Top Ten Texts and Strategies
High School History
TEXTS
1. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
a. Joel Coen
b. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
c. December 22, 2000
d. N/A
e. Buena Vista Pictures
This satirical comedy follows the path of three prison inmates - Ulysses McGill, Pete Hogwallop and Delmar O'Donnell. The trio escape from their chain gang and are in pursuit of $1,200,000 in treasure that McGill claims he knows the location of. Through their journey they fall off a train, hitch a ride on a handcar with a blind man that claims to be a prophet, are turned into the police by Hogwallop's cousin, travel with an aspiring musician, record a hit song called "The Man of Constant Sorrow," come to believe that Pete was turned into a toad by sirens only to find he had been jailed and break him out, find that McGill's wife has become engaged to another (in shame she had been telling their children he was dead), accidentally join a KKK rally, join together to become a band in an effort to win McGill's wife back (they succeed) and finally discover that the blind man on the handcar was indeed correct in his predictions.
This is a wonderful film that is based loosely on Homer's Odyssey. It is based in Deep South Mississippi and provides a great depiction of the Great Depression in that part of the country. There was a lot of poverty, no money and families had to work very, very hard just to put food on the table. I'd probably prefer to show this film as a reward for the class for positive performance, it certainly would be useful for learning purposes but is also great for personal enjoyment.
2. Ain't I a Woman
a. Sojourner Truth
b. Ain't I a Woman
c. May 29, 1851
d. Akron, Ohio
e. N/A
This speech was delivered by Sojourner Truth, a black woman that was born into slavery in the late 1700's in New York State. She gained her freedom in 1827 and quickly became well known as an anti-slavery/equal rights speaker. In this delivery, she goes on to note that she has muscles like a man, that she can farm like any other man, that she is just as smart as men, claims that God created men and women equal and that woman bore man.
This would be a wonderful addition to any material that has to do with slavery or equal rights. To this day there is not one 100% accurate copy of the speech, however it's been claimed that even then it would be impossible recreate the affect it had on the audience that day in Akron.
3. A Tale of Two Cities
a. Charles Dickens
b. A Tale of Two Cities
c. 1859
d. United Kingdom
e. Chapman and Hall
This novel is set in Paris and London during the French Revolution. The book covers the struggle the French poor had with the French aristocrats. It also showed many similar issues in England at the time. The book was released over the course of several months, with Dickens only releasing one or two chapters at a time a week. Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton are the two main characters and the story follows them through their high and low points during the Revolution.
This would be a great novel to make for required reading during a European History class. It provided a face for what was a very difficult time for all kinds of people during this time period.
STRATEGIES
1. Somebody Wanted But So. This exercise will promote organization and will allow students to focus on central themes/characters/events in the material. Here they'll indenting the WHO, then describe what it is they WANT, BUT what happened instead and SO what happened in the end.
a. This is a great organizational activity. Struggling readers can really benefit from this by identifying key characters and then indicating facts about them.
b. As a teacher you could very quickly see if a student has identified the correct facts about the reading, so assessment is pretty straight forward here.
c. This would help students separate characters, events and dates which would certainly help promote comprehension.
d. This could be done is small groups, as a class or individually. I'd prefer the students do this on their own, but if I see a particular student is struggling with the material I'd certainly have no problem pairing them with another student.
e. This exercise creates a framework for students to work within. Once they are confident who is who and what is what they'll better be able to concentrate on comprehension and literacy.
2. Retellings. This is another way for students to get setting, main characters and conflicts in order after they read a text. If a student is unsure of specifics and cannot give a full account of what they've just read they'll need to read it again so they're better able to get a grasp on the basic material. Once students do this they can then look more into details and start to construct their own opinions/feelings about what they're reading.
a. This is perfect for struggling readers. It helps them identify key information and then enables them to go further into details.
b. Assessment is pretty easy here. The summary they provide will quickly tell the teacher if they're understanding or not.
c. This facilitates comprehension as it pulls back the basic information and then allows students to try to further comprehend central ideas and themes in material.
d. At first, students could do this one on one with the teacher, but this could also be done as a small group or even as an entire class. It will also help students think about the material in device rent ways.
e. This method is great because it aids students in catching the crux of the material and then allows them to delve further into it, attempting to pick up details.
Literacy and Why it is so very Important
History is all about people, events and dates. Many of these people are very complicated, they stand for different things and they want to promote their ideas, beliefs and feelings. Having the ability to understand how and why these people thought and think the way they do is a big part of learning about why the world is the way it is today. History can be very bland, downright boring and monotonous, but comprehending how and why something happened the way it did yesterday is vital to either making sure it doesn't happen again or making it even better today. You will not be expected to remember every trivial date or happening in the history of the world, but you will be expected to understand why Martin Luther King, Jr sacrificed himself for mankind, why Adolf Hitler persecuted the Jews, why Americans reacted the way they did after 9/11 and why Ghandi was non-violent. It is one thing to know and remember what happened on July 4, 1776, but to understand what this country endured to get to that point is vastly more important. I hope you find it within you empathize and relate with those that have been oppressed, I want you can learn to be tolerant of those that make mistakes without knowing better and I expect you to always exhaust your resources before you form an opinion. To this day I remain a student of history and current events, I read several newspapers a day, watch the news throughout the evening and research historical figure and events that interest me frequently. A lot of reading will be required in my history classes, but I will always encourage my students to attempt to rewrite it.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Apartheid and Mandela
A Long Walk to Freedom, autobiography written by Nelson Mandela
Objectives
Students will be able to…
• Read and learn about the life of former South African President Nelson Mandela.
• Use group work to help form ideas and thoughts about the state of South Africa before, during and after Mandela's presidency.
• Be able to recall important dates and events in South African history.
• Have a clear understanding of what Apartheid is and the effects it had on South Africa.
Essential Questions
For Students:
• Are there significant lingering effects from Apartheid today?
• How did Mandela change the face of South African government?
• Can past/present issues in South Africa be related to any we have here in America?
For Educators:
• How can I have my students approach this material with an open mind, without previous prejudices and assumptions?
• Could I complement this material with various texts that may be pro-Apartheid?
Standards
• World History Competency Goal 8.6 - Explain how liberal democracy, private enterprise and human right movements have reshaped political, economic and social life in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, the Soviet Union and the United States (e.g. UN Declaration of Human Rights, end of the a Cold War, apartheid, perestroika, glasnost, etc.).
Materials
• each student will have their own copy of, A Long Walk to Freedom
• easel and note pad for KWL exercise
• space to set up a role playing forum between the South African National Party, the Afrikaner minorities and an arbitrary third party.
Procedure
Pre-reading Strategy: To get the ball rolling, the entire class will be engaged in a KWL session. I will be able to determine what exactly and how much my students already know about Nelson Mandela, South Africa and Apartheid. If students are unsure of what exactly they want to learn, I will encourage them to think about their own history and past - what's important, who's important, what will be important in the future and what do you hope the key, defining moments will be? I want them to be prepared to learn about a very unique man who has had a difficult life, but still managed to be one of the most influential people in world history.
During reading Strategy: Students will read at assigned chapters at night for homework. All students will be encouraged to do a variety of things regardless of weather or not they find the text difficult - probable passage (in order to organize dates, locations, people, etc), reread (any reader should practice this) and in small groups in class they will say something out loud. Putting students in small groups to read and discuss the text will be vital, learning from one another and realizing that not only one but other students struggle and have similar/different viewpoints is a great way to learn.
After Reading Strategy:
As a class we would complete our KWL exercise and identify if we learned the things we wanted to, what exactly did we learn that we didn't already know and what our likes/dislikes were from the book. To wrap the lesson up, I'd put the class in three groups to act as opposed South African parties (two) and as a third arbitrary party. The pro and anti-Apartheid groups would debate their basis for their government based on what they've learned on that matter.this would be a great marker for a teacher to see what exactly here students have taken in here.
