One of my favorite collections in American Memory is the Now What a Time: Fort Valley Music Festival collection. These are recordings done at a gospel music festival in the 1940's during the time of World War 2. One of my favorite songs is used at the start of the Immigration activity and it is called "We Are Americans, Praise the Lord". I would start a lesson on Takaki's final chapter by having the students listen to this song without any context and ask what's going on? What are the participants saying or trying to say? (Note I might stop it about half way through before the singers start talking about war bonds and attacking the Japanese so that students are less aware that when the song takes place). To help guide the discussion I would probably use the song analysis tool found in our Lyrical Legacies presentation.
To supplement this I would probably play a recording of Walt Whitman's I Hear American Singing as read by Billy Collins and ask the students how this compares to the song. Then I would ask them to think about what makes someone American? And then I'd discuss how the various immigrant groups have worked to make themselves part of America and perhaps if they have succeeded or not.
I would probably also take some time and play some of the recordings from the various Folklife collections at the Library and ask how the folklife collected documents America and the cultures that make it unique. I think that would fit in nicely with the I Hear America Singing poem as well.
Though not part of my particular lesson for those wanting to look at images from the Manzanar interment camp visit the Ansel Adams presentation on Japanese American Internment and the Dorothea Lange images that are found in the exhibition on women photographers during World War 2.
While searching in World War 2 women photographers collection I found a fascinating image called This is America that Lange may have taken for propaganda purposes. I think that might be an interesting image to have accessible during my lesson and I might perhaps ask students to consider why that image was taken and remind them when it was taken (1942). What was the suggestion and I wonder if that kind of image could be used now.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Takaki Chapter 13 - Different Levels Same Idea
Hi all,
It seems that all of my activities over the last week have related to literacy. When my colleagues and I were on the train heading up to New York last weekend we ended up sitting next to Dana Gioia, the Chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts and got to see the pre-release copy of the report discussing how after middle school teenagers and adults stop reading and the impact of that on Society. You can access the report on the Publications page of the NEA website and read his comments about it on the Chairman's page. My former English teacher colleague and I had a wonderful conversation with Mr. Gioia and she got some wonderful ideas for her practicum (she is doing her MLS at Syracuse) which relate to literacy.
At the National Council of Teachers of English conference I got to attend a couple of sessions; one on how to deal with reluctant readers and one where the winners of the 2007 Notable Children's Books in Language Arts as selected by the Children's Literature Assembly were announced. Not all of the authors were in attendance but those that were there rotated from table to table so we could talk to them and learn more about the books they had written. It was a lot of fun especially talking to those who had written historical fiction and non-fiction books about how they chose the topics and how they did the research. It was also interesting to wander through the exhibit hall and see the new books. There is a lot of focus on graphic novels and how they are a tool to reach the reluctant readers many of the teachers are dealing with.
As for our session, we were told we only had 15 participants and ended up with 30. Things worked out but we were scrambling to make sure that everyone had the things they needed to participate in our hands-on activities. Next time we'll be a bit more forceful when asking for final numbers.
As for this week's chapter I found it very interesting how Takaki brought forward the literature of the time to talk about the African-American Migration. When he started talking about Zora Neale Hurston and Her Eyes were Watching God I immediately thought about the playscripts we have online and the Florida Folklife collection where you can actually hear her sing and tell some of the stories she learned while traveling in Florida. What a way to combine literature and history.
However I decided to go in a different direction. One of my favorite exhibitions in the recent past was the Smithsonian Museum exhibit from Field to Factory which looked at the migration of African-Americans to the north. I think I would use that as the basis for a lesson and have students create an exhibition about the great migration.
For those on the lowest level I would supply a large collection of photographs and have the students select images that related to the stories told in the chapter. I would ask them to write captions for the pictures and put them in order to tell the story of African American Migration from the north to the south.
For the middle level students I would have then find photographs but would ask them to look through the American Life Histories to find historical accounts to the travels to the north and the experiences that people had. One that I like (though it is a bit racy) is Harlem Rent Parties. Another interesting story is Jim Cole Negro Packinghouse Worker.
With the highest level students I would introduce them to the art of Jacob Lawrence and the Migration series that he painted that was exhibited at the Phillips Gallery a few years ago. I would ask them what they see in the paintings and what stories they tell. I would want them to compare and contrast what Lawrence has painted with what Takaki has written and then include pictures and materials from the Life History collections and other collections that would make this into a complete exhibit.
Some collections I might use for this project are
The African American Odyssey
FSA-OWI Photographs Of special interest will be some of the alley dwelling photographs
Images from the African American Experience in Ohio
Detroit Publishing Company images Note: Use the term African-Americans for searching.
African American Mosaic: Migration
LC's Prints and Photographs online catalog (tips for searching can be found here)
In Motion: Images from the Schomburg Center on Migration.
I might also use the National Atlases
to show changes in population centers and also show where the largest numbers of African Americans were located and how that changed over time and ask the students to include that in their museum exhibitions.
It seems that all of my activities over the last week have related to literacy. When my colleagues and I were on the train heading up to New York last weekend we ended up sitting next to Dana Gioia, the Chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts and got to see the pre-release copy of the report discussing how after middle school teenagers and adults stop reading and the impact of that on Society. You can access the report on the Publications page of the NEA website and read his comments about it on the Chairman's page. My former English teacher colleague and I had a wonderful conversation with Mr. Gioia and she got some wonderful ideas for her practicum (she is doing her MLS at Syracuse) which relate to literacy.
At the National Council of Teachers of English conference I got to attend a couple of sessions; one on how to deal with reluctant readers and one where the winners of the 2007 Notable Children's Books in Language Arts as selected by the Children's Literature Assembly were announced. Not all of the authors were in attendance but those that were there rotated from table to table so we could talk to them and learn more about the books they had written. It was a lot of fun especially talking to those who had written historical fiction and non-fiction books about how they chose the topics and how they did the research. It was also interesting to wander through the exhibit hall and see the new books. There is a lot of focus on graphic novels and how they are a tool to reach the reluctant readers many of the teachers are dealing with.
As for our session, we were told we only had 15 participants and ended up with 30. Things worked out but we were scrambling to make sure that everyone had the things they needed to participate in our hands-on activities. Next time we'll be a bit more forceful when asking for final numbers.
