History teacher at New Richmond Middle School. Tennis coach at SUA, Beechmont Racquet and Fitness, Lunken Playfield, and KCC. Striving to learn, create, and innovate one day at a time.
This past week was an exciting one in my 8th grade social studies classroom! We started a new unit on the Northwest Ordinance, the Northwest Territory, and the Articles of Confederation. With Thanksgiving break coming up, I decided to go more in-depth on these topics now and then pick up with the Constitutional Convention when we return. I incorporated some new gamified activities, protocols, and review games to keep things engaging before break.
On Monday, I wanted to start off the week with something easy and incorporate more geography. Despite not always being a fan of pre-made maps, I decided to use a geography challenge from TCI. It came with background reading to establish context about the colonies and three different map analyses – population, free vs enslaved population, and labeling the 13 colonies. After reading, students had 25 minutes to analyze and label the maps. This was a great activity to reinforce their knowledge of colony locations. In the past, labeling maps took a long time with students flipping back and forth between a map and their paper. By timing this activity, it kept students focused and working efficiently. Almost all students finished labeling their maps!
I also had students analyze population and slavery distribution. To take it a step further, I used AI to generate an additional question about what the debate over state representation was during the creation of our new government after the Revolutionary War. Based on our work with the Fast and Curious game kits, students easily identified the 13 colonies. Tying in geography and historical context was a great way to kick off the week!
Tuesday – Frayer Models and CyberSandwich
On Tuesday, I started with a thin slide asking students to research and find a state created from the Northwest Territory. This got them thinking about how the territory was divided up. Next, we did Frayer Models on the Northwest Territory and Northwest Ordinance to answer: How was the Northwest Territory divided and settled after the Revolutionary War? Focusing on these two main concepts, the Frayer Models helped students understand key definitions, facts, examples, and non-examples.
After that, we did a CyberSandwich reading activity. I took the textbook section from TCI on the Northwest Ordinance and Land Ordinance of 1785 and combined it with a newspaper article from our local Clermont Sun using AI. Including local history helps students connect these early laws to where they live today. For example, Ohio was the first state created from the Northwest Territory. The Clermont Sun article explained how this area was surveyed and granted to Revolutionary War veterans.
Combining these sources, I had students read and take notes for 10 minutes, discuss with a partner for 5 minutes, and then write a summary paragraph in the last 8-10 minutes. Their summarizing skills are improving with some students now able to summarize more concisely in 5-6 minutes. CyberSandwiches continue to be an effective way to improve reading comprehension and writing skills.
Wednesday – Content Compactor & Sketch and Tell
On Wednesday, I wanted to dive deeper into the Northwest Ordinance. I used the Content Compactor strategy from EMC2 to analyze key quotes about how the ordinance allowed for orderly settlement and governance of the territory. Students had to shrink down the quotes by summarizing and condensing them into one word. Getting creative with images and color, this was a great activity to understand main ideas and pick out important details.
After finishing the Content Compactor slides, I had students look at the full set of summarized quotes and answer our essential question for the day in a Sketch and Tell: How did the Northwest Ordinance allow for orderly settlement in the Northwest Territory? Synthesizing the Content Compactor information, the Sketch and Tell gave students another way to explain their understanding. We closed with a quiz on Mastery Peak.
Thursday – Articles of Confederation Reading & Haiku
On Thursday, I wanted a quick lesson on the Articles of Confederation. We started with a thin slide asking students to research which level of government had the most power. Great to see 90% quickly identified the states held more power than the national government! I then read the article aloud and had students highlight issues that demonstrated the Articles’ weaknesses.
In 1st period, we tried the Retell in Rhyme protocol. Students struggled to rhyme, so for the rest of my classes, we did haikus instead. As the last day before break, I wanted to keep the energy positive. I first gave an example haiku, talked about the 5-7-5 syllable format, and let them write one about a favorite hobby. This gave them a chance to try out haikus in a fun way.
We then played Haiku Hijinks, using spinners to determine the syllables per line about why the Articles failed. Students enjoyed the unpredictability, and it pushed them to think creatively about condensing their knowledge into succinct haikus. Writing in different styles like this engages different skills and keeps things interactive.
Friday – Vocabulary Review with Word Warriors
To make reviewing vocabulary engaging before break, we played the Word Warriors game from EMC2. In each round, students chose a power-up, then I used spinners to determine the part of speech and number of words related to the topic they’d share. Another spinner gave them a chance to use their chosen power-up against an opponent.
We did a practice round generating 5 Thanksgiving verbs. Then I switched topics to our social studies content, like the Northwest Ordinance and Articles of Confederation. Needing to quickly brainstorm adjectives, nouns, or verbs on history forced creative thinking. The head-to-head matchups and power-ups made it fun and competitive. It was a lively way to reinforce key vocabulary and end the week before vacation.
Infusing games and protocols throughout the week kept students actively engaged with the content. The geography map challenge injected a sense of urgency by timing the activity. The unpredictability of syllables in Haiku Hijinks encouraged flexibility. And the competitive, gamified vocab review was a hit on the day before break.
Protocols like Frayer Models, CyberSandwiches, and Sketch and Tells provided structured ways to analyze information, improve reading and writing skills, and synthesize concepts. The Content Compactor helped identify key ideas and details. And switching up how students processed and explained information, like with haikus instead of rhyming, kept things fresh and accessible.
This week we continue the American Revolutionary War. After last Friday, leaving off with weaknesses and strengths of the continental and British armies, we searched ahead and learned about some battles. On Monday, it’s mentioned in the Ohio standards for eighth grade social studies that in terms of the Revolutionary War, students need to have an understanding of key battles and their significance, along with people that contributed to the American Revolutionary War. I guess I understand why battles and people are included here. It used to be that we would learn about the causes of the Revolutionary War, and there was no standard whatsoever about the war itself; it was kind of weird. But now they’ve incorporated having students understand battles and people, and part of me, I don’t know why, feels the need to cover some of these basics of battles and some of the groups of people that contributed to the war. So, on Monday I did a quick lesson on Nearpod about significant Revolutionary War battles.
On Tuesday, it was election day and we had no school. Wednesday we continued with groups of people that contributed to the Revolutionary War. These groups included women, African Americans, and Native Americans. We did a Cybersandwich eduprotocol with this. On Thursday, we did an awesome review game that I got from EMC2learning which involved having students make connections. Making connections between historical people and events is a really tough skill for students to be able to do, and that’s why I really like this review; it’s just a different version of hexagonal thinking—think of it as a gamified version of hexagonal thinking.
On Friday, I was not at school but I left a final assessment Thick Slide eduprotocol as their final assessment with the Revolutionary War unit. As I reflect on this unit, I was talking with my co-author Scott Petri, I feel like there’s so much in the American Revolution that it’s hard to pick out the important topics. I feel like if I narrow things down to a couple of questions to focus on, the students lack context with certain events and it would be hard for them to understand. Ultimately what ends up happening is I try to cover way too much and my unit ends up feeling disjointed and pieced together. I guess with it being another year, certain units are going to be like that and feel like that, but it’s a unit that I would like to eventually clean up in some way.
On Monday I put together a Nearpod which covers Revolutionary War battles. The battles covered in the Nearpod included Lexington and Concord, Battle of Bunker Hill, the Battle of Saratoga, the Battle of Trenton, and the Battle of Yorktown. The ultimate goal at the end of this lesson was for students to have an understanding of why each of these battles was significant during the Revolutionary War. The other goal of this lesson was just to be quick, simple and to the point; I wanted it to just be a one-day thing and then move on.
The Nearpod also included some questions to put things in context. For example, I asked the students what they remember about certain events leading up to the Revolutionary War. I also asked the students to label the 13 colonies on a map—just circle the 13 colonies, draw dots on the 13 colonies, a check mark, something—and this would help place the Revolutionary War in context and give them an understanding that the American Revolutionary War was actually fought in the 13 colonies.
The Nearpod also included some awesome 360° panoramic, almost like Google Street View, pictures that took the students right to some of the battlefields where they could look around and look all around at where some of these battles took place. After the students looked around, I had a reading for each battle generated by ChatGPT using the hero’s journey format. I wanted the students to just choose one battle, map it out with the hero’s journey in the Nearpod, and be the expert on that battle.
The next thing is I didn’t want the students to get into groups and share out about their battle while other students took notes on a Frayer model. The students wrote down specific things such as when the battle took place, maybe who was involved, and obviously why the battle was significant.
The Nearpod also had a quiz built into it to test the knowledge of the students, and then we wrapped up the lesson for the day. I asked the students how they felt about their knowledge of American Revolutionary War battles on a scale of 1, 2 or 3; most of them put around a 2, some put a 3, and a few put a 1. I said the ultimate goal here is just to be able to know one battle from the Revolutionary War and have an understanding of why it was important—nothing more than that.
Wednesday
Wednesday I used as a day to teach the students about different groups of people that contributed to the Revolutionary War. These groups included women, African Americans, and Native Americans. The Ohio State Standards specifically says that students need to have an understanding of how these groups contributed to the Revolutionary War and the outcome of the Revolutionary War.
So I set up a CyberSandwich where students worked in groups of three—one student chose women, another student chose African Americans, and the other student chose Native Americans. I wanted to scaffold the note-taking, so I took all three textbook sections and copied and pasted them into ChatGPT and asked it to create three different categories of information that students could look for while reading. It came up with some categories based on commonalities between all textbook sections. The categories that came up to help scaffold the note taking on the CyberSandwich were Impact on Daily Life, Contributions to the War, and Treatment and Opportunities.
Students got into groups of three, one person shared the slide deck with everybody in the group, and they had 10 minutes to read and take notes. Next, the students all discussed things they found related to how these groups contributed to the Revolutionary War. Then I had each group share a Bazinga, or a fact that wowed them or surprised them. Or they could choose to just share a fact, or they could ask a question. The final step in the process was to write a summary comparing at least two groups and how they contributed to the American Revolutionary War.
With the time we had left over in class, we did a Quizizz Mastery Peak just to review the Revolutionary War unit.
