I often wonder if I’m doing things in the best way…
Am I challenging students enough?
Am I meeting everyone’s needs?
Do my policies fall in line with school-wide policies?
Is it a bad practice that I accept work anytime without a late penalty?
Is it bad practice that I let a certain student sleep in class because they need to?
Is it bad practice that I don’t keep track of tardies and simply say, “Glad you’re here?”
Is it wrong that I hand out candy just because I want to? Should I only save it for a reward?
Is it bad practice that I refuse to use a textbook and hodgepodge my own stuff together?
Should I fall in line and lecture more? Use more worksheets? Use a more structured way of teaching?
I wonder if I’m too far outside the norm, or if the norm just isn’t what’s best for kids.
I wonder if I should care more about test scores or if the real success lies in the moments when a kid says, “That actually makes sense now.”
I wonder if the things I let slide—like a kid putting their head down because they didn’t sleep the night before—are the things they’ll remember most about my class.
I wonder if my flexibility in deadlines is preparing them for the real world or if I’m just making their lives a little easier because I know life is already hard enough.
I wonder if some of the things I do that aren’t “best practice” are actually the best practices for the kids in my room.I wonder if the lesson I spent hours planning will even land the way I hope it will—or if the thing they’ll remember is the random conversation about history that had nothing to do with my slides.
I wonder if I should stop worrying so much about whether what I do fits into a neat little box and just keep focusing on what works.
Because at the end of the day, I wonder if the real question isn’t “Am I doing this the right way?” but instead “Am I doing right by my students?”
And as long as the answer is yes, I think I’ll keep going.
This past weekend, I presented at the Gifted Fair conference at the Hamilton County Educational Service Center and had the chance to attend a session on depth and complexity. It really got me thinking. Developed by Dr. Sandra Kaplan, depth and complexity is a framework designed to push students beyond surface-level understanding by helping them think like experts in any subject. Too often, when we talk about rigor in education, we focus only on making questions harder. But depth and complexity isn’t just about the types of questions we ask—it’s about changing the tasks we give students.
EduProtocols already help students move beyond memorization and into deeper thinking, but when we pair them with depth and complexity, we help students analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information in meaningful ways. Instead of just answering harder questions, they engage in perspective-taking, making connections, and evaluating historical impact. Here’s how we can enhance thick slides, sketch & tell, and parafly by embedding depth and complexity into each step of the lesson.
Thick Slides + Depth and Complexity
Thick slides go beyond listing facts—students make claims, compare ideas, and provide evidence. But how can we push even deeper?
Ways to add depth and complexity:
Big idea: Frame the slide around a larger concept. Instead of just listing facts about the Monroe Doctrine, students answer: how did the Monroe Doctrine shape American foreign policy for the next century?
Patterns: Identify recurring themes within a topic. If studying reform movements, students compare abolitionism, women’s rights, and education reform: what patterns exist in the strategies reformers used?
Over time: Analyze historical progression. Example: how did political parties evolve from the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans to modern-day parties?
Multiple perspectives: Assign different viewpoints. One student may create a slide from Mexico’s perspective on Texas independence, while another represents an American settler’s viewpoint.
Example lesson: The Age of Jackson Standard thick slide: Students summarize Jacksonian democracy and list key policies. Depth and complexity layer: Students compare Jacksonian democracy to modern populism, tracking patterns of how political leaders appeal to “the common people.”
Sketch & Tell + Depth and Complexity
Visual representation forces students to process and conceptualize information rather than just memorize it. Adding depth and complexity helps students examine underlying themes and historical connections.
Ways to add depth and complexity:
Language of the discipline: Require students to include key vocabulary in their sketches. Example: if sketching manifest destiny, students must label annexation, expansion, and sovereignty.
Ethics: Have students create two sketches—one that supports an event and one that critiques it. Example: was the Trail of Tears an unavoidable consequence of expansion, or a violation of Native rights?
Rules: Students depict who created the rules and who had to follow them. For instance, sketch how the spoils system benefited Jackson’s supporters but also led to corruption.
Across disciplines: Connect ideas across subjects. A history class sketching the Industrial Revolution might also examine how innovations in machinery affected economic systems and scientific advancements.
Example lesson: The Texas Revolution Standard sketch & tell: Students illustrate one major event in the Texas Revolution. Depth and complexity layer: Students compare two sketches—one from the perspective of Texan settlers and another from Mexico’s leaders.
Parafly + Depth and Complexity
Parafly already challenges students to improve their paraphrasing skills, but adding depth and complexity ensures that students analyze information rather than just rewrite it.
