Author: molersmusings

Today, I experienced one of those teaching days that leaves you feeling defeated and questioning your abilities as an educator. It was a day filled with student misbehavior and struggles with lesson planning. With only 16 days left in the school year, it feels like some students have lost their motivation and simply don’t care anymore.

In an effort to address the issue of student behavior, I’ve tried various strategies such as using timers and delivering motivational talks. However, I am determined not to resort to hanging grades over their heads to force them to work. I firmly believe that learning should be driven by intrinsic motivation and a genuine desire to grow, rather than external pressures.

One of the challenges I faced today was the use of Blooket, an online learning platform, in my fast and curious eduprotocol class. Unfortunately, Blooket has vulnerabilities or “hacks” that some students exploit, resulting in a ruined gaming experience. They use auto clickers to rapidly answer questions or find ways to accumulate an absurd amount of money or points. As a result, the class averages for the fast and curious game fluctuated dramatically from 53% to 72%, and then dropped to 62%.

Another challenge I faced today was during a Cybersandwich activity focusing on the Kansas-Nebraska Acts. This activity involves students reading for 10 minutes, taking notes, pairing up for discussion, and then answering a question related to the topic. However, we struggled to complete the activity within the allocated time of 25-30 minutes. It felt like a disaster, especially when I realized that I had accidentally shared a Cybersandwich slides with my notes already included.

I am sharing this experience because I believe it’s important to acknowledge that challenging days happen to all of us, regardless of our experience or expertise as teachers. It’s crucial to remember that we are human, and there will be moments when things don’t go as planned. What matters is how we respond and learn from these situations, adapting our strategies and continuing to strive for the best possible educational experience for our students.

As the school year comes to a close, it can be tempting to feel discouraged, but it’s essential to remain resilient and maintain our passion for teaching. Reflecting on tough days like today allows us to grow, develop new strategies, and remind ourselves that even in the face of adversity, we are making a difference in the lives of our students.

This week started off with finishing the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the northern and southern United States. Some students had choice board activities to finish. Some began an annotated map as their final assessment. Other students were completely finished and onto the extension activity I created.

With the annotated map, I wanted students to show what they learned about the Industrial Revolution using icons, pictures, etc and how it impacted the northern and southern United States. I had questions next to the map that had them analyze the differences between north and south. I did this lesson last year and I liked it, so I decided to use it again. I rarely use the same lessons year to year. If I do use the same lessons, I make small changes. For this particular lesson, the only changes I made were to the choice board as I added a frayer and thick slide.

I have also been trying to incorporate more extension activities into lessons this year. These activities are more for the students who finish early. Sometimes I get caught up in the idea that ALL students need to do the extension activity. Then I begin thinking, some of these kids struggle to complete the basics and foundation of the lesson. I would prefer they focus on the basics.

Most of my extension activities has students relate history to our community of New Richmond. Or, the activity has students relating history to some current event today. The extension activity for the Industrial revolution, for example, had the students relating characteristics of the current Industrial Revolution 4.0 to America’s First Industrial Revolution.

The rest of the week we focused on abolitionism. I used a similar lesson to last year to introduce abolitionism. Then we followed that up by introducing abolitionists. Some of the abolitionists were local such as John Rankin and James G. Birney. Other abolitionists are more well known such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass.

The main goal with the lesson on abolitionism is to have students understand how people challenge the status quo and seek reform in society. A lot of the lesson s focuses on how these abolitionists used different methods, different motivations to create change all while facing conflict from other people.

Monday and Tuesday – Annotated Map, Fast and Curious

Wednesday – Frayer, CyberSandwich

Thursday and Friday – Fast and Curious, Abolitionist Thick Slide, Assessment Options

Please donate to Samantha Cain’s GoFundMe Page

Monday and Tuesday

Monday and Tuesday were used to finish up the impact of the Industrial revolution on the northern and southern United States. Students learned about the introduction of interchangeable parts, textile mills, the cotton gin, and how goods were being mass produced by machines rather than by hand. My hope was they would pick up on that cotton in the south and textile mills in the north made these two regions dependent on each other. Many didn’t make that connection until I explicitly stated it. After that, it all seemed to make sense and click.

On the annotated map, students had to label north and south. Then they added icons, pictures, etc to show the differences between north and south in terms of transportation, economy, and geography. They had to add a map title and analyze the information on the side. All in all, they did a good job. If I did it differently, I would focus more on the relationship between north and south with cotton and textiles mills. I would also focus more on how textile mills operated and worked. Lastly, I would try to find more charts, data, graphs that showed the impact of the industrial revolution on population size, etc.

If students finished early, I had them complete an extension activity comparing America’s first industrial Revolution to the current Industrial Revolution 4.0. I had an idea to use Upside Down Learning from EMC2Learning to have students compare these revolutions. I also had ChatGPT create the article comparing the revolutions. I gave ChatGPT specific criteria about focusing on the characteristics of these revolutions and its impact on the United States.

With Upside Down Learning, students write the “reality” or tue details from the reading. Underneath, students write an alternate reality, or untruthful, statement. I had the idea of students writing Industrial revolution 4.0 on the top line and Industrial Revolution 1.0 underneath. They are similar and opposite in many ways. All in all, it worked out well.

In addition to the annotated map and extension activity, students had to complete the Fast and Curious about the Industrial Revolution. I like to do two-part assessments where students create something and answer some basic level questions using Gimkit or Quizizz.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, I started a new lesson on abolitionism. The main focuses of this lesson are understanding abolitionism, and analyzing the various ways people can reform and change society.

I began the lesson with a Frayer on abolitionism where students defined the word, added facts and characteristics, four connections words, and a picture. I like to mix up how I introduce vocabulary, and we haven’t done a frayer model in a while.

After the Frayer model was completed, we read an article on abolitionism. I found a CyberSandwich I used last year. The linked article gave a brief introduction to the abolitionist movement and mentioned the name of abolitionists we would be studying.

I ran a traditional CyberSandwich with a 10 minute read and note taking. With the notes I asked about the text structure and most students guessed correctly – chronological with a description. Then I had students discuss for 5 minutes and compare notes. Finally, students wrote their summaries for ten minutes. It was a pretty short and simple class – my favorite.

Thursday

For Thursday’s class, I began with a teacher-led Quizizz. I did this because recently the students haven’t been taking the first round of fast and curious seriously. To me, the first rep is important so the questions can be read, mistakes made, and learning why we made mistakes. This hasn’t been happening, especially the reading of the questions. The teacher-led Quizizz allowed me to control the pace and read the questions out loud. For Friday, I transferred the questions to a Gimkit.

The teacher-led Quizizz took the first 15 min of class which was entirely too much time. But, you have to give up a little to get a little I guess. After the Quizizz, I had students choose an abolitionist to create a Thick Slide.

The Thick Slide was set up so students could write down background information, motivations, methods, and conflicts about their chosen abolitionist. I also included a place for them to apply and explain an archetype to the abolitionist. Finally, they had to insert an image and a quote. When their slide was complete, they shared a link through a Google Form.

On the Thick Slide, I included 7 different choices for abolitionist:

1. Frederick Douglass
2. William Lloyd Garrison
3. Sarah Grimke
4. Harriet Beecher Stowe – local Cincinnati ties, and her brother was a minister at a church in New Richmond.
5. James G. Birney – local abolitionist who started an abolitionist newspaper, The Philanthropist, in New Richmond. He also ran for president twice.
6. James Rankin – local minister who helped along the Underground Railroad.
7. John Brown

I chose these people because they offered local connections and various methods for abolishing slavery. When I went back to the articles we used last year for each abolitionist, I was not impressed. So, I had ChatGPT write articles for each abolitionist. I prompted it with this: “I want you to write a detailed article on John Brown as an abolitionist. Include headings for the following: background information, motivations for abolishing slavery, methods for abolishing slavery, and conflicts he faced from other people.” It created a great, easy to follow, article for each abolitionist.

Friday

On Friday when students came, we began class with a Fast and Curious Gimkit. The average of all the scores from Thursday was around a 45%. The average for Friday’s scores was a 75%. After the Fast and Curious, students finished their Thick Slide from the previous day. Or, they began taking notes about 4 different abolitionist using a Frayer.