Thursday
On Thursday I couldn’t decide if I wanted to just move ahead with a final assessment for the unit or if I wanted to do some sort of review. I settled on doing a review, but I also wanted to bring in and have the students work on the skill of making connections between historical people and events. This is where the 12 Topic Stitch Up comes in, which is an awesome lesson frame from the EMC2learning website. Because it is on this site I’m unable to share it with anybody, but please check out the EMC2learning site—there is so much awesome stuff available to everyone.
With the 12 Topic Stitch Up, it involves taking content that we’ve learned in the last 4 weeks and combining it with some gamification. Students got into groups of three or four, and I had 12 topics listed on the board. I gave each group a sheet divided up into 12 different segments, and the students chose one topic and had to find a way to connect four other topics from the list to that one topic. They could make one entire connection, so for example they could put the American Revolutionary War in the middle and they could connect the Quartering Act, Stamp Act, The Intolerable Acts, and Taxation Without Representation, and ultimately say that all four of those things connect to the American Revolutionary War because they made colonists mad and eventually led to that war. Or students could individually connect each topic back to the original one that they picked.
Once they discussed it as a group and brought the paper up to me to check and give feedback, if I accepted it they had a chance at trying to pull out a piece from the game Operation as a way to earn points for their team, but they only had one shot and if they made the guy’s nose turn red or make it buzz they lost their chance at getting points for that round.
I love this game because it creates discussions and has the students working on a skill that is tough for them, which is making connections between historical people and historical events. Plus it served as a great review before the final assessment that I put together for Friday.
With time left over in class, we did the same Quizizz from the day before using the Mastery Peak. This Quizizz would serve as part 1 of the assessment for the American Revolution unit. I always like to do two-part assessments where students have an opportunity to choose from answer choices and share their content knowledge, and then I always like to do a part two assessment where they create something to show their knowledge. They would have a chance to show their knowledge through creating a Thick Slide for Friday’s class.
Friday
On Friday I was presenting at the OMLA conference, which was a first for me, and I found my way to Sandusky, Ohio for the first time. This conference was awesome—it’s for middle school level educators and the vibe at both of my sessions was super awesome. Middle school educators are awesome. I presented two sessions, one on Eduprotocols and the other session was on harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to basically teach better and work less.
Since I was in Sandusky, I left an American Revolution final assessment for my students. Whenever I am gone I try to leave something familiar for them to do. This time I left a Thick Slide for the students to complete. I originally set it up so students could describe and identify two British Acts or taxes. I also wanted them to share a quote that showed natural rights. I wanted them to compare Loyalists to Sons of Liberty, and then I just wanted to add a picture.
However, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it to be a little bit more in-depth. And so I went to Claude.ai and in my prompt I explained my American Revolution unit just a bit with the essential questions. I also explained the Thick Slide and what I wanted the students to do on the Thick Slide, and then I asked it to give me some ideas to make some of the Thick Slide parts be a depth of knowledge level 3. After Claude’s suggestions, I went back and changed the Thick Slide all around.
For example, instead of just describing and identifying two British Acts or taxes, I wanted them to evaluate that in terms of which Act or tax do you think was the most offensive and which one was the least offensive to the colonists, and why. Instead of just finding a quote related specifically to natural rights, I changed the wording up and asked the students to share a quote from the Declaration of Independence that showed an enlightenment idea related to John Locke, so then it left it open to more options.
Instead of just simply choosing a picture to add, I had the students find a picture that showed why the colonists were angry and rebelled against British rule, and the caption had to explain why they chose that picture and how it showed that. So AI is awesome at helping me take things more in-depth, because I think too often, myself included and others, we tend to stop at depth of knowledge level 2 and then move on. Simple little changes and shifts like this can make a huge impact at pushing students further with their thinking and creativity.
Since I was gone, about 120 students were at school, and 100 of them were engaged with this Thick Slide and either completed it or got 3/4 of it done, which is about 83% engagement on the day. This is why I love EduProtocols.
In the world of education, change is often a breath of fresh air, a chance to infuse new life and excitement into the classroom. As a teacher, I’m constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to engage my 8th-grade social studies students. This week, I felt a strong desire to shake things up.
My quest for new teaching methods led me to EMC2Learning, a resource that promised to add a thrilling twist to my lessons through gamification. With a membership in hand, I embarked on a journey that would bring the Declaration of Independence to life in ways I’d never imagined.
As we dove into the week, we explored the rich history of the United States, delving into the meaning and significance of the Declaration of Independence. The Super Sentence Smackdown from EMC2Learning became our guiding star. It was an opportunity for my students to not only analyze and paraphrase this historic document but to do so in a way that made learning fun.
The enthusiasm and success of this approach varied from class to class, and I had to adapt, switching to a more explicit style of teaching in some instances. Along the way, we seamlessly integrated Eduprotocols, transforming our learning into an exciting adventure filled with fast-paced challenges and quizzes.
From vocabulary work with the resource ‘Rumble’ to the incorporation of Legos into our lessons, our journey was marked by a blend of creativity and traditional teaching methods. We explored the strengths and weaknesses of the Continental and British armies during the Revolutionary War, culminating in an engaging Iron Chef activity.
But the week didn’t stop there. We wrapped it up with an assessment where students created costume sets for Continental and British soldiers. The students weren’t ready to say goodbye to the Halloween spirit, pointing out that it was also the time for the Day of the Dead on November 1st and 2nd.
As we bid farewell to this action-packed week, we couldn’t resist one more innovative twist. Instead of a traditional lesson, we engaged in a retrieval practice activity using AI, setting the tone for a week filled with discovery, fun, and a deeper understanding of the Declaration of Independence, the vocabulary associated with the Revolutionary War, and the strengths and weaknesses of British and Continental soldiers.
Monday: Delving into the Declaration of Independence
As the week kicked off, I knew I wanted to infuse some excitement into my 8th-grade social studies class. My goal was to dive deep into the Declaration of Independence and help my students understand the concept of natural rights and the social contract it represents. To do this, I turned to a resource I recently acquired: EMC2Learning. This paid platform provided me with a fantastic tool known as the Super Sentence Smackdown.
I began by selecting excerpts from the Declaration of Independence and divided them into six different rounds. To aid my students in comprehending the text, I turned to ChatGPT for help, and it identified key vocabulary words, such as ‘unalienable,’ ‘endowed,’ ‘political bands,’ ‘instituted,’ and ‘Independence.’ I displayed these excerpts on separate slides, and each round allowed the students three to four minutes to paraphrase or translate the excerpt into modern language. To support their understanding, I provided them with a worksheet containing these vocabulary words and their definitions.
My intention was for students to use these vocabulary words as context clues, helping them make sense of the text. However, I soon realized that some students were struggling to do so, despite the vocabulary list containing the underlined words from the excerpts.
After paraphrasing each excerpt, I paired up students, allowing them to engage in friendly competition as they compared their paraphrases and discussed which one was better. To make it even more exciting, I introduced a monetary aspect to the game, with each round being worth different amounts of ‘money.’ The winner of each round rolled a dice, multiplying the round’s money value by the number they rolled, and then recorded their total. This activity spanned several classes and turned out to be a fun and engaging way for students to explore the Declaration of Independence.
Tuesday: Mastering the Declaration of Independence
On Tuesday, we continued with the Super Sentence Smackdown for most of my classes, wrapping up the rounds. We also had some time to explore further through a ‘Fast and Curious’ activity using Quizizz to test their understanding of the words and concepts within the Declaration of Independence.
Based on the Quizizz results from the previous week, where all classes began with an average score of 54%, we had seen improvement, with averages increasing to 68%. However, the real breakthrough came when we attempted the ‘Mastery Peak’ mode. This time, answering every question, our class average soared to 77%, and all classes achieved over 90% mastery of the Declaration of Independence. The questions revolved around understanding the document’s meaning, purpose, and how natural rights and the social contract influenced its contents.
In some of my classes, I noticed that the Super Sentence Smackdown wasn’t as effective as I had hoped. To address this, I created a Nearpod presentation with excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, focusing on explicit teaching and a controlled pace. This approach seemed to help these particular classes grasp the document’s meaning more effectively.
For classes that finished early, I introduced an empathy map activity. I played the song “You’ll Be Back” from the musical Hamilton, explaining that it represented King George III’s reaction to the Declaration of Independence during the Revolutionary War. The students listened to the song and filled out empathy maps, trying to imagine how King George might have responded to the colonists upon receiving the Declaration. I always find that empathy maps are a valuable tool to help students put themselves in someone else’s shoes and understand different perspectives.
Wednesday: Revolutionary War Vocabulary and Legos
Wednesday marked a significant shift in our focus from the Declaration of Independence to the Revolutionary War. In Ohio, the state standards require students to grasp key battles from the Revolutionary War, such as the Battle of Bunker Hill, Battle of Saratoga, Valley Forge, and the Battle of Yorktown, along with understanding the contributions of various groups during the Revolutionary War.
We began the day with vocabulary related to the Revolutionary War. As it was the day after Halloween, I decided to add a touch of fun and movement to the class by introducing the ‘Resource Rumble.’ For this activity, I used ChatGPT to create 10th-grade-level definitions and examples for eight words associated with the Revolutionary War, including the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army, minutemen, treaties, and allies. Students collaborated in teams, paraphrasing the definitions, and then collected Legos based on the quality of their paraphrases. The challenge was to build something related to one of the vocabulary words they had just learned and explain its connection to the word. This activity not only got the students moving and engaged but also encouraged them to discuss paraphrases and vocabulary words related to the Revolutionary War.
Thursday: Iron Chef and Deeper Understanding
Thursday began with a Quizizz containing 11 questions, testing both the vocabulary words from the previous day and new content regarding the Continental and British armies during the Revolutionary War. The results showed that students did well with vocabulary questions, indicated by most being marked green and yellow. However, they struggled with the content questions, as most of them appeared red and yellow.
After the Quizizz, we transitioned to an ‘Iron Chef’ activity. This Iron Chef featured four slides: ‘American strengths,’ ‘American weaknesses,’ ‘British strengths,’ and ‘British weaknesses.’ I assigned the first person in each row to share the slide deck with their peers, and they had to decide who would complete each slide. To add an element of unpredictability, I introduced a dice-rolling element: the first roll determined the number of bullet points on each student’s slide, while the second roll dictated the maximum word count allowed per bullet point. Students embraced this twist, which not only made the activity more engaging but also enforced the importance of paraphrasing.