As for this week's chapter I found it very interesting how Takaki brought forward the literature of the time to talk about the African-American Migration. When he started talking about Zora Neale Hurston and Her Eyes were Watching God I immediately thought about the playscripts we have online and the Florida Folklife collection where you can actually hear her sing and tell some of the stories she learned while traveling in Florida. What a way to combine literature and history.
However I decided to go in a different direction. One of my favorite exhibitions in the recent past was the Smithsonian Museum exhibit from Field to Factory which looked at the migration of African-Americans to the north. I think I would use that as the basis for a lesson and have students create an exhibition about the great migration.
For those on the lowest level I would supply a large collection of photographs and have the students select images that related to the stories told in the chapter. I would ask them to write captions for the pictures and put them in order to tell the story of African American Migration from the north to the south.
For the middle level students I would have then find photographs but would ask them to look through the American Life Histories to find historical accounts to the travels to the north and the experiences that people had. One that I like (though it is a bit racy) is Harlem Rent Parties. Another interesting story is Jim Cole Negro Packinghouse Worker.
With the highest level students I would introduce them to the art of Jacob Lawrence and the Migration series that he painted that was exhibited at the Phillips Gallery a few years ago. I would ask them what they see in the paintings and what stories they tell. I would want them to compare and contrast what Lawrence has painted with what Takaki has written and then include pictures and materials from the Life History collections and other collections that would make this into a complete exhibit.
Some collections I might use for this project are
The African American Odyssey
FSA-OWI Photographs Of special interest will be some of the alley dwelling photographs
Images from the African American Experience in Ohio
Detroit Publishing Company images Note: Use the term African-Americans for searching.
African American Mosaic: Migration
LC's Prints and Photographs online catalog (tips for searching can be found here)
In Motion: Images from the Schomburg Center on Migration.
I might also use the National Atlases
to show changes in population centers and also show where the largest numbers of African Americans were located and how that changed over time and ask the students to include that in their museum exhibitions.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Takaki Chapter 12
Hi all,
I'll be spending Monday co-teaching a workshop called Making a Statement in Song and Poetry at the National Council of Teachers of English conference. The colleagues I am going with love this particular conference (one is a former English teacher and another a former elementary school librarian) and I've learned a lot while attending sessions there. Another perk is being able to get lots of free or very cheap books either at sessions or in the exhibit hall. It makes up for not being able to go to the National Council of Social Studies conference in December (I presented there last year and had a really good time in the LC booth and in many of the sessions). If you can go I encourage you to go to the professional conferences. There are lots of networking opportunities, chances to hear about what other teachers are doing and lots of exhibit hall freebies.
Now back to Takaki. Though American Memory is loaded with material focusing on the lives of the Mexican Farm workers (Look in the America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA and OWI, ca. 1935-1945 collection and [try searching using the terms Mexican Labor, beets, or Mexican Farms}, the American Life History collection, or the California As I saw it collection) there is not much on the music that they sang and how it helped convince people to come to El Norte, how it helped support the labor movement and how it helped people to celebrate and survive in the United States.
I would play some of the recordings in the California Gold and the Hispano Music & Culture from the Northern Rio Grande collections so that students could hear what some of the music might have sounded like. I would also play some material from the Smithsonian Latino Folkways section and have the students talk about why music was important to the Mexican immigrants and also talk about how music often works better at facilitating communication than flyers or textual materials do. I would want to link the material on Mexican Labor and protest songs to labor and protest songs from other immigrant groups and to the music of today and note what the music of today tells us about us as a people and the issues important to us today.
One of my favorite quotes comes from the "Get Up Stand Up" website from a PBS special that focused on the role of song in protest movements. Joe Hill a protest organizer notes that "A pamphlet, no matter how good, is never read more than once, but a song is learned by heart and repeated over and over." I find that to be so true about music and I would like to have the students think about that and note the importance of music in their lives.
Happy holidays to all of you and I'll see you next week.
I'll be spending Monday co-teaching a workshop called Making a Statement in Song and Poetry at the National Council of Teachers of English conference. The colleagues I am going with love this particular conference (one is a former English teacher and another a former elementary school librarian) and I've learned a lot while attending sessions there. Another perk is being able to get lots of free or very cheap books either at sessions or in the exhibit hall. It makes up for not being able to go to the National Council of Social Studies conference in December (I presented there last year and had a really good time in the LC booth and in many of the sessions). If you can go I encourage you to go to the professional conferences. There are lots of networking opportunities, chances to hear about what other teachers are doing and lots of exhibit hall freebies.
Now back to Takaki. Though American Memory is loaded with material focusing on the lives of the Mexican Farm workers (Look in the America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA and OWI, ca. 1935-1945 collection and [try searching using the terms Mexican Labor, beets, or Mexican Farms}, the American Life History collection, or the California As I saw it collection) there is not much on the music that they sang and how it helped convince people to come to El Norte, how it helped support the labor movement and how it helped people to celebrate and survive in the United States.
I would play some of the recordings in the California Gold and the Hispano Music & Culture from the Northern Rio Grande collections so that students could hear what some of the music might have sounded like. I would also play some material from the Smithsonian Latino Folkways section and have the students talk about why music was important to the Mexican immigrants and also talk about how music often works better at facilitating communication than flyers or textual materials do. I would want to link the material on Mexican Labor and protest songs to labor and protest songs from other immigrant groups and to the music of today and note what the music of today tells us about us as a people and the issues important to us today.
One of my favorite quotes comes from the "Get Up Stand Up" website from a PBS special that focused on the role of song in protest movements. Joe Hill a protest organizer notes that "A pamphlet, no matter how good, is never read more than once, but a song is learned by heart and repeated over and over." I find that to be so true about music and I would like to have the students think about that and note the importance of music in their lives.
Happy holidays to all of you and I'll see you next week.