Assessment
• Exit Slips for related assigned reading
• All students will be expected to participate in the debate forum
• Students will be encouraged to take writing breaks
Modifications
Visual: The debate at the end will be complete with pictures, short video clips, etc.
Audio: Allowing students to read top get her and to one another will also help.
Kinesthetic: Being involved in the KWL before the lesson will get them started in the right direction. The debate will also allow them to be a part of something they have knowledge about and are hopefully passionate about.
English Language Learners: Being in small groups will help. Also, participating in entire class discussion will also help bring ELL's along.
Reflection
Strengths: I believe a story like that of Mandela is enough for any student to take an active interest in. Complete with a variety of others activities, this text can be very beneficial in their education regarding Apartheid.
Areas of improvement and how to modify: This book is over 600 pages. Given we would have at the most one to two weeks to cover the section, I'd likely pick pertinent passages, ones that I'd consider the most interesting and informational for my students to read. While I'd encourage them to read the book from cover to cover, I would also hope to pic their interests enough that they will want to anyway.
Objectives
Students will be able to…
• Read and learn about the life of former South African President Nelson Mandela.
• Use group work to help form ideas and thoughts about the state of South Africa before, during and after Mandela's presidency.
• Be able to recall important dates and events in South African history.
• Have a clear understanding of what Apartheid is and the effects it had on South Africa.
Essential Questions
For Students:
• Are there significant lingering effects from Apartheid today?
• How did Mandela change the face of South African government?
• Can past/present issues in South Africa be related to any we have here in America?
For Educators:
• How can I have my students approach this material with an open mind, without previous prejudices and assumptions?
• Could I complement this material with various texts that may be pro-Apartheid?
Standards
• World History Competency Goal 8.6 - Explain how liberal democracy, private enterprise and human right movements have reshaped political, economic and social life in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, the Soviet Union and the United States (e.g. UN Declaration of Human Rights, end of the a Cold War, apartheid, perestroika, glasnost, etc.).
Materials
• each student will have their own copy of, A Long Walk to Freedom
• easel and note pad for KWL exercise
• space to set up a role playing forum between the South African National Party, the Afrikaner minorities and an arbitrary third party.
Procedure
Pre-reading Strategy: To get the ball rolling, the entire class will be engaged in a KWL session. I will be able to determine what exactly and how much my students already know about Nelson Mandela, South Africa and Apartheid. If students are unsure of what exactly they want to learn, I will encourage them to think about their own history and past - what's important, who's important, what will be important in the future and what do you hope the key, defining moments will be? I want them to be prepared to learn about a very unique man who has had a difficult life, but still managed to be one of the most influential people in world history.
During reading Strategy: Students will read at assigned chapters at night for homework. All students will be encouraged to do a variety of things regardless of weather or not they find the text difficult - probable passage (in order to organize dates, locations, people, etc), reread (any reader should practice this) and in small groups in class they will say something out loud. Putting students in small groups to read and discuss the text will be vital, learning from one another and realizing that not only one but other students struggle and have similar/different viewpoints is a great way to learn.
After Reading Strategy:
As a class we would complete our KWL exercise and identify if we learned the things we wanted to, what exactly did we learn that we didn't already know and what our likes/dislikes were from the book. To wrap the lesson up, I'd put the class in three groups to act as opposed South African parties (two) and as a third arbitrary party. The pro and anti-Apartheid groups would debate their basis for their government based on what they've learned on that matter.this would be a great marker for a teacher to see what exactly here students have taken in here.
Assessment
• Exit Slips for related assigned reading
• All students will be expected to participate in the debate forum
• Students will be encouraged to take writing breaks
Modifications
Visual: The debate at the end will be complete with pictures, short video clips, etc.
Audio: Allowing students to read top get her and to one another will also help.
Kinesthetic: Being involved in the KWL before the lesson will get them started in the right direction. The debate will also allow them to be a part of something they have knowledge about and are hopefully passionate about.