During the Iron Chef, students needed to find information related to their topic on the slides, which was directly linked. I also challenged them to find a famous Revolutionary War battle to include in their presentation. Afterward, each group presented their slides to the class, with each student sharing one thing they had learned in eight seconds or less. As they presented, students recorded this information on their Frayer models.
Following this, I asked the students to design a costume set related to either a British or Continental soldier. I obtained this template from EMC2Learning. However, I observed that students found it challenging to include accessories that related to the information they had just learned. Instead of adding typical accessories like muskets, hats, and uniforms, I encouraged them to think creatively and incorporate items connected to their newfound knowledge. This abstract thinking was a bit challenging for students, but it helped them consolidate their understanding of the material.
We concluded the day with another Quizizz, this time using the Mastery Peak mode, which resulted in all classes achieving an 88% or higher score compared to the first time we used it in that class period.
Friday: Scribble Diffusion Showdown
As the week was drawing to a close, we had shortened class periods on Friday, giving me the perfect opportunity to try something different. I introduced the ‘Scribble Diffusion Showdown,’ a novel activity I had discovered on EMC2Learning.
The Scribble Diffusion Showdown was a unique and exciting experience. Scribble Diffusion is an AI-based platform that generates images based on descriptions provided by users. In our showdown, students drew prompts from a bucket, and they had to create the best image based on the description they typed. For example, one prompt might be, “How did the Sons of Liberty react to the Tea Act?” Students would draw their interpretation of this scenario, type their answer, and see what kind of image Scribble Diffusion would generate based on their description.
If students were unsatisfied with the image, they had to rework and reword their descriptions to get the desired results. This activity not only engaged the students but also served as an introduction to the world of artificial intelligence.
In conclusion, it was a week filled with dynamic and engaging activities, from the Super Sentence Smackdown to Iron Chef and the Scribble Diffusion Showdown. By mixing innovative approaches with traditional teaching methods, I was able to make the study of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War an exciting and meaningful experience for my 8th-grade social studies class. My students not only learned valuable historical content but also developed crucial skills like paraphrasing, critical thinking, and empathy. As a teacher, it was a rewarding week, knowing that my students were not only learning but having fun while doing so.
As an educator, each week in the classroom presents a unique journey filled with both challenges and triumphs. In this reflective blog post, I will take you through my week of teaching 8th-grade social studies, offering an intimate glimpse into my classroom and my pedagogical approach.
Throughout this week, my central aim was to rekindle the spark of intentionality in my teaching. I had reached a point where it felt like I was engaging in a series of disconnected educational activities. The content was substantive, as we were diving deep into the American Revolution, covering topics ranging from the Enlightenment and British actions to the Sons of Liberty and the loyalists.
Yet, I sensed a lack of a unifying thread, a clear intent that would tie these elements together for my students. The fundamental question that nagged at me was, “How can I teach this material with a deliberate purpose, ensuring that my students not only absorb historical facts but also cultivate critical thinking and analytical skills?”
This blog will provide a day-by-day account of my week in the classroom, offering insights into the activities, challenges, and successes I encountered. The week’s primary focus was on cultivating skills related to claims, evidence, and reasoning, a crucial element in any social studies curriculum.
Join me as we delve into the specifics of each day, from Monday’s exploration of the Sons of Liberty and their complex role in history to Thursday’s playful introduction to the Declaration of Independence, replete with a fascinating experiment in working memory. The week concludes with a short Friday, featuring a Number Mania activity that prompts students to find textual evidence to support the claim that the Declaration of Independence was a thoughtful and deliberate endeavor by the Founding Fathers.
At the start of the week, I found myself deep in thought about my teaching approach. I had this nagging feeling that I was doing a lot of random things without a clear sense of intentionality. The content was solid – we were delving into the American Revolution, beginning with topics like the Enlightenment, British actions and taxes, resistance from the Sons of Liberty, and the loyalists. But my teaching lacked a coherent focus. So, my primary goal for the week was to regain that intentionality in my teaching.
For Monday, our focus was on the Sons of Liberty and their various forms of resistance, and whether they could be classified as patriots or terrorists. To kick things off, I decided to provide my students with a foundational understanding of what distinguishes patriots from terrorists. I turned to ChatGPT for some assistance, asking it to generate lists of reasons why the Sons of Liberty might be considered patriots and terrorists. This generated discussion and helped students craft their own definitions of these terms.
I also wanted to ensure that my students had a solid background on the Sons of Liberty. We began by having them read about this group and identify four fundamental characteristics. This knowledge-building phase was critical for the subsequent analysis.
To truly understand the Sons of Liberty, we turned to a variety of documents, some primary and some secondary sources. Students were tasked with crafting claims about whether the Sons of Liberty were patriots or terrorists, backing up their claims with evidence from the documents, and then offering reasoning to support their positions. This process was facilitated by the 3xCER template. To gauge their understanding, we concluded the class with a Quizizz quiz, and I was pleased to see an improvement in student performance as they averaged 80%.
Tuesday: Exploring Sons of Liberty’s Forms of Resistance
On Tuesday, we continued our exploration of the Sons of Liberty, focusing on their forms of resistance. I introduced a Thin Slide Swap activity, a fresh approach to Thin Slide developed by Justin Unruh. The prompt was simple yet thought-provoking: “The Sons of Liberty and their forms of resistance.” This prompted some students to ask what “resistance” meant, leading to a productive classroom discussion.
The Thin Slide Swap allowed students to engage visually and collaboratively. They had two minutes to add an image and a single word or phrase related to the prompt. Afterward, they swapped computers and spent three minutes adding why they thought their partner had chosen the image and word.
Continuing our focus on the Sons of Liberty, we dug into two more document analyses, allotting 15 minutes for students to complete them. The final step was to consolidate their findings and craft a paragraph presenting their claim regarding the Sons of Liberty’s status as patriots or terrorists. They had to incorporate evidence from the documents and ensure the presence of a clear transition. To wrap up, we once again measured their understanding with a Quizizz quiz, and the students averaged an impressive 85%.
Wednesday: Enhancing CER Skills and Introducing Loyalists
Wednesday was a day of refining students’ claims, evidence, and reasoning (CER) skills. I had previously created a rubric for CER paragraphs and enlisted the help of Claude.AI for consistent feedback. The primary takeaway from analyzing student paragraphs was the importance of effectively introducing evidence, referencing documents, authors, or titles. So, I focused on helping students use transitional phrases like “according to” or “the evidence from” to set up their evidence more smoothly.
We started the class with a review of my feedback on their CER paragraphs, with students making highlighted corrections to their claims, evidence, and reasoning. These components were assessed, with one point for the claim, one point for the use of evidence, and two points for reasoning.
Then, we transitioned into a new topic: loyalists. I borrowed a lesson plan from the Stanford History Education Group on loyalists and adapted it for Nearpod. To begin, I had students predict why someone might have been a loyalist during the turbulent American Revolution. They were then tasked with close reading and sourcing two documents, followed by a brief quiz to test their contextual and close reading comprehension. The lesson concluded with students corroborating the documents and writing a claim supported by evidence, with a strong emphasis on the use of transitional phrases. If time allowed, we engaged in a “sketch and tell” activity to answer the initial question about loyalists. While not all students completed it, my primary focus was on their ability to craft claims and use evidence effectively, along with the inclusion of transitional statements.
Thursday: The “Breakup Letter” and the Declaration of Independence
Thursday’s class had a unique and playful start. I walked into the classroom about 20 seconds late, carrying various items I had collected while navigating through the 7th-grade locker area. Among the things I “found,” there was a breakup letter. The students were immediately engaged, some even appearing a bit anxious, thinking that this letter might have something to do with them. As I read the letter aloud, their excitement grew.
After building suspense, I revealed that I had written the letter, and it was signed with the initials “A.C.” – which, of course, stood for American Colonists. The purpose of this playful introduction was to connect it to a more serious historical document – the Declaration of Independence.
I explained to the students that Thomas Jefferson had written what could be considered the greatest “breakup letter” in history – the Declaration of Independence. This analogy was intended to help them relate to and better understand the significance of the document.
Following this engaging start, we transitioned to a Quizizz quiz that featured ten questions related to the Declaration of Independence. I decided to begin the class with a Number Mania Eduprotocol, directly tied to the background information about the Declaration. The quiz questions were cleverly interwoven with this background reading, incorporating vocabulary words such as “unalienable.”
To ensure that students fully grasped the key vocabulary, we engaged in a “Frayer” activity. I provided them with 10th-grade level definitions and examples of important terms like “second Continental Congress,” “unalienable,” “treason,” and “grievance.” Their task was to simplify these definitions and create examples and non-examples for each term.
An intriguing experiment took place as we distributed the background reading, which contained a deliberate contradiction that I wanted the students to identify. To prompt their recognition of this discrepancy, I instructed them to place a check mark next to it. The contradiction in the text was the mention of the number of colonies – in one sentence, it stated there were 13 colonies, and in another sentence, it claimed there were 15 colonies.
The data collected from each class period regarding the students’ ability to spot this contradiction varied:
In my first period, where both numbers (13 and 15) were written numerically, 18 out of 27 students found the contradiction.
To further explore the impact of numerical presentation, I changed it for my other classes, writing out the numbers as words. The results were as follows:
In my third period, four out of 13 students found the contradiction.
In my fifth period, eight out of 20 students found the contradiction.
In my sixth period, five out of 21 students found the contradiction.
In my seventh period, eight out of 29 students found the contradiction.
In my eighth period, only one out of 14 students found the contradiction.
This experiment not only served to work on students’ working memory but also provided insights into how they read and interpret information, showcasing the fascinating differences in each class’s response.
Friday: A Short Day and Number Mania
Friday marked a shorter day with Halloween celebrations on the horizon. While some classes engaged in the Number Mania, I recognized that it might not be as successful in others and didn’t press the issue. The objective of the Number Mania was to find textual evidence supporting the claim that “The creation of the Declaration of Independence was a thoughtful and deliberate process that involved significant time, effort, and sacrifice from the Founding Fathers.”