Curriculum Unit
Social Studies Methods Curricular Unit
November 19, 2007
Preparing for May Madness
AP American History
Grade 11
10 lessons in 50 minute classes
Personal Stake in Unit
I have now served as a judge in Cosby Hunt’s May Madness class for two years. (To learn more about May Madness you can read an article Cosby wrote for the magazine Social Education in September 2004. The citation is Hunt, Isaac Cosby. “May Madness! A Classroom Competition Merges Historical Research with Public Debate”. Social Education, Volume 70, Number 5 (September 2006). p. 304-311) I have seen many excellent debaters who worked to prove who had the most influence in history but have yet to see student show high quality skills in research. In addition though the lesson asks that students use primary sources I have seen few if any students use them. I have asked Cosby if I can come in and introduce the students to online resources and he has expressed interest. This is how I would get the students involved if I could actually have 10 class periods to help the students prepare for May Madness.
Enduring Understanding
Understanding the purpose and importance of doing research and performing other preparation tasks for a debate.
Understanding that successful research and preparation provides the foundation for success when participating in debates.
Understand the procedures used in the debate and how to be successful when participating in the debate.
After completing this unit students will:
Be able to define, locate and analyze primary sources.
Know what archives are and the procedures to follow when using archival resources.
Know the difference between primary and secondary sources and why both are needed when doing research.
Be able to locate resources online and be able to analyze them for quality, accuracy and reliability.
Understand what a debate is, the rules for a debate and how to prepare effectively to participate in a debate.
Essential Questions:
Why must we do research to be effective in debates?
What are primary sources and how can researchers locate them?
What are secondary sources and why are they important in research?
How can researchers locate resources that are reliable?
What is a debate?
What are the rules of a debate?
What can one do to insure that they are successful in a debate?
DC Standards Used:
Historical Chronology and Interpretation
1. Students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned.
7. Students understand the meaning, implication, and impact of historical events and recognize that events could have taken other directions.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills: Historical Research, Evidence and Point of View
1. Students distinguish valid arguments from fallacious arguments in historical interpretations (e.g., appeal to false authority, unconfirmed citations,
ad hominem argument, appeal to popular opinion).
2. Students identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations.
3. Students evaluate major debates among historians concerning alternative interpretations of the past, including an analysis of authors’ use of
evidence and the distinctions between sound generalizations and misleading oversimplifications.
4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations.
Assessment:
Prior to start of lessons students will be asked if they have done research before, what classes did they have to do research for, what product (paper, presentation, exhibit for example) did they have to produce to show the research they had done and how many students have participated in debates.
The teacher will have a rubric to show how the student did during the debate and how effectively they used the material during the debate.
Students will be asked to supply an annotated bibliography discussing the sources used, where the sources was located, how the source was used when preparing for the debate and why the source was important in the research process.
Students will be given a test using a primary source and will have to analyze it. The test will also include information on how to analyze resources used in research be it on or offline.
During each class students will be asked questions relating to the previous class to see if students have retained information or if review is required.
The sequence starts with the introduction of the debate and the requirements for the debate including the development of an annotated bibliography. Then it moves forward into discussions on how to locate primary and secondary sources then how to locate and evaluate web resources and then ends with a focus on the debate itself and how to prepare for the debate. The instructor will model research and debate activities by showing how s/he would do research and debate a person of interest.
The classes will be interactive with lots of time for discussion and for practicing what has been learned in class. Students will be able to practice what they have learned in their research, in homework assignments and eventually in the actual debate.
This class will allow students to use what they have learned about American history to put the person they are debating about in context of the time period where they lived and showing how this person shaped or changed the United States or pushed events in a different way. Students would be able to show how society was different because this person lived or what would have happened had they not lived. Students will need to do research when in college or in their professional lives. They should know the basics of doing research in an archives, in a library and online. In terms of the debate students need to learn how to defend their point of view in a calm, logical manner using information to back up their beliefs. The skills learned in this class will help them become more effective in representing their points of view and in speaking with and in front of others.
Students may work together to share ideas, support each other while doing research or by letting the teacher and their colleagues know of problems they may be having so that the group can brainstorm ideas and develop suggestions that will help create solutions or provide ideas for other avenues of research.
In terms of differentiation students will be given homework assignments to complete that the teacher can review to make sure students are on the right path. The teacher can also listen to class discussion and questions to see where there are problems and can work quickly to answer questions and help students get the information they need to complete the assignment. There will be opportunities for the teacher to assist the students with research and help them if they are having problem locating material on a specific person and possibly direct the students to librarians and researchers who may be able to assist them in locating material of interest.
Daily classes:
Day 1: What are primary sources?
Learning Objectives: To introduce students to May Madness debates and the preparatory work they will do to prepare to participate in the debates.
To introduce students to primary sources.
Student will be told about May Madness, asked to select a person they would like to debate about and told that they will also be given another person to debate based on my list of suggestions. They will be informed that debates will start two weeks from today and that they will need to do research to learn more about the people they need to debate. Student will learn that during the next class periods they will learn about debating and how to do research effectively.
Students will be asked about their experience with debates and with doing research. They will be asked if they have used primary sources in their research.
Students will be lead through the mindwalk presented at
<http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/psources/mindwalk.html>. When they complete the mind walk they will be given a definition of what a primary source is and what primary sources they may have in their homes. Students will be given the information presented at < http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/psources/types.html> as a handout.
Homework is to come up with a person they want to defend in May Madness
Day 2: Primary Source Analysis
Learning Objective: To teach students how to analyze primary sources.
Students will review what a primary source is. Then we will follow the exercises given at < http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/psources/analyze.html>. Students will discuss why primary sources are important parts of research. Students will then be given a KWL chart (see example at http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/doc_analysis/graphic_organizer.pdf) and an image to analyze (see example at < http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/i?pp/ils:@field(NUMBER+@band(cph+3a52034)):displayType=1:m856sd=cph:m856sf=3a52034>). If time permits students will also be asked to analyze a sound recording using the information provided at http://memory.loc.gov/learn/educators/workshop/primary/whathear.html. A sample recording can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzGd4Xg6YK4 with the lyrics found at
< http://www.mtv.com/thinkmtv/features/minority_report/>
For homework students will be given a KWL chart and another item found at http://memory.loc.gov/mss/magbell/253/25300201/0022.jpg and asked to fill out a KWL chart on that particular item.
Day 3
Learning Objectives: To introduce students to archives, explain what they are, what kinds of resources they hold and the procedures to be followed when using archival collections.