From the Google Form, I created a Google Sheet with links to everyone’s slides. I usually hand out a paper Frayer so students don’t copy and paste notes, but I took a chance and left the Frayer as a digital slide. Some students did it the right way and took their own notes. Others just copied and pasted.

I had several students ask me what kind of notes they should be taking. This is where I put up the I can statements and reminded the students the goal of the lesson – I can explain and analyze how people create change and reform in society. That seemed to help focus them.

After students took notes, they had 4 assessment options to choose from. Here are those options:

1. Dinner Party – this was created by Amanda Sandoval. Which four abolitionists would sit next to each other? Why? What would they discuss?
2. Sketch and Tell – choose 2 abolitionists, sketch out their methods for ending slavery, and tell about it.
3. Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then – retell the story of an abolitionist.
4. InstaStory – another Amanda Sandoval template. Highlight 3 abolitionist on an instastory, and summarize at the end.

By the end of class, some students were finished with everything. Most students, however, were just beginning the assessment. Now we start state testing next week……..

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

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

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

Monday – Retrieval Practice

Tuesday – Number Mania Timeline, EdPuzzle, Sketch and Tell

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

Please donate to Samantha Cain’s Go Fund Me Page

Monday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tuesday

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday-Thursday

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

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

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

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

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

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

We are not finished with this lesson, and the plan is to finish up on Monday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday – AirEMC, Fast and Curious,

Thursday – AirEMC, Fast and Curious, Thick Slide NR

Friday – Finish up any missing work

Monday

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tuesday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday through Friday

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

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

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

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

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

Thursday

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

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

This week I asked myself this question, “Do I spend four to five days teaching about westward territorial expansion, or do I finish it in two to three days?” I opted for the two to three days. This is what I love about EduProtocols – students are familiar with the routines and we can get through some content faster.

One of my favorite ways to cover lots of content in a short time is with a Thick Slide and Frayer. Students create a slide with information, pictures, and quotes. Then students share the slide through a Google Form. Finally I hand out a Frayer that students fill out with notes and information as they read each other’s slides. Instead of a Frayer, students went from slide to slide and wrote summaries on their annotated maps.

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday finishing annotated maps. I forgot to take pictures of the completed maps (I’ll have some soon). The students did an excellent job! I shared an example of an annotated map when we first began the lesson and the most common response was, “Whoa, that’s a lot of work. I can’t do that.” In the end, they did it, they did it well, and basically wrote a six to seven paragraph essay.

After we learned how the United States used purchases, war, and treaties to expand westward, the next phase of the lesson is to learn about the people that went west. My ultimate goal for the lesson is to have students learn about the reasons people went west and compare that to reasons people settled in our community of New Richmond. I’ve never done this before but I’ve been planning it with our tech coach Jordan Petri who fors for Forward Edge.

The first lesson the students completed asked the question, “What inspired people to go west?” I took the opportunity to create a new rack and stack combo with EduProtocols. Students completed an 8pArts, 3xCER, and Sketch and Tell as we analyzed 4 sources and worked on writing paragraphs. All in all, it was a successful lesson.

Monday – Thick Slide, Fast and Curious

Tuesday – Annotated Map

Wednesday – Annotated Map

Thursday – 8pArts, 3xCER

Friday – 3xCER, Sketch and Tell

Monday

Monday began with a Fast and Curious using Gimkit. I added questions about Oregon, the Mexican Cession, and the Gadsden Purchase. All classes did as I expected with new questions added to the old questions – 74% class average or higher.

As I mentioned up top, I didn’t want to spend four to five days covering the remaining territories of Oregon, Mexican Cession, and the Gadsden Purchase. I’ve seen other lessons, or mini-units, that cover all the territories in two to three days. I think that’s too short. At the same time, I didn’t want to drag out the lesson too long.

To help get through the final territories, I created a Thick Slide template. As I was developing this template, I knew the goal was to have students write summaries on their annotated maps explaining how we got these territories. At first I set up the Thick Slide notes with a sequencing organizer because the reading was written in sequence. However, I changed it for my later class period to a Somebody, Wanted, But…..organizer. I had one student comment they liked the Somebody, Wanted organizer because it was easy to follow and helped them process the reading better.

I also included on the Thick Slide a comparison chart where students compared the territory they chose (Oregon, Mexican cession, Gadsden Purchase) to another territory they learned about. At first the students were confused on what to compare, so I added in categories – who was president, how did we get it, and location. Lastly, I wanted students to include a quote from the reading about the impact of the territory on people or the United States as a country.

To begin this lesson after the Fast and Curious, I had students read for 5 minutes and highlight the parts of the organizer – Somebody, Wanted, etc. Then I gave students 20 to 25 minutes to create their slide and share. Here are some great examples:

After students shared their slides, we finished class with a Fast and Curious one more time. This time class averages ranged from 84% to 95%. I like the Gimkit as a way to cover material that students might miss looking through student created slides. Maybe students didn’t pick up on important information about a territory – so the questions I include on the Gimkit have information I want the students to know.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Tuesday and Wednesday were devoted to finishing the annotated maps. The entire goal of an annotated map is to connect history with geography. Start with a question, in this case, it was, “How did manifest destiny drive westward expansion?” The students learned about manifest destiny as motivation from God and christians to spread American values. However, they also learned about it as a way to justify starting wars, spreading slavery, and displacing indigenous people.

Students started their maps with the question in mind, researched and learned about the territories, and they circled back to the original question. They struggled to answer the question because they weren’t making connections between what they learned about manifest destiny to what they learned about the territories. I directed them back to the 3xCER lesson from last week:

I had them use this past lesson and what they recently learned as a starting point to answer the original question. I have told my students since day one, “Everything we do serves a purpose. It’s intentional.” So many students go from one day to the next completing tasks, worksheets, etc with no purpose. When I reminded them to go back to this lesson, they said, “Oh yeah, now it makes sense.”

Overall, the students did a fantastic job on their annotated maps. Their maps and the Fast and Curious Gimkit served as their summative assessment. I will add pictures soon.

Thursday

Thursday we began a new lesson where the question was asked, “What inspired people to go west?” The lesson had some background knowledge readings and 4 sources for students to analyze. Here were the sources:

1. A painting entitled, Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way.
2. A letter written by Thomas Jefferson to Lewis and Clark.
3. Two excerpts out of the book, Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis, written by Josiah Strong.
4. Song Lyrics from the song, “I Go West,” by JP Barrett.

I set up this lesson to where I read the background information, then students analyzed the source. I don’t know why, but I only shared the sources with them and not the background information. Looking back on that, I made a mistake so I corrected it for Friday. I put all of the information and sources on one piece of paper – front and back.

The first source we looked at was the painting. I read the background information, pointed out certain images to look at, and students analyzed the painting with an 8pArts. Students filled out the nouns, adjectives, etc. in 7 minutes. They wrote their summaries in 3 minutes. Here are some examples:

Then we followed up the 8pArts with a 3xCER. I would read the background information, and students read the source. I had two different versions of the sources – the original wording and a 5th grade level. I pasted the sources into ChatGPT and requested it keep the tone and meaning, but rewrite it for a 5th grade student. It did an excellent job.

As we did the 3xCER, I was teaching the students that a claim would restate the original question. The evidence would support the claim. Finally, instead of reasoning, I wrote it as a question, “How does the evidence support the claim?” I encouraged the students to include some background information here. Here are some examples:

Friday

Friday was used to finish up the 3xCER, if necessary, and to take the information to finish a Sketch and Tell. The goal was to have students construct a paragraph with a claim, evidence, reasoning, and a concluding sentence. I don’t like to be like this, but I stated the paragraphs had to be four or more sentences.

I set up this Sketch and Tell from a UDL mindset of providing multiple ways for students to show what they learned. Students could create an image to answer the questions and/or write a paragraph with their 3xCER information.

Before students began writing, I informed them the 3xCER had to the structure of the paragraph already set up. Pick a column and start writing. Here are some awesome examples:

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This week in 505, we covered a range of topics and used various teaching strategies to engage the students in text structures and westward expansion.

