Looking to change up the way students present their writing? Want something other than a simple Google Doc for students to collaborate on a project? I have shared some examples of Google Slide presentations previously that included Magazines, Facebook, and other templates students could use to create products of their learning.
Now I have a post about creating Newspapers using Google Docs that has sample templates you and your students can use to create your own Newspapers. There are several examples including some for elementary students. The templates have created the look of newspapers and are ready for students to edit the text and and their stories. While paper newspapers are losing their appeal to some in this digital era, they still have relevancy as sources of information and can be incorporated into student learning. One potential resource for helping students see the value of newspapers is Google's Newspaper Archive. Google started a project to digitize thousands of newspapers to create an online data base of journalism dating back to the 1800s. Unfortunately they have abandoned the project, however what papers they scanned are available online and searchable. Why would I want my students to look at old newspapers? These are just a few potential ideas that I brainstormed. As always I am sure you can come up with better uses for these resources than I could.
Using the Newspaper Templates
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. 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.
I have participated in the Twitter chat #Whatisschool several times and each time find inspiration that there is a powerful force at work in attempting to rein-vision education and especially public schools. There have been conversations about Homework, Grading, and so many other topics that I think need to happen in order to move us forward. Today I listened to a great TEDx video by Seth Godin. Here is his post that accompany's his video. In his video, Seth asks What is School For? As part of my Administrative coursework I am reading a book "American Education" by Joel Spring. The book illustrates the ideas of Horace Mann and others in shaping public education as a way to prepare our children for lives beyond school. I think that vision continues today. However Mann and others, and many today don't necessarily want to see a free thinking citizenry ready to question society, government, parents or other authority figures. There are those who view education as a pipeline to create workers who will be subservient to the CEOs or bosses of the companies who are focused on profits. A lot of this I already understood as someone who taught History and Sociology. What I came to realize is the large scale efforts and by so many different groups to achieve very similar results at work behind the scenes in public education. What stood out to me about this post and the video was the fact he was not only brining to light the issue, but also looking at ideas for change. We need to get rid of memorization and factoid knowledge and replace it with inquiry and individual choice. Some of the things he discussed would be so revolutionary for education that the way school looks and operates would forever change. It might be a lot more of a blended model of education where students access content online and engage with instructors face to face later. It might be difficult to have schools with the traditional brick and mortar buildings in place as students can chose from a variety of courses that suit their interests and needs. I like his comparison between work and art. The idea that we will work tirelessly and go well beyond expectations for things we are passionate about is absolutely true. There were so many interesting points. I encourage you to take a look. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/09/the-shameful-fraud-of-sorting-for-youth-meritocracy.html 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.
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. Student Voice means different things to different people. For some it means choice in the learning, others it means they have a prominent role in the structure and function of the classroom (student led classrooms) and others it means literally using student voice in demonstrating knowledge. I think all of these are valuable to creating a classroom that empowers students and allows them to be successful. If students feel valued and their ideas are incorporated then they are more likely to become invested and do their best. I have also found that students often are better able to communicate their ideas through spoken language than they can in writing. Let's face it spoken language is the first method we utilize to communicate our wants and needs to others well before we learn to read and write. This system of communication is often under utilized in school as an acceptable manner of sharing knowledge and mastery by students because we often over emphasize writing. My daughters who are in elementary school can tell me a story with vivid detail that would cover pages if they wrote it down. However if I had them write the story it would lose much of the detail and energy, tone and other aspects we encourage in storytelling because they would shift focus to the mechanics of writing, spelling and grammar. The difficultly to share knowledge isn't just an issue facing elementary students, but that is an area where it can be most noticeable since they aren't yet equipped with the skills to transfer their ideas from thoughts to paper. The issue is prevalent throughout all grades and to varying degrees based on the student. I used to teach history and asked students to express their ideas through various projects that mostly relied on written documentation of knowledge. This could be an essay, persuasive paper, presentation, research paper, etc. What I found is that often students had ideas, sometimes really good ideas that they weren't able to convey on paper. They were able to explain them to me verbally but would get stuck in the process of writing. Writing is important! |
Recording Audio -
| Green Screen Video
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Reflections and Check ins
The following activities demonstrate student thinking and their levels of understanding.