To prepare students for field trip to the DCPL Washingtoniana Division reading room.
Students will turn in and discuss homework item to show what they have learned about primary source analysis. Teacher will talk about the item and indicate it is from an archives. Students will be asked to say what an archives is. Use the information at <http://www.archives.gov/about/info/whats-an-archives.html> and at to help provide a definition and to help students learn about the different kinds of places where archival materials are help. Ask if material found in archives are considered primary sources?
Students will be asked if they have done research in libraries. They will be asked about the procedures they used when going to the library (using online catalog, going to shelves to look for books, being able to check out books and take them home). They will be asked if they have done research in archives. If not teacher will provide information about the differences between libraries and archives (good starting places are <http://www.kennesaw.edu/archives/archiveslibrary.shtml> and < http://www.newenglandarchivists.org/resources/about_archives/>). They will be told about the procedures one must use when using archives. Students will be informed of a field trip in the next class where they will visit the Washingtoniana Division at the DC Public Library and meet the archivist there.
Students will be given an assignment to complete while at Washingtoniana (will work with staff there to make sure students have access to resources and will be able to complete the assignment with a minimum of discomfort to the staff). Students will also be given the names of the people to research for May Madness.
Day 4
Learning Objective: To allow students to use what they have learned about using archives during a tour at an actual archives.
Students will travel to DCPL’s Washingtoniana Division. They will have a tour of the archives and meet with the archivist. They will have the opportunity to work with archival collections.
If possible students will also be given a tour of the MLK Library and information about using other resources at DCPL.
Day 5
Learning Objectives: To examine problems with primary sources including the issue of bias.
To introduce students to secondary sources and provide information on the importance and use of secondary sources.
To remind students how to use the library to locate secondary sources.
Teacher will debrief visit to archives and review assignment completed during visit to archival repository.
Teacher will review information about primary sources and discuss the positives and negatives of using primary sources. Students will discuss the issue of bias and point of view in primary sources and asked how to deal with the issue of bias in primary sources. Teacher will suggest the use of secondary sources in research. Students will be asked to define secondary sources (see definition at < http://memory.loc.gov/learn/start/prim_sources.html> and at) and asked to provide a list of items that are considered secondary sources. Students will be asked if some of the items they listed could be primary sources (such as a person’s autobiography or a newspaper article written at the time of an event). Students will be asked how they can find secondary sources. Will bring school librarian in to discuss how to use the library and to supplement what they heard during tour of DCPL resources outside of Washingtoniana. Students will be told that they must do an annotated bibliography of resources they use for May Madness and that it must include at least two primary and 10 secondary sources.
Homework will be to start doing research on their May Madness person and to bring in an annotated list of three resources they found. Extra Credit will be given to students who take a tour of the Public Vaults exhibit at the National Archives and Records Administration <http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/visit/public_vaults.html> noting some of the archival materials they saw and their impression of the exhibit.
Day 6
Learning Objective: To introduce students to online resources they can use for research and to locate primary sources and secondary sources.
Teacher will collect annotated bibliographies and extra credit assignment. Students will be asked about their research activities and about any questions they have about the research process. Students will then learn about web resources they can use to locate primary sources. This will be more of a tour of websites from places including the Library of Congress (including the list of primary source links and links to other resources), National Archives, Smithsonian, National History Day, Federal Resources for Educational Excellence, History Matters, and Gilder-Lehman. Students will discuss the resources they can use to look for other websites and what to look for when first visiting a website and how to get comfortable searching a website. Students will be given a list of web resources to use. If possible this class would be done in the computer lab with time given at the end for students to do research using these sites.
Homework is to continue research and to visit one of the websites shown in class and locate a resource they might use in their research.
Handout
List of Web Resources Discussed in Class
Library of Congress <http://www.loc.gov/index.html>
National Archives and Records Administration <http://www.archives.gov/>
Smithsonian Institute <http://www.si.edu/>
National History Day <http://www.nhd.org/ResearchSources.htm>
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence <http://www.free.ed.gov/>
History Matters <http://historymatters.gmu.edu/>
Gilder-Lehman http://www.gilderlehrman.org/teachers/index.html
Avalon Project <http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/statech.htm>
Public Broadcasting System <http://www.pbs.org/>
American Experience <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/>
Our Documents <http://www.ourdocuments.gov/>
Commonplace <http://www.common-place.org/>
Harpweek <http://www.harpweek.com/>
Women Working 1830-1900 <http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ww/>
American Studies Project at the University of Virginia <http://xroads.virginia.edu/>
New York Times Learning Network Student Connections <http://www.nytimes.com/learning/students/index.html>
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame <http://www.rockhall.com/>
Time Person of the Year Archives <http://www.time.com/time/personoftheyear/archive/stories/>
Biography from Infoplease <http://www.infoplease.com/people.html>
Biography <http://www.biography.com/>
Historic Figures <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/>
Day 7
Learning Objective: To teach students how to analyze material found in the web and how to review a website to determine if the website has reliable, high quality information.
Students will be given an opportunity to ask questions about their research up to this point and about the previous class and the web resources. They will be asked if they have used the web to do research before and what they have learned about using the web for research. They will be asked if they know the difference between Google, Yahoo, Ask.com, and Dogpile and how they handle searching. Students will learn about how these search engines handle searches. They will also be shown Kartoo another kind of search engine. They will then be given the Left Handed Whopper press release from Burger King < http://www.bk.com/companyinfo/newsreleases.aspx?target=main>. This will lead to a discussion of how to analyze websites to make sure they are getting high quality information that is reliable.
Students will be given a handout with information on how to analyze a website. The handout will come from the Hopkins Guide to evaluating a website <http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/index.html>.
For homework students will be given the paper text of a website and asked to analyze it to determine if it is a valid website.
Performance Assessment
Inquiry Question: How can students tell determine if the web resources they are using for their research are valid and reliable?
Standards and Skills:
From DC Standards
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills: Historical Evidence, Research and Point of View Grades 9-12
1. Students distinguish valid arguments from fallacious arguments in historical interpretations (e.g., appeal to false authority, unconfirmed citations, ad hominem argument, appeal to popular opinion).
2. Students identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations.
3. Students evaluate major debates among historians concerning alternative interpretations of the past, including an analysis of authors’ use of evidence and the distinctions between sound generalizations and misleading oversimplifications.
4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations.
Observable Indicators:
Students will be able to provide examples of websites that normally provide high quality primary and secondary sources.
Students will be able to explain the ways to examine a website to determine if the website provides valid resources.
Students will be able to identify bogus websites or websites sharing spurious information.
Students will be able to list ways to identify bias in a document or on a web resource and will be able to show examples in a document.
Context for Task
Students will be doing research for a debate (the final assessment for the full unit) which will include providing an annotated bibliography including both primary and secondary sources. Students must learn how to identify resources that will help them complete their research or they will not be successful in locating resources that will help them to effectively debate an opponent or answer questions about their person presented by the panel of judges. They must understand that most resources have a bias and that not all material presented on the internet is valid.
Products and Performances for the Assessment Task
As part of a homework assignment, students will be required to review a website and determine if the website is a valid website or not. This will allow the instructor to determine if they have learned the information taught during the lesson. In addition during the debate students will be required to turn in an annotated bibliography. The instructor will be able to review the websites listed and the annotations to see if the students have picked web resources that are valid and reliable.
Stimulus Questions
Compare and contrast a high valid website with one that is not.
Explain the ways that one can determine if a website is high quality or not.
Criteria for Evaluating Student Performance and Student Products
An excellent student will be able to explain how to determine if a website is biased and whether or not the website is valid or not. The student will consistently be able to identify valid websites and determine the bias found in documents or on website at least 90% of the time.
An average student will be able to explain how to determine if a website is valid or not but may not always be able to consistently determine the validity or bias found on a website or in a document.
A failing student will be unable to identify between valid or invalid web resources and unable to determine the bias of a website.
Day 8
Learning Objective: To insure that students are using a variety of resources for research.
Students will be asked if the website they are given is valid and how they determined if it were valid.
Class will focus on bringing the research process to a close. Teacher will ask how students are doing with their research and what problems they are having. Class will focus on looking at ways to make sure they are getting the information they need to answer the primary debate question and how to make sure they are getting a variety of sources. Students will list questions they will need to answer about the person they are working on. If possible part of this class will take place in the computer lab or library to allow students time to work on their research with the teacher and librarian present. At end of class teacher will provide list of questions students should make sure they can answer about their person. (See Hunt, Isaac Cosby. “May Madness! A Classroom Competition Merges Historical Research with Public Debate”. Social Education, Volume 70, Number 5 (September 2006). p. 304-311. Note: Questions can be found on page 307).
Homework: Students to continue research and check to make sure they are answering the questions listed on the handout. Ask students to read handout on debating (See sample at <http://www.bookrags.com/articles/31.html>
Day 9
Lesson Objective: To introduce students to debating and the procedures used in debating.
Students will have the opportunity to ask questions about research. Students will be asked what a debate is and what the rules in a normal debate. The teacher will hand out the rules and structure of the May Madness debate
The teacher and another colleague will model a debate and students will be asked to take notes of what they saw that was good and bad, what tactics were successful and which were not and what rules were broken and which were not. They will be asked who won the debate and why.
At end of class students will be given the brackets for the first round of May Madness and to start looking for information on their opponents.
Lesson Plan for Day 9
Situating the Lesson
This lesson will take place in day nine of the ten day preparatory unit for May Madness. They have been working on doing the research for the debate and during this and the next lesson they will actually learn about debating and the rules for the May Madness debate.
During the next class period students will be able to ask final questions about the debate process, make comments about the debate they saw in the previous day’s class and be reminded of the best ways to highlight the opponent’s weaknesses. The debates will begin two days after this lesson is presented.
Students will have the opportunity to watch the teacher and another participant model the debate process. They will be able to see the results of effective research and how the resources they have gathered can help them in being successful with the debate.
Instructional Goals:
Students will learn what a debate is and the rules to be used during the May Madness debates.
Students will learn how to identify what makes a debater successful.
Students will learn techniques they will be able to use in their May Madness debates.
Standards
DC Public Schools
Historical Chronology and Interpretation
1. Students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned.
7. Students understand the meaning, implication, and impact of historical events and recognize that events could have taken other directions.
Historical Research, Evidence and Point of View
4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations.
Materials
For Students
What is Debate from International Debate Association http://www.idebate.org/debate/what.php
Debate Formats
http://www.idebate.org/teaching/debate_formats.php
Debate directions
See attached document
For Teacher
DC Urban Debate League
http://www.dcdebate.org/index.php/hsdebate/
Hunt, Isaac Cosby. “May Madness! A Classroom Competition Merges Historical Research with Public Debate”. Social Education, Volume 70, Number 5 (September 2006). p. 304-311. Note: Judges’ scoring sheet comes from page 311 of the article.
Set Induction
Remind students that May Madness will start in two days.
Ask students if they have questions about the research they are doing and remind them that the annotated bibliography will be due at the start of May Madness.
Note that most of our work has focused on doing the research for the debate. Note that the next two days will focus on the debate process itself. Will start the lesson by asking the students what a debate is?
Lesson Content/Skills/Teaching & Learning Strategies (Procedures)
2 minutes Students will be asked to define what a debate is. We will then begin discussion on the May Madness debates.
5 minutes Students will be given the rules and the procedures to be used in the May Madness debate. Also hand out judges sheets and note the importance of the judges in the process. Make sure students know that these are the same sheets judges will use to rate them when watching them debate.
Next state that teacher and a guest are going to model a sample debate and that the students are to rate the debate using the judges’ form. While watching the debate they should come up with questions to ask each debater at the end of the debate. Introduce guest and guest referee for the debate.
20 minutes Mock debate between teacher and guest modeling the May Madness format.
10 minutes Students question debaters about their topics.
10 minutes Students will identify strengths and weaknesses of the debaters. Students will note any rules infractions they saw and any positive or negative things they saw during the debate. Teacher will also note thing s/he saw that the students missed and will also ask guided questions to help students locate other issues they may have missed while watching the debate.