On Monday, we started off the week by writing with different text structures as we examined a funny photograph. This was a great way to get the students thinking critically about the photograph and the different ways in which they could present their thoughts.

Tuesday was a bit of a strange day, with very little emphasis on teaching.

Wednesday was when we started talking about westward expansion. We used a questioning strategy lesson, where students wrote questions about the painting “American Progress.” They then wrote a summary using the 8Parts eduprotocol. This was an effective way to help students engage with the material and understand the key concepts related to westward expansion.

On Thursday, I was presenting at the Hamilton County Educational Service Center about uses of A.I. to enhance learning and instruction. Whenever I’m out, I leave familiar lessons and protocols. I left a Sketch and Tell for westward expansion vocabulary, along with an edpuzzle video. This was a great way to help students understand key terms and concepts related to westward expansion, and to engage them with the material in a fun and interactive way.

Finally, on Friday, students examined motivations for American territorial expansion using a primary source and the 3xCER Eduprotocol. This was paired up with a SHEG lesson that I often use year after year. This was an effective way to help students understand the reasons behind American expansionism, and to engage them with the historical context surrounding this important topic.

Monday – 5xText Structure

Tuesday – some things are more important than school

Wednesday – Wicked Hydra JamBoard, 8pArts, Gimkit

Thursday – EdPuzzle, Sketch and Tell, Gimkit

Friday – 3xCER

Monday

When class began Monday, I created different Repuzzler cards, printed them and handed them out. I took away vocabulary words and added definitions. Now the 4 cards the students had to piece together were: definitions, example paragraph, signal words, and a graphic organizer. We followed up the Repouzzler with a Fast and Curious on Gimkit focusing on text structure definitions, signal words, and examples. All classes had a class average of 80% or higher. The Repuzzler and Fast and Curious took 10 minutes of class time.

Last Friday students were walking around the room, pulling cards from a ‘treasure chest’ and determining the type of text structure being used. After reading multiple paragraphs and determining text structure, I wanted the students to be able to write with different structures. I had an idea to change the 5xGenre EduProtocol to a 5xText Structure.

I tried to explain my idea to someone and it was kind of cast aside. It made me think my 5xText Structure wouldn’t work. However, I did it anyway. It worked great. The kids loved it.

When I introduce a new writing strategy in class, I try to use funny pictures. I try to use a low cognitive load as well. In the EduProtocols Community Facebook group, someone posted a funny picture of 3 chickens looking through a window at a cooked chicken on the counter. This was the perfect picture for the 5xText Structure. Here is how I set up and ran the 5xText Structure:

1. I created a slide with 5 different boxes for each text structure (descriptive, sequence, cause/effect, compare, and problem/solution). I left a blank space in the middle for a picture.
2. I remember reading in a research article about teaching text structures to begin with descriptive or sequence first. The top two boxes are for those text structures.
3. I set the timer for 4 minutes and had students write in a descriptive text structure about the image.
4. I encouraged them to use signal words. I also had them highlight signal words.
5. At the end of 4 minutes, we switched to the sequence text structure.
6. I ran the timer again for another 4 minutes.
7. We did this until the end of class. It was awesome! The kids loved it.

Since the introduction of the 5xText Structure, I had students create a new slide with a new picture. We begin class now by writing with a new text structure each day. One text structure a day, and now we are down to 3 minutes. Here are some examples:

Tuesday

Tuesday was a difficult day. Some things are way more important than school. People often ask me what I learned about education during Covid and I always respond, “I learned that it’s just school.” Many kids will come into our classrooms and at the end of the day, at the end of the quarter, at the end of the semester, or the end of the year they will always remember how they felt. I tried to do some school on this day, but I changed my mind. It didn’t feel right.

I often write random poems for school, tennis, or life. This moment called for me write a poem:

Wednesday

Wednesday we came back ready to begin a new unit. I have moved onto westward expansion. My overall question for this unit is, “How did manifest Destiny drive westward expansion?” So, priority number 1 is helping the students understand the phrase Manifest Destiny.