I find the Number Mania approach quite effective with middle school students, as it serves a purpose in teaching them how to select meaningful evidence from a text. It also fosters their ability to analyze and utilize evidence to support a statement.
Throughout the week, I strived to reintroduce intentionality into my teaching. Our main focus was on claims, evidence, and reasoning, and we approached it in various ways – from crafting paragraphs and analyzing sources to reading secondary materials and selecting evidence to align with specific statements.
This past week was filled with highs and lows in my 8th grade social studies classes. It started out on a high note as I attended the Ohio Council for Social Studies annual conference in Columbus. I always look forward to this conference as a chance to connect with fellow teachers, discover new ideas and resources, and reignite my passion for the subject. However, when I returned on Tuesday morning, I quickly realized through a short quiz and student survey that my students were still struggling to grasp key concepts from our unit on the causes of the American Revolution. This kicked off several long days of reteaching the material in new ways, providing additional scaffolding, and letting students demonstrate their learning through creative assessments. It was frustrating to have to hit pause on the unit timeline, but I’m glad I took the time needed to ensure real comprehension.
On Monday, I headed to downtown Columbus early in the morning to attend the Ohio Council for Social Studies (OCSS) annual conference, which is always one of the highlights of my year. I started off the day by presenting on two topics – using Eduprotocols to engage students, and harnessing AI tools in the social studies classroom. I enjoy presenting as it pushes me to distill my best teaching practices. The audience had thoughtful questions and ideas to further improve my strategies.
After my presentations, I attended a fascinating session all about incorporating ChatGPT into the classroom led by an educator from the Cleveland area. With ChatGPT exploding in popularity among students, it’s clear that AI is here to stay, so I appreciated her perspective on establishing citation methods and protocols. Rather than banning it, she argued we should teach students how to utilize it as a tool ethically. I’m still pondering how to adapt my own policies.
My other favorite session was on leveraging the Library of Congress digital archives for primary sources. The presenter took us through the site and had us explore sets of WWI propaganda posters in a scavenger hunt. While the session was interesting, I found myself wishing for more examples of classroom strategies to actually engage students with the amazing primary source collections. For instance, I love the “retell and rhyme” Eduprotocol my co-author Scott Petri uses – students read a source, then recap the key facts and events in a rhyming poem, keeping track of how many details they included. This interactive approach really sticks with students.
Since I knew I would be absent all day, I left lesson materials for my students to complete independently. I assigned them to analyze the various British taxes and acts from our unit by filling out a Frayer Model chart, listing facts like the purpose, colonist reactions, violations of natural rights, etc. The Frayer Model is a great eduprotocol because its simple format means students can work on it independently. I was pleased to see that over 80% of my students across 5 sections had completed the assignment when I checked on Tuesday morning.
I also left a Gimkit review game on the causes of the Revolution for them to play. Gimkit combines gaming elements with quiz questions for engaged review. However, the class average was only around 70%, suggesting there were still gaps in student understanding I needed to address.
Tuesday – Reteaching
When I returned to class on Tuesday morning, I decided to immediately assess retention again using the same quiz questions, but transferred into a Quizizz format. I’m loving Quizizz’s new AI features, like the ability to upload question banks from other platforms instantly. The Quizizz results confirmed that students were still shaky on being able to explain British acts like the Quartering Act and link them to Enlightenment philosophy concepts like natural rights and social contract theory.
This data showed me that further reteaching was necessary. I started class by surveying students directly, asking them to rate their comfort level with the content on a scale of 1-5. The results skewed heavily towards the lower numbers, with many rating themselves a 2 or 3. When asked what specifically was confusing, common answers included:
Connecting Enlightenment ideas to anger over British acts
Explaining how the French-Indian War changed the British-colonial relationship
Describing the purposes of specific British taxes and policies
Armed with this student feedback, I knew I needed to rework my approach and reteach the connections between Enlightenment ideology, like social contract theory and natural rights, and specific oppressive British legislation like the Proclamation Line and the Quartering Act.
I decided to use a creative metaphor lesson from teacher Kevin Roughton where the buildup to the American Revolution is compared to conflict between increasingly rebellious teenagers and their parents setting harsh rules. The analogy really seemed to help students understand the gradual progression of events and why the colonists became outraged enough to revolt. I could see the lightbulbs going on as we talked through the metaphor!
I also put together a quick slideshow presentation as another way to clarify the relationship between Enlightenment thinking and colonial anger. My goal was to remind them how Enlightenment philosophers introduced new radical ideas about government deriving power from the people rather than divine right. I highlighted examples of British acts that violated colonists’ conceived natural rights, like economic restrictions and housing soldiers in their homes. Then I directly asked questions like: Did colonists have representation in British Parliament? Could they vote out these leaders who were levying unfair taxes and policies? When I framed it this way, it clicked for many students how the colonists felt they had no choice but to revolt when their ideas of government based on social contract and natural rights were being breached. The presentation seemed effective in tying everything together.
Wednesday – Assessment
At this point, we had gone over the projected unit time, but I refused to move forward if students were still struggling with the core concepts. On Wednesday, I introduced a creative summative assessment option for students to demonstrate their learning. They could choose between using story dice to narrate the events leading up to the Revolution with drawings, or a hexagonal learning activity where they had to connect Enlightenment concepts with matching British policies. Both hands-on options allow students to showcase understanding in a visual way that appeals to different learning styles. For some of my students with IEPs, I modified the hexagonal activity by having them complete just a portion of the timeline with a few matched pairs.
In my instructions, I provided suggestions of key events and concepts I wanted to see, such as:
Explaining how the French-Indian War changed the relationship between colonists and Britain
Identifying and accurately describing at least 3 British taxes/acts
Connecting an Enlightenment ideology like natural rights to colonist anger
As I monitored progress and checked in with individual students, I noticed some were still struggling with properly identifying acts like the Stamp Act or connecting violations of rights to Enlightenment theory. With prompting, many were able to grasp the concepts and correct their work, which was really encouraging to see.
Thursday – CER Practice
Some classes needed more time on Thursday to complete their Revolution storytelling assignments, so I allowed a grace period for finishing up. In my sections that were ready to move on, I introduced our next topic by having them practice evaluating evidence and making claims by analyzing commercials – a fun critical thinking exercise they enjoyed as a lead-in to our unit on the Sons of Liberty and using Claims-Evidence-Reasoning frameworks to analyze historical events.
Conclusion
This week was challenging when my students didn’t initially grasp the concepts I thought I had taught effectively. My plans went out the window as I pressed pause on the curriculum timeline to rework my approach through presentations, metaphors, surveying student needs, and offering creative assessment choices. As teachers, flexibility is so key for reflection when something isn’t working, and I’m glad I took time for reteaching despite the unit creeping longer than intended. The week was taxing but rewarding. My students’ final projects demonstrated real comprehension of the complex factors driving colonial rebellion, which made the extra effort worthwhile. I’m reenergized after this reflective process and have new ideas to try for engaging learners who need different avenues. As next week launches new material, I feel confident we built a strong foundation.
This week, our eighth-grade social studies class delved deeper into the heart of the American Revolution, immersing ourselves in the captivating question: “How did the Enlightenment and the colonists’ growing frustration lead to the American Revolution?” As I navigated this fascinating and enlightening week, I discovered the need to make certain concepts more accessible, especially for those students who struggled with terms like “dissatisfaction.” Thus, I replaced the word with simpler ones like “anger” to ensure every student could actively participate in our exploration. Let’s embark on this educational journey, day by day.
Our week commenced with a riveting exploration of the French and Indian War, an event that would profoundly alter the dynamic between the colonists and the British government. To ignite our curiosity, we began with a “Fast and Curious” Gimkit quiz, focusing specifically on the French and Indian War. The initial results were telling, with scores ranging from 47% to 58%, signifying the depth of understanding needed.
Next on our agenda was a Mapwich Eduprotocol, a creative approach inspired by my friend, Robert Mayfield. The Mapwich involved presenting a map of North America’s transformation from 1754 to 1763, directly after the French and Indian War. I encouraged students to discern the map’s purpose, similarities, and differences between the two timelines. The map was a treasure trove of historical insight, including the Proclamation Line of 1763, which we discussed. I aimed to nurture their map-reading skills and their ability to draw meaningful inferences. To facilitate this, I had them partner up, analyze the map, and engage in discussions for a riveting eight minutes. At the end of this thought-provoking exercise, I tasked students with creating brief summaries of the French and Indian War’s impact on North America.
Following this, we revisited the French and Indian War with another Gimkit quiz. This time, the class averages leaped significantly, ranging from 67% to 82%, a testament to the power of engaging, interactive learning.
Tuesday: The Hero’s Journey and French and Indian War Integration
On Tuesday, we set sail on a new educational adventure, introducing students to the captivating Hero’s Journey EduProtocol. This year, my approach has emphasized reducing cognitive load and ensuring that every new concept is accessible. We commenced with a captivating Ted Ed video, skillfully weaving the Hero’s Journey into the lives of our students. The video brilliantly connected iconic stories like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games to the Hero’s Journey. It inspired us to reflect on our own daily experiences, highlighting how we all embark on heroic journeys, encountering the unknown, crossing thresholds, finding mentors, facing challenges, and hopefully emerging as better individuals.
The Hero’s Journey introduction continued with commercials that showcased the Hero’s Journey elements, a tangible link between literature and history. For instance, a Chef Boyardee commercial provided students with a unique opportunity to identify these elements in real-world scenarios.
Once students were comfortable with the Hero’s Journey, I shared a reading, expertly crafted by Diffit AI, which detailed the French and Indian War in Hero’s Journey format. Students were captivated, with 25 minutes to read and chart their Hero’s Journey. This approach enabled them to grasp historical events through the lens of the Hero’s Journey, fostering a profound connection with the material.
The day concluded with another Gimkit quiz on the French and Indian War, and this time, the class averages surged to an impressive 75% to 90%, showcasing a deepening understanding of the topic.