3 minutes Give students homework assignment to write an essay indicating who they think won the debate and why using the information provided during class on proper debating skills. Students will also be asked to write about what skills are needed to be an effective debater and how they think these skills can be used outside of the classroom.
Essential Questions:
What is a debate? (Students should be able define what a debate is.)
What do debate participants need to do during a debate to insure success and victory when participating in a debate? (Students should be able to identify why skills and activities are needed to insure success when participating in a debate.)
Assessment/Closure:
Some information will be gathered from the writing assignment given in class where the students write about who won the debate based on the information on debating and the information on the rules of May Madness given in class.
Much more information for assessment will be gathered from watching the students debate and how they follow the rules during the debate process.
Day 10
Learning Objective: To review the procedures involved in a debate.
To make sure students are prepared to participate in the debate.
Students will be asked if they have questions on the debate process.
They will be asked to think about the debate they saw the day before and how the teachers dealt with the questions they were asked about the person they were debating for. The students will be asked how they can prepare for the question and answer session and how they can expose their opponent’s weaknesses in knowledge. Students will also learn how to effectively deal with the judges that will be watching them and how to appeal to them.
For homework Students should finish annotated bibliography and bring it to class on Monday. They should also be ready to debate on Monday having completed their research.
November 19, 2007
Preparing for May Madness
AP American History
Grade 11
10 lessons in 50 minute classes
Personal Stake in Unit
I have now served as a judge in Cosby Hunt’s May Madness class for two years. (To learn more about May Madness you can read an article Cosby wrote for the magazine Social Education in September 2004. The citation is Hunt, Isaac Cosby. “May Madness! A Classroom Competition Merges Historical Research with Public Debate”. Social Education, Volume 70, Number 5 (September 2006). p. 304-311) I have seen many excellent debaters who worked to prove who had the most influence in history but have yet to see student show high quality skills in research. In addition though the lesson asks that students use primary sources I have seen few if any students use them. I have asked Cosby if I can come in and introduce the students to online resources and he has expressed interest. This is how I would get the students involved if I could actually have 10 class periods to help the students prepare for May Madness.
Enduring Understanding
Understanding the purpose and importance of doing research and performing other preparation tasks for a debate.
Understanding that successful research and preparation provides the foundation for success when participating in debates.
Understand the procedures used in the debate and how to be successful when participating in the debate.
After completing this unit students will:
Be able to define, locate and analyze primary sources.
Know what archives are and the procedures to follow when using archival resources.
Know the difference between primary and secondary sources and why both are needed when doing research.
Be able to locate resources online and be able to analyze them for quality, accuracy and reliability.
Understand what a debate is, the rules for a debate and how to prepare effectively to participate in a debate.
Essential Questions:
Why must we do research to be effective in debates?
What are primary sources and how can researchers locate them?
What are secondary sources and why are they important in research?
How can researchers locate resources that are reliable?
What is a debate?
What are the rules of a debate?
What can one do to insure that they are successful in a debate?
DC Standards Used:
Historical Chronology and Interpretation
1. Students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned.
7. Students understand the meaning, implication, and impact of historical events and recognize that events could have taken other directions.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills: Historical Research, Evidence and Point of View
1. Students distinguish valid arguments from fallacious arguments in historical interpretations (e.g., appeal to false authority, unconfirmed citations,
ad hominem argument, appeal to popular opinion).
2. Students identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations.
3. Students evaluate major debates among historians concerning alternative interpretations of the past, including an analysis of authors’ use of
evidence and the distinctions between sound generalizations and misleading oversimplifications.
4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations.
Assessment:
Prior to start of lessons students will be asked if they have done research before, what classes did they have to do research for, what product (paper, presentation, exhibit for example) did they have to produce to show the research they had done and how many students have participated in debates.
The teacher will have a rubric to show how the student did during the debate and how effectively they used the material during the debate.
Students will be asked to supply an annotated bibliography discussing the sources used, where the sources was located, how the source was used when preparing for the debate and why the source was important in the research process.
Students will be given a test using a primary source and will have to analyze it. The test will also include information on how to analyze resources used in research be it on or offline.
During each class students will be asked questions relating to the previous class to see if students have retained information or if review is required.
The sequence starts with the introduction of the debate and the requirements for the debate including the development of an annotated bibliography. Then it moves forward into discussions on how to locate primary and secondary sources then how to locate and evaluate web resources and then ends with a focus on the debate itself and how to prepare for the debate. The instructor will model research and debate activities by showing how s/he would do research and debate a person of interest.
The classes will be interactive with lots of time for discussion and for practicing what has been learned in class. Students will be able to practice what they have learned in their research, in homework assignments and eventually in the actual debate.
This class will allow students to use what they have learned about American history to put the person they are debating about in context of the time period where they lived and showing how this person shaped or changed the United States or pushed events in a different way. Students would be able to show how society was different because this person lived or what would have happened had they not lived. Students will need to do research when in college or in their professional lives. They should know the basics of doing research in an archives, in a library and online. In terms of the debate students need to learn how to defend their point of view in a calm, logical manner using information to back up their beliefs. The skills learned in this class will help them become more effective in representing their points of view and in speaking with and in front of others.
Students may work together to share ideas, support each other while doing research or by letting the teacher and their colleagues know of problems they may be having so that the group can brainstorm ideas and develop suggestions that will help create solutions or provide ideas for other avenues of research.
In terms of differentiation students will be given homework assignments to complete that the teacher can review to make sure students are on the right path. The teacher can also listen to class discussion and questions to see where there are problems and can work quickly to answer questions and help students get the information they need to complete the assignment. There will be opportunities for the teacher to assist the students with research and help them if they are having problem locating material on a specific person and possibly direct the students to librarians and researchers who may be able to assist them in locating material of interest.
Daily classes:
Day 1: What are primary sources?
Learning Objectives: To introduce students to May Madness debates and the preparatory work they will do to prepare to participate in the debates.
To introduce students to primary sources.
Student will be told about May Madness, asked to select a person they would like to debate about and told that they will also be given another person to debate based on my list of suggestions. They will be informed that debates will start two weeks from today and that they will need to do research to learn more about the people they need to debate. Student will learn that during the next class periods they will learn about debating and how to do research effectively.
Students will be asked about their experience with debates and with doing research. They will be asked if they have used primary sources in their research.
Students will be lead through the mindwalk presented at
<http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/psources/mindwalk.html>. When they complete the mind walk they will be given a definition of what a primary source is and what primary sources they may have in their homes. Students will be given the information presented at < http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/psources/types.html> as a handout.
Homework is to come up with a person they want to defend in May Madness
Day 2: Primary Source Analysis
Learning Objective: To teach students how to analyze primary sources.
Students will review what a primary source is. Then we will follow the exercises given at < http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/psources/analyze.html>. Students will discuss why primary sources are important parts of research. Students will then be given a KWL chart (see example at http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/doc_analysis/graphic_organizer.pdf) and an image to analyze (see example at < http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/i?pp/ils:@field(NUMBER+@band(cph+3a52034)):displayType=1:m856sd=cph:m856sf=3a52034>). If time permits students will also be asked to analyze a sound recording using the information provided at http://memory.loc.gov/learn/educators/workshop/primary/whathear.html. A sample recording can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzGd4Xg6YK4 with the lyrics found at
< http://www.mtv.com/thinkmtv/features/minority_report/>
For homework students will be given a KWL chart and another item found at http://memory.loc.gov/mss/magbell/253/25300201/0022.jpg and asked to fill out a KWL chart on that particular item.
Day 3
Learning Objectives: To introduce students to archives, explain what they are, what kinds of resources they hold and the procedures to be followed when using archival collections.
To prepare students for field trip to the DCPL Washingtoniana Division reading room.
Students will turn in and discuss homework item to show what they have learned about primary source analysis. Teacher will talk about the item and indicate it is from an archives. Students will be asked to say what an archives is. Use the information at <http://www.archives.gov/about/info/whats-an-archives.html> and at
Students will be asked if they have done research in libraries. They will be asked about the procedures they used when going to the library (using online catalog, going to shelves to look for books, being able to check out books and take them home). They will be asked if they have done research in archives. If not teacher will provide information about the differences between libraries and archives (good starting places are <http://www.kennesaw.edu/archives/archiveslibrary.shtml> and < http://www.newenglandarchivists.org/resources/about_archives/>). They will be told about the procedures one must use when using archives. Students will be informed of a field trip in the next class where they will visit the Washingtoniana Division at the DC Public Library and meet the archivist there.
Students will be given an assignment to complete while at Washingtoniana (will work with staff there to make sure students have access to resources and will be able to complete the assignment with a minimum of discomfort to the staff). Students will also be given the names of the people to research for May Madness.
Day 4
Learning Objective: To allow students to use what they have learned about using archives during a tour at an actual archives.
Students will travel to DCPL’s Washingtoniana Division. They will have a tour of the archives and meet with the archivist. They will have the opportunity to work with archival collections.
If possible students will also be given a tour of the MLK Library and information about using other resources at DCPL.
Day 5
Learning Objectives: To examine problems with primary sources including the issue of bias.
To introduce students to secondary sources and provide information on the importance and use of secondary sources.
To remind students how to use the library to locate secondary sources.
Teacher will debrief visit to archives and review assignment completed during visit to archival repository.
Teacher will review information about primary sources and discuss the positives and negatives of using primary sources. Students will discuss the issue of bias and point of view in primary sources and asked how to deal with the issue of bias in primary sources. Teacher will suggest the use of secondary sources in research. Students will be asked to define secondary sources (see definition at < http://memory.loc.gov/learn/start/prim_sources.html> and at
Homework will be to start doing research on their May Madness person and to bring in an annotated list of three resources they found. Extra Credit will be given to students who take a tour of the Public Vaults exhibit at the National Archives and Records Administration <http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/visit/public_vaults.html> noting some of the archival materials they saw and their impression of the exhibit.
Day 6
Learning Objective: To introduce students to online resources they can use for research and to locate primary sources and secondary sources.
Teacher will collect annotated bibliographies and extra credit assignment. Students will be asked about their research activities and about any questions they have about the research process. Students will then learn about web resources they can use to locate primary sources. This will be more of a tour of websites from places including the Library of Congress (including the list of primary source links and links to other resources), National Archives, Smithsonian, National History Day, Federal Resources for Educational Excellence, History Matters, and Gilder-Lehman. Students will discuss the resources they can use to look for other websites and what to look for when first visiting a website and how to get comfortable searching a website. Students will be given a list of web resources to use. If possible this class would be done in the computer lab with time given at the end for students to do research using these sites.
Homework is to continue research and to visit one of the websites shown in class and locate a resource they might use in their research.
Handout
List of Web Resources Discussed in Class
Library of Congress <http://www.loc.gov/index.html>
National Archives and Records Administration <http://www.archives.gov/>
Smithsonian Institute <http://www.si.edu/>
National History Day <http://www.nhd.org/ResearchSources.htm>
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence <http://www.free.ed.gov/>
History Matters <http://historymatters.gmu.edu/>
Gilder-Lehman http://www.gilderlehrman.org/teachers/index.html
Avalon Project <http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/statech.htm>
Public Broadcasting System <http://www.pbs.org/>
American Experience <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/>
Our Documents <http://www.ourdocuments.gov/>
Commonplace <http://www.common-place.org/>
Harpweek <http://www.harpweek.com/>
Women Working 1830-1900 <http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ww/>
American Studies Project at the University of Virginia <http://xroads.virginia.edu/>
New York Times Learning Network Student Connections <http://www.nytimes.com/learning/students/index.html>
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame <http://www.rockhall.com/>
Time Person of the Year Archives <http://www.time.com/time/personoftheyear/archive/stories/>
Biography from Infoplease <http://www.infoplease.com/people.html>
Biography <http://www.biography.com/>
Historic Figures <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/>
Day 7
Learning Objective: To teach students how to analyze material found in the web and how to review a website to determine if the website has reliable, high quality information.
Students will be given an opportunity to ask questions about their research up to this point and about the previous class and the web resources. They will be asked if they have used the web to do research before and what they have learned about using the web for research. They will be asked if they know the difference between Google, Yahoo, Ask.com, and Dogpile and how they handle searching. Students will learn about how these search engines handle searches. They will also be shown Kartoo another kind of search engine. They will then be given the Left Handed Whopper press release from Burger King < http://www.bk.com/companyinfo/newsreleases.aspx?target=main>. This will lead to a discussion of how to analyze websites to make sure they are getting high quality information that is reliable.