Ways to add depth and complexity:
Rules: Students not only paraphrase a text but also identify what rules are being set or broken. Example: in the Missouri Compromise, students highlight who benefits from the agreement and who is restricted by it.
Details matter: After paraphrasing, students explain what was left out and why it might be important. Example: what details are often omitted in textbook discussions of manifest destiny?
Ethical considerations: In addition to paraphrasing, students evaluate the morality of a historical decision. Example: was the annexation of Texas justified or an act of aggression?
Unanswered questions: Students paraphrase a passage and then write one question that remains unanswered. This helps spark deeper discussion about what the text does not address.
Example lesson: The Oregon Treaty Standard parafly: Students paraphrase textbook excerpts on the U.S.-British treaty dividing Oregon. Depth and complexity layer: Students evaluate the treaty’s fairness—who benefited most, and why didn’t the U.S. fight for 54°40’?
Final Thoughts
After attending the session at the Gifted Fair, it became clear that depth and complexity isn’t just about making things “harder”—it’s about giving students the right tools to think critically. When paired with EduProtocols, these strategies:
Encourage critical thinking instead of rote memorization
Make learning more engaging and relevant
Help students connect history to today
Depth and complexity doesn’t have to be a separate strategy—it can be woven into everything we already do. When paired with EduProtocols, it transforms simple activities into deeper, more meaningful learning experiences.
How are you using depth and complexity in your classroom? Let’s keep the conversation going!
One of the biggest challenges in history education is engaging students in meaningful analysis while encouraging collaboration and critical thinking. Enter Snorkl, an AI-powered whiteboard tool that allows students to interact with historical content by annotating images, adding text, drawings, or even recording their voices. By integrating Snorkl with historical inquiry, EduProtocols, and depth and complexity strategies, we can create a dynamic space where students engage deeply with the past.
1. Image & Source Analysis (8 Parts)
A picture is worth a thousand words—but only if students know how to analyze it! Post a primary source image (painting, political cartoon, propaganda poster) on Snorkl and have students:
Identify nouns, adjectives, and verbs within the image.
Annotate details with text boxes explaining who, what, when, where, and why.
Add speech bubbles or thought bubbles from different perspectives within the image.
Record a voice memo explaining their interpretation and the historical significance.
This works perfectly with the 8 Parts EduProtocol, where students systematically break down the visual to gain a deeper understanding.
Depth & Complexity:
Multiple Perspectives: Consider how different groups would interpret the image.
Patterns Over Time: Compare similar images from different eras (e.g., Revolutionary War vs. Civil War propaganda).
2. Think Slide Expansion (Thin Slides to Thick Slides)
Think Slides are a great way to introduce a topic, but what if we took them a step further? Post a Thin Slide prompt (one image, one word) on Snorkl, then challenge students to expand it into a Thick Slide by:
Adding three key facts about the topic.
Sourcing where their information comes from.
Comparing their topic to a related historical event or figure.
Leaving voice comments on peers’ slides to encourage discussion.
EduProtocol Tie-In: This follows the Thin Slides method but adds a deeper research component with the Thick Slide approach.
Depth & Complexity:
Ethics: Was the event just or unjust?
Big Idea: What lasting impact did this have on history?
3. Timeline Construction
History is all about connections. Instead of giving students a pre-made timeline, post randomized images and descriptions of historical events and have students:
Add text boxes explaining why some events were turning points.
Compare two different events and their outcomes.
Depth & Complexity:
Cause & Effect: What led to this event? What were its consequences?
Big Idea: How does this event connect to larger themes in history?
4. Historical Debate Board
Engage students in historical argumentation by posting a controversial historical question (e.g., “Was Andrew Jackson a hero or a villain?”). Have students:
Add arguments on both sides of the debate.
Use Snorkl’s drawing tools to connect related ideas.
Record an audio response defending their position.
Engage in peer review by responding to others’ claims.
Depth & Complexity:
Different Perspectives: How might different groups view this event?
Unanswered Questions: What evidence is missing from this debate?
5. Document-Based Investigation
Primary sources can be intimidating, but Snorkl makes them interactive. Upload a primary source document excerpt and ask students to:
Highlight key phrases and annotate their meanings.
Add images or drawings to represent key ideas.
Answer sourcing questions (Who wrote this? When? Why?).
Summarize the document in one sentence.
Depth & Complexity:
Point of View: What bias does the author have?
Trends: How does this document compare to other sources from the same period?
When studying Westward Expansion, post a blank map of the U.S. on Snorkl and have students:
Label newly acquired territories.
Use arrows to indicate migration patterns.
Draw icons or add images to represent key events (e.g., the Gold Rush, Trail of Tears).