- Record their thinking
- Ask students to reflect on where they currently are in their level of understanding.
- Ask students to reflect on their learning journey. What were some obstacles to learning and how did they overcome those obstacles? What if anything would they do differently if they were able to start the activity over again?
- Use one of the audio or video tools to record their thinking.
- Exit/Entrance Tickets
- Instead of written exit or entrance tickets ask students to record short responses to questions for check in.
- Hypothesis - what happens next
- I like to ask students to think about what would happen next.
- History - predicting the future - ask students what they think would be the result , or how will an event turn out. Example in the movie Glory stop the film before the last battle and ask students what happens next?
- Science - pick a point in the experiment or activity and ask students what they think will happen next? Create a hypothesis of what happens when 2 chemicals are mixed together, etc.?
- Selfie -
- I was at a conference when the presenter asked us to capture in a picture your current level of understanding of the topic. Students can use the camera on their chromebook or iPad or with older students the camera on their phone. Students can then share the pic with the teacher.
- Recap -
- This is a great new application that makes a lot of these activities much easier. Teachers create a class and assign students a question. Student respond by creating a video that saves in the app and is instantly shared with their teacher who can use it to check on student progress.
- BookSnaps or History Snaps
- Booksnaps is something relatively new. A teacher shared on Twitter #booksnaps an image with circles, highlights and bitmojis that show ideas the reader thought were important. The idea is to use the tools within the Snapchat app to create visual representations of their thinking. The idea of booksnaps has since been adopted for use in history class. Students can look at primary documents and using the app demonstrate their understanding of the passage. The snaps can be easily shared with classmates and conversations spring forward.
Show what you know
- Recording small group conversations
- Have you ever had students discuss in groups and by the time you got to all the groups they said they were done, or you got to hear the good ideas they had? Try using one of the audio recording apps and set up a device in the middle of a small group and record their conversation. Students dig deeper into conversations and it provides teachers a more detailed picture on their level of understanding.
- Peer or teacher feedback
- Students can use a screencasting tool or audio tool to review student work and provide detailed feedback on their peers' work product. To be successful teachers need to do a good job modeling providing feedback. Students giving and receiving feedback gain valuable experience looking at other's work and taking ideas back to refine their own project.
- Math tutorials
- Math isn't about getting the right answer it is about working through the process. Teachers can assign multiple math problems and check student work and still wonder if students are really understanding or they can have students explain their thinking. Students can create a screencast video using a whiteboard app or Google Drawing on a laptop or PC, (or use an app like explain everything) and solve the problem explaining the steps and thinking along the way.
- Teacher can use the best examples to create a library of tutorials much like Khan Academy where students are the experts.
- Student created tutorials
- Similar to the Math tutorial above, students create videos demonstrating their expertise in any number of areas. This could be academic, or skills like playing the piano or guitar where students are able to showcase their own talents.
- Directions
- A skill that I know I sometimes struggle with is providing clear and accurate directions. Think about how you can have students provide directions to their peers and explain concepts.
- Geography
- Students can create a map using Google My Maps, Google Earth, or draw a map and record themselves providing directions from one point to another.
- In school have students create directions written or recorded that direct a classmate from one point to another and then have students follow those directions and report back on how accurate the steps in the process were. Feedback and revision.
- Math
- This could be similar to the Math tutorial where students explain their thinking but here I was thinking students describe the steps in solving the problem. The focus on this one is more on providing step by step directions on how to solve a problem where they don't actually have to solve a specific problem. Another student can use the steps to work through a problem to see if the directions were accurate.
- Verbalize steps to something
- Ask students to explain a process to show their skills in communicating ideas. An example I have seen used is making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Students often take for granted the details of the process and watching students follow the directions can often be comical.
