Tag: ai

TWTW

The Week That Was In 234

This week was all about using EduProtocols to deepen understanding and get students thinking critically about history. From Parafly for paraphrasing complex texts to Thick Slides for sequencing and comparing key events, we focused on meaningful engagement. ShortAnswer’s Quick Write gave students real-time AI feedback on their writing, while Map & Tell helped visualize territorial disputes. Sketch & Tell-O and Annotate & Tell made sure students weren’t just memorizing but actually processing history. Layering these protocols together made for a strong week of learning!

Monday – Test Review

Wednesday – Utopia, OH Rack and Stack

Thursday – Margaret Garner Rack and Stack

Friday – US Early Economy Rack and Stack

Monday and Tuesday

Monday was all about preparing for the Westward Expansion test. I originally planned a standard review, but a Sunday afternoon phone call with my friend Dominic Helmstetter changed that. He wanted to share with me what his understanding was of the the Great American Race. His idea—the Great American Race was a rapid-fire series of EduProtocols with Five-minute bursts of Parafly, Thin Slides, Annotate and Tell, and more, followed by a Quizizz mastery check where students had to get 100%. My response? That’s not how I’ve done the Great American Race before… but I love it.

So, I ran with it. I lined up five different EduProtocols, each tied to a major concept in the unit:

  • Parafly → Mormon migration
  • Annotate and Tell → Texas independence
  • Sketch and Tell-O → Oregon Trail
  • Frayer Model → Manifest Destiny
  • Cause & Effect Organizer → Mexican-American War

Each round lasted 6-8 minutes. I encouraged students to complete as much as they could from memory before checking resources. To support them, I had AI generate concise readings summarizing key points from our lessons. We wrapped up the period with a Quizizz practice test, and the class averages landed between 44% and 65%. Not great.

At first, it felt discouraging. But my friend Corbin Moore reminded me—it’s not about achievement, it’s about growth. That shifted my mindset.

Test Day

Tuesday was test day, and I kept my usual grading system:

  • Multiple-choice (content knowledge) → Taken on McGraw Hill’s site
  • Short answer/extended response (writing/critical thinking) → Completed on Class Companion

The results?

  • Multiple-choice averages: 89%, 74%, 85%, and 89%
  • Short answer growth: Huge improvement from the pre-test

It’s easy to get caught up in numbers, but seeing how much my students progressed from struggling with the concepts on Monday to confidently tackling the test on Tuesday was a win.

This version of the Great American Race might not have been the original, but it was an exciting, high-energy way to cycle through multiple ways of processing information—and it’s something I’ll definitely refine and try again.

Wednesday

Wednesday, I wanted to mix things up and bring in local history. There’s a tiny town in Clermont County called Utopia, OH—a place I’ve been fascinated with since I was a kid. It’s right on the river, barely noticeable, but packed with history. Why was it called Utopia? What made people think they could build a perfect society there?

I connected this lesson to westward expansion by framing it around the Panic of 1837. Many Americans were financially struggling and had to make tough choices—head west for a new start, scrape by where they were, or try to create a utopia, a so-called perfect society. That’s exactly what happened in Utopia, OH, where three different groups attempted (and failed) to build their ideal communities.

Thin Slides: Creating a Utopia

We kicked things off with a Thin Slide on Padlet, where I asked students:

What would your ideal utopia or perfect society look like?

They had to describe it and generate an AI image to represent their vision. The responses were fantastic—some created futuristic cities, others imagined peaceful rural communities, and of course, some just wanted an unlimited pizza society.

Video & Frayer Models: Learning the History of Utopia, OH

Next, we watched a video about Utopia, OH, which connected the town’s origins to the Declaration of Independence and the pursuit of happiness. The video broke down the three groups who tried (and failed) to build a perfect society in Utopia:

  1. Communalists – A group who shared everything but fell apart due to financial struggles.
  2. Spiritualists – Believed in connecting with spirits but were wiped out in a flood.
  3. Anarchists – Tried to live without rules, but well… that didn’t work.

Students then read about these groups and took notes using a Frayer Model, categorizing each society’s beliefs, goals, struggles, and ultimate failure.

ShortAnswer Quick Write: Can a Perfect Society Exist?

To wrap up the lesson, I had students respond to the question:

Can a perfect society ever exist?

We used ShortAnswer’s Quick Write feature, which is currently in beta. This tool gives AI-generated feedback based on selected writing components—in this case, I chose “use of clear evidence and reasoning.”

  • Students submitted their responses.
  • AI provided instant feedback and a score (1 = Beginner, 2 = Intermediate, 3 = Advanced).
  • The class saw their combined goal score (though I still wish I knew how it was calculated or if I could set it myself).
  • At the end, students reflected on their feedback, making it a true learning experience rather than just another assignment.

I loved seeing how engaged students were with creating their own utopias, analyzing failed ones, and debating whether perfection is even possible. This lesson combined local history, critical thinking, and writing practice in a way that made students care about a little town they had never even heard of before.

Thursday

On Thursday, we kicked off our new unit on the differences between the North and South. I wanted to start with a local history story that powerfully illustrates these divisions—one that is both shocking and deeply revealing. That story was the case of Margaret Garner, an enslaved woman who escaped across the Ohio River to Cincinnati with her family in 1856. When slave catchers arrived to capture them, Margaret made the heartbreaking decision to end her daughter’s life rather than see her forced back into slavery.

This case wasn’t just about one woman—it reflected the moral and legal conflicts between the North and South. Abolitionists argued she should be put on trial for murder, as this would acknowledge her personhood, while pro-slavery forces demanded her return as property. In the end, the Ohio courts ruled in favor of the South, reinforcing how fragile “freedom” really was in free states.

Framing the Lesson

To get students thinking about the significance of this case, I opened with a quote from the story, prompting them to reflect on the thin line between freedom and slavery. I asked: What does Margaret Garner’s story tell us about the differences between North and South?

From there, we moved into a series of activities designed to break down this historical event in ways that encouraged deep thinking.

Thick Slide: Mapping the Story

Students read the Margaret Garner story and summarized the sequence of events using a Thick Slide with the Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then format. They added:

  • A title summarizing the event
  • Two images representing key aspects of the story
  • A comparison chart between the North and South, based on what they learned

This helped students visualize the story and understand how it reflected broader sectional tensions.

Annotate & Tell: Comparing Perspectives

We then examined two primary sources—one from an abolitionist newspaper and the other from a pro-slavery newspaper. Both presented vastly different takes on Margaret Garner’s actions.

Students highlighted:

  • Abolitionist Source: Phrases that framed Margaret as a victim of slavery, reinforcing how Northern abolitionists viewed her as proof of slavery’s horrors.
  • Pro-Slavery Source: Language that depicted her as a criminal, showing how Southerners justified slavery and the Fugitive Slave Act.

They answered the question: How does this case show that the North and South were no longer just two regions but two completely different societies?

Archetype Four Square: Margaret Garner’s Legacy

To wrap up, students engaged in an Archetype Four Square, deciding how Margaret Garner should be remembered. They had to choose an archetype—Martyr or Murderer—and justify their decision with historical evidence.

Short Answer: Bringing It All Together

Since we had time, students processed their thoughts using ShortAnswer’s Quick Write feature. The AI gave feedback on their use of conventions and explanation of content. This tool allowed students to refine their responses and see how small improvements could strengthen their arguments.

Friday

For Friday’s lesson, we focused on the economic, technological, and social differences that shaped the North and South before the Civil War.

EdPuzzle for Background Knowledge

We started with an EdPuzzle video on sectionalism to provide students with foundational knowledge. This helped set the stage for analyzing the growing divide between the two regions.

Close Read & Annotate and Tell

Students then moved into a Close Read & Annotate and Tell activity. They highlighted key words and phrases from the reading that helped answer questions about the U.S. economy, the expansion of slavery, and the Industrial Revolution. Using guiding questions, students made connections between economic changes and sectionalism.

Padlet Discussion

Next, we took the discussion to Padlet, where students answered the big question: How did economic growth, new technology, and slavery shape the early United States? This allowed them to see and build on each other’s responses, making their thinking more visible.

AI and EduProtocols

Engaging, Gamified Writing with Short Answer

Writing is one of the most essential skills students need to develop, but getting them to actually enjoy it? That’s another challenge entirely. Short Answer is changing that by turning writing into an engaging, social, and gamified experience. Whether you teach ELA, history, math, or science, this platform is designed to improve student writing without adding hours of grading to your workload.

Short Answer is quickly becoming a go-to tool for teachers looking to make writing instruction more interactive, meaningful, and effective.

How Does Short Answer Work?

At its core, Short Answer helps students develop stronger writing skills through peer comparison, real-time feedback, and social learning. Students complete short writing responses, compare their work to peers, and select which response is stronger based on clear criteria—helping them see what good writing actually looks like in a low-stakes, engaging way.

Teachers can create writing prompts for any subject and integrate them seamlessly into their existing curriculum. The best part? Students want to participate because it feels more like a game than an assignment.

Why Short Answer Works
  1. Authentic Audience → Writing improves when students know their peers will see and evaluate it.
  2. Instant Peer Feedback → Students learn from each other by comparing and discussing writing in real time.
  3. Cross-Curricular Applications → It’s not just for ELA! Teachers across all subjects are using Short Answer to get students thinking, analyzing, and explaining their ideas more clearly. They have Math, Science, and Social Studies prompts ready to go.
  4. AI-Powered Supports → AI-generated sentence stems, outlines, and prompts give students structured support without giving them the full answer.
  5. UDL & Accommodations → Voice typing features allow all students to participate, including those who struggle with typing or have accommodations. It also contains an immersive reader.
  6. Embedded Readings & Images → Teachers can upload pictures and reading files to any question to provide context and scaffolding.
  7. Writing Portfolios → Short Answer automatically compiles student writing into PDFs, making it easy to track growth over time.
  8. Timers for Writing Sprints → Teachers can set a timer for 1, 3, or 5 minutes, helping students focus on short bursts of writing.
How I Use Short Answer in My Classroom

I’ve been incorporating Short Answer into my lessons, and it’s been a game-changer. Here’s how I’ve been using it:

3xPOV – Analyzing American Progress

Students examined the famous American Progress painting and wrote from three different perspectives:

  1. A settler moving west
  2. A Native American witnessing expansion
  3. Columbia – The personification of Manifest Destiny

After writing, students compared responses in Short Answer’s Battle Royale feature, where they voted on the most compelling perspectives. The engagement was off the charts—students were excited to read, critique, and improve their writing.

3xGenre – The Great Pizza Debate

To make writing fun and versatile, I ran 3xGenre using pizza as the topic.

  1. Narrative Writing – Students wrote a short, creative story about pizza in 3 minutes.
  2. Informational Writing – They wrote an explanatory piece on how pizza is made or its history.
  3. Argument Writing – The final challenge: Which pizza topping is the best?

The students were so into it that they wanted one more round—so we debated which pizza chain is superior. Using Short Answer for feedback and comparisons kept them engaged, competitive, and improving.

EduProtocols That Work with Short Answer

Short Answer naturally fits with EduProtocols, giving students structured, high-rep writing practice that’s engaging and effective. Here are a few that work perfectly:

  1. 3xGenre → Students write narrative, informative, and argumentative responses on the same topic, seeing how writing purpose changes.
  2. 3xPOV → Students write from three different perspectives, then compare and refine.
  3. 3xCER → Students write a claim three times, each time strengthening their argument.
  4. CyberSandwich Summaries → Students read, summarize, compare, and improve their responses based on peer examples.
  5. Random Emoji Power Paragraph (REPP) → Short Answer’s timer feature makes it easy to run quick writing sprints where students incorporate random emojis into their responses.
  6. Parafly → A fast-paced paraphrasing writing protocol that improves writing fluency and speed.
Why This Matters in an AI World

AI tools like ChatGPT aren’t replacing writing—they’re changing how we need to teach it. Short Answer makes writing interactive, social, and structured, ensuring students still develop their own thinking while learning to refine and critique writing.

Instead of fighting AI, we should use tools like Short Answer to:
✅ Keep writing authentic and engaging
✅ Help students compare their work to exemplars
✅ Provide scaffolds without giving answers
✅ Build stronger, more independent thinkers

If you’re looking for a game-changing way to get students writing, revising, and improving without dreading the process, Short Answer is worth checking out.

📌 Sign up for free trial and start using it in your classroom today: Short Answer

Writing doesn’t have to feel like a chore—for teachers or students. With Short Answer, it becomes a collaborative, competitive, and engaging experience that builds stronger writers in any subject.

TWTW

The Week That Was in 234

This week was all about using EduProtocols to drive deeper thinking, engagement, and writing practice as we explored westward expansion and Manifest Destiny. Instead of just reading from the textbook and answering questions, students worked through activities that encouraged them to generate their own questions, analyze sources, and compare perspectives. We used Fast & Curious to build vocabulary, Wicked Hydra to spark curiosity, Sourcing Parts to break down historical imagery, and MiniReport to develop writing skills with multiple sources. Class Companion provided immediate feedback on their writing, helping them refine their responses. The combination of these strategies helped students interact with history in meaningful ways while reinforcing critical thinking and writing—exactly the kind of skills they need as we approach testing season.

Wednesday – Introduction to Westward Expansion

Thursday – Rack and Stack Manifest Destiny, MiniReport

Friday – WeWillWrite, ShortAnswer

Monday and Tuesday

Monday and Tuesday were all about finishing the Age of Jackson unit and transitioning into what’s next. It wasn’t the most eventful start to the week, but there were some clear takeaways from how students engaged with the material and performed on the final assessment.

Trail of Tears Number Mania

We closed out the unit with a Number Mania activity focused on the Trail of Tears. Students worked to prove this statement correct using four numbers and supporting facts from the reading:

“The Trail Where They Cried was not only a physical journey but also a moment that reshaped Cherokee history, causing loss, suffering, and ultimately rebuilding.”

This strategy forced them to dig into the reading, prioritize key details, and make connections between the numbers and the broader historical context.

Review Day: Where Did Students Struggle?

After Number Mania, we jumped into a self-assessment review where I encouraged students to answer as many questions as possible without looking at their notes first. I wanted to see what truly stuck.

The results were telling:
✅ Strong understanding of Jacksonian Democracy and the Bank War
❌ Struggled with Nullification and Tariffs

Looking at what worked, the MiniReport EduProtocol (which we used for Jacksonian Democracy and the Bank War) stood out as a clear success. This structured approach to reading, analyzing, and writing about sources helped cement those concepts more effectively than other methods.

Final Test & Class Companion for Writing

Tuesday was test day. To keep the writing portion meaningful, I had students complete their short-answer responses on Class Companion, giving them two attempts this time. The difference was noticeable—students were reading the feedback, revising their responses, and improving their writing in real-time.

At the end of the test, I tallied up the class averages:
📉 Pre-Assessment Scores: 22%, 19%, 22%, 25%
📈 Final Assessment Scores: 82%, 68%, 76%, 80%

In just five class periods, the gains were solid. I wish I had more time to dive deeper into certain topics, but when you’re locked into a common assessment deadline, you make the most of the time you have. The biggest takeaway? The MiniReport works, Class Companion feedback works, and students rise to the challenge when given the right tools.

Wednesday

This week, I kicked off a mini-unit on Westward Expansion, focusing on the big question: How did Manifest Destiny change America’s map and the lives of different groups of people?

I like to break this unit down into three key areas:
✅ The idea of Manifest Destiny
✅ How the U.S. acquired different territories
✅ The people and groups who moved west

To start, I introduced some key vocabulary with a Gimkit Fast & Curious covering terms like Manifest Destiny, expansion, territory, annexation, and more. We ran the Gimkit for 3 minutes, I gave quick feedback, and then we ran it again for another 3 minutes. With students now having some familiarity with the key terms, it was time to move into The Great American Race—a fast-paced, high-engagement EduProtocol that reinforces key concepts through collaboration and research.

How I Run The Great American Race

A few teachers have asked me how I set this up, so here’s my process:

1️⃣ Identify the Key Topics

  • I chose 13 major terms from the unit, including the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, James K. Polk, and Manifest Destiny.
  • Since I had 26 students, they paired up, with each pair responsible for one term.

2️⃣ Use AI to Generate Content

  • I’ve been using AI to create 4-5 sentence explanations for each term, which students can pull clues from.
  • Each explanation is labeled with a number corresponding to its term.

3️⃣ Set Up the Activity

  • I copy and paste the AI-generated explanations into a Google Doc, print them out, and cut them into individual slips for students.
  • Each pair receives a slip and has 3-4 minutes to create a response on Padlet using the timeline format.

4️⃣ Creating the Clues

  • On their Padlet post, students enter their term’s number in the subject line.
  • They write 3 clues and add a related image.
  • This should take 3-4 minutes, but my students usually take about 6-8 minutes.

5️⃣ Approving and Freezing Posts

  • I set Padlet so that I approve all posts before they go live.
  • Once time is up, I approve the posts, and students are ready to start the race.
  • Why I freeze the Padlet: This prevents students from copying and pasting answers directly into Google. They have to use key terms and context clues to research.

6️⃣ The Race Begins!

  • Students work with their partner, number their paper 1-13, and get 15 minutes to identify as many terms as possible using the clues from their classmates’ posts.
  • They can use their notes, their knowledge, and Google—just not copy-paste answers directly.
  • When time is up, we go over the answers and discuss any misconceptions.

Padlet makes this whole process smooth, especially with the timeline format, which keeps everything organized. The students love the competitive element, and I love that they’re engaged and thinking critically.

Wrapping Up with Big-Picture Questions

To close the lesson, I handed out an introductory reading on Westward Expansion. On the back, I included three deeper-thinking questions to get them thinking beyond just dates and facts:

📌 Evaluating Perspectives: How might an American settler and an Indigenous person have viewed westward expansion differently?

📌 Connecting to Today: Do you think Manifest Destiny still influences how Americans view expansion and progress today? Why or why not?

📌 Comparing Motivations: What were the different reasons people moved westward, and how did those reasons create tensions among settlers, Native Americans, and the U.S. government?

Students had 10 minutes to read and answer the questions. This served as a preview for deeper discussions and activities later in the unit.

Thursday

Fast & Curious: Building Vocabulary

We started class with a Fast & Curious using Gimkit to review key vocabulary related to westward expansion. Students played for three minutes, received feedback, and then played again to reinforce terms like Manifest Destiny, annexation, expansion, and acquisition. This quick repetition helped them solidify essential vocabulary before moving into deeper analysis.

Wicked Hydra: Generating Questions

Next, we transitioned into a Wicked Hydra using the headline, “Gap’s T-Shirt Was a Historic Mistake.” The goal was to get students asking as many questions as possible about what the headline might mean. Originally, we used Padlet for this, but after accidentally deleting the responses, we switched to paper, and students continued writing down their questions. Some of the best questions that came from this activity included:

  • Why would a T-shirt about Manifest Destiny be controversial?
  • Who was upset by this, and why?
  • What does this headline tell us about how history is remembered?

These questions set the stage for students to engage critically with Manifest Destiny as both a historical event and a modern controversy.

Sourcing Parts: Analyzing “American Progress”

To further analyze the idea of Manifest Destiny, students used the Sourcing Parts protocol to break down the painting American Progress by John Gast. The goal was to help them understand how imagery can be used to justify expansion. They examined the source by identifying who created it, what message was being conveyed, and who was included or left out of the image. The discussion that followed centered on how paintings like this one helped promote the idea of Manifest Destiny as a positive force while ignoring the consequences for Indigenous people and others affected by westward expansion.

MiniReport: Comparing Perspectives

After this, we moved into a MiniReport comparing two different perspectives on Manifest Destiny. The first source was adapted from the McGraw Hill textbook and explained Manifest Destiny as a natural and necessary part of American expansion. The second source was an article about the backlash to the Gap T-shirt, highlighting the modern-day criticism of the idea.

Students took notes on the key ideas from both sources, categorized them into three sections—historical context, positive perspectives, and negative perspectives—then wrote a main idea sentence. They combined all of this information into a paragraph response and submitted their writing in Class Companion. Since the Ohio state test includes a two-source reading and writing essay, this activity was designed to mirror that format and give students practice organizing their thoughts and using evidence.

Why This Worked

This lesson reinforced a lot of important skills beyond just memorizing historical facts. Students generated their own questions, analyzed visual sources, compared perspectives, and practiced structured writing. The writing in Class Companion showed improvement—students were getting better at organizing information, crafting arguments, and responding to feedback. The next step in the unit will focus on westward expansion’s impact on different groups, continuing to build historical analysis, writing, and connections to the present.

Friday

Gamifying POV Writing: WeWillWrite & ShortAnswer

We started Friday by wrapping up unfinished work from Thursday. Some students needed to complete their Class Companion writing on Manifest Destiny, while others who had finished moved on to labeling and coloring a map of westward expansion territories. Once that was taken care of, we shifted into a creative writing activity, using WeWillWrite and ShortAnswer to explore point of view (POV) writing in a gamified way.

WeWillWrite: POV Writing with Columbia, Natives, Farmers, & Buffalo

For most classes, I used WeWillWrite, a platform that gamifies writing in a way that engages all students. Back in December, I used it for general writing practice, but now you can create custom sets—a feature I didn’t know about until Lucas George mentioned it. I jumped on the chance to create a POV set based on the painting American Progress by John Gast. Students wrote from the perspective of Columbia, Native Americans, Farmers, or the Buffalo, responding to a timed prompt.

Here’s how it worked:
✅ Students logged in with a random pseudonym (just like Gimkit).
✅ They were placed into teams and given three minutes to respond to the prompt.
✅ They could see hints and teammate responses to refine their writing.
✅ Each team voted on their strongest response.
✅ The top four responses battled it out for class-wide voting and points!
✅ We repeated the process for two more rounds, deepening their engagement with perspective writing.

The energy in the room was fantastic—students were thinking critically about how Manifest Destiny impacted different groups, but in a way that felt like a game.

ShortAnswer: Live POV Battle Royale

For 6th period, I decided to switch things up and use ShortAnswer instead. This tool is similar to WeWillWrite but allowed me to create POV questions on the spot. One thing I loved was the built-in voice typing feature, which helped several of my students, especially those with IEPs.

Here’s how the ShortAnswer Battle Royale worked:
✅ I set up a POV question (e.g., “How would a Native American describe Manifest Destiny?”).
✅ Students had five minutes to respond.
✅ After the timer ended, I hid student names (lesson learned—forgot at first, and it became a popularity contest).
✅ Responses were randomly grouped into quadrants, and students voted on the best one.
✅ The top four moved on to a semifinal vote.
✅ The final two battled it out for the top spot.

The hidden names made a huge difference. Suddenly, students who rarely get recognized for their writing were winning! One student on an IEP finished in the top three twice, and after his second win, he threw his arms up and said, “I never win anything!” Absolute highlight of the day.

I also liked how AI-generated sentence stems and outlines helped guide students in their POV writing. Students who typically struggle to write were producing full paragraphs and competing to win. The ability to attach readings and pictures to questions made it even stronger.