I took nine vocabulary words from the lesson on westward expansion and created a Blooket and a Gimkit using ChatGPT. (It’s mind blowing!) Here is how I made them in 5 minutes or less:

Before we even used the Gimkit, I wanted students to ask questions about the image, American Progress. This image is Manifest Destiny. I copied this image onto a jamboard and had students share with each other. This image has so much going on that it naturally creates curiosity and questions. I gave students 5-6 minutes to ask questions. The students used the post-it note feature on jamboard to ask their questions. At the end of 5-6 minutes, we had a brief discussion about the image.

One thing I usually have to point out about American Progress are the two halves – light vs. dark. Most students to pick up on this, but several students asked the question, “Why are they moving into darkness?” “Why is one side lighter?” It led to great discussions – I love Jacob Carr’s Wicked Hydra EduProtocol.

In an effort to keep writing as a theme in my class, we followed up the Wicked Hydra with an American Progress 8pArts. Now, students had some basic background information with the painting and I wanted to see how they could use that information to write. The first thing I had students do was take a question from their Jamboard and turn it into an I Wonder statement on the 8pArts.

We haven’t completed an 8pArts in a long time and it showed. I had to remind 8th grade students what verbs and adverbs were. As a result, we did the 8pArts together. After we filled in the boxes, they wrote their summaries.

To conclude class, we played a Gimkit with westward expansion vocabulary words. All of the class averages ended up at 67% or higher. The most commonly missed words were: cession, annexation, and diplomacy.

Thursday

On Thursday I was out presenting. I was at the Hamilton Education Service Center presenting 10 Ways to Use A.I. to Enhance Learning and Instruction. If you want any ideas or want to contribute an idea, here you go:

1. My Presentation – some of the highlights include: mad libs, creating questions, and pairing some EduProtocols with AI.
2. Share an A.I. idea here on a Thin Slide.

Whenever I’m out, I always leave something familiar for the students. So, I left a Sketch and Tell, and EdPuzzle video about westward expansion, and a Gimkit. When I looked back through the student work, I had 74% student engagement. I received only 1 email from a student and it said, “Can you please reset my EdPuzzle?”

For the Sketch and Tell I had students paraphrase westward expansion definitions for cession, annexation, diplomacy, and Manifest Destiny (The most commonly missed words from Wednesday’s Gimkit). Students could use Google Shapes or Scribble Diffusion. Scribble Diffusion is an A.I. site that takes your drawings and converts them into images. It’s super cool. Here is a disclaimer – I have used scribble diffusion several times and 98% of the time it has been awesome! A student showed me a drawing he made for ‘cession’ which was a stick figure. He showed me his description, “someone surrendering,” and Scribble Diffusion create an inappropriate image. It was weird. Out of the hundreds of images I created, and the students created, this only has happened once.

Friday

Friday I took a SHEG lesson (Stanford History Education Group) about Manifest Destiny. The lesson asks the question, “What motivated American territorial expansion in the 1840’s?” I like to pair the 3xCER with SHEG lessons.

In this lesson, students read an excerpt from a textbook about Manifest Destiny. Then students read three more excerpts from John O’Sullivan, the Whig Party, and Theodore Parker. Each excerpt offers different insight to motivations for Americans.

I pointed out to students that the textbook and John O’Sullivan point out that territorial expansion was motivated by this belief that we were heroes, saving people, and bringing them American values. The other two perspectives show America as greedy for money, resources, and showing its strength.

Either way, I set up the 3xCER so students could write down the Textbook claim. We worked on trying to restate the main question in our claims. We also worked on not using, “I think…” in our claims. For the other three excerpts, I set a timer for 6 minutes on each one.

Here is what I love about the 3xCER – In just over 20 minutes, students wrote 4 claims, found/used 3 pieces of evidence, and used reasoning 3 times for their claims and evidence.

This particular lesson goes in a circle, and we circled back to the original textbook section we read. This time, the students had the option to add more information to the textbook article. Or, they would rewrite the textbook article. I had them add a picture, caption, and create a new title. Here are some students examples:

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