This week I completed several fun holiday activities with my classes leading up to Christmas break. On Monday, we finished an ongoing project – creating historical ugly Christmas sweaters. The previous Thursday, Katie Cherney had generously shared an ugly sweater template with me. I decided to use it and have students design sweaters related to a topic we studied first semester. After sharing a couple sweater examples, I let them creatively develop their own. On Monday, they colored the sweaters, cut them out, and we displayed them on a large red paper. I considered having them write explanatory captions but opted not to add that extra graded component.
On Tuesday, I introduced archetypes in a low cognitive load way. I defined archetypes as typical examples of someone or something. I had students think of a favorite book, movie, or TV character and explained how applying an archetype helps better understand that character’s actions and dialogue by providing context. I then introduced the Archetype Four Square template and had students type their favorite character in the middle, along with an image and quotes/actions representing them. Next they selected an archetype they felt matched the character. As a class we discussed their choices – this helped students articulate their reasoning. They then typed evidence supporting their selected archetype. Making connections between characters and historical/pop culture figures is challenging – only 15% answer these questions correctly on the AP exam according to 2021 data and my co-author Dr. Scott Petri.
After this activity, I incorporated some local history for a second representative. We read about Pringles inventor Fred Baur, a Cincinnati native who developed the can to prevent chip breakage. Interestingly, the uniformity of the crisps did not align with 1960s individualism. We concluded by discussing Baur’s 2008 burial, where his family fulfilled his wish to have his ashes buried in an Original Pringles can. Students analyzed Baur by creating archetype four squares. Finally, we ended some classes with Random Emoji Power Paragraphs, always a favorite. Typically students type paragraphs based on emoji prompts, but this time I had them hand write then attempt to toss papers into the recycling bin. I photographed the closest paper, extracted the text via Google Keep into a shared Google Doc for peer editing – fixing spelling, topic sentences, and adding descriptive details. Moving from handwritten to digital paragraphs was an engaging variation.
This week was an unusual one. On Saturday evening I tested positive for COVID, so I knew I would be staying home. To make matters worse, it was an awkward time for teaching. Our last day before Christmas break is December 20th, so I couldn’t start a new unit only to then have 2 weeks off. The other option was to introduce some new EduProtocols with smart starts, but that works better when I’m actually in the classroom.
After contemplating options, I decided to put together some lessons on local history. I created a lesson about Utopia, Ohio, a small town about 25 minutes from our school that has always fascinated me. I also designed a 1794 newspaper analysis activity that connected to several topics we covered first semester. To wrap up the week, I used a fun Christmas sweater template shared with me by Katie Cherney. Despite the challenges, we made it through the week with some decent learning. I just took everything day by day, tried to communicate often and give feedback with Screencastify, and we got down whatever we could get done. The biggest takeaway from dealing with COVID over the past few years is this: It’s just school – it’ll be okay.
On Monday, students needed to finalize their analysis of the debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Since I was isolated and struggling, I quickly pulled together a lesson using some of Justin Unruh’s EduProtocol templates. It consisted of an Annotate and Tell and a Parafly Smash where students read descriptions of Federalists and Anti-Federalists, highlighted textual evidence to answer a question, and then paraphrased their highlights.
The second part was a concept sort – students read quotes and decided whether a Federalist or Anti-Federalist would have said that. Finally, the assessment was a Thick Slide. I originally created a basic Thick Slide but then added more DOK 2 and 3 prompts to push critical thinking, such as:
Create a title related to the main argument over ratifying the Constitution
Compare the perspectives of Federalists and Anti-Federalists, develop a claim about which group had the better position, and use evidence from the chart to support your claim
Find a picture that represents a republic and use the caption to explain how it connects to the idea of a republic
Share a song that relates to a key belief or attitude held by Federalists or Anti-Federalists and explain the connection, providing specific evidence from the song
The song reference really puzzled some students and most didn’t attempt it, which is fine – sometimes I leave certain challenging things in to see who will step up and try it out. Overall I was very pleased with the Thick Slides they created.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, I used the lesson I had developed over the summer about the history of Utopia, Ohio. I posed the question “Can humans ever achieve a perfect society?” My goal was to have students structure an answer using evidence from the stories about Utopia.