Real world products.
The other day I was on Twitter and came across a post from a young lady who had been making Vine Videos which I had used in the classroom but is now shutting down. Her message made me think more about what our students are doing online. In the past few months I have seen kid scientists and other videos that have not only been entertaining but also informative. I watched this young ladies video and shared a post about my thinking. Today I went back to find that video to use in this post but instead found the video below where she talks about dealing with the comments that others leave on her videos and social media. I am very impressed by her maturity because I know I take comments personally and sometimes focus on those too long. As recently someone called me a F@#kFace because I commented on another post about needing to do a better job teaching about injustices. Anyway that is a whole other conversation. I wanted to share her video because our kids are learning and engaging in conversations, content, learning and developing skills beyond our classrooms. The task for all of us is to find ways to tap into student interest beyond school and bring that to life within our classes.
video created by Em at https://twitter.com/uhhmmily.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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--
- 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).
Presentation alternatives
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
Act it out
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Connect to the world
- Bring the world into your classroom, or share your classroom with the world! Provide students with opportunities to make connections beyond school. You can use a number of technologies to achieve this goal. You could use Google Hangouts, Skype or even Periscope to share with the world.
- GHO or Mystery Skype- students run the show
- Connect with another classroom or an expert and let the students let their curiosity take over. Mystery Skype or Hangout is done by connecting to another classroom and letting the students play 20 questions to try to guess where the other students are from. This is the simpliest way to make the connection. Students work to learn about the other students by asking questions.
- Connect with another classroom or an expert and let the students let their curiosity take over. Mystery Skype or Hangout is done by connecting to another classroom and letting the students play 20 questions to try to guess where the other students are from. This is the simpliest way to make the connection. Students work to learn about the other students by asking questions.
- GHO book talks - recommendations
- Similar to Mystery Hangouts or Skype, students are able to connect to other classes and discuss the books they have read. Students can engage in conversation with other students discussing what they liked, or didn't about the book without spoiling the outcome for the other student. Students are able to learn about a number or different books in a short amount of time and are practicing their public speaking skills as they share with an unfamilar audience.
- Similar to Mystery Hangouts or Skype, students are able to connect to other classes and discuss the books they have read. Students can engage in conversation with other students discussing what they liked, or didn't about the book without spoiling the outcome for the other student. Students are able to learn about a number or different books in a short amount of time and are practicing their public speaking skills as they share with an unfamilar audience.
- GHO trial activities or debates
- A colleague shared her experience with a Trial Activity that is pretty ingenious. One aspect of trial activities I struggle with is what to do with the jury during the trial. How do you keep them engaged in meaningful learning while the other students are preparing for the trial? She came up with the idea of connecting to another classroom in a different state via Google Hangouts. Her class performed the trial while the other class served as jurors able to ask questions and come to a verdict. This allowed the second group to learn about the content while allowing the first class to demonstrate their understanding of the content.
- A colleague shared her experience with a Trial Activity that is pretty ingenious. One aspect of trial activities I struggle with is what to do with the jury during the trial. How do you keep them engaged in meaningful learning while the other students are preparing for the trial? She came up with the idea of connecting to another classroom in a different state via Google Hangouts. Her class performed the trial while the other class served as jurors able to ask questions and come to a verdict. This allowed the second group to learn about the content while allowing the first class to demonstrate their understanding of the content.
Writing Alternatives
Google Voice Typing
- Voice Typing is a tool included in Google Docs. Students and anyone else can use this tool to express their ideas. The tool, using the microphone, transfers the spoken word to written world. This is a dictation tool that allows students to turn their ideas into written documents.
- Work on pronunciation
- Students who are learning English or have some pronunciation issues can practice them using Voice Typing. I wouldn't recommend this as speech therapy as there are many other better methods, but have found students work hard to get Google to recognize their speech. I find myself sometimes having to slow down and annunciate for Google to understand me correctly. I have seen students work to get Google to record their ideas correctly with little signs of frustration but many proclamations of excitement when they were successful.
