strategic defense initative, gun control, etc.  I remembering having to do a lot of research and even more preparation to break the topic down into talking points.  Students not only share thier knowledge of a topic as they would in a paper, they need to be able to react to their opponent's ideas and think on their feet.  One way I used the debate format was with the Renaissance Survivor and Most Important President activities.  Students were provided opportunities to give their opening statements and then ask and answer questions of thier opponents.  See more about this lesson here. 

Vines, Snapchats - short videos

• Tell a story in 7 seconds. Vine, an app that is going away provided opportunity to tell a story either 7 seconds all at once or by combining short clips that equal 7 seconds.  This can be useful to share what is happening in a classroom, or during an activity or lesson.  I used it to show my students learning the charleston in US History.  With Vine going away, you can replicate this concept by taking short video 1-2 second video clips and putting them together using wevideo or iMovie.  Students and demonstrate concepts in these short video segments. 

Paperflip videos

• Paperflip videos are a quick and easy way to show student knowledge.  Students create the video by placing their ideas on multiple sheets of paper and stack them up with the last message being on the bottom.  These videso can be created with the papers stacked on a table or someone holding the papers.  There are several ways to create these videos.  Students could video tape the stack of papers, holding the paper in frame for a few seconds, long enough for the viewer to see what is on the page, or waiting to flip the page until the student reads and explains the ideas on the image.  

​Call to future self- 

• The song "When I Was 7 Years Old" describes the events to the past and the potential future.  I think of this song as having the potential to be a great learning activity.  I wrote a long post about using this song in multiple ways.  This particular method would be for students to create a message to themselves.  This could be a message to their future self like a freshman to their senior self where they would view it upon graduation.  It could also be used for a future self much further down life's path.  

There are students who are naturally performers and others who are reluctant stars but in the end I have see that students appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate their learning in a new or different way. I tried to give students a variety of ways to show what they know and found that letting students perform was not only a great way to get them up and moving but was had countless other benefits like getting to know the students better and creating a break from the normal routine.  

All of the activies in this section, and throughout this post can be a success or an epic failure depending on how well you as a teacher roll out the activity.  I found at times that I got so excited thinking students would love doing this that I lost sight of the fact they needed more guidance especially in how to incorporate the content.  There is a fine line between allowing studetns to be creative and have freedom to imagine the activity as they envision and the academic merit of the final product.  I there there needs to be expectations of a storyboard, script, and check-ins established when beginning the project to make sure the end results - the reality meets expectations.  

Reenact scenes/skits

• Skits or acting out concepts is one great way to get students involved in the learning process.  I used this in a number of ways, but one of my favorites was the middle ages presentation.  Students also performed a skit on the Pelopenisian Wars that was not only a fun project but also demonstrated the major concepts of each of the battles as they brought them to life.  

Charades/Pictionary 

• I am not very good at Charades and my artistic ability is sketchy at best.  I am no Matt Miller that is for sure. I have however found that providing opportunities for students to engage in short acting or drawing activities helps ramp up the excitement for the activity we are doing.  There is not a heads up or charades app on both android and apple that allows you to create your own cards to help students review concepts.   

Role play character

• Speed Dating - Role playing can take many forms.  One that I liked was having students take ownership of a historical figure or character in a book and then personify that person during an interview activity.  I used the concept of speed dating to allow students to be interviewed by their classmates with a predeterminined timeframe established to promote focus on the task.  Students could circle back to someone at the end if necessary but they were expected to collect information from the expert as they engaged in conversation.   

The video below if from my class a few years ago.  I had a great group of students who taught me so much.  This video shows our project on whether or not hunter and gatherers should move to an agricultural lifestyle.  The students in this video provide a great example of the need to use alternative forms of assessment and provide students a voice.  

Genius Hour is maybe the most important thing I did in my classroom.  Genius Hour is a powerful learning opportunity where not only the students learn new things, but teachers can learn about their students in a way they might otherwise miss out on.  It incorporates a lot of the tools used in the other voice activities where students share their learning in audio video products chronicling their journey. Students while they may not be delving into content are using inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving and other higher level skills necessary for their long term success.  

