The Week That Was In 505

We are rested, and back, from Spring Break in 505. After finishing westward expansion before break, it’s time to move into the Industrial Revolution. My goal this year is to teach characteristics about the Industrial Revolution such as: what it is, how society changed, new inventions, etc. Then I want students to consider if we are going through another Industrial Revolution now with all the changes in technology.

The first day back from break was used as a retrieval practice day. In the last few months, I have been trying to use retrieval practice more often. I wanted the students to recall information from our westward expansion unit.

Tuesday through Thursday, I started the Industrial Revolution unit. I used these days to introduce basic information about America’s first Industrial Revolution – when it began, new inventions, textiles, mills, cotton gin, etc… My goal for next week is to find some data to show how it changed America. This would include charts, diagrams, etc.

Monday – Retrieval Practice

Tuesday – Number Mania Timeline, EdPuzzle, Sketch and Tell

Wednesday-Thursday – Self-Paced IR Lesson (all activities are on the Genial.ly)

Please donate to Samantha Cain’s Go Fund Me Page

Monday

I began class on Monday with a Google Form and I asked two questions:

How was your Spring Break?
What are you working on for the future?

Many students asked me about the second question. It was open ended on purpose, and many asked me, “What do you mean by this question?” I responded with, “It can mean whatever you want it to mean.” Here are some of the responses I got:

I am working towards keeping my grades up for my last 5 years of school so that I can go to grant for cosmetology. My plan after graduating is to go to college ( hopefully OSU, NKU, or Miami) for business so that I can own my own salon.
i’m working on my future for getting a good job to set me and my future family up as well as i am trying to get my grades up
I’m working on slowly growing up (like how to drive and other things) and working on getting used to all my new freedoms.
I’m working on making Jewelry so I can sell it for money for mission trips.
I am working on to get ready for high school as a Freshman next year,and of course tryin to find a job to start saving up for a car or things for me.
I am working to be able to read 20 books by the end of the year and right now im on track to read more than that.
not being mean and working harder

The students had some thoughtful responses and it gave me some insight to there future plans. After these responses, I had the students partner up with someone as I passed out a piece of paper to every group. I put up the virtual dice on my smartboard and we played the dice game.

In the dice game, I “roll” the virtual dice and say, “You must answer my question in this many words…..” Then I asked a question related to westward expansion. For example, the students had to respond to, “What is manifest destiny?” in 12 words. After twenty minutes, we played the marker game which is a favorite.

I learned the marker game from Lauren Richardson during a retrieval practice presentation. I gave every group a dry erase marker. The marker is placed, standing up, between the pairs. I used ChatGPT to create 15 true/false statements about our new unit on the Industrial Revolution. Here were some of the statements:

The first industrial revolution in America began in the late 18th century. (True)
The cotton gin was one of the key innovations of the first industrial revolution in America. (True)
The first industrial revolution was primarily driven by advances in agriculture. (False)

I read the statement and students try to grab the marker if they think it is true. If they grab the marker and the statement is false, the students with the marker loses a point. If the statement is true, the student with the marker gets a point. The students LOVE this game. I encourage you to give it a try in your next class.

Tuesday

Tuesday was the day to introduce the Industrial Revolution. I shared my essential questions:

How did the Industrial Revolution affect the Northern and Southern United States?
Are we experiencing another Industrial Revolution today?

My goal is to teach the students some basic information about America’s first Industrial Revolution. I started with an EdPuzzle hosted video about the Industrial Revolution. The video had 7 questions and at the end I linked in a share Google Sketch and Tell slide deck.

On the sketch and tell I had student create a drawing to represent the Industrial Revolution. Then I wanted them to create their own definition for the Industrial Revolution. Finally, I included a spot for students to list characteristics of the Industrial Revolution. It’s interesting how they listed characteristics. Here are some student examples:

After twenty minutes,we switched to a Number Mania timeline. I shared a Google Form with everyone and they had 12 minutes to share two years with facts about America’s first Industrial Revolution. Students curated a list of events between 1790-1850 related to the Industrial Revolution. I like having a share Google Form with students submitting facts because I see the information coming in and can give feedback in real time. For example, a student shared that George Washington gave a State of the Union Address in 1790. I hid the students names on the Google Sheet I created, and asked, “Do you think Washington’s State of the Union contributed to the Industrial Revolution?” Someone else shared, “Parliament made it illegal to sell patents.” I asked, “Did we have a Parliament? Did this contribute to America’s Industrial Revolution?” It creates ways to give feedback and have meaningful discussions.

***I did use Fast and Curious in my classes, but I have been so inconsistent with it. For example, we did it twice in 2 classes, once in another class, and not at all in another. The next day, we didn’t do it all. Then the day after we did the Fast and Curious in only 2 classes. Part of me is mad at myself for doing that, but then another part of me is thinking, “Oh well, that’s teaching. It’s not perfect.”

Wednesday-Thursday

Wednesday’s class began with finishing the Number Mania timeline from Tuesday. The students had 12 minutes to add 4 events to the timeline, change the title, and add pictures. I asked them to focus on choosing 4 events they think impacted America during the Industrial Revolution.

I like to use this timeline activity because it helps place our new unit in context. It gives the students a sense of time as they are learning new events. Here are some completed timelines:

Following the completion of our Number Mania timeline, I shared a self paced, interactive Genial.ly image. I used this activity last year and included multiple activities. Here is a screenshot:

Students have 5 activities to complete. They could start anywhere, EXCEPT for number 5. Here are the 5 activities:

EdPuzzle – Lowell Mills and the women of Lowell Mills (watch).
Listenwise – NPR Podcast and the negative effects of the Industrial Revolution (listen).
Thick Slide – read about the Northern/Southern economies. List 4 things about each economy. Then apply an archetype to each region.
Sketch and Tell – Research an invention that was invented between 1790-1840 and summarize your findings.
Frayer – use retrieval practice to list three things you learned about Lowell Mills, effects of the Industrial Revolution, Northern economy, and the Southern economy.

Within these lessons, I provide accommodations and modifications as necessary. All in all, the station rotation model was engaging and I had 80% of students complete all 5 stations. Here are some student samples: