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.
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