The lesson began with a Sketch and Tell where I asked students to design their vision of a perfect society using Scribble Diffusion or Google Shapes and then explain their creation. Next, they watched a short video giving historical background on Utopia. After that, they filled out Frayers on the three groups that attempted to build perfect communities in Utopia in the 1840s. I had AI generate ideas for the Frayer prompt boxes focused on defining each group, their characteristics, how they tried to create an ideal society, and why they ultimately failed.
I really enjoyed teaching this lesson and plan to use it for years to come. The connection to our local area made it engaging for students.
Wednesday – Thursday
For my next activity, I leveraged the fact I recently learned that the first newspaper published in the Northwest Territory was printed near Cincinnati in 1793. The Centinel of the Northwestern Territory operated until 1800 and scans of the original issues still exist online. However, the text is difficult to read given the spelling, formatting, etc. So I used AI to translate a front page from July 21, 1794 for me:
I took a screenshot of the front page
Uploaded to Google Keep and used Grab Image Text
Copied and pasted the text into Claude AI
Asked Claude to summarize and explain the news stories
The translated stories covered a $10 reward for an escaped slave (freedom seeker), a husband publicly condemning his wife for leaving him, stolen and rebranded cattle, and Kentucky settlers angry that British settlers were supplying weapons to Native Americans and blocking access to the Mississippi River. All of these connected to things we’ve already studied in class.
For the lesson, I posed the question “What do the different social, political, and economic stories in this early newspaper suggest about life in Cincinnati in 1794?” Students read the stories and made Thick Slides, identifying one story and classifying it as social, political or economic, listing two details from each story, explaining what it revealed about life at that time, creating a related image and caption, putting four key events we’ve learned about in chronological order, connecting one of those events to a news story, and finally writing a paragraph answering the lesson question. This stimulated great thinking, although making connections between the news stories and class content was a stretch for them. I will keep this lesson to use again but make a few tweaks next year.
Friday
Returning to the classroom Friday, I had two goals – review first semester learning with a Gimkit game and then provide a fun holiday activity using an Ugly Christmas Sweater template shared by Katie Cherney. For the Gimkit, I told students that if the class average reached 80% everyone would earn a 100%. Below that thresholds were: 80-100% = 4/4, 70-79% = 3/4, 60-69% = 2/4, below 60% = 1/4. I always give 0.5 instead of 0 since I refuse to give zeros. The class averages were: 84%, 81%, 84%, 68%, 70%, 88% – pretty good!
We’ll finish customizing our historical event sweaters when we come back from break on Monday. Despite having to teach from home, it ended up being a pretty successful week of learning.
If you dislike the your crappy textbook questions. If you want to get your students collaborating and communicating with their learning. If you need a simple way to work on note taking skills along with summary writing… Then the CyberSandwich will be one of your favorite EduProtocols. I reflected on this protocol back in 2021.
The CyberSandwich can be broken into 3 parts:
Part 1 – Reading and note taking: Provide a reading (secondary or primary source) or video to the students. Give them 10 minutes to read and take notes. You can vary the note taking structures if necessary.
Part 2 – Discussion and Compare: Have students partner up to compare, and discuss their notes. This could take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. I have the students choose 4 of the MOST important notes they write down and add them to the Venn Diagram.
Part 2a – I learned this from Jon Corippo – after the compare and discussion quickly call on each group to do one of these three options:
Share 2-3 facts they learned
Ask a question
Bazinga – share a fact that wowed you
Part 3 – Write a Summary: Have students write a summary, create a sketch and tell, create an infographic, write using a specific text structure to share what they learned. This should take 8 to 10 minutes.
The CyberSandwich can be done multiple times a week using Google Slides, powerpoint, or paper. I have students that prefer paper, so I print off the CyberSandwich slides. Since August, the 8th graders I teach have completed a CyberSandwich nine times. My focus is writing good, basic paragraphs with a topic sentence, 2 supporting details, and a concluding sentence.
Like any EduProtocol, the CyberSandwich can be versatile and tailored toward any student. Here some ways you can kick up the CyberSandwich with various DOK levels and note taking strategies…
Part 1 – Note Taking
The Cornell Method – Divided organized columns for questions, notes and summary.
Mapping – Visual boxes, circles and lines show informational connections.