I often have what I think might be a little weird experience during conversations with others. While listening to others I find that their words trigger a reaction where I instantly have the words to a song flooding my mind.  While I am not musical and honestly struggle to remember the names of many songs, the lyrics to songs seem to make connections.  As I started thinking about this post, the title conjured a connection to the song "I got the music in me" and so a youtube search later here it is. 

The other morning I was driving to work and a conversation on the radio about changing the melody of a song sparked an idea about the multitude of activities that can be connected to student learning.  I will share a few examples that I have experienced as a student or used with students.  More importantly, this post is about looking for examples others have used.  I would love to create a database of ideas that teachers have used with students that incorporate music.  

I have tried to break down the potential ways of using music in the classroom into different applications, but I am sure there are many more.  An obvious one that I don't have listed below is to play music to set the mood or tone of the class.  We know music is a powerful force and in teaching culture and history, the examination of time period music - actually hearing the music is a cool experience especially witnessing student reactions to what was cool back in the day! 

Here is another post about music I wrote that might shed a little more light on my musical connection weirdness.  

"We Didn't Start the Fire," 
I want to say the first time I used music as an educational experience was in high school when we used the song "We Didn't Start the Fire," by Billy Joel.  I really don't think that is accurate but it is definitely one that stands out to me.  We listened to the song and then jigsawed the events listed in the song.  Each of us, or with a partner were asked to examine the event and report back to the group.  Here is a link to a post about how I would update We Didn't Start the Fire.  

​"Banned in the USA"
Another lesson from my High School History class.  I remember the activity was about the Bill of Rights and examining current issues.  I chose to look at the First Amendment and use the group 2 Live Crew's song "Banned in the USA" that was in response to laws and court rulings that wouldn't allow them to perform in certain cities because of lewd lyrics.  As a high school kid who's interest perked up when told that I couldn't do something, this interested me.  I had to research the case surrounding the band and the song and the First Amendment protections.  In my presentation we listened to the "Banned in the USA" song and convinced our young teacher to listen to one of the songs that sparked the controversy.  I would not recommend that to teachers today.  

Welcome to the Fish Bowl - 
A few years ago I was teaching in a district that decided to go BYOD Bring Your Own Device. I asked the superintendent what was our policy on using these devices in the classroom.  He directed me to the district's site that basically said students should bring their own device.  It didn't discuss policies, expectations or provide any real guidance for teachers, parents or students.  So I decided we needed a class policy.  Instead of creating one and handing it to students, I took a couple of days and created one together.  We listened to the song Welcome to the Fish Bowl a song that I had just stumbled across.  Then using a Padlet type site we created a list of positive uses and behaviors that weren't acceptable.  It was an amazing experience and I must say I learned about a lot of technologies/apps students used that I didn't know about before.  Some of them beneficial, others concern me that students can access these and be exposed to the behaviors associated with them.  Here is the lesson plan with links to Welcome to the Fish Bowl. 

Sociology Deviance Lesson
The following is a lesson shared with me by Reuben Hoffman.  The idea is to examine one of the most popular aspects of culture- music for the concept of Deviance.  Students look at the lyrics of songs and discuss the examples of deviance they find within.   Deviance songs. 

We Built this City
Jefferson Airplane's "We Built This City" is a song that connects to an activity I did with students to build their own civilization.  I will share it here and freely admit that I would revise it in multiple ways if I were to teach it again.  I begin the lesson with a video of a nuclear war between the US and North Korea that leads to the destruction of modern society.  The class is forced to choose a new location to rebuild civilization and make choices about how to establish society.  The song seems to pop into my head every time I think about the Build Your Own Civilization activity.  

Dissecting lyrics
An activity we did in school was to look at songs of the Vietnam War Era.  I remember reading through a song by Bob Dylan and other artists and having the ideas come to life in my head.  I think there are so many opportunities to look at the actual words of a song and take time to ponder their meaning and why they were chosen.  If you are like me you may have sung a song using incorrect words at some point in your life.  Then you read the lyrics and realize -- wow that's what they were saying!  Well words are chosen for a reason and depending on the song they can connect to real world events that students should explore in more detail.  What songs can you dissect? 