- Get ideas on paper especially for those who struggle with the writing process or typing.
- This tool is amazing for students who struggle with writing, especially our youngest students. We want students to share their ideas and create stories or written products, but many of our young students struggle to get the ideas from their minds to the page. Students have used this to create the text for their family culture projects or their children's storybooks.
Record Compositions
- Audio Stories
- One of the projects that really started me on the path to champion for audio projects was one where I asked the students "Were the colonists justified in rebelling against the British?" Students created audio files to respond to the question. One of the most amazing responses was a young woman who is very intelligent, but very quiet. She recorded her response in a British accent. She did an amazing job! It was so memorable that it changed the way I look at student responses. I wanted to create more opportunities for students to showcase their hidden talents.
- What if...
- I saw a colleague Chuck Taft share an example of students asking the question "What if..." As in What if Truman hadn't dropped the Atomic Bomb? Or What if Adolf Hitler had been accepted into art school. Students posed these questions to their classmates. What happens next is up to you. Do you have students debate the potential outcomes, discuss what could have been, or ask the student who asked the question present their own thinking. This could be done with book characters, scientific discoveries, or innovations. Students should be asked questions like this to engage their power of inquiry.
- Writing prompts-
- Many students struggle to get their ideas out. Let students record their thoughts as they brainstorm and organize their ideas. The initial steps in the writing processs can be a struggle and this could allow some writers to create meaningful works of literature. Students can play back their ideas and then put them on paper.
- Pen pal videos
- Pen pals have been around for a long time. They allow two people in remote locations to connect to each other and get to know each other better. For some students the writing process can be a obstacle in this activity. For others they want to express themselves in ways beyond writing. Student can use the webcam on their computers or their phones to create videos conversing with their pen pals. If time zones work out and students are over 13 they could connect live via Google Hangouts.
- Personal narrative
- Students are often asked to write a personal narrative about a personal experience. This is a great writing project. However as I hope is becoming apparent there are alternatives to writing that could be used. Using alternatives like audio recording, video projects, creating a Google Slide Show and screencasting the presentation are just a few examples of final products. Students can add visuals to their projects by using a slide show and screencasting or adding images and voice overing their project in WeVideo or iMovie. These create projects that add elements beyond the written paper. The audio recording is the simpliest way, but is a great fit for our youngest writers who have lots of details but struggle to get those ideas on paper.
- All about me project
- Teachers often begin the year with a project where students share a litte about themselves. They may share about their families, favorite music, books, TV shows, sports or activities, etc. This is a great way to get to know your students. In elementary school the students might be asked to do this for their one teacher. In secondary school, students may be asked to do this for each teacher they see each semester. While it is great for all teachers to learn about their students, if we turn this project into an electronic version, students or teachers are able to share these projects with all of their teachers. Students could create a Google Site, a Slide Presentation, a video, a GoAnimate, or any other product to showcase their individuality that is age appropriate to your students.
Audience alternatives
- Flip Presentations - don’t make students view all presentations
- Students have created some amazing projects, now how do you share them with others? One thing I did early in my career was have all students present their work to all of their classmates. This often led to spending day after day listening to similar presentations. Often times with little expectation for students to do anything meaningful with the information they gained from the presentations. I learned from Reuben Hoffman a better way. He would have students share their work, in this case a children's storybook via a Google Form. He would share the responses with students and ask them to view their classmates. The students were asked to view classmates projects and vote for the best of various categories to provide students with feedback. When I did this students knew the purpose of their feedback and provided more specific constructive and positive comments than any other activity I had previously done.
- Another teaching point is to provide students with a purpose for viewing their classmates products. What do you expecte them to do with the information. If it is to take notes and take a test on a lot of facts you are setting the up for failure. You are asking them to determine what is important in each product and this is tough. Students struggle to determine what is important when listening to a teacher's lecture, so how can they do it for 30 different topics created by their peers. Create purpose in the entire project from the start- why are students creating the product and what will the audience do with this information.