SQ3R – Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review guides active reading/insights.
Graphic Organizers – Visual categorization through charts, diagrams and concept maps. (Example below with a sequence text structure)
Annotations – Highlighting/jotting direct text labels, comments and questions.
Double-Entry Journals – Text details and related personal reactions/analysis in a T-chart.
Just leave it blank – see what information the students find to be important.
Main Idea – Identifying key overarching concepts and supporting details. Students fill out who, what, when, where, and why while reading. (Example below)
Part 2 – Compare and Discuss
DOK 1 (Recall):
Share one fact you learned from the reading with your partner
Take turns stating main ideas you wrote down in your notes
Create a master list of key terms or vocabulary
DOK 2 (Concept Application):
Categorize information, ideas, or details as you review notes
Link concepts presented in the reading to prior knowledge or examples
Explain differences in how you and your partner interpreted aspects of the reading
DOK 3 (Strategic Thinking):
Debate an inference or conclusion made based on the information
Evaluate completeness and accuracy of key ideas covered in partners’ notes
Synthesize perspectives and develops a new hypothesis or interpretation
Part 3 – Summarize
DOK 1 (Recall):
State the key facts or main ideas from the reading.
Identify vocabulary words introduced and explain what they meant.
Name the major people referenced and places mentioned. What were key dates or events?
DOK 2 (Concept Application):
Summarize the main topics and key points of the reading.
Provide examples that illustrate the main concepts from the reading.
Identify some key details and explain why they were significant.
DOK 3 (Strategic Thinking):
Analyze any patterns, relationships, causes, or themes you noticed in the reading.
Predict future implications based on the ideas presented in the reading.
Evaluate how effective the author or article was in clearly communicating main ideas and explain your reasoning.
Make connections between ideas in the reading content and other things you’ve learned.
Create a model, diagram, or graphic to represent the key takeaways visually.
I have posted about Thick Slides before – read about it here. This time I’m back with some ways to add various DOK 1, DOK 2, and DOK 3 levels to Thick Slides. If you are unfamiliar with a Thick Slide, it’s a fan favorite in the EduProtocol world.
The Thick Slide is simple – it’s a deconstructed paragraph that includes the following:
A title
One or two images with captions
4 to 5 facts
A quote (this could also be whatever you want it to be such as writing a claim, sharing a number, etc.
Comparing or defining content words.
All of these things can be done on a Google Slide, Powerpoint, Canva, or on paper. The options with a Thick Slide are endless. It can be used as a formative assessment summary piece or as a summative assessment piece.
Formative Assessment
Last week I designed a lesson on the Electoral College. When students came into the room, I had a Thin Slide prompt on the board: “Two people ran for president – Candidate 1 got 66 million votes for president. Candidate 2 got 63 million votes. Who should win the election and why?” Students were surprised when I revealed the winner was Donald Trump who received 3 million less votes in 2016. Next, I had students make predictions about the Electoral College before we read an article. After reading the article, students designed a Thick Slide as a summary of what they just read. On the slide I included:
Give it a title (DOK 0.5 maybe)
Share 2 facts about the Electoral College (DOK 1)
Why did the delegates fear people directly vote for the president? (DOK 1)
Compare the Founding Fathers’ fears of having one president versus three. (DOK 2)
Include a picture and caption related to the Electoral College. (DOK 0.5)
What do you see as the most convincing argument for keeping or getting rid of the Electoral College system as established in the Constitution? Defend your view. (DOK 3)
Summative Assessment
I used the Thick Slide as a summative assessment to end the causes of the American Revolution unit. I did this because I was out of town and wanted to leave something familiar. When I finished putting the Thick Slide together, I was ready to share it, but then I stopped. I wanted more out of it since it was a summative assessment. I thought about a bit more and came up with this…
Add a title (DOK 0.5)
Identify and describe 2 british acts or taxes. (DOK 1-2) Rank them from most to least offensive to the colonists. Explain why. (DOK 3)
Insert a picture that shows one important reason the colonists wanted independence from Britain. In the caption, tell why you picked that picture and how it connects to the colonists’ reasons for rebellion.(DOK 3)
Compare the Sons of Liberty to Loyalists. (DOK 2)
“Find a quote from the Declaration of Independence that shows an influence from John Locke and the Enlightenment.” (DOK 2-3)
For a summative assessment, it needed more depth with the DOK levels. This is why I love Thick Slides – they can be whatever you want them to be.
DOK Ideas for Thick Slides
DOK 1 (Recall of Information):
Basic facts about a historic event or scientific concept
Vocabulary definitions
Formula/equation used in a process
Sequence of steps in a procedure
Key dates or timeline of events
Descriptive elements of a literary work/character
DOK 2 (Application & Analysis):
Explain the significance of a quote from a speech/text
Compare perspectives of different eyewitnesses to an event
Identify patterns/relationships within a dataset
Categorize types of poetic devices used in a poem
Concept map/flow chart of a process or system
Classify or categorize the elements and details within an image (e.g. group literary devices used in a poem illustration)
Explain how an image connects to thematic or symbolic concepts from a text
Label important parts of an image and describe their significance
Outline the sequence of events shown in a historical photograph/artwork
Relate the perspective or tone within a quote to a character’s motivations and actions
Compare and contrast interpretations of meaning from multiple quotes
Apply the context or insights from a quote to another situation as an example
DOK 3 (Strategic Thinking):
Develop an alternative solution to a complex problem
Critique an author’s argument in a controversial editorial
Design a model to predict future outcomes based on variables
Support/dispute the ethics of a political/scientific decision
Analyze impact of setting on a character’s development
Find or create their own image that is a visual metaphor for a concept, theme, or abstract idea from the content
Annotate areas of an image to explain deeper analysis
Find a quote and analyze its connection to (or disconnection from) the topic, explaining their reasoning
Critique or dispute the interpretation/reasoning within a quote
Connect insights from quote to a real-world scenario or example
This week we wrapped up out unit on the Constitutional Convention. Starting with Monday, we dissected the Electoral College, sparking some questions. Tuesday and Wednesday were dedicated to a three-part assessment, integrating hexagonal learning on paper and 3xCER reflections.
Thursday introduced Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and here’s where EduProtocols played a pivotal role. We used a Gimkit Fast and Curious, 8pArts primary source analysis, Frayers, and a Sketch and Tell activity. The EduProtocols framework injected dynamism into our exploration.
Finally, on Friday, we navigated government preferences using EduProtocols like Frayers, a concept sort, and an annotate and tell session. Join me as we unravel the layers of each day and reflect on the effectiveness of our instructional choices.
Our week commenced with a focused exploration into the intricate workings of the electoral college. To kick things off, I presented a Thin Slide that posed a deceptively simple question: “Two people ran for president – Candidate 1 got 66 million votes for president. Candidate 2 got 63 million votes. Who should win the election and why?” The unanimous response from students was in favor of Candidate 1 due to their higher vote count.
However, the big reveal came when I showcased the 2016 election data from www.270towin.com, exposing the fact that Candidate 2 was Donald Trump, who secured the presidency despite receiving fewer popular votes. This revelation ignited curiosity and set the stage for a deeper dive into the electoral college.
We examined the electoral college map, prompting questions about the varying values assigned to different states and the origins of these values. I explained, “Different states are worth different amounts of points based on their number of representatives,” leading to a moment of connection for some students who grasped the analogy between losing representatives and losing electoral votes.
Capitalizing on this newfound interest, I encouraged students to predict why the founding fathers opted for an electoral college system. Subsequently, students delved into an article to validate or revise their predictions. Class concluded with a Thick Slide summarization and a Quizizz session incorporating questions related to the Great Compromise, 3/5ths compromise, and the Electoral College.
Monday was more than an introduction; it was a strategic unraveling of a complex system, leaving our students with both questions and a solid foundation to build upon in the days to come.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Assessing and Reflecting
In the midweek stretch, we transitioned into a comprehensive three-part assessment to gauge our understanding and encourage critical thinking. The assessment aimed to evaluate the success of the constitutional convention and provided an opportunity for students to reflect on their learning from the past six class periods.
Part 1: Hexagonal Learning on Paper
Tuesday kicked off with the first part of our assessment—a hexagonal learning activity on paper. Students were tasked with cutting out hexagons, arranging them, and adding missing details related to the unit. This hands-on approach aimed to reinforce connections between different concepts and promote a holistic understanding of the material.