Wednesday: A Cognitive Experiment
On Wednesday, I was absent, but I had set in motion a captivating experiment inspired by a podcast featuring Daniel Willingham, a distinguished cognitive scientist. During the podcast, he discussed an experiment testing working memory during reading comprehension. It involved providing students with passages filled with spelling errors, syntax issues, and contradictions. Surprisingly, students readily identified spelling and syntax errors but struggled to recognize contradictions, even when they were a mere sentence or two apart.
I decided to put this experiment into action, utilizing artificial intelligence. I used Claude.AI to generate one-page biographies about historical figures and groups involved in the American Revolution. Notably, I instructed Claude to include one deliberate lie within each biography, and this process gave rise to intriguing contradictions. Some were positioned back-to-back, while others were tantalizingly spaced three or four sentences apart.
To enhance the exercise’s depth, students engaged in Frayer activities, seeking a deeper understanding of the historical figures and their contributions. Their ultimate quest was to uncover the one lie, effectively mimicking the working memory experiment described by Daniel Willingham.
The results the following day mirrored Willingham’s findings: students grappled with recognizing contradictions, especially those separated by more than two sentences.
Thursday: The Light of Understanding
Thursday was a day of enlightenment and revelation. We returned to the biographies from the previous day, with a twist. I highlighted the contradictions in green and took the opportunity to explain working memory, its significance in everyday life, and its role in learning.
I emphasized the subtlety of contradictions, some positioned just sentences apart, and students’ expressions revealed their amazement. This was a pivotal moment for them, making them keenly aware of the importance of processing information while reading.
I allowed students 10 to 15 minutes to revisit the biographies and determine the truth, a vital step in helping them understand cognitive processes and grasp the significance of correction in the learning process.
In addition, I provided students with an opportunity to catch up on any missed assignments, or they could collaborate in groups to participate in a creative “Sketch and Tell” activity inspired by Howson History. Each group received a sheet of paper with nine different drawings. The students had to select a topic from a bin and then create a drawing representing something they had learned about that topic. It was a dynamic and interactive activity that worked on some retrieval practice.
Friday: Unraveling Colonial Dissatisfaction
As the week drew to a close, we returned to our fundamental question: “How did the Enlightenment and the colonists’ growing anger lead to the American Revolution?” I explained that we would now explore what incited the colonists and how Enlightenment ideas contributed to their mounting frustration.
Students were tasked with selecting from a list of acts including the Stamp Act, Proclamation Line of 1763, Quartering Act, Townshend Act, Tea Act, and the Intolerable Acts. I utilized Diffit to generate articles that seamlessly incorporated Enlightenment ideas like natural rights, social contract, and self-government into each act’s description. It was a move away from traditional textbooks, enabling a richer exploration of historical events.
Before diving into the readings, I instructed students to skim the articles, understand the headings and subheadings, and establish their learning objectives. This enabled them to target their reading effectively and extract the most meaningful information. After reading and highlighting, students had the responsibility of creating “thick slides” to share with the class. They were encouraged to paraphrase their highlights, reinforcing the importance of critical thinking and information processing.
By the end of the class, students had shared their insights through a Google form, and it was clear that they were beginning to recognize the value of these discussions. The day ended with a well-deserved break outdoors, a moment to recharge and reflect on a week filled with profound learning and important discoveries.
This week was an engaging journey of exploration, discovery, and understanding. As we move forward, I hope to continue instilling in my students the importance of critical thinking, the significance of working memory, and the joy of learning. Our educational adventure is far from over, and I’m eager to see where it leads us next.
Teaching 8th-grade social studies is an ever-evolving adventure, filled with moments of inspiration, challenges, and growth. This week, we embarked on a new journey as we delved into a unit on the American Revolution.
Monday: Setting the Stage for the American Revolution
The week commenced with an air of excitement as I introduced our new unit on the American Revolution. To frame our exploration, I presented the essential question: “How did the Enlightenment, and dissatisfaction with colonial rule, lead to the American Revolution?” It was imperative for my students to grasp two foundational elements: the Enlightenment and the sources of colonial discontent.
The Vocabulary Challenge: Resource Rumble Repuzzler (3 R’s)
To ignite their curiosity and engage them right from the start, I decided to tackle vocabulary in an innovative way. I merged the Resource Rumble, a classic lesson, with the Repuzzler EduProtocol, resulting in what I humorously called the “Resource Rumble Repuzzler” or the 3 R’s. For this activity, I selected eight crucial terms: enlightenment, revolution, natural rights, social contract, grievance, tyranny, liberty, and taxation without representation.
To create a rich learning experience, I turned to ChatGPT for assistance. It provided brief, clear explanations for each term. These explanations served as the foundation for students to develop their definitions, list three defining characteristics, and create a symbol that encapsulated the essence of each word.
However, the twist that added an element of fun and competition was this: I printed out each term’s explanation, cut them into pieces, and placed them in envelopes scattered around the classroom. The challenge for my students was to form groups of 3 or 4, locate these envelopes, and, using the provided explanations, complete their Repuzzler pages.
The Resource Rumble Repuzzler was not just a vocabulary exercise; it was a competition. The students’ energy levels rose as they moved about, collaborating to decipher these new words and their meanings. I won’t delve into all the details of the competition, as a portion of the activity is from EMC2Learning, a paid site. Nevertheless, the activity was a fantastic mix of movement, collaboration, and vocabulary building.
Tuesday: Unveiling the Enlightenment and Note-Taking Skills
On Tuesday, we continued our exploration of the Enlightenment. Building upon the foundation laid on Monday, I opted for a different approach to keep the momentum going.
Repuzzler Cards: Enhancing Collaboration and Discussion
To kickstart our class, I distributed Repuzzler cards to small groups of 2 to 3 students. These cards were compilations of seven to eight Repuzzlers created by the students themselves. The challenge was to piece together these cards, effectively engaging students in collaboration and discussion.
This activity served a dual purpose. Firstly, it reinforced the importance of collaboration and communication skills. As I traveled through the classroom, I had the opportunity to engage in conversations and provide valuable feedback to each group.
Secondly, it allowed me to gauge their understanding and grasp of the concepts we had discussed on Monday. This formative assessment gave me insights into the areas that needed further clarification.
CyberSandwich EduProtocol: An Introduction to the Enlightenment
Following the Repuzzler card activity, we transitioned into the CyberSandwich EduProtocol. The focus was on providing an introduction to the Enlightenment, a key era that would lay the groundwork for our understanding of the American Revolution.
For this segment, I used a reading from iCivics that offered a straightforward overview of critical Enlightenment concepts such as the social contract, natural rights, and republicanism. In retrospect, I realized that “republicanism” should have been included as a vocabulary term, a note I made for future lessons.
As my students read the provided text for about 10 minutes, they were encouraged to take notes. However, I acknowledged the diverse reading preferences among my students. Some preferred physical copies, with a penchant for highlighting passages. To cater to their needs, I introduced them to a concept from the book “Outsmart Your Brain” by Dr. Daniel Willingham.
Note-Taking Reimagined: Skim, Set Goals, and Highlight with Purpose
I shared Dr. Willingham’s wisdom, suggesting that instead of passively reading and indiscriminately highlighting, they should start by skimming the passage to understand its structure and content. The next crucial step was setting goals. In this case, our overarching goal was to answer the question, “How did the Enlightenment change our understanding of government?”
With this goal in mind, I advised them to highlight only the information that directly contributed to answering that question. This strategic approach to reading and note-taking aimed to equip my students with a valuable skill that transcended this particular lesson.
After their 10 minutes of reading and note-taking, students engaged in a pair-share activity. They shared their notes with a partner, fostering discussion and reinforcing their understanding of the material. Finally, they crafted a summary paragraph that addressed the central question, thus bringing our class to a productive close.
Wednesday and Thursday: The Influencer Lesson
Wednesday was a pivotal day as we ventured into a unique lesson plan inspired by Mr. Kevin Roughton’s “Influencer” lesson. This captivating and well-structured lesson had two primary components: a compatibility quiz and an exploration of Enlightenment thinkers.
The Compatibility Quiz: Exploring Beliefs and Values
Our day began with a compatibility quiz, which probed the students’ beliefs about true freedom and the purpose of government. This engaging activity encouraged introspection and set the stage for what was to come.
Getting to Know the Enlightenment Thinkers: A First-Person Perspective
The heart of this lesson was an in-depth exploration of Enlightenment thinkers, such as John Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu, and three others. What made this experience unique was the use of first-person narratives in their profiles. To enrich these profiles, I collaborated with ChatGPT, which rewrote the biographies to include each thinker’s beliefs about the role of government and individual liberties.
The objective was clear: students were tasked with associating Enlightenment thinkers with their beliefs on government and personal freedoms. To facilitate this, I had prepared six profiles and distributed them around the room. Students worked in groups, adding valuable information to their Frayer models.
At this juncture, I emphasized the purpose of the lesson: to identify which Enlightenment thinkers resonated most with their own beliefs. I also stressed the broader importance of this exercise, as Enlightenment thought would be a recurring theme throughout their high school journey.
Once students had gathered notes and insights, they analyzed their findings in relation to the compatibility quiz. This comparison revealed which thinkers aligned most closely with their own values and philosophies. The lesson culminated with a “sketch and tell” activity, where students sketched a representation of their most compatible Enlightenment thinker and shared their beliefs with the class.
Friday: Out of Town
Friday marked the end of the school week, and I had a prior commitment that took me out of town on Thursday and Friday. However, this didn’t mean that my students were left without guidance. I had thoughtfully planned a lesson to keep them engaged.
Map Challenge: Contextualizing the American Revolution
For Friday’s lesson, I designed a map challenge that drew from our textbook. It was a straightforward assignment where students were tasked with labeling a map, providing essential context about the onset of the American Revolution. This task not only reinforced geography skills but also served as a natural segue into our upcoming discussion on the Seven Years’ War, scheduled for the following Monday.
Conclusion: A Week of Engagement, Exploration, and Growth
As I reflect on this week of teaching 8th-grade social studies, I am reminded of the dynamic nature of education. Each day brought new challenges and opportunities, and I strived to make the learning experience engaging and meaningful for my students.