English Language Learners: Being in small groups will help. Also, participating in entire class discussion will also help bring ELL's along.
Reflection
Strengths: I believe a story like that of Mandela is enough for any student to take an active interest in. Complete with a variety of others activities, this text can be very beneficial in their education regarding Apartheid.
Areas of improvement and how to modify: This book is over 600 pages. Given we would have at the most one to two weeks to cover the section, I'd likely pick pertinent passages, ones that I'd consider the most interesting and informational for my students to read. While I'd encourage them to read the book from cover to cover, I would also hope to pic their interests enough that they will want to anyway.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Week 11
Improving Critical Thinking Skills in History
Improving Critical Thinking Skill in History - Carl Savich
Personally, this article could not have covered a better project. This is in my context area, with high school students that are at risk. I have always found it interesting when history is considered "dry" and "dead" when it was actually my favorite subject through grade school. I understand it is not for everyone, but it's based on human lives that have made impacts on the world we know today. I really think allowing students to read one specific subject matter from SEVERAL different texts is a wonderful idea. It forces students to see what is consistently written and what possibly may be unsubstantiated evidence of an event. While this helps students from their own reality of a topic, it also encourages critical reading in looking for similarities and differences between texts, even down to the finest of details. It's obviously important for the teacher to provide direction with a common goal in mind, possibly having students form their own historical timeline of an event, complete with details and footnotes. I also found the immersion approach of learning new material to be very interesting. Presenting students with information that is perhaps more subjective and allowing groups to state their case based on what they've just read, would be a fascinating way for a classroom to learn. While history is certainly very objective, it's also important to understand reasonings and thought processes that have gone into what it is we are learning. While a spirited debate about the American Revolution or Nazi Germany would indeed be beneficial, also having basic background knowledge of people, places, dates and events would be necessary to partake, meaning this is a great way for students to learn material that's also exciting and motivational. I honestly feel as if I was in an inquiry method classroom in high school. We participated in simulations, had many, many group and classroom discussions, were assigned individual research projects, were expected to have a variety of opinions and viewpoints, were given multiple texts and were expected to be able to critically read on our own and in groups. I really hope to set my classroom up in a positive setting - respectful debate, providing material that promotes students to think freely and at a high level all the while fostering an environment that my students look forward to class and are anxious to learn from me and from each other.
Improving Critical Thinking Skill in History - Carl Savich
Personally, this article could not have covered a better project. This is in my context area, with high school students that are at risk. I have always found it interesting when history is considered "dry" and "dead" when it was actually my favorite subject through grade school. I understand it is not for everyone, but it's based on human lives that have made impacts on the world we know today. I really think allowing students to read one specific subject matter from SEVERAL different texts is a wonderful idea. It forces students to see what is consistently written and what possibly may be unsubstantiated evidence of an event. While this helps students from their own reality of a topic, it also encourages critical reading in looking for similarities and differences between texts, even down to the finest of details. It's obviously important for the teacher to provide direction with a common goal in mind, possibly having students form their own historical timeline of an event, complete with details and footnotes. I also found the immersion approach of learning new material to be very interesting. Presenting students with information that is perhaps more subjective and allowing groups to state their case based on what they've just read, would be a fascinating way for a classroom to learn. While history is certainly very objective, it's also important to understand reasonings and thought processes that have gone into what it is we are learning. While a spirited debate about the American Revolution or Nazi Germany would indeed be beneficial, also having basic background knowledge of people, places, dates and events would be necessary to partake, meaning this is a great way for students to learn material that's also exciting and motivational. I honestly feel as if I was in an inquiry method classroom in high school. We participated in simulations, had many, many group and classroom discussions, were assigned individual research projects, were expected to have a variety of opinions and viewpoints, were given multiple texts and were expected to be able to critically read on our own and in groups. I really hope to set my classroom up in a positive setting - respectful debate, providing material that promotes students to think freely and at a high level all the while fostering an environment that my students look forward to class and are anxious to learn from me and from each other.
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