Part 2: Evaluating the Constitutional Convention
Moving on to the second part of the assessment, students delved into the central question: “Should the constitutional convention be considered a success?” Using a 3xCER framework, they crafted one claim in favor of it being a success, one against, and finally, one expressing their personal opinion. The emphasis was on substantiating each claim with evidence drawn from lessons covered over the previous six classes.
Throughout this process, I encouraged students to ponder, “Whatever evidence you have that proves it to be a success—what makes it successful?” This critical reasoning added depth to their reflections. While the paper-based approach provided a tangible change, the logistical challenge of maintaining a uniform pace between the paper and Chromebook options surfaced.
Part 3: Quizizz – Recapitulating Six Days of Learning
The assessment concluded on Wednesday with a Quizizz session encompassing questions related to the entirety of our six-day journey. Covering topics such as the Great Compromise, 3/5ths compromise, and the Electoral College, this segment aimed to consolidate knowledge and reinforce key concepts.
This comprehensive Quizizz provided an opportunity for students to showcase their understanding of the intricate details we explored throughout the week. The results would not only serve as a measure of individual comprehension but also guide future instructional decisions as we ventured further into the complexities of our curriculum.
Thursday: Navigating Federalists and Anti-Federalists with EduProtocols
Thursday unfolded as a deep dive into the realms of Federalists and Anti-Federalists. To streamline the exploration, I drew inspiration from Justin Unruh’s EduProtocols templates, infusing engagement into our lesson plan.
Setting the Stage with a Compelling Question:
The day commenced with a pivotal question: “What was the argument over ratifying the Constitution?” This set the tone for a thought-provoking class.
Part 1: Gimkit – Igniting Interest:
To engage the students right from the start, we began with a Gimkit session. The initial class averages were noted as follows: 52%, 75%, 52%, 54%, and 63%. This interactive approach not only sparked interest but also served as a baseline for the progress we would see throughout the lesson.
Part 2: 8pArts Primary Source Analysis – Digging Deeper:
Building on the momentum, we delved into an 8pArts primary source analysis, focusing on the Federal Pillars image. I provided background information, emphasizing that nine states were needed to ratify the constitution, and some individuals expressed dissatisfaction with the final document. This visual analysis aimed to deepen our understanding of the sentiments surrounding the Constitution’s ratification.
Part 3: Frayers – Visualizing Federalists and Anti-Federalists:
Next, we navigated through two Frayers, shedding light on Federalists and Anti-Federalists and encapsulating their respective beliefs. The visual and interactive nature of this EduProtocols activity offered a tangible representation of these historical figures, fostering a clearer comprehension of their ideologies.
Part 4: Sketch and Tell – Personal Reflections:
To wrap up the session, we engaged in a Sketch and Tell activity. Students sketched out and articulated their responses to the initial question, “What was the argument over ratifying the Constitution?” This not only encouraged creativity but also provided a platform for students to express their evolving understanding of the subject matter.
Closing with a Gimkit:
The day concluded with another Gimkit session, and the class averages showcased a remarkable improvement: 85%, 90%, 80%, 87%, and 93%. The interactive nature of EduProtocols, coupled with thoughtful discussions, not only elevated engagement but also reflected a deeper grasp of the content.
Thursday’s lesson demonstrated the effectiveness of EduProtocols in making complex topics accessible and engaging for our students. As we delved further into Federalists and Anti-Federalists, the groundwork laid on this day paved the way for nuanced discussions and a deeper exploration of historical ideologies.
Friday: Unraveling Government Preferences with SHEG and EduProtocols
Friday unfolded with a strategic combination of Justin Unruh’s templates and Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) lessons, creating a dynamic session that navigated the government preferences of Federalists and Anti-Federalists.
I began the day with a thought-provoking question: “What types of government did Federalists and Anti-Federalists prefer?” This central query laid the groundwork for our exploration into the perspectives held by these historical groups.
Part 1: Frayers – Understanding Republics and Direct Democracy:
To establish a foundational understanding, we began with two Frayers—one focused on Republics and the other on Direct Democracy. This visual exploration allowed students to dissect and internalize the key characteristics of these government systems, providing essential context for the day’s discussions.