Compare the perspective of settlers vs. Native Americans by adding speech bubbles or text boxes.
Using Sketch & Tell, students can create quick illustrations with short written explanations to reinforce their understanding.
Depth & Complexity:
Different Perspectives: What were the benefits and consequences of expansion?
Across Disciplines: How did technology and economics impact migration?
7. Empathy Map for Historical Figures (Frayer Model Adaptation)
History is filled with complex figures. Post an image of a historical person and have students create an empathy map with four sections:
What they see (their environment)
What they think (their beliefs)
What they feel (emotions, struggles)
What they say (quotes or imagined dialogue)
Adapt this using a Frayer Model, where students also add vocabulary and contextual information.
Depth & Complexity:
Ethics: Were their actions justified?
Big Idea: How does this figure’s story connect to historical trends?
Final Thoughts
By using Snorkl’s interactive whiteboard tools, combined with EduProtocols, we can transform the history classroom into a space where students actively analyze, compare, and collaborate on historical content. These activities not only help students develop historical thinking skills but also allow them to engage with the past in a way that fosters depth, complexity, and critical inquiry.
What are some ways you’ve used interactive tools like Snorkl in your history classroom? Let’s share and collaborate!
This week was all about making westward expansion more engaging and interactive while reinforcing key historical concepts through EduProtocols. From annotated maps and Thick Slides to Map & Tell and Parafly, students used a variety of strategies to build knowledge, analyze sources, and develop writing skills. We started with a Great American Race to introduce westward territories, followed by a Map & Tell to break down the meaning of “54°40′ or Fight.” Parafly helped students strengthen their paraphrasing skills with key readings on Oregon, and a MiniReport paired with Class Companion gave them practice comparing sources on the Texas Revolution.
Monday through Wednesday were a mix of different activities. Some students were completing Restart Readiness ELA tests, which involved reading two passages, answering comprehension questions, and writing an essay. Others were catching up on missed work, either for ELA or social studies. For those working on social studies, I focused on building background knowledge about how the U.S. acquired its western territories.
Mapping Westward Expansion
To start, students labeled and colored a map of westward territories, then cut it out and glued it to the center of a giant piece of paper. From there, they chose a specific territory—Louisiana, Texas, Oregon, the Gadsden Purchase, etc.—to analyze in depth.
Frayer Model + Thick Slides
Using a Drew Skeeler template, students created a Frayer Model for their chosen territory:
Relative location (what’s north, south, east, and west?)
A geographic feature from the territory
A state that came from the territory
Then, students moved on to a Thick Slide, where they:
Provided background information on the territory
Explained why and how the U.S. acquired it
Discussed its impact
Wrote a claim on how justifiable the acquisition was, supported with evidence
Added two pictures and a title
Students submitted their Thick Slides through a Google Form, which I compiled into a Google Sheet for reference.
Annotated Maps + Dice Challenge
On Wednesday, students took an initial Quizizz on how the U.S. acquired each territory. The class average across all periods was 49%—clearly, they needed more time with the content.
Enter the Annotated Map—a strategy that helps students apply history to geography the way they would annotate a text. Using the Google Sheet of Thick Slides, students pulled key information and wrote annotations around their maps explaining how and why the U.S. acquired each territory.
To combat copy-pasting, I introduced a dice challenge: 🎲 I rolled three dice—a 20-sided, 12-sided, and 6-sided—and the total determined how many words students had to use for each annotation. Each round, they had to summarize the acquisition using only that many words. This forced them to think critically, be selective with word choice, and paraphrase rather than copy directly.
At the end of class, we took the Quizizz again—this time, class averages jumped to 82%. Huge improvement, and it reinforced why layered, interactive learning beats simple memorization every time.
Thursday
Thursday’s lesson focused on how and why the U.S. acquired Oregon, along with the experiences of those who traveled west.
Gimkit Warm-Up
We started with a 5-question Gimkit about Oregon, running it for three minutes before I gave feedback. Then, we ran it again for two minutes—already, students were improving just from this quick retrieval practice.
Parafly: Mastering Paraphrasing
Since the textbook’s explanation of Oregon was dense and overly wordy, I had AI break it into three digestible paragraphs. Using Socrative, I shared one paragraph at a time, and students paraphrased and submitted their responses.
Round 1: Students had four minutes to paraphrase the first paragraph. To help those who struggled, I provided a cheat sheet (generated with AI) that highlighted key words to keep and suggested substitutions for complex terms.
Round 2: I shared the second paragraph, gave quick feedback, and students paraphrased again—this time, they were faster.
Round 3: By the third paragraph, students had built confidence and speed in paraphrasing.
After each round, students copied and pasted their paraphrases into a Google Slide, where they also wrote a three-sentence summary of what they learned about Oregon.
Map and Tell
To visualize the territorial dispute, we completed a Map & Tell activity that helped students grasp the meaning behind the slogan “54°40′ or Fight.” Using a historical map, students marked key locations and boundaries to understand the tensions between the U.S. and Britain over Oregon Country. They starred the 54°40′ latitude, which was the northernmost boundary some Americans wanted to claim. Then, they used colored lines to map the dispute, drawing a red line at 54°40′ to represent the aggressive claim and a green line at the 49th parallel, which became the actual U.S.-British border agreement. This hands-on approach reinforced why “54°40′ or Fight” was a powerful rallying cry but ultimately not the reality of the final negotiation.
Thick Slide: Life on the Trail
Next, students chose one of two groups that traveled west:
The Donner Party
Mountain Men
They created a Thick Slide covering:
Who they were
Why they went west
The hardships they faced
Oregon Trail & Final Review
To wrap up, we ran the same Gimkit for two minutes—this time, scores jumped significantly. Then, I shared a link to the classic Oregon Trail game online, letting students explore the challenges of westward expansion in a fun, interactive way.
This lesson balanced retrieval, paraphrasing, and content creation, reinforcing key ideas about why people moved west and the struggles they endured.
Friday
To get students thinking about the Texas Revolution on a personal level, I started class with this question: “Have you ever agreed to something—only for the rules to suddenly change? Or, maybe you realized it was unfair? How did you react?” This simple question helped students connect historical events to real-life experiences, making them more engaged from the start.
EdPuzzle for Background Knowledge
Before diving into the details, students watched a 7-8 minute EdPuzzle video about the Texas War for Independence. I use these short videos to provide a visual foundation and background knowledge before we break things down further.
MiniReport and Class Companion
For the main lesson, we used the MiniReport EduProtocol to structure our analysis of Texas’ independence and annexation. I took the textbook sections on Texas and split them into two sources:
Source 1: Americans Rebel in Texas
Source 2: The Lone Star Republic and Annexation
Students had 8-10 minutes to gather information from both sources. They paraphrased ideas and recorded key points without needing to write in full sentences. Each student then summarized the main idea of what they gathered in their own words.
Once their notes were complete, they wrote a quick paragraph about Texas’ fight for independence and its annexation into the United States.
To wrap up, students submitted their writing into Class Companion for immediate AI-generated feedback. Since we ran out of time, we’ll finish refining and improving their responses next week.
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
Authentic Audience → Writing improves when students know their peers will see and evaluate it.
Instant Peer Feedback → Students learn from each other by comparing and discussing writing in real time.
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.
AI-Powered Supports → AI-generated sentence stems, outlines, and prompts give students structured support without giving them the full answer.
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.
Embedded Readings & Images → Teachers can upload pictures and reading files to any question to provide context and scaffolding.
Writing Portfolios → Short Answer automatically compiles student writing into PDFs, making it easy to track growth over time.
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:
A settler moving west
A Native American witnessing expansion
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.
Narrative Writing – Students wrote a short, creative story about pizza in 3 minutes.
Informational Writing – They wrote an explanatory piece on how pizza is made or its history.
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:
3xGenre → Students write narrative, informative, and argumentative responses on the same topic, seeing how writing purpose changes.
3xPOV → Students write from three different perspectives, then compare and refine.
3xCER → Students write a claim three times, each time strengthening their argument.
CyberSandwich Summaries → Students read, summarize, compare, and improve their responses based on peer examples.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This week in 8th-grade social studies, we brought history to life with engaging EduProtocols that helped students dive deep into the Early Republic and key moments like the Whiskey Rebellion. From Sketch and Tell-O activities that broke down complex ideas to Progressive Sketch and Tell timelines that visualized historical events, we kept creativity at the forefront. Class Companion added an exciting layer of AI-driven writing feedback, while Fast and Curious Gimkits and CyberSandwiches reinforced foundational knowledge and sparked meaningful discussions. These protocols not only engaged students but also helped them build connections, improve comprehension, and master essential skills.
This week, we dove into a new unit on the Early Republic, which will culminate in a common assessment. Starting with a pre-assessment right out of the textbook, I had students tackle 20 of the most challenging, oddly worded questions filled with difficult vocabulary. The pre-assessment was designed to gauge their baseline knowledge and took about 10–15 minutes. Predictably, it was tough, but it gave me a sense of where they stood as we started the unit.
Introducing the Unit with a CyberSandwich
One thing I like about the textbook’s first lesson in this unit is how it revisits key foundational topics that lead into the Early Republic. It highlights the weaknesses and problems in America before the Constitution—like taxation without representation, the Articles of Confederation, Shays’ Rebellion, and foreign and domestic disputes—and positions the Constitution as the solution.
The irony? The textbook doesn’t explicitly connect these issues to the Early Republic or explain how the first five presidents put the Constitution to work and expanded federal power. So, I decided to bridge the gap myself using a CyberSandwich EduProtocol.
Here’s how it went:
Simplified Reading: Instead of fumbling with the textbook or logging into the website, I printed out the reading directly from the online textbook. Paper copies are quick, easy, and let students highlight and annotate as they read.
Guiding Questions: Students spent 12 minutes reading and answering five guiding questions that I generated with AI to focus their attention on key details.
Partner Discussion: After reading, students listed two problems and one solution from the text and discussed their findings with a partner, comparing ideas.
Fixing a Paragraph: To practice critical thinking and writing, I gave them a poorly written paragraph (also AI-generated) about the topic and gave them 10 minutes to improve it.
Wrapping Up with Gimkit
We ended the class with a Gimkit featuring nine questions I pulled from the summative assessment for this unit. The scores showed where we have room to grow:
57%, 47%, 39%, and 42%.
While the scores were low, it was a good baseline and a chance to familiarize students with the material they’ll need to master.
Wednesday: George Washington Takes Office
We jumped into Lesson 2: George Washington Takes Office, diving into how Washington and Congress worked to strengthen the federal government. While the textbook suggests this lesson could take two days, I find that assumption wildly unrealistic. It’s packed with readings, activities, writing tasks, and reviews that assume students have extensive social studies background knowledge—something many students simply don’t have due to the limited time spent on the subject in earlier grades. The disconnect between textbook expectations and real classroom realities is frustrating.
Quick Notes: Setting the Stage
To start the lesson, I introduced key topics through a short lecture. These quick notes laid out the big ideas students would encounter in the lesson:
Washington’s leadership style.
The establishment of key government structures.
The significance of neutrality and Jay’s Treaty.
The goal was to give students a foundation before diving into deeper activities.
Archetype Foursquare: Connecting History to Stories
Next, I introduced archetypes—a fun and engaging way to connect historical figures to familiar characters. Students brainstormed archetypes in their favorite movies, TV shows, or books and discussed how every character fits an archetype (e.g., hero, mentor, trickster).
We followed this with an EdPuzzle on George Washington, a 4-minute video highlighting his leadership and challenges. While watching, students thought about which archetype best described Washington.
Afterward, students spent 8 minutes completing an Archetype Foursquare for Washington. They:
Identified an archetype for him (e.g., “hero” or “sage”).
Provided evidence from the video to support their choice.
Connected George Washington to someone else.
Compared their archetype ideas with a partner in a quick discussion.
Sketch and Tell-O: Strengthening the Federal Government
We then transitioned into the textbook’s reading on how Washington and Congress strengthened the federal government. Using a Sketch and Tell-O template, students sketched visuals to represent key ideas, such as:
The creation of executive departments.
The establishment of the federal court system.
This visual and creative approach helped break down the dense content into manageable chunks.
SWBST Sketch and Tell: Neutrality and Jay’s Treaty
Next, we tackled Washington’s foreign policy and Jay’s Treaty using a Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then (SWBST) Sketch and Tell template. Students read about the challenges of maintaining neutrality during international conflicts and how Jay’s Treaty attempted to resolve tensions with Britain.
The SWBST activity allowed students to:
Summarize the main ideas.
Use both words and pictures to represent what they learned. This strategy is always a hit because it combines comprehension with creativity, making abstract concepts more concrete.
Wrapping Up with Fast and Curious
To close out the lesson, we ran a Fast and Curious Gimkit round focused on key vocabulary and ideas from the day.
Students played for 3 minutes.
I provided immediate feedback on commonly missed questions, reinforcing learning.
Thursday: Hamilton’s Plan
Thursday was all about diving into Hamilton’s financial plan, though I initially hoped to also cover Washington’s domestic issues like the Whiskey Rebellion. My ambition outpaced reality, and we only made it through Hamilton’s plan. That said, the day was packed with meaningful activities that helped students grasp these foundational concepts.
Quick Notes: The Foundation of Hamilton’s Plan
We began class with quick notes to outline Hamilton’s financial plan, focusing on:
Assuming state debts to strengthen the national government.
Establishing a national bank to regulate finances.
Implementing tariffs to protect American industry.
These notes took about 10 minutes and provided the background knowledge students needed for the activities that followed.
Archetype Activity: Understanding Hamilton
To make Hamilton more relatable, I used the brief biography from the textbook to introduce him as a historical figure. Then, we revisited the archetype activity from Wednesday, applying it to Hamilton. Students identified archetypes like “visionary,” “strategist,” or even “rebel,” depending on their interpretations.
This activity was quicker than Wednesday’s, but still sparked great discussion as students shared their archetype choices with partners and justified their reasoning.
Reading, Questions, and Sketch and Tell-O
We transitioned to a reading about Hamilton’s financial plan, using a combination of structured questions, creative visualizations, and a connections summary. Here’s how it worked:
Read and Respond: Students answered comprehension questions about Hamilton’s plan, focusing on why he wanted to assume state debts, how the national bank would work, and the purpose of tariffs.
Sketch and Tell-O: Students used a Sketch and Tell-O template to represent key ideas from Hamilton’s plan. For example:
A chain symbolizing the unification of state debts under the federal government.
A vault or dollar sign representing the national bank.
Connections Summary: To wrap up, students found an emoji or picture that connected with their answers and explained why they chose it.
I originally planned to use Class Companion, an AI feedback tool, to give students immediate feedback on their summaries. Unfortunately, it was blocked! I emailed the IT department to get it unblocked, but for now, we relied on peer discussions and my feedback instead.
Wrapping Up with Gimkit
We ended class with another Gimkit to reinforce the material. This time, the averages showed improvement:
80%, 74%, 68%, and 70%.
Friday: The Whiskey Rebellion and Government Strength
On Friday, I wrestled with whether to skip the Whiskey Rebellion and dive straight into political parties, but I decided against it. The Whiskey Rebellion perfectly ties back to our first lesson: the Constitution made the government stronger, and putting down the rebellion proved that strength. This connection was too important to pass up, so we dedicated the day to exploring the Whiskey Rebellion in-depth.
Progressive Sketch and Tell: Unpacking the Story
Inspired by Jake Carr and Justin Unruh, we used a Progressive Sketch and Tell to break the rebellion into digestible chunks. I used AI to divide the Whiskey Rebellion story into five parts, making it manageable and engaging for students.
Setup: Each student received a paper with five Sketch and Tell boxes.
Round 1: I handed out the first part of the story, giving students 3 minutes to read and sketch a visual representation of what they’d read. They then discussed their sketches with a partner.
Rounds 2–5: For each subsequent part, students repeated the process—read, sketch, discuss. This structure kept the class moving while building a deeper understanding of the rebellion.
By the end, students had created a complete visual timeline of the Whiskey Rebellion.
Introducing Class Companion for Writing Feedback
After completing their comics, students used Class Companion, an AI feedback tool, to summarize their Whiskey Rebellion comics in writing. This was my first time successfully using Class Companion after IT unblocked it, and it was a game-changer.
Here’s how it worked:
I set up the assignment by feeding information about the Whiskey Rebellion from our reading into Class Companion.
Students typed their summaries into the platform, receiving real-time feedback and scores on their writing.
They had three attempts to improve their summaries, with each attempt allowing them to act on AI-generated suggestions.
The feedback was eye-opening for many students. It pointed out areas for improvement in clarity, structure, and grammar, and the rubric generated by the AI made expectations crystal clear. Some students became competitive, determined to get the highest score possible by their third attempt.
The results were amazing. Students were engaged in improving their writing and motivated by the detailed feedback. The data Class Companion provided was also incredibly helpful for me to track progress.
Wrapping Up with Gimkit
We ended the day with a Gimkit review on Lesson 2. The class averages were impressive:
91%, 80%, 88%, and 85%.
And just like that – a suggested 2 day lesson took 3 days and probably could have taken another day to do the lesson justice.
This week was all about keeping engagement high and adapting to student needs with a strong lineup of EduProtocols. We started by wrapping up our government voice inquiry with a Thick Slidesummary and fast Gimkit reviews, then dived into Sketch and Tell-o on Loyalist perspectives and Enlightenment ideas with Parafly paraphrasing exercises. Thursday’s Halloween twist saw students using Number Mania for the Declaration of Independence, while Friday’s low attendance turned into a lively Gimkit Draw session and creative Retell in Rhyme exercise on Disney movies and daily topics. EduProtocols once again carried the week!
After missing Friday, I came back on Monday to discover that my inquiry lesson on the importance of having a voice in government hadn’t gone as planned. I had used AI to simplify the primary sources into 7th-grade-friendly readings, hoping this would keep students engaged and make the sources more accessible. But when I checked Google Classroom, only a handful of students had completed the work. The inquiry went deeper than expected, and without support, the substitute likely couldn’t guide students through the challenge.
Regrouping with Purpose
Rather than diving into low scores or assigning blame, I chose a reset. I’m not one to pass off low marks without offering students a real chance to understand. So, we tackled the primary sources together, discussing the background and importance of each source and connecting them back to our essential question: Why is it important to have a voice in government? We used this discussion to explore representation, power, and fairness—all critical ideas that lay the groundwork for the events leading to the American Revolution.
Thick Slides to Synthesize Learning
For our wrap-up, I had students create a Thick Slide summary on what they’d learned. Thick Slides have proven incredibly effective in helping students distill complex concepts into concise, visual representations, and the students did a fantastic job as usual. The content breakdown clearly helped, and it was rewarding to see them engage with and articulate these foundational concepts in such a clear way.
Reinforcing with Gimkit
We wrapped up with a Gimkit Fast and Curious to reinforce everything we’ve covered, from British taxes to the French and Indian War and the growing tensions with Britain. Class averages hit between 80% and 90%, showing that sometimes all we need is a little extra time to reset and regroup. It was a solid reminder of the power of building understanding, even when things don’t go as planned.
With classes reduced to around 45 minutes, I knew our lesson had to be both quick and effective. This made the Loyalist primary source lesson from the Digital Inquiry group a perfect choice. I adapted the sources with AI, preserving the primary source feel but bringing the language down to a level that worked for 8th graders. My goal was to shift focus and challenge students to consider an often-overlooked question: Why would some colonists choose to stay loyal to Britain, despite rising revolutionary sentiments?
Setting the Scene with Inquiry and Quick Retrieval
We started with an inquiry warm-up: “We’ve been discussing how the Sons of Liberty protested British rule. What do you think might cause someone to stay loyal to King George instead?” After sharing some predictions, we moved into a Gimkit for a brief but focused review of vocabulary like Loyalist, Patriot, and other terms they’d encounter in the readings. I wanted to ensure they had the basics down before diving deeper.
Document Analysis in Action
Students then moved to Document 1, where they filled out an organizer, closely reading the text, sourcing the information, and contextualizing it in terms of its historical moment. We repeated the process with Document 2, helping students see the range of reasons people might remain loyal. Finally, we had them corroborate the two sources to find connections, patterns, and any differences in Loyalist reasoning. This built their analytical skills and brought out critical thinking as they explored motivations and biases.
Wrapping It Up with Sketch and Tell-o
For our final task, students engaged in a Sketch and Tell-o activity, visualizing three reasons for Loyalist loyalty and summarizing each one. This combination of analysis and creativity is really where their understanding shines—they don’t just read; they actively process and illustrate their learning.
We ended with a quick Gimkit for further retrieval, although the class averages varied, thanks to the adjusted schedule and excitement of a different day. The students really took to this shift in perspective and showed curiosity about how Loyalists made their choices. Even in a shorter time, they walked away with a new layer of insight into the diversity of colonial perspectives.
With a return to our usual schedule, we jumped right into two big topics: The Enlightenment and the Declaration of Independence. These foundational ideas helped shape American ideals, and I wanted to make them accessible and memorable for the students using some targeted EduProtocols.
Starting Strong with Fast and Curious
We started class with a Gimkit Fast and Curious, tackling key Enlightenment terms and early concepts from the Declaration of Independence. I kept this session short—just three minutes—and then gave feedback to help clarify terms. It was a quick but effective primer, setting the stage for the day’s deeper dive.
Frayer Fun: Enlightenment and John Locke
Then, we turned to the Frayer Model for the term “Enlightenment.” Students rewrote a definition in their own words, listed characteristics, and found a symbolic image. This helped break down the big concept, and I could tell from their summaries that they were getting it.
Next, we moved into a Frayer on John Locke. While I usually would bring in the Archetypes protocol to help link Locke’s ideas with Enlightenment ideals, I decided to keep it simple this time. Instead, students listed his beliefs, noted his influence, and added an image to represent him. This exercise anchored Locke as a key influencer on American revolutionary thought.
Parafly Protocol: Making Paraphrasing Fun
Then came Parafly, an EduProtocol that introduces students to paraphrasing in a super engaging way. I used Socrative to share fun sentences about topics like Halloween, quirky facts, and even SpongeBob, to warm them up to the idea. After reviewing strategies like using synonyms, simplifying, and rearranging sentences, I gave them two minutes to submit their paraphrases. Then, we voted on each round, and I provided feedback. The excitement and engagement levels were high. At one point, a student even said, “This is fun. Can we keep doing this?” They were totally absorbed—in paraphrasing, of all things!
We wrapped up Parafly by shifting focus to key terms like “Enlightenment,” “Natural Rights,” and “Social Contract.” Students paraphrased each term and then brought in some creative flair by using Emoji Kitchen to design custom emojis representing their ideas on a Sketch and Tell slide.
Wrapping with Another Fast and Curious
To end the day, we circled back to the Gimkit Fast and Curious from earlier, this time to see growth after our review of the terms. Seeing their scores rise was the perfect way to close out the lesson, with students clearly connecting to these revolutionary ideas.
This mix of creative, structured, and interactive protocols turned some abstract concepts into tangible understandings, with Parafly paraphrasing emerging as the highlight of the day.
Halloween and an observation on the same day? No problem—EduProtocols to the rescue! Two weeks back, I’d casually agreed to a Thursday observation without realizing it fell on Halloween. Despite potential holiday distractions, I knew the structured and interactive protocols would keep us on track and meet the standards for my evaluation.
Kicking Off with a Fast and Curious on Independence
We began with a Gimkit Fast and Curious on the Declaration of Independence. This activity set the stage, refreshing students on key terms and events as we eased into the historical focus of the day. With classes in good spirits, I projected a Google Maps Street View image of Independence Hall to add some context. Seeing the actual site where the Declaration was signed gave everyone a sense of place, grounding our conversation in the moment of 1776 and shifting attention from Halloween to history.
Halloween Twist: A “Declaration Signer” Meme
Keeping things festive, I introduced an activity that blended Halloween fun with historical context. Students created a Halloween costume meme (EMC2Learning) for a “Declaration signer.” We talked through some “accessories” these costumes might need—powdered wigs, quills, maybe even parchment or lanterns. This meme-building activity was a hit! It allowed students to engage with historical figures through a lighthearted lens and provided a creative outlet that still tied back to the Declaration. The students brought some great ideas, and our meme creations lasted about 15 minutes.
Main Event: Number Mania on the Declaration of Independence
With focus re-centered, we dove into our main EduProtocol for the day: Number Mania. I started by sharing the quote: “The Declaration of Independence showed how the American colonists were willing to risk everything to create a new government that protected people’s rights. They carefully planned a way to explain why they wanted to be free and what they believed about human rights.”
Students read through our text, highlighting four specific numbers or statistics that supported the ideas within the quote. They then designed a visual infographic. Having practiced Number Mania with the Boston Tea Party, students were ready to go and applied themselves well—this time the numbers came together even faster.
Wrapping Up with Fast and Curious
Finally, we circled back to another Gimkit Fast and Curious for a quick review. Students’ Gimkit averages were up across the board—our rounds in the morning paid off with solid comprehension by day’s end. Between Gimkit, our “costume” meme, and Number Mania, EduProtocols helped guide the class from start to finish and make my observation a success. Nothing like a combination of creativity and rigor to wrap up Halloween with history and high engagement!
Friday
With attendance looking rough the day after Halloween, I knew diving deep into the Declaration of Independence wouldn’t hit the mark, so I pivoted to something lighter and more interactive. The goal was to keep students engaged without overwhelming them—sometimes you just have to read the room and adapt.
Gimkit Draw Mode: American Revolution Edition
We kicked things off with a crowd-pleaser—Gimkit Draw mode. This random-student-draws, classmates-guess format brought the energy up immediately. To keep it connected to our content, I had AI generate a list of simple, Revolution-related terms for students to draw, like “stamp,” “tax,” and “musket.” The guessing was quick, and even the less artistic students loved the challenge. This activity was perfect for the post-Halloween lull and reminded everyone that history doesn’t always have to be a quiet read-through.
Rhyming Games with Disney and Rhyme Scheme
Next, we switched gears to a quick exercise on rhyme schemes with a Disney twist. Using rhyming couplets about Disney movie plots (thanks again, AI!), we turned it into a guessing game. This light activity led to a discussion about rhyme schemes and couplets, and everyone had fun trying to guess the movie based on the rhyme.
Retell in Rhyme: The Challenge of Writing in Pairs
Inspired by our Disney activity, I introduced Retell in Rhyme. Students chose a favorite Disney movie and worked in pairs to craft a summary in rhyme with six couplets. Some classes took to it and got really creative; other classes found the rhyming tougher than expected, and I could feel the energy dip. For those groups, I pivoted: instead of summarizing a movie, I had them write couplets about everyday topics like “morning routine,” “making a sandwich,” or “rainy days.” This tweak gave students a familiar foundation and helped them find their flow again.
Moler's Musings 