Medieval Times 
I used to break down the Middle Ages into a jigsaw activity where students would explore the impact of of different areas on society like the role of the Church, the Black Death, Feudalism, etc.  Students worked in groups and had to present their information to the class.  I required them to perform a short skit that depicted the most important concepts.  Also write a song about their topic.  I encouraged them to use the format of a Ballad like the Ballad of Roland, but found it to be difficult for some students so I allowed them to choose their genre.  One that stands out the song "I'm Religious and I know it" - set to the song "I'm Sexy and I Know it" by LMAFO.  I gave the students one final aspect of the project- if they felt they couldn't demonstrate their knowledge enough in the skit and song they could present an overview of the topic in 3rd format to help their classmates understand the topic. 

Student Choice
Too often as teachers we choose the song, the activity, the method of presentation and how students will demonstrate learning.  There needs to be choices involved with activities as well.  I have been thinking about how to introduce the idea of analyzing lyrics and really digging into what the artist is trying to say or how it connects to a larger societal issue.  I have listened to interviews with artists explain the inspiration for their songs and found them to be eye opening.  Often not what I thought the song or a particular verse was about.  I wonder if we introduce the idea of analyzing lyrics to students by giving them the choice of which song they want to dig into.  Let them bring in a song of their choice and do the work on song they want to investigate. 

When I was 7 Years Old
This song seems to be on replay on my Amazon Music, or I just can't get it out of my head.  But the song instantly pops the image of a timeline activity in my mind.  I wrote a post about this with a few alternative activities.  When I was 7 Years Old  I realize this is already a long post and want to keep each idea relatively short so please check out the post if you want to see more. 
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When I Look into the Eyes of My Brother
I heard this song recently and it really started me on a path to write a number of posts about music in the classroom.  I am a visual person and had some ideas about what I think the song was about and how it could be used and then I saw the video and this changed my perception of what is possible.  Here is the post on When I Look into the Eyes of My Brother. 

Teach the to Dance
When teaching students about the Roaring 20s, I came across a lesson that talk about the dance the Charleston.  I decided it would be cool to try to teach my students this dance.  Admittedly I had never done it so I turned to Youtube for help.  We all worked on the steps and I recorded their dance competition on Vine.  I was fortunate to have a really good group of students and they were willing to take a risk with me.  I think expanding this to other eras and other dance styles could be amazing for students, and let's face it some of our students are already dancers on the dance team or otherwise and they could teach us.  Let their talents shine. 

​Museum Project
I worked with students to create a presentation last year using a Google Slides template created by David Lee that looks like a museum.  This is an amazing looking template.  What really made this awesome was that a few students went home and recorded themselves playing a song that was used to turn a Google Presentation into a video.  The students tapped into their own talents and created something special and memorable. 

Radio program-
When I was in 8th grade my English teacher assigned us to create a radio program.  We had to create our own commercials and program a list of songs.  The cool thing was recording our own commercials and the planning of our hour long program. We didn't record all the songs for an hour just the commercials.  I wonder if we could create an opportunity where students create radio programs from different eras.  What music, commercials would have existed.  I know we could do video projects, but remember it wasn't until the 1950s that we had television.  

Decades Project- 
This might be a staple in many History Teacher's tool kit, and it could be either a great activity or a disservice to students.  I will start with the disservice.  When teachers use the jigsaw activity of having students research and create a presentation about a decade for the rest of the class as the main form of instruction about the time period this doesn't do justice to the time period or student learning.  The decades closest to the present that are most likely to resonate with students is glossed over while we spend weeks on topics students struggle to see any relevance.  I speak from experience and hope to make awesome projects for students.

I like the idea of exploring a time period especially when looking at the cultural, and human aspects. Too often history is explored from a global or ideological perspective instead of making connections to the individuals who lived them.  What I enjoyed about doing a decades project was the exploration of the dress, food, and especially music.  Our group made a video and included music of the time in our VHS masterpiece.  I remember spending hours editing this video to create just the right final product and I was hooked by the sense of accomplishment.  This helped unlock the door to the things that I do today.  

How to make this academically awesome?  First let kids use their talents and have choice in the final product.  Second and maybe more important is -do not let this become- oh crap we are out of time and need to cover the last 40-50 years of history.  This cannot be the only connection to the more modern era students have.  Cut out other things in your curriculum that hinder you from getting to the modern era and always make connections to the modern era to help students see why they should care about history.  History isn't about events it is about human behavior and the stories of individuals doing great things.  
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