Part 2: Concept Sort – Organizing Characteristics:
Students then engaged in a concept sort, organizing characteristics of Federalists and Anti-Federalists into the appropriate categories. This interactive exercise encouraged critical thinking and prompted students to draw connections between theoretical principles and the historical figures we were studying.
Part 3: Annotate and Tell – Analyzing Primary Source Letters:
Our exploration involved an Annotate and Tell activity. Students read letters—one from an Anti-Federalist and another from a Federalist—and answered questions related to the content. The task included highlighting text evidence to support their responses.
This activity aimed not only to decipher the personal opinions and arguments of these historical figures but also to emphasize the stark contrast in their preferences. I wanted students to understand that Federalists supported a government where a few, rich, elite, and educated individuals could represent the masses, while Anti-Federalists leaned toward stronger local governments, almost resembling a direct democracy, but not quite.
Reflection on Government Preferences:
As we navigated through these primary sources, I left the students with a task—reflecting on the government preferences of Federalists and Anti-Federalists. I’m going to use Monday to explain that Anti-Federalists wanted a government with more common people involved. More representation among the people. Close to a direct democracy, but not quite.
Closing with a Gimkit:
To gauge understanding and reinforce key concepts, I set up a Gimkit for a check of comprehension. The overall average from the five classes came in at an impressive 83%.
As we approached the impending Christmas break, a sense of chaos typically accompanied the days. To maintain a semblance of order and to appease restless students, I employed a strategy I whimsically call “Story Time with Moler.” During this post-lunch session, I occasionally read aloud the text we were studying that day. Not only did this practice help in managing the chaos, but it also provided me with an opportunity to inject additional information into the narrative. However, I tread carefully, avoiding fostering dependency among the students. This week, our focus revolved around the Articles of Confederation leading to the Constitutional Convention, the Great Compromise, and an exploration of the 3/5 compromise.
Monday: Energizing Articles of Confederation Review with Resource Rumble
Monday set the tone for the week, post-Thanksgiving, with a vibrant review session. The day was dedicated to a comprehensive recap of the Articles of Confederation using the engaging Resource Rumble from EMC2learning. This strategy involved strategically placing questions in envelopes around the classroom. Students, working collaboratively without the aid of Chromebooks, participated in a lively retrieval practice. Upon answering questions, they sought real-time feedback from me. Acceptable responses were rewarded with the opportunity to roll dice for building blocks, contributing to the construction of towering structures. The group that managed to erect the tallest tower emerged as the victors. This not only facilitated a solid revision of the Articles of Confederation but also injected an element of fun and activity into the post-holiday return to the school routine.
Tuesday: Unveiling the Constitutional Convention
Tuesday marked the commencement of a new and intriguing mini unit, grappling with the question of whether the Constitutional Convention should be regarded as a success. The initial lesson delved into the reasons behind the Constitutional Convention. Kicking off with the Fast and Curious Eduprotocol, the class engaged in a rapid quiz encompassing fundamental information about the Constitutional Convention. Following this, students embarked on (Amanda Sandoval template) Frayer model for the terms “delegate” and “Republic.” The choice of these terms stemmed from their significance in comprehending the subsequent text. The Frayer process involved students defining the terms in their own words, sharing key facts and characteristics, identifying four connecting words, and incorporating an illustrative image. Notably, the term “delegate” was chosen due to unfamiliarity among students. Post-Frayer, a Cybersandwich ensued, wherein students, armed with a main idea note-taking strategy, delved into a textbook section on the Constitutional Convention. This strategy prompted students to document essential information such as who, what, when, where, why, and how. The information gleaned from this exercise was then channeled into the creation of a newspaper headline and clipping, serving as a creative synthesis of the acquired knowledge. The class concluded with a revisit to the Fast and Curious quiz, fostering reinforcement of key concepts.
