The Week That Was In 505

This week I had the goal of teaching students about groups that went west, why they went west, and relating that information to why people settled in New Richmond, OH. This plan didn’t quite work out…..which is fine.

It’s the week before Spring Break. Hell week. Trying to stay afloat. Trying to make it through Friday.

This week started off with introducing the different groups of people who went west. I used a Fast and Curious Gimkit and Iron Chef/Archetype smash to introduce mormons, pioneer women, missionaries, 49ers, and explorers. Students shared their slides with each other and took notes about each group using a Frayer.

I wanted to take a day after the notetaking portion to relate this information to New Richmond OH. However, I decided it was too much and seemed disorganized. I couldn’t get my act together. Instead, I took names from the previous day’s readings and had ChatGPT write nonfiction stories about them. For example, I had ChatGPT write a nonfiction story about the Whitman Massacre. The students mapped out these stories using the hero’s journey.

Following this lesson, I used the AirEMC (AirBnB) template to have students write creatively to appeal to different groups to bring them out west. At first this was not going that well, but I used ChatGPT to write AirBnB descriptions for 49er’s looking to go west. Having the examples really helped out the student writing.

Near the end of the week, I gave the students the option of relating westward settlement to settlement in New Richmond, OH. I had ChatGPT create an article about the founding of New Richmond (which I fact checked). Some students chose to complete a Thick Slide to share their information and what they learned.

Monday – Fast and Curious, Iron Chef/Archetype, Frayer

Tuesday – Fast and Curious, Hero’s Journey, Frayer

Wednesday – AirEMC, Fast and Curious,

Thursday – AirEMC, Fast and Curious, Thick Slide NR

Friday – Finish up any missing work

Monday

Monday, when students came into class we began a new lesson on groups of people who went out west. The main question was, “What were the motives, hardships, and legacies of the groups that moved west in the 1800s?” So, I chose five groups out of the seven or eight from the chapter. The chosen groups were: 49ers, pioneer women, explorers, missionaries, and Mormons. These groups related to past lessons we have had, and some of the groups are fascinating.

Class began with a fast and curious Gimkit and the class averages ranged from 53% to 67%. The Gimkit had 15 questions relating to the different groups.

Following the Gimkit, I shared an Iron Chef/Archetype smash EduProtocol. This can be found in the EduProtocols Social Studies Field Guide. The template I used was designed by Brianna Davis.

Students chose a group and I had them read for five minutes. Their goal was to list out motivations, hardships, and legacies for their chosen group. Next, students chose an archetype from a list to relate to their group. Then they used evidence from the reading to support their archetype choice. Finally, they added a picture and connected (related) another person to the archetype or group. This entire process took 20 to 25 minutes.

Every student shared their slide through a Google Form. Then I created a spreadsheet with links to everyone’s slide and shared through Google Classroom.

We ended class with the same fast and curious Gimkit. This time class averages ranged from 80% to 94%. Here are some students examples:

Tuesday

When Tuesday’s class arrived, we began with a Fast and Curious Gimkit. I started to incorporate questions from the previous two weeks. The Gimkit went from 15 questions, to 23 questions. The class averages dipped, but none of the older, retrieval questions were in the top missed questions.

After the Fast and Curious, we transitioned to using the Hero’s Journey protocol. I wanted to extend the readings from the previous day to have the students learn more bout the people mentioned in each section. I picked out a random person from each section:

1. Pioneer Women – Annie Bidwell
2. Explorer – John C. Fremont
3. Mormons – Brigham Young
4. Missionaries – Whitmans
5. 49ers – Luzena Wilson

With each person, I prompted ChatGPT with this statement, “Are you familiar with the westward traveler, Luzena Wilson?” It would reply back with information related to the person. Then I prompted it with, “I want you to create a nonfiction story about the 49er Luzena Wilson using the hero’s journey format.” Then it created an article using hero’s journey type words such as: transformation, abyss, etc. It was incredible, however, I fact checked it and had to change some minor details.

ChatGPT is great for creating historical articles about lesser known figures, places, and events. However, they must be fact checked because some of it is a bit off. For example, in an article about Annie Bidwell, it stated she was born in Ohio. But, she was born in Pennsylvania.

I had the students choose the person related to their Iron Chef/Archetype slide and read for 5 minutes. Then I had them map out the hero’s journey for their person. This was more of an experimental thing, and if students didn’t finish it was okay. Some students finished, some did not, but I was ready to move on for Wednesday. Here are some examples:

Besides the Hero’s Journey, I also had students take notes on a Frayer model. I created a linked Google Sheet with everyone’s links to their Iron Chef Archetype slide. Students used 15-20 minutes to go through and take notes on 4 different groups for why, hardships, and legacies. Students are surprisingly engaged when they do this – you can hear a pin drop in the room when they are looking at each other’s slides and taking notes. When students are taking notes from other’s slides, I like to have it on paper because it makes them write instead of copying and pasting.

Wednesday through Friday

On Wednesday I thought to myself, “Do I weave some local, New Richmond history into this?” The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to be too much. The kids are tired and barely staying afloat. I’m tired and trying. Ultimately, I decided to make it a small choice thing.

When I was thinking of how to wrap up why groups went west, I immediately thought a lesson I tried earlier in the year. The lessons was from EMC2Learning, and was an AirBnB like advertisement on a Google Slide. Earlier in the year, I thought it didn’t work out so well. However, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it again.

I created a copy of the AirEMC template and added some success criteria. The students were doing okay,but I felt like they were just regurgitating information from their notes onto a slide. It seemed pointless. So, I got onto ChatGPT and prompted it with, “Are you familiar with AirBnB and house descriptions?” It replied back with information. Then I asked it, “I want you to create an AirBnB advertisement that would attract a 49er to California looking for gold in 1849.” Here is what is spit out:

“Welcome to our cozy cabin nestled in the heart of California’s gold country! If you’re a modern-day 49er looking to experience the thrill of gold mining, this is the perfect place for you. Our cabin is situated on a beautiful piece of land with a creek running through it, providing easy access to prime gold panning spots. We even provide all the necessary equipment, so you can start your gold mining adventure as soon as you arrive. After a day of prospecting, kick back and relax in our rustic cabin, which comes equipped with all the modern amenities you need for a comfortable stay. There’s a fully stocked kitchen for cooking up your finds, a cozy living room with a fireplace for warming up on chilly evenings, and comfortable bedrooms for a good night’s sleep. In addition to gold mining, there are plenty of other activities to enjoy in the area. Take a scenic hike in the nearby hills, explore historic gold rush towns, or simply relax on our peaceful property and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. We can’t wait to share this unique experience with you. Book your stay now and start your own gold rush adventure!”

I then created examples for Missionaries and Mormons. I copied the examples to a Google Doc, shared it, and turned off the copy/paste function. The students improved their writing so much with these examples. It was awesome because, let’s be honest, how many 8th graders are familiar with AirBnB descriptions? Here are some examples:

Thursday

For students who finished early, I had a New Richmond settlement extension activity ready to go. I created a Thick Slide template which had the students writing down important facts from an article about New Richmond.

Once again, I had ChatGPT create an article about New Richmond’s founding and reasons people would settle in the community. I prompted it with, “Are you familiar with New Richmond, Ohio?” It shared some information that wasn’t entirely true, so I had to correct it. Then I asked, “I need you to create an article about the founding of New Richmond, OH and include some reasons that made people want to settle in the community in the early 1800’s.” It then created an article that I had to fact check. I linked the article to the Thick Slide and some students got really into it and learned some new things. It was awesome and I’m glad I tied in a small, local connection. Here are some examples: