Top Ten List - Part One

Top Ten Texts and Strategies
High School History

TEXTS
1. The Diary of a Young Girl
   a. Anne Frank
   b. The Diary of a Young Girl
   c. 1947
   d. Amsterdam
   e. Contact Publishing

During the Nazi Occupation of Holland a 12 year old girl was given a diary in June 1942. Three weeks later the Frank family found refuge in attic of Otto Frank's office building. Anne was very close with her father and deeply admired her older sister, Margot. She also became very close to the son of a family friend, Peter van Pels. After nearly 25 months of hiding the group was sent to Nazi concentration camps and Anne's father was the only one from the group to survive. Anne perished from typhus in March 1945, only two weeks before the camps were liberated by allied forces.

This autobiography would be recommended reading for students as we covered Nazi Germany and Word War II. This is an excellent account of how powerful the human spirit is even in the most dire of times. Many students in ninth are tenth grade would be the same age as Anne Frank by the time she died, so an important theme for me would appreciating life while teaching them about concentration camps and the horrible things the Nazi Gestapo did to those they persecuted.

2. Invictus (movie)
   a. Directed by Clint Eastwood based on the book, Playing the Enemy: Nelson  Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation, by John Carlin. Screenplay by Anthony Peckham.
   b. Invictus
   c. 2009
   d. N/A
   e. Spyglass

This biography recounts the time in Nelson Mandela's life from when he was released from prison in early 1990 and ends in 1995 with the playing of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. After being imprisoned for 27 years, Mandela is elected as the first black president in South African history in 1994. While attending a rugby between his native Springboks and England he notices the black South Africans cheering for the English and the whites cheering for the home team. With prejudice still fresh in their minds the blacks SA had no problem cheering against their rugby team as it was predominately white sport, anyway. Mandela meets with rugby captain Francois Pienaar and hopes to gain the support from the entire nation. The rugby group visits the island Mandela was exiled to and begins to understand where many of their fellow countrymen are coming from. The team gains national support heading entire the World Cup in South Africa and following their victory it is believed he country is indeed united.

This is a wonderful movie that highlights the troubles of Apartheid in South Africa. The country was torn apart by racism but Invictus goes to show how powerful sport really can be. Especially with the passing of Nelson Mandela in the past year it's so important to learn about and remember all he did for his country as the first black president.

STRATEGIES
1. K-W-L. This stands for: what I Know, what I want to Learn and what I Learned. This may be appropriate to use for a class regarding material you're unsure of how much they actually know. This strategy allows students to access information about the subject before actually diving right into it. Based on what they actually do know they can then form questions about what they hope to learn and then when the lesson is over, indeed see what it is they have absorbed. For me I know many people they have no idea what the War of 1812 really even way, expect that well it took place in 1812. Most students would tell me what they know, which would probably be very little, then hopefully by the end of the lesson be able to recall it was a battle between the US and Allies against the British and their Allies.
   a. This would be great for struggling readers. This may help them put aside knowledge they may already have and allow them to truly focus on what it they've been charged to learn.
   b. Assessment is simple here it is actual maintained by the final part of the strategy, what I Learned.
   c. Just like assessment you can certainly judge if a student has understood the text. Comprehension will fall in place if students are able to recall what they've learned and answered what they had hoped to learn.
   d. This is for everyone. Again, others may know more about a subject than others, but group talk here would certainly help those with less knowledge of the material, regardless of culture.
   e. Has the student been able to determine the answers to what they had hoped to learn? If it was a difficult text in may take a few tries.

2. Tea Party. This is similar to KWL in that allows students to draw on prior knowledge of a certain subject before they're actually engaged in it. However, more importantly this gives students the opportunity to learn parts of the text from classmates first and then draw their own conclusions as to what they think they're actually learning about. I like the idea of student being given cards with bits of facts and texts to read aloud to classmates while in turn having their classmate read theirs to the,. Having students then return to small groups and discuss their own ideas will also help the class come to larger and hopefully more accurate conclusions. I think this would be a great way to introduce students to the start of World War II and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. My cards would carry specific dates, locations, side events, quotes from politicians and facts about the immediate aftermath of the event.
   a. Assuming a struggling reader could accurately read from a card, I think this would be beneficial as it would allow them to learn from others.
   b. This isn't a right or wrong activity. This simply gives students information on the front end about a subject before it's taught. Assessment could be measured with two separate, but similar classes, one that is taught the material with the Tea Party before hand and one that is taught the material without the Tea Party at all.
   c. This activity will only help with comprehension. Again, putting bits and pieces of text out there for students to absorb before the lesson will only help reinforce the material.
   d. This is also for everyone. Maybe some from a Latina background would have better idea of facts regarding the Aztecs, which would certainly only strengthen a group.
   e. Initially, the information on the cards would not be too in depth. Basic, broad terms that could help students piece a text together would be very helpful here.

3. Rereading. This is a habit all students should get into, not only just weaker ones. Students often read a text, don't understand it, get frustrated and don't think it again moving forward, much less reread. This is important for anything regarding History texts. There are so many dates, locations, people, events, etc. to take in and remember a student really should have no other choice than to reread in my classroom.
   a. This was made for a struggling reader. With assistance from a classmate or teacher, any students should become accustomed to rereading.
   b. Assessment is certainly based on the retention and comprehension of knowledge. If a student doesn't quite get it then that's certainly a sign they need to practice this.
   c. Reading more and more will only help comprehension. Maybe the student missed a line or didn't notice a date or a fact or a number until the second or third time they read a passage.
   d. Again, this should be encouraged for everyone to do. Especially if a student is struggling with foreign concepts or ideas.
   e. Rereading can only help in a critical reading exercise. Many students are incapable of fully grasping a text the first time they read it and should be encouraged to analyze it numerous times.

Week Six

Gloria Ladson-Billings takes a look at struggling African-American students in the classroom, but also examines what exactly teachers can do to help shore up learning deficiencies and poor academic progress. Native American Cornel Pewewardy suggests that many Indian children often struggle in school because the material is not "culturally congruent" or "culturally compatible" and maintains that these would learn more efficiently if the home language is also used in the classroom. Ladson-Billings goes on to state that three things are vital In order for all children to find cultural relevance, in as many words - 1. Students must experience academic success, 2. Students must develop and maintain cultural competence and 3. Students must develop awareness of and challenge the status quo of the social order. Finally, the article emphasizes the importance of teachers to create, nurture and care about the relationships with their students. Relating to students is a big part of helping any student simply "get it" and knowing it's okay to fail the first time, that they'll be helped believe they'll eventually succeed is so important.

I really enjoy reading these kinds of articles. While there is certainly a lot to be said about teaching strategies and what more can be done to help students succeed. Having several teachers that I knew cared about me really improved my attitude towards school and learning. Believing in a student really does go a long way. As a coach now in my eighth year I can tell you a players performance can drastically change if they're injected full of confidence while also knowing it's okay to fail. Of course my players also understand they must work hard to succeed, especially after failure. I've always believed in this sports reference saying - it's not always about the X's and the O's, it's more about the Jimmy's and the Joe's - i.e. It's obviously very important to be prepared, to have thought out well lesson plans and to be knowledgeable in content area, but it's just as important if not more to get to know your students and form healthy, positive and trusting relationships.

My First Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan - Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address

Objectives
What should students accomplish at the end of this lesson?
Make sure to use ACTIVE and MEASURABLE verbs in your objectives (See attached sheet on Bb).
Please write 3 to 5 in your own words.

Students will be able to…
1. Determine when and where President Lincoln delivered the Address.
2. Recall the general meaning behind the Address.
3. Provide proof that they comprehend and understand why the Address was so important in time.


Essential Questions
Please write TWO essential questions.  The first should be a question that is posed for your students.  This question should be worded so that it motivates students. The second question should be a question for you.  This question should be worded so that it reminds you and your administration of your academic purpose.

For Students: What should you take away from The Gettysburg Address as it relates to your life today!

For Educators: Why is this moment in history worth remembering, teaching and learning about today?


Standards
Please include NO MORE than three standards from NCSCOS.  These can be copied can pasted from the document.

1. The student will decipher, decode and comprehend the meanings of this document and translate how it may relate to his/her life today.


Materials
Please list all materials that you will need for this lesson.

Students will need copies of the original Gettysburg Address.
Students will also need a copy of the Gettysburg Address in legible text.


Procedure
This lesson is intended to scaffold students who struggle to read and write in your content area through a reading/writing strategy, such as a science lab report, a math problem, a literary analysis, and/or an argument paper.  One of the BEST strategies to use in any content area is the me, we, few, you technique that you use for a specific reading/writing practice.

1. Opening: How will you hook your students?  Consider pulling from something they know, such as music, television, graphic novels, etc.
My high school US History teacher had every member of class dress as Abraham Lincoln and take turns reading the Gettysburg Address. It seemed very redundant at the time but we all looked so ridiculous it relaxed us and opened our minds to comprehend and absorb the short speech.
2. Me: How will you model this reading/writing strategy?
I think going through each of the three paragraphs of the speech and breaking down each individual students into a language the students can wrap their minds around is crucial. Simply put, people just don't talk and speak as they did 150 years ago, so being able to get a basic of understanding of what was said is vital here.
3. We: How will you do the reading/writing strategy together as a group?
Again, I'd like to have the entire class read the speech together. Often hearing it while not reading it helps you absorb and actually "hear" the text.
4. Few: What kind of small group work can students do to practice this strategy? How will you hold them accountable? Remember, it is best to keep students in groups of two or three.
I'd like to have them break off into small groups of three or four and assign a few sentences to one sentence and then have them read it in their group and explain what it means to them and what they they think it means.
5. You: What kind of individual work will you expect students to do?
I think getting the who, what where, when and why in the form of a quiz the next day would be a good way to test for recall and comprehension.
6. Closure: How will close up the lesson? How will you return to the objectives and essential questions? Please explain how you will do this in the form of an exit slip or ticket-out-the-door.
I'd prefer the students think about this more after class and be able to recall information the next day or even the following week. This was a very important part of American History and I think it deserves more than just a day of attention.


Assessment
Please list all informal and formal assessments for this lesson.  Make sure that your assessments will help you to know if students met your stated objectives.
A formal assessment here would be the quiz the following day or even being tested on the material on an End of Grade exam.
An informal assessment here would consist on determining overall comprehension of the material compared to fellow classmates.


Modifications
Because you will have a variety of learners in your classroom, please explain how you will modify for each of them.  For example, you could state that you will provide all instructions on a power point for visual learners; you will state the directions twice for audio learners; you will have students stand up and sit down during an anticipation guide; you will ask students to work in pairs to assist students who are learning English.
I know visual learning is important so taking students to a place where they can almost picture Lincoln giving his speech would be a great tool to help them. I'd even prefer to dress as Lincoln myself and begin instruction reciting the speech to them via an actual recording of the speech in Lincoln's voice. I think putting students in small groups and having them be responsible for a small section of the Address would be a great way to hold them accountable for their work. After each group discusses their section I'd have them decide which section they thought was either most important or which one they liked most and explain why to the the entire class. This reminds me a little of a paideia seminar and I certainly think that or something similar would be appropriate for this content.

Visual - Original copies of the Gettysburg Address, teacher dressed as Lincoln
Audio - An actual recording of the speech
Kinesthetic - The students reading the speech amongst each other and determining which sections of the speech appeal to them
English Language Learners


Reflection
One of the tactics that successful teachers use is prediction; they ask themselves, “what could happen and I will I modify for it when I’m teaching?”  This helps teachers become more comfortable trying new strategies when planned lessons are not working.  In this section, write down what you think will be the strengths of the lesson.  Also write down what areas might be weak and how you could modify for it with different learners.

Strengths: Group work and holding each student responsible for their own learning and work. Also using discrepant events initially will demand their attention.

Areas of improvement and how to modify: This may be difficult for ELLs or students that are LD. If they are unable to keep up in the small group I'd certainly take extra time with any student that was struggling.

Week Four

For the articles and NIL - How does literacy "work" in your content area?  What connections are you making? What new strategies are you taking away (specific to your content area)?

The article by Nancy Frey took me back to my history teacher my final two years of high school. He was by far my favorite teacher and is probably the reason why I'm on track now to be just like him - a high school history teacher and soccer coach. As I began reading the article, shortly thereafter I came across the four instructional strategies for gaining student attention - demonstrations, discrepant events, visual displays and thought provoking questions - and I immediately thought of my junior year history class and senior year world history class. He would often have us recreate in small plays significant political events in US History. I remember we brought electric candles to class to act out Paul Revere's famous ride, one of by land two if by sea. Over the course of one week, in particular, I remember we spent a lot of time outdoors in the parking lot collecting gravel rock and stones. We did this to try and gain an understanding for the scale of work that went into the Great Wall of China. It's important to visualize things in order to truly appreciate them. As far as what I want in my classroom, I want to offer visual aids to help my students connect the material. We've all had teachers that show an endless number of movies and videos, I don't want to be like that at all. Having children put thought into what they are doing will also help them absorb it, understand it and later recall it.

The three types of assessment are very important in the classroom. As it relates to my content area, I'm not exactly sure as I'm not yet In the classroom. Summative assessments are the simplest and quickest way to test for understanding, comprehension and regurgitation of information there is. This would be a simple quiz about The Treaty of Versailles, a test about the Spanish Inquisition or an end of year exam encompassing the entire US History curriculum for tenth graders. Formative assessments take place when teachers take information from student work, classroom observation and group discussion and adapt teaching to the needs of that student. I could simply give students comprehension checks following a reading about Benjamin Franklin. This allows me to gauge comprehension levels, but it also gives students time to reflect on what they've read and an opportunity to digest the material. Observing reading strategies and comprehension is also a form of formative assessment, as it gives the teacher an opportunity to understand how the student reads, learns and thinks about course material. The last part of formative assessment is performance. This gives students an idea of what teachers expect from them when reading content. The use of a rubric is common here as it allows students to see if they are below, right at or above standard. This is the most reflective piece of formative assessment and in one example, a student would gather information from two separate sources recalling the same event and allow them the opportunity to understand and comprehend why they may be so different from the other (i.e. recollection of the Million Man March from an African-American and also from a white man). Diagnostic assessments are the last type of assessment in the classroom. These usually are not conducted by the teacher, instead by a reading specialist, special education teacher or school psychologist. In working with the teacher, school administrators hope to determine the students' overall reading level and what strategies must be delivered to help the student progress in reading and comprehension levels. It is here that a student may be found to have a learning disability, or maybe even that he/she works and learns better in groups. These findings would be very interesting to see how they would be applied from subject to subject, some students are simply better at Math that they are in English, or some simply memorize dates and names as it relates to History  better than they can understand formulas and theorems. I really enjoyed reading about assessments, it certainly has the best interest of the student at heart, and more times than none I know it will get to the bottom of what may be hindering a student while also giving the teacher a plan of action.

Daniels 3 and 4 - Choose one writing strategy in each chapter to give a brief explanation of the strategy and then give an example from your content area about how you might use the strategy in your course.  So, this could look like a list of definitions and examples.

Chapter 3 - Writing Break. This allows students to stop and think about the material that's just been presented to them. Children rarely get to actually sit and think about what they've been engaging in, whether it be a lecture, group work or even a film. Allowing students time to take a small break to write what they think about what they've just heard will give them the ability to better critically think about the material. Then having them talk about what they've written will improve retention and understanding. This would be a great way to help students learn about a topic like The Revolutionary War. Showing them maps, informational videos, pictures, providing dates and locations can be very overwhelming for a topic that is so broad and detailed. Having the class quietly write about what they've just read after watching a slide show about Bunker Hill would certainly help them take in and also think about the critical moments to that specific event.

Chapter 4 - KWL. These charts ask students three questions; What do you KNOW about the topic? What do you WANT to know about the topic? What did you LEARN about the topic? I really like this form of teaching and learning, it certainly makes students responsible for their own learning. Asking the students beforehand what they already know and also what they hope to learn about a topic makes them go into the content very aware. And then asking them when the material has been covered what they've learned a) tells them if they've learned what they wanted to learn, b) if what they knew beforehand was accurate and c) if they've truly learned something new. I really like this because it's applicable to just about anything history related. If you're covering The Cold War a student may already know it was a time of tension between the Soviet Union and the United States and several NATO members but may want to know why exactly relations between the two had deteriorated the way they did. At the end of instruction they may then state they learned the The Cold War started at the end of World War II and that the Cuban Missile Crisis could've ended with a nuclear attack on American soil. This is a fantastic learning strategy and hope to utilize it in the future.