We embarked on our journey into the American Revolution by first understanding the Enlightenment and the colonial discontent that fueled the revolution. The Resource Rumble Repuzzler brought vocabulary to life in a competitive and interactive manner.
On Tuesday, we honed our note-taking skills while diving deeper into Enlightenment concepts. The Repuzzler cards facilitated collaboration, ensuring that students were actively engaged in the learning process.
Wednesday and Thursday were highlighted by the “Influencer” lesson, where students explored the beliefs of Enlightenment thinkers. This exercise not only deepened their understanding of history but also encouraged introspection about their own values and beliefs.
Even on a day when I was out of town, I ensured that my students had a meaningful learning experience through the map challenge, providing them with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and contextualize historical events.
Teaching middle school students is a rewarding yet challenging experience. This week, I embarked on a journey inspired by the educational strategies of Scott Petri, adapting them to suit the middle school level. In this reflective blog post, I will take you through each day of a four-day lesson plan in my 8th-grade social studies class. The focus was on the 13 colonies and how geography influenced their economies. Join me as I dive into the details of each day’s activities, adjustments made along the way, and the broader educational goals achieved.
Monday marked the beginning of our adventure into the 13 colonies. I started class with a statement: “Failure is not an option in 505.” This mindset would become a central theme throughout the week. With high expectations and eager students, we kicked off the week with a Sketch and Tell + Parafly EduProtocol smash.
To set the stage, I began with a Wordwall colonial region sort. This activity aimed to refresh their memories from the previous lesson and assess their knowledge of the colonies’ geographic regions. Students were tasked with categorizing the colonies into their respective regions. The initial results were telling—a humbling average score of only 14 out of 35 correct. This clearly indicated a need for further review.
Undeterred, we proceeded with the day’s activities. The main goal was to reinforce the information covered in the previous lesson. The students were asked to paraphrase the last colonial region they had studied and incorporate it into their Sketch and Tell project.
The Sketch and Tell project was a unique endeavor. It required students to revisit their sketches from the previous class, where they had depicted aspects of colonial life and geography. This time, I encouraged them to enhance their sketches with Google Shapes or Scribble Diffusion to add depth and detail.
After completing their sketches, the students were presented with the Wordwall colonial regions sort once more. The improvement was palpable, with an average score of 25 out of 35 correct. This not only demonstrated their capacity for learning but also highlighted the power of repetition and practice.
I took a moment to commend their progress and encouraged them to persevere until they achieved a perfect score and improved their completion time. This day laid the foundation for the week ahead, emphasizing the importance of persistence and continuous improvement.
Tuesday: Diving into the Colonies
Tuesday marked a transition from regional knowledge to a deeper understanding of the individual colonies within their respective regions. This exploration aligned perfectly with our overarching question: “How did Europeans exploring North America for trade, religious reasons, and competition with each other affect the history of the continent and the people who lived there?” Our supporting question for this lesson was, “What were the similarities and differences between the colonies?”
I drew inspiration from my co-author, Scott Petri, and adapted his lesson sequence for middle schoolers. The first activity of the day was the “Frayer a colony” exercise. Students were provided with sections from our textbook, each featuring 2-3 colonies from different colonial regions. The students were given the autonomy to choose a colony to delve into.
On the Frayer model, students were instructed to include key details such as the colony’s founder and founding date, the reasons for its establishment, three pivotal facts, and visual representations that symbolized the colony’s unique characteristics. To encourage creativity and symbolism, I suggested the use of icons to represent various aspects, such as industries, geography, religion, and more.
This activity was designed to engage students in active reading and critical thinking. They had a tight time frame of 15 minutes to read the selected section and complete the Frayer model. This deadline encouraged them to focus, extract key information, and convey it concisely.
Once the Frayer models were completed, the students were asked to transfer five essential facts to an Iron Chef-like slide. Additionally, they were tasked with fact-checking their gathered information, a skill I had been actively promoting throughout the unit. I emphasized the importance of questioning information and seeking verification from reliable outside sources. As I often reiterated to them, “Textbooks don’t always get it right. They also leave out a bunch of information. Sometimes we need to check facts, and if something seems off, we need to ask why.”
Furthermore, I encouraged students to dig deeper when fact-checking by scrolling past the first few options on Google search results and exploring various websites. This exercise was not only about learning the content but also about fostering critical thinking and research skills.
Wednesday: Research Skills and Critical Thinking
Wednesday was dedicated to honing research skills and critical thinking. I introduced a Google Sheet where students could collect and categorize information about their chosen colony. The goal was to utilize the three websites they had identified during their fact-checking slide.
This activity aimed to drive home the importance of selecting reliable sources and avoiding information overload. Originally, I had challenged students to find 15 facts from three sources. However, this was proving to be a bit too ambitious, and I decided to adjust the goal to 10 facts from two sources. This modification allowed students to focus on quality over quantity and reinforced the idea that depth of understanding is more valuable than superficial knowledge.
The Google Sheet presented some challenges as well. Many students were unfamiliar with using this tool, so I had to provide guidance on entering information into the spreadsheet, wrapping text in cells, and formatting the text appropriately. Additionally, I asked students to choose a category from a drop-down menu in a cell when adding a fact, with categories including geography, religion, people, economy/industries. This categorization exercise served a dual purpose: it helped organize the information and encouraged students to think critically about the key aspects of their colony’s history.
After about 20-25 minutes of research and data entry, I wanted students to condense their information into eight paraphrased, essential, and shareable facts. This step was pivotal in reinforcing their paraphrasing skills, which we had been working on once or twice a week throughout the unit. By the end of the class, I aimed for each student to have a set of paraphrased facts that they could confidently share with others.
Thursday: Collaboration and Creativity
Thursday commenced with an interactive and collaborative activity known as the “CyberSandwich.” This activity required students to partner up and engage in discussions about the paraphrased facts they had gathered about their respective colonies. The objective was to identify both similarities and differences between the colonies. Ideally, I had hoped for students to partner with someone studying a different colony to encourage diverse perspectives and discussions. However, some ended up partnering with students researching the same colony.
I allotted 10 minutes for the CyberSandwich activity, allowing students to discuss, compare, and contrast their findings. This collaboration was intended to deepen their understanding and provide an opportunity for peer-to-peer learning.
Following the CyberSandwich, I directed the students to write a summary paragraph about their assigned colony. My focus was on reinforcing the structure of a well-constructed paragraph, including a clear topic sentence, two supporting details, and a concluding sentence. Before they began writing, I presented them with two options: they could either challenge themselves by crafting a compare/contrast summary about two colonies or opt for a standard summary about their individual colony. This choice allowed students to tailor the activity to their abilities and interests.
With the goal of improving writing skills, I set a time limit of 8 minutes for completing the summary. This time constraint aimed to encourage efficiency and skill development.
After the CyberSandwich and summary writing, we transitioned to a creative exercise that engaged students’ imaginations and artistic talents. I took inspiration from Alfredo Silva’s teaching techniques and asked the students to design a Funko Pop character that could represent a settler from their assigned colony.
The Funko Pop template I provided was created by Quinn Rollins, author of “Play Like a PIRATE.” Students were encouraged to include accessories and elements that were relevant to their colony’s industries, geography, or religion. Additionally, they were tasked with composing a brief biography for their Funko Pop character. This character could be either a fictional individual or a historical figure linked to the colony.
This activity was met with enthusiasm and creativity, offering a refreshing break from the research-heavy components of the lesson. It also allowed students to express their understanding of their colony’s unique attributes in a creative and personalized way.
Friday: Surprising Assessment and Growth
Friday was designated as a day to finalize the Funko Pop character creations, but it held a surprise in store for the students. As class began, I sprung a Gimkit quiz on them. One month earlier, on August 29th, I had conducted a Gimkit quiz encompassing everything we had learned during the first quarter. This surprise quiz served two purposes: to gauge the students’ progress and to assess how effective our EduProtocols and skill-building efforts had been.
I issued two clear directives to the students: answer 20 or more questions and treat the quiz as if it were a graded assignment. These instructions added a layer of seriousness and purpose to the quiz. The students took it upon themselves to excel.
The results of the Gimkit quiz were astounding and demonstrated the remarkable growth the students had experienced over the course of the month:
58% to 80%
48% to 80%
60% to 87%
38% to 70%
48% to 82%
55% to 90%
Out of 122 students, a remarkable 117 showed growth, with 75 achieving substantial improvements with 20 percentage points or higher. The largest gain of the day was a 73 percentage point increase. Only five students experienced a slight decline, which raised concerns but also highlighted areas where additional support might be needed.
Reflection: The Journey Continues
As I reflect on this week’s teaching experience, I’m filled with gratitude for the opportunity to experiment with new strategies and adapt them to my students’ needs. While the lesson was overall successful, student feedback provided valuable insights and opportunities for refinement.
One notable observation was that the Google Sheets component of the lesson proved overwhelming for some students. They struggled with switching back and forth between various tools, as they didn’t yet possess the executive functioning skills to seamlessly navigate multiple platforms. Moreover, the sheer volume of information and activities within the Google Slide made it appear overwhelming.
In response to this feedback, I acknowledged the need to simplify the lesson further. As I often told my students, “I like to try things, see how they go, and rework them each time.” This commitment to continuous improvement is at the heart of effective teaching.
In conclusion, I firmly believe that teaching is an iterative process. We embark on educational journeys, experiment with new strategies, assess their effectiveness, and make adjustments accordingly. This week’s journey through the 13 colonies and the EduProtocols inspired by Scott Petri has been a valuable learning experience for both my students and me. It’s a reminder that teaching is not just about imparting knowledge but also about nurturing critical thinking, research skills, and a love for learning.
As I move forward, I am excited to refine this lesson further, ensuring that it strikes the right balance between depth of content and accessibility for middle school students. With each iteration, I hope to empower my students with the skills they need to thrive in an ever-changing world and continue to inspire their curiosity and love for social studies.