- Gallery Walk
- Get students up out of their seats! Students create their products that demonstrate their learning and not need to share it with their classmates. If student products are electronic you could connect them to QR codes and post them in the hallways where others are able view them as they move from one to another.
- Adding student voice to this activity -
- Recently I worked with teachers who created a writer's faire where they invited different classes to come together to share their writing. Students were divided into two groups, presenters and readers. The presenters sat by their stories and shared a little about themselves and answered questions about their work. I have added this to Gallery Walks in the past to help the viewers better understand the concepts.
- Add QR codes next to paper or other student products. Have students create audio or video reflections or explanations on their projects. Imagine looking at a work of art on the wall and being able to watch a video of how it was created.
Book Projects
- Plot synopsis in 60 seconds
- George Couros shared the idea of 60 second plot synopsis in a blog post. The concept is to have students create short video posts summarizing the main idea of a book, story, historical event, etc.
- Book Reviews
- Similar to Plot synopsis, students create audio recordings or videos sharing their thoughts of a book or story they have read. I would love to see these recordings connected to QR codes and taped to the books in the Library, or create a board of QR codes where students can scan the codes and hear the recommendations of their peers.
- Book Trailers
- Similar to Book Reviews students work to create hype for a book. This could also be applied to historical event, scientific discovery, etc. Students could use iMovie's movie trailer function to create dynamic short video promoting their topic. If you want more detail or don't have iMovie you can use WeVideo or other video editing software. Students create short commercials hyping the story with key events of the story with video clips and even using their best narrator voice.
- Record their reading of stories-
- Read alouds are a great way to check student fluency and pronunciation skills. Reading out load is different than reading silently as the reader has to focus on how the word sounds and can quickly determine that the word they are saying doesn't match so they try again. I have worked with young readers recording their reading with iPads creating video projects, or using an audio recorder like Twistedwave.com to record themselves.
- Record reading of stories to create audio books/listening centers
- Teachers have used these recordings to gauge their students fluency and create listening centers for other students.
- Create their own stories and read alouds
- Students can write their own stories on Google Docs, Google Slides using a template like this. After students create their stories they can use one of the screencasting tools to record themselves reading it to bring their stories to life. Students can create their own voices for their characters to create a more dynamic experience.
- Create Your Own Song
- Music is an amazing teaching tool. We use it to teach students from an early age. Songs teach us about the alphabet, counting, cleaning up and many others are used to guide our behavior and teach us concepts. I have had students create their own songs for multiple projects. Students created songs for their middle ages project, others demonstrated concepts for pyschology or English. Students can use technology or no technology at all. The point of the activity is for students to demonstrate their understanding using their creativity.
- Autorap
- Autorap is an app that allows students to create their own rap songs. It can be done through spoken word so the students just have to speak their ideas and the app creates the magic. Students could turn their poetry into music using this app.
- Garageband
- For student more musically inclined, they could use Garageband to not only record thier own audio, but create music to go along with it. Garageband allows you to add instruments of your choice, layer them and select the tempo. It allows you to fine tune your track to create something unique. Full disclosure I have played with this but not very musical so I appreciate the products students create.
- Autorap
Back Channel
- Back channels
- are tools that help engage students in the conversation by allowing them to have a voice in the conversation. We all know there are quiet students in our classes who are connecting with what is going on in the classroom but don't want to be called up. Back channels like Today'smeet.com create a space where students are able to participate in the conversation without having the attention focus on them. Other students can use the tool to ask questions during the activity and allow other students to answer the question for their peers. This can be a powerful tool to help develop a stronger learning community where all students can have their ideas be hear.
Genius Hour
While I could name numerous stories and events in history that I really found interesting there are so many more examples where history was presented in the most horrific manner- NOTES! In full disclosure I did this too often in the my career especially early in my career. I realize telling a good story requires having true mastery of the content to not only get the details correct but to make it engaging. That means adding the dramatic elements and finding the details that connect to the audience.