Wednesday: The Great Compromise Unveiled – Thin Slide Face Off and Creative Sketching
Wednesday delved deeper into the Constitutional Convention, specifically exploring the argument over representation that led to the Great Compromise. The day commenced with the Thin Slide Face Off, a captivating version of a Thin Slide created by Justin Unruh. Students partnered up and shared slides, comparing information about the number of representatives each state had in the House of Representatives and the Senate. This exercise unearthed a common challenge—students’ varied understanding of the distinctions between state, national, and local government levels. Recognizing this, adjustments were made to provide links for students to access the required information easily. The subsequent step involved students comparing information with their partners, identifying similarities and differences between states. The exercise culminated in a lively sharing of findings on whiteboards, offering a visual representation of the variations in House of Representatives and Senate numbers. This interactive session sparked insightful questions about the rationale behind different representation structures, laying the groundwork for the day’s exploration. Following this, a Sketch and Tell activity centered on the Virginia Plan unfolded. Students read about the plan and translated their understanding into visual representations using Google shapes. The Sketch and Tell component prompted students to answer key questions about the Virginia Plan, encapsulating the branches of government it proposed, the number of houses of Congress it advocated for, and the representation of states in that Congress. This creative exercise aimed to bridge the gap between abstract ideas and concrete comprehension for the students. A realization dawned during the lesson—students grappled with the concept of branches of government, a topic typically introduced in elementary school. Sensing a gap in foundational knowledge, a decision was made to prepare a brief presentation on the branches of government to ensure clarity for the students. The day concluded with a quiz that expanded on the previous day’s questions, fostering consolidation of knowledge.
Thursday: Navigating Historical Minds – Frayer Modeling and Empathy Maps
Thursday sustained the exploration of the Great Compromise, building on the Thin Slide Face Off findings and the insights gained from the previous day’s activities. Students completed the Sketch and Tell activity initiated on Wednesday, focusing on the representation proposed by the Virginia Plan. Acknowledging the persistent challenge in understanding the branches of government, a hastily assembled presentation addressed this foundational concept, providing students with a clearer understanding. With a renewed grasp of this crucial aspect, students delved into a deeper exploration of historical figures present at the Constitutional Convention. The day featured a Frayer activity dedicated to a historical person involved in the convention. Utilizing AI-generated information, a list of the ten most recognized figures from the Constitutional Convention, along with details about their state, accomplishments, and potential sentiments toward the Great Compromise, was compiled. Students engaged in Frayer modeling, encapsulating the name of the delegate, their state of origin, whether they represented a large or small state, notable accomplishments, and a GIF representing the delegate’s potential feelings toward the compromise. Following the completion of the Frayer activity, students embarked on an empathy map exercise, delving into the thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of the historical figure regarding the Great Compromise. This strategic approach encouraged students to delve into the minds of convention delegates, fostering a nuanced understanding of their positions. The day concluded with the customary Curious quiz, wrapping up a week of layered exploration and engagement.
Friday: Shifting Focus to Slavery and the Constitution – Keyword Predictions and CyberSandwich
Friday shifted the focus to a new facet—Slavery and the Constitution. The day’s guiding question probed into the impact of slavery on the writing of the Constitution. The class commenced with the Key Word Predictor strategy, a dynamic tool for encouraging predictive thinking before delving into textual content. The central term, “slavery,” was placed at the heart of the predictor, surrounded by keywords such as “3/5,” “1808,” “representation,” and “House of Representatives.” These terms were strategically chosen based on their relevance to the text students were about to explore. Students were prompted to draw lines connecting “slavery” with each surrounding keyword, making predictions about the connections between these elements. This strategic exercise set the stage for the subsequent exploration of three compromises over slavery at the Constitutional Convention. A CyberSandwich unfolded, requiring students to read about these compromises and their effects, all while keeping their keyword predictions in mind. The reading session lasted 10 to 12 minutes, followed by a partner discussion to fill in any gaps in understanding. To add a layer of creativity, instead of a traditional summary, students were tasked with a unique challenge—Claude AI was employed to generate a bland paragraph about the impact of slavery on the writing of the Constitution. The paragraph lacked detail and context intentionally, serving as a blank canvas for students to enhance with the information they had gathered. This approach facilitated a natural differentiation, with students choosing various levels of intervention, from rewriting the entire paragraph to making minor tweaks. The class concluded with the customary quiz, now expanded to include questions about the 3/5 compromise. Impressively, all classes exhibited mastery levels ranging from 80% to 100%, reflecting a solid understanding of the week’s complex topics and fostering a sense of accomplishment among the students.
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.
Moler's Musings 