This week we didn’t have students until Tuesday. Monday was a professional day known as Safety Day. I began this week with Triangular Trade and the Middle Passage. Looking back, I wish I started this lesson before I did hexagonal learning last week. It would have made more sense to run things in that sequence with the hexagonal learning to wrap up European colonization and the Middle Passage. You live and learn. My lesson on the Middle Passage and Slavery ended up taking longer than expected, but that’s okay. I’m learning that even if I’m six to seven days behind of last year, that I will eventually catch up. Every year is different with different students. I’m getting more accomplished in class, as a result, I’m adding on more things and doing different lessons. That’s why I’m six days behind. I’m able to go a bit more in depth with the lessons. Wrapping up the week we began learning about colonial regions. Every year I seem to do the same thing with colonial regions, but I’m keeping my focus on the goals I set for room 505. I want to focus on writing and so we finished up the week with some Parafly to work on paraphrasing. The students seem to be really into paraphrasing because I’m trying to present it as an art. Keep the meaning, use some synonyms, simplify – but be creative. We combined the paraphrasing with a sketch and tell and WordWall quiz on colonial regions.
Tuesday and Wednesday – Triangular Trade and the Middle Passage
Our week began with the introduction of Triangular Trade and the Middle Passage. I couldn’t help but think back to the previous week when I introduced hexagonal learning. In hindsight, it would have made more sense to start with Triangular Trade and the Middle Passage before delving into European colonization. But as they say, you live and learn.
To set the stage for this lesson, I emphasized the importance of using person-first language when discussing slavery. Instead of “slave,” we used “enslaved person,” and we replaced terms like “master” or “owner” with “enslaver.” It’s a crucial lesson that I’ve learned needs explicit teaching for students to grasp fully.
For this lesson, I designed a station rotation activity based on the essential question, “How did Europeans exploring North America for trade, religious reasons, and competition with each other affect the history of the continent and the people who lived there?” This question has been guiding our exploration of European colonization’s impact on North America.
At each station, students engaged with different aspects of the Triangular Trade and Middle Passage:
Edpuzzle Video: We started with a 5-minute Edpuzzle video of a Ted Ed lesson on the Middle Passage, followed by questions to ensure comprehension.
SlaveVoyages.org: At the second station, we utilized the remarkable SlaveVoyages.org database, which provided a timelapse map of ships leaving West Africa for the New World through the Middle Passage. This interactive map allowed us to explore the journeys of individual ships, their cargo, and survival rates. The database was a treasure trove of information, a testament to the collaborative efforts of many dedicated individuals.
Slavery Statistics: The third station focused on statistics related to slavery, tying them back to our previous lesson on Number Mania. I wanted students to understand that these numbers and statistics had a real context, and they could see how they matched up with the data from the Slave Voyages database.
Northern and Southern Colonies: The fourth station delved into the existence of slavery in both Northern and Southern colonies and how enslaved people managed to build their own culture. We paired this reading with a map illustrating the Triangular Trade routes.
Students worked in pairs at each station, discussing and answering questions. This part of the lesson ended up taking longer than expected, but seeing the students engaged and actively learning was more important than sticking to a rigid schedule. In fact, 98% of the 122 students completed the stations, which was a success in my book.
For assessment, I posted a Thick Slide, challenging students to condense the information from their station activities into essential facts that could answer the question, “How did triangular trade and the Middle Passage transform North America?” As a test of their map manipulation skills, I had them use the Slave Voyages database to find a ship that went to North America and gather relevant statistics. They also had to include a quote from Olaudah Equiano and an image with a caption.
Thursday – A Day of Adaptation
Thursday was one of those days where I had a mix of students at different stages. Some were absent, some were catching up, and some were already ahead in their work. Over the years, I’ve developed a strategy for days like this to ensure every student makes progress within our 47-minute class period.
My priority was to have students complete and turn in their Thick Slides. For those who finished early, I introduced a Retrieval Practice challenge grid created by Lauren Richardson and Ashley Morrison. This challenge involved questions from their 7th-grade year, questions from three weeks ago, questions from two weeks ago, and questions from the current week. It was a way to test their memory and clear up any misconceptions quickly. Students were not allowed to use a Chromebook.
I also set up a live Gimkit review session for the entire class period. I set the Gimkit to run for 47 minutes and students could join it any time. The questions covered content we had learned in the past few weeks. The average score across all classes was an impressive 85%. It was heartening to see the progress we were making.
Additionally, I prepared a WordWall activity related to colonial regions. Colonial regions is the planned lesson for Friday’s class. While some students may have been a bit overwhelmed by the variety of activities for the day, this approach allowed everyone to catch up, review, and even get ahead where possible.
Friday – Colonial Regions and Paraphrasing Mastery
On Friday, we delved into the study of colonial regions and the impact of geography on their respective industries. The overarching question guiding this lesson was, “What are the different colonial regions, and how did geography affect the industries in those regions?”
To make the content more accessible, I had ChatGPT generate three 1500-lexile level paragraphs about the New England, Middle, and Southern regions. These paragraphs covered the geography, economy, and people of each region. I incorporated them into a Parafly slide deck, which we used with Peardeck.
The highlight of the day was the EduProtocol smash, combining Parafly with Sketch and Tell. This combination worked seamlessly, with students creating images that depicted how geography impacted industries in their assigned colonial region. They used Google Shapes or AI and Scribble Diffusion to generate their images. It was truly an engaging and creative exercise that allowed them to visualize historical concepts.
Our lesson started with a Parafly EduProtocol, focusing on paraphrasing skills. I realized that I needed to do a better job of modeling paraphrasing, so I walked the students through it during the first attempt. On the second paraphrase, I had students identify the words and phrases they felt needed to be changed. As students paraphrased in Peardeck, I would shout out feedback. The final attempt at paraphrasing, I took for a grade. After each paraphrase attempt, students copied and pasted their paraphrases to the Sketch and Tell and created an image with Google shapes or Scribble Diffusion AI.
As we wrapped up the lesson, students completed a WordWall activity on colonial regions. It was a pleasant surprise to see the average score jump from 14.9 out of 39 correct on Thursday to 31 correct after the Parafly and Sketch and Tell activities. It was evident that the students had grasped the content more deeply through these engaging exercises.
To provide further feedback, I used Claude to analyze their paraphrases based on the use of synonyms, simplification, and maintaining the core meaning. This allowed me to show students how their paraphrasing skills had evolved. The feedback was encouraging, highlighting their effective use of synonyms and simplification to improve readability.
Here is how I used Claude for feedback – I copied and pasted the original paragraph into Claude. I also copied and pasted each student paraphrased paragraph directly from Peardeck and asked it to analyze each one based on the use of synonyms, simplification, and keeping the meaning.
Here is some of the feedback I shared with students:
Teaching eighth-grade social studies is a rewarding yet challenging endeavor. Each week, we embark on a journey of discovery, exploring historical events, cultures, and critical thinking skills. In this extended reflection, I will delve into the experiences and lessons of a particularly eventful week, where we dived deep into the motivations behind European exploration and colonization of North America. Additionally, I will share the innovative ways I integrated artificial intelligence (AI) tools for providing feedback, enhancing the learning experience for both my students and me.
The week began on a somber note, as Monday marked the anniversary of September 11th. As a teacher, I find it essential to acknowledge significant historical events, but I aim to do so in a way that is respectful and thought-provoking. This year, I chose to deviate from the traditional approach of showing videos that depict the shocking visuals of the Twin Towers collapsing. Instead, I wanted my students to engage with the topic by asking meaningful questions.
To structure this lesson effectively, I collaborated with my colleague and co-author, Dr. Scott Petri. Given the diverse age range and maturity of our students – I teach middle school, while Scott teaches AP high school classes – we needed a structured framework for our lesson. This is where “wicked hydra” came into play.
The lesson commenced with a news video featuring Nancy Rosado, a first responder who had been at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and later responded to the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando. The video served as a catalyst for questioning. Before showing the video, I asked students to ponder the question, “If you had a chance, what questions would you ask this first responder or survivor?”
Following the video, students formed small groups of three to five, engaging in a “wicked hydra” activity. They were tasked with writing their questions on large posters, collectively constructing a list of inquiries aimed at Nancy Rosado. This collaborative exercise not only encouraged critical thinking but also promoted teamwork.
Once the posters were ready, the students engaged in a gallery walk, perusing each other’s questions and adding more queries as necessary. Subsequently, I provided students with a “Frayer model,” a graphic organizer that prompted them to identify and summarize four of the most insightful questions from their group.
The culmination of the lesson introduced students to StoryFile, a remarkable platform that houses recorded interviews with celebrities and historical figures. Remarkably, Nancy Rosado was part of StoryFile’s collection, providing a unique opportunity for my students to ask her questions directly. Students were captivated by the prospect of interacting with a survivor, and they could pose their inquiries by typing or using their voices.
During the exercise, we discovered that Nancy Rosado answered only five to six questions about 9/11, whereas another survivor from the same event, Denise Campbell, was more responsive. This lesson served as a powerful exercise in asking good questions and demonstrated the potential of AI in preserving and sharing personal narratives. In the future, I plan to allocate more time for students to craft practice summaries based on what they’ve learned from 9/11 survivors, adding an extra layer of reflection to the lesson.
Tuesday: Exploring European Motivations
Tuesday marked the official start of our exploration into European colonization. To kick off the day with energy and enthusiasm, we initiated a fast-paced and competitive Gimkit session. Running for just four minutes, the Gimkit activity tested students’ knowledge and provided immediate feedback. The class averages ranged from 65% to 80%, setting a spirited tone for the day.
Following the Gimkit, we transitioned seamlessly into a “Thin Slide” activity. Here, students had a mere three minutes to scour the web for images representing the “old world” and the “new world.” These concepts were integral to understanding the motivations behind European exploration and colonization. The rapid nature of this task ensured students remained engaged and focused.
To deepen their comprehension of European motivations, we employed a range of EduProtocols. The first was a “Sketch and Tell” exercise, divided into three slides that explored the motivations of Spanish, French, and English explorers. Accompanied by grade-level reading material, complete with a recorded audio version and a modified text for accessibility, students had a generous 20-minute window to complete all the slides.