In my career I can think of at least two great examples of where I told a great story. One was when I was student teaching and my cooperating teacher and I took turns telling the story of Henry VIII and his marital exploits. I still remember talking about how each time his wife was unable to bear him a son he had them beheaded and we would strike a wooden stool with a leather axe. By the end of the day we had actually split the stool seat. Yes I know the details weren't completely accurate, but we created an experience the students will remember.
The other great story I will share is when I was teaching world history and we discusses the Inquisition. I created a short presentation with images of torture devices. With each slide I discussed how the device was used. Each time reminding students that people came up with this idea, others said, "Hey that's a great ideas." and then used it to promote their values. I spend lots of time discussing the concept of what people will do in the name of their beliefs and not condemning a specific religion, but do point out that this was done in the name of religion which condemns killing. The students are enthralled with the details and I have even had students ask to return to hear that story again. I love watching students reactions and it opens them up for a great conversation about beliefs and actions and the difference between ideology and reality.
Let's get back to the title. Why I Hate History! It really has two meanings. The first is from the sentiment I have heard from students or adults after they have left school. They say they didn't enjoy history, didn't like it, found it boring. Some will recall their experiences in school in a negative light, but now may find that watching a documentary, or reading a book about a person or event has helped them appreciate history. These individuals were not taught history as a subject connected to their world and their lives. The events of the past to them are so disconnected that it has no relevance.
The second perspective is my own dislike for history in the way it was taught to me as a future teacher and thus the fact that those bad methodologies carried over into my classroom early in my career. I had been taught and in turn started instructing students had to do with presenting history as lots of independent events that were fragmented with emphasis on details and not on concepts. Students would be tested on factoids, names, dates, etc. that really meant knowing to them. I would eventually learn to look at history as cause and effect, why is this important, how did that impact other events and lead to modern events. The transformation to my teaching continued as I started to see history not as events but as human behavior. When people say why is it important to study history and they respond history repeats itself, I take pause. History will not repeat itself, we will not have the same events happen over and over this isn't Groundhog's Day - Bill Murray movie reference check. I am not dismissing the sentiment entirely becasue history does repeat if we look at human behavior. We have always had struggles for power, quest for glory, and conflict to reach those ends. If we study history the science of human behavior then we can appreciate how connected events in history really are. We see the quest for global domination not just in Adolf Hitler but Alexander the Great and Roman Emperors like Julius Caesar.
I don't really hate history but I hate the way it is being taught by many. We need to discuss what is most important for our society to understand about history so they can become educated citizens of the world. They can problem solve, stand up and fight for their rights and freedoms and agains injustices around the world. We need to develop lessons that engage students in real world problem solving and development of critical thinking skills. The idea of thinking like a historian is to be a detective, to examine the evidence, contemplate its meaning and draw conclusions based on the evidence and what we know. To use this information to guide our future path. Our students can Google names, dates, places. They don't need to color maps to locate countries or physical features. They can use Google My Maps to create dynamic informational maps that contain exponentially more information that a colored and labeled piece of paper. Student's don't need to recite from memory the preamble of the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence; they need to learn how to embody those sentiments and hold governments to those same expectations. We need to change the way we prepare social studies and history teachers education prep. If we want to create educated populous who question authority and status quo to make our world a better place we must start with those who present them with the past, present and potential future. Teacher prep needs to move from teachers being master's of content and truly inquiry guides. That doesn't mean teachers don't have an obligation to know their subject matter, but their knowledge of facts and figures won't match Google. Their knowledge needs to grow in building relationships, community and nurturing creativity and inqury.
-- Be the change you want to see in the world.
---Ghandi
Author
Ben Brazeau
Technology Integrator and former High School Social Studies Teacher
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - Lao-tzu. So I am about to begin my journey of becoming a better educator and facilitator of knowledge for every student I encounter. My journey begins today!
Twitter @Braz74
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