Reflecting on my teaching methods, I recognized that I had introduced a new EduProtocol with a high cognitive load – the “8Parts” exercise. However, in the middle of the day, I made a shift, changing the image associated with Christopher Columbus to something more engaging. My goal was to revisit the “8Parts” process on the following day, but as it turned out, I adapted the lesson plan for Wednesday instead.
Wednesday: Exploring Native-European Interactions
Wednesday’s lesson took an unexpected turn as I reflected on our previous week’s discussion about Native Americans and their connections to Clermont County. I didn’t want to move into the topic of European colonization without acknowledging the native populations that inhabited North America. To achieve this, I sought to provide students with insights into the early interactions between Native Americans and European settlers.
Historically, I had come across excerpts from diaries written in Old English that described these interactions. However, I faced challenges in translating these archaic texts effectively. Additionally, I questioned whether eighth-grade students would find them comprehensible and engaging.
This is where the power of AI stepped in. I stumbled upon a diary entry from a settler who arrived in Jamestown in May of 1607, containing notes about the interactions between Native Americans and his group. I uploaded a picture of the diary entry to Google Keep and employed the “grab image text” feature to extract the text from the image. While the text was laden with misspellings and antiquated language, it was a starting point. To make it accessible and engaging for eighth graders, I turned to AI once again.
Using ChatGPT, I requested a translation of the text to make it suitable for my students’ understanding. To my surprise, the AI handled the task wonderfully, transforming the Olde English into a language that was comprehensible for young learners. This experience was a revelation, showing the potential for AI in bridging the gap between historical documents and modern education.
To enhance the lesson further, I discovered a website containing six translated diary entries from Jamestown, each shedding light on various aspects of Native-European interactions. With limited time in the morning, I swiftly assembled a new lesson plan to introduce students to these crucial historical moments.
The class began with a “Thin Slide,” encouraging students to discover the most interesting facts about Jamestown. I was hopeful that their findings would encompass topics such as tobacco cultivation, the year of founding (1607), and the arrival of enslaved people (1619). The students shared numerous compelling facts during this session.
In the spirit of quick engagement, I initiated a round-robin presentation, with students given eight seconds or less to present their findings from the “Thin Slide.” This exercise encouraged concise and focused communication, fostering valuable skills for future discussions.
The core of the lesson revolved around a CyberSandwich. This activity involved five diary entries from a single settler’s perspective in Jamestown, each offering a unique insight into the interactions between settlers and Native Americans. The diary entries covered topics such as trade, Native American theft of ammunition, land claims, and the settlers’ intentions to convert Native Americans to Christianity.
Students were highly engaged in this exercise, reading through the various sources and completing a guided notes page within the allotted time of 12-15 minutes. The guided notes page prompted them to describe the interaction from each entry and use a relevant quote as evidence. This approach encouraged students to analyze the primary sources critically.
Following the completion of the guided notes, students were tasked with selecting three interactions and notes, comparing them for patterns and differences. This activity aimed to cultivate their skills in drawing connections between historical events and discerning trends.
The remainder of the class was dedicated to students finalizing their summaries, allowing them to synthesize the information they had gathered throughout the lesson. It was a rich and immersive experience, immersing students in the complexities of early interactions between Native Americans and European settlers.
Thursday: Exploring the Effects of European Colonization
Thursday’s lesson shifted our focus to exploring the consequences of European colonization in North America. While I had used a “Sketch and Tell” lesson for this topic in the previous year, I opted for a Number Mania this time. This choice was influenced by our recent practice in paraphrasing, a skill that needed reinforcement.
The reading material for the “Number Mania” activity was thoughtfully selected to align with our paraphrasing practice. It contained descriptive words and concepts that eighth graders don’t typically encounter in their everyday language. This alignment facilitated the provision of targeted feedback on paraphrasing skills, as students were encouraged to retain the descriptive words from the original text.
In preparation for the Number Mania, I divided the reading material into four distinct slides. To promote engagement and participation, I introduced the content via Peardeck, an interactive presentation platform. This approach allowed students to explore the reading material and make initial connections.
Each slide provided students with three minutes to paraphrase the content. After crafting their paraphrases, students were instructed to copy and paste them onto the designated slide for the “Number Mania” activity. This process facilitated the seamless transfer of their paraphrased content for use in the next stage of the lesson.
With paraphrasing skills at the forefront, students then moved on to the “Number Mania” exercise. I displayed a quote from the reading material: “The period spanning 1492 to 1763 stands as a pivotal era in North American history, marked by European colonization and its profound consequences.” The challenge was for students to use four numbers and associated facts from the text to substantiate the truth of this statement.
The introduction of numbers and facts as evidence from the text was instrumental in providing students with a clear framework for their responses. This not only encouraged critical thinking but also allowed for specific and constructive feedback. For example, when a student used “18th century” as a number, I was able to guide them by asking what specific event or element from the 18th century supported the statement.
All in all, the Number Mania proved to be an enriching and effective lesson, reinforcing paraphrasing skills while encouraging students to delve into the consequences of European colonization.
Friday: Wrapping Up with Hexagonal Learning
As the week approached its conclusion, Friday provided an opportunity to consolidate the knowledge and insights gained throughout the week. We began the day by allowing students approximately ten minutes to complete any remaining tasks from the “Number Mania” activity. For those who needed extra time, I reverted to Gimkit’s “Fast and Curious” mode as an engaging and interactive way to review the week’s content.
The criteria for this Gimkit session were straightforward: students were challenged to answer 20 or more questions within a tight timeframe of 5-6 minutes. This high-intensity review helped solidify their understanding of the material and served as a dynamic end to the week.
To wrap up the week’s activities, we engaged in hexagonal learning, one of my personal favorite collaborative exercises. Hexagonal learning involves the use of hexagon-shaped cards, each containing a concept or idea related to the topic at hand. In this case, I prepared hexagons with concepts like “New World,” “Old World,” “North America,” “France,” “Animal Furs,” and more.
I offered both digital and paper versions of the hexagonal learning activity to accommodate students’ preferences. They were encouraged to partner with a classmate to work on this collaborative task. The approach we followed was to initially sort the hexagons into groups based on their related concepts. Once the initial sorting was complete, students engaged in discussions to establish detailed connections between the hexagons.
To establish clarity in their connections, I emphasized the importance of detailed explanations. It was not enough to simply connect two hexagons; students needed to articulate why these concepts were related and provide supporting evidence.
To set clear expectations, I shared an example of a hexagonal learning activity from the previous year. While the example looked visually appealing, upon closer inspection, it became evident that the connections were not sufficiently detailed. This served as a valuable lesson in the importance of quality over quantity when making connections.
To provide a clear assessment framework, I established a success criteria for the students. They were required to connect all the hexagons by the end of the class period and create six or more detailed connections to receive a perfect score of 4 out of 4. Many students rose to the challenge, and I encouraged them to revisit the lessons from the week to seek inspiration for their connections.
Throughout this activity, I aimed not only to consolidate their understanding of the week’s material but also to foster critical thinking skills. The process of sorting and connecting concepts encouraged students to approach the subject matter from different angles, deepening their understanding.
Using AI for Student Feedback
One of the highlights of this week’s teaching experience was the integration of AI tools for providing feedback on student work. Traditional methods of grading and feedback are time-consuming and often lack consistency. However, I discovered an innovative AI tool called Claude (claude.ai) that offered a promising solution.
Claude.ai is a platform that scans and evaluates student paragraphs, providing feedback and consistent scoring. My friend Jacob Carr introduced me to this powerful tool, and I immediately recognized its potential in streamlining the feedback process.
In practice, I initiated the feedback process by having students submit their paragraphs through a Google Form. These responses were then collected in a Google Sheet. I downloaded the Google Sheet as a PDF and uploaded it to Claude.ai. I established specific criteria for Claude.ai to assess, including whether the student paragraphs contained a topic sentence, two supporting details, and a concluding sentence. Additionally, I instructed the tool to match the paragraphs with the corresponding student emails and organize this information into a table. Here was my actual prompt, “Analyze these student paragraphs. I asked them to write a summary paragraph about native americans adapting to their environments. The focus was using a topic sentence, 2 supporting details, and a concluding sentence. Tell me with a yes or no if they used a topic sentence, yes or no 2 supporting details, and a yes or no concluding sentence. Match the paragraphs with the student emails. Organize this information into a table. Give each paragraph a score of 4, 3, 2, or 1.”
The results were impressive. Claude.ai provided feedback and scores that were consistent and efficient. To further validate its effectiveness, I conducted an experiment. I uploaded a set of student paragraphs, obtained feedback and scores, and then repeated the process a week later. The results revealed a remarkable consistency rate of 95%. This level of consistency is a game-changer in terms of grading efficiency and fairness.
The ability to provide quantitative data on student writing progress was invaluable. I could track improvements from one assignment to the next, identify areas where students needed more support, and tailor my teaching accordingly. Claude.ai’s feedback, combined with my own insights, allowed for a holistic assessment of student performance and growth. Here was my prompt: “Give me some qualitative and quantitative data of student paragraphs from 1st cybersandwich to the 2nd cybersandwich.. Are we getting better at writing paragraphs? What do we need to work on? Our focus is a topic sentence, 2 supporting details, and a concluding sentence. cross reference the student names to compare.”
Conclusion
As I reflect on this week of teaching eighth-grade social studies, I am reminded of the incredible journey that education represents. We explored the motivations behind European exploration and colonization of North America, delving into history’s complexities and nuances. Along the way, we leveraged innovative AI tools to enhance the learning experience for both students and teachers.
From fostering questioning skills on 9/11 to translating historical documents with AI, from exploring Native-European interactions to analyzing the consequences of European colonization, each day presented unique challenges and opportunities. EduProtocols such as “Sketch and Tell,” “CyberSandwich,” and “Number Mania” facilitated engagement and critical thinking, while hexagonal learning encouraged collaboration and synthesis of ideas.
The integration of AI, particularly Claude.ai, for providing feedback on student work proved to be a transformative experience. It streamlined the grading process, offered consistent feedback, and enabled data-driven insights into student progress.
In the ever-evolving landscape of education, the synergy between traditional teaching methods and innovative technologies holds immense promise. As educators, our commitment to fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and adaptability in our students remains unwavering.
Moler's Musings 