Students will be given a handout with information on how to analyze a website. The handout will come from the Hopkins Guide to evaluating a website <http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/index.html>.
For homework students will be given the paper text of a website and asked to analyze it to determine if it is a valid website.
Performance Assessment
Inquiry Question: How can students tell determine if the web resources they are using for their research are valid and reliable?
Standards and Skills:
From DC Standards
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills: Historical Evidence, Research and Point of View Grades 9-12
1. Students distinguish valid arguments from fallacious arguments in historical interpretations (e.g., appeal to false authority, unconfirmed citations, ad hominem argument, appeal to popular opinion).
2. Students identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations.
3. Students evaluate major debates among historians concerning alternative interpretations of the past, including an analysis of authors’ use of evidence and the distinctions between sound generalizations and misleading oversimplifications.
4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations.
Observable Indicators:
Students will be able to provide examples of websites that normally provide high quality primary and secondary sources.
Students will be able to explain the ways to examine a website to determine if the website provides valid resources.
Students will be able to identify bogus websites or websites sharing spurious information.
Students will be able to list ways to identify bias in a document or on a web resource and will be able to show examples in a document.
Context for Task
Students will be doing research for a debate (the final assessment for the full unit) which will include providing an annotated bibliography including both primary and secondary sources. Students must learn how to identify resources that will help them complete their research or they will not be successful in locating resources that will help them to effectively debate an opponent or answer questions about their person presented by the panel of judges. They must understand that most resources have a bias and that not all material presented on the internet is valid.
Products and Performances for the Assessment Task
As part of a homework assignment, students will be required to review a website and determine if the website is a valid website or not. This will allow the instructor to determine if they have learned the information taught during the lesson. In addition during the debate students will be required to turn in an annotated bibliography. The instructor will be able to review the websites listed and the annotations to see if the students have picked web resources that are valid and reliable.
Stimulus Questions
Compare and contrast a high valid website with one that is not.
Explain the ways that one can determine if a website is high quality or not.
Criteria for Evaluating Student Performance and Student Products
An excellent student will be able to explain how to determine if a website is biased and whether or not the website is valid or not. The student will consistently be able to identify valid websites and determine the bias found in documents or on website at least 90% of the time.
An average student will be able to explain how to determine if a website is valid or not but may not always be able to consistently determine the validity or bias found on a website or in a document.
A failing student will be unable to identify between valid or invalid web resources and unable to determine the bias of a website.
Day 8
Learning Objective: To insure that students are using a variety of resources for research.
Students will be asked if the website they are given is valid and how they determined if it were valid.
Class will focus on bringing the research process to a close. Teacher will ask how students are doing with their research and what problems they are having. Class will focus on looking at ways to make sure they are getting the information they need to answer the primary debate question and how to make sure they are getting a variety of sources. Students will list questions they will need to answer about the person they are working on. If possible part of this class will take place in the computer lab or library to allow students time to work on their research with the teacher and librarian present. At end of class teacher will provide list of questions students should make sure they can answer about their person. (See Hunt, Isaac Cosby. “May Madness! A Classroom Competition Merges Historical Research with Public Debate”. Social Education, Volume 70, Number 5 (September 2006). p. 304-311. Note: Questions can be found on page 307).
Homework: Students to continue research and check to make sure they are answering the questions listed on the handout. Ask students to read handout on debating (See sample at <http://www.bookrags.com/articles/31.html>
Day 9
Lesson Objective: To introduce students to debating and the procedures used in debating.
Students will have the opportunity to ask questions about research. Students will be asked what a debate is and what the rules in a normal debate. The teacher will hand out the rules and structure of the May Madness debate
The teacher and another colleague will model a debate and students will be asked to take notes of what they saw that was good and bad, what tactics were successful and which were not and what rules were broken and which were not. They will be asked who won the debate and why.
At end of class students will be given the brackets for the first round of May Madness and to start looking for information on their opponents.
Lesson Plan for Day 9
Situating the Lesson
This lesson will take place in day nine of the ten day preparatory unit for May Madness. They have been working on doing the research for the debate and during this and the next lesson they will actually learn about debating and the rules for the May Madness debate.
During the next class period students will be able to ask final questions about the debate process, make comments about the debate they saw in the previous day’s class and be reminded of the best ways to highlight the opponent’s weaknesses. The debates will begin two days after this lesson is presented.
Students will have the opportunity to watch the teacher and another participant model the debate process. They will be able to see the results of effective research and how the resources they have gathered can help them in being successful with the debate.
Instructional Goals:
Students will learn what a debate is and the rules to be used during the May Madness debates.
Students will learn how to identify what makes a debater successful.
Students will learn techniques they will be able to use in their May Madness debates.
Standards
DC Public Schools
Historical Chronology and Interpretation
1. Students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned.
7. Students understand the meaning, implication, and impact of historical events and recognize that events could have taken other directions.
Historical Research, Evidence and Point of View
4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations.
Materials
For Students
What is Debate from International Debate Association http://www.idebate.org/debate/what.php
Debate Formats
http://www.idebate.org/teaching/debate_formats.php
Debate directions
See attached document
For Teacher
DC Urban Debate League
http://www.dcdebate.org/index.php/hsdebate/
Hunt, Isaac Cosby. “May Madness! A Classroom Competition Merges Historical Research with Public Debate”. Social Education, Volume 70, Number 5 (September 2006). p. 304-311. Note: Judges’ scoring sheet comes from page 311 of the article.
Set Induction
Remind students that May Madness will start in two days.
Ask students if they have questions about the research they are doing and remind them that the annotated bibliography will be due at the start of May Madness.
Note that most of our work has focused on doing the research for the debate. Note that the next two days will focus on the debate process itself. Will start the lesson by asking the students what a debate is?
Lesson Content/Skills/Teaching & Learning Strategies (Procedures)
2 minutes Students will be asked to define what a debate is. We will then begin discussion on the May Madness debates.
5 minutes Students will be given the rules and the procedures to be used in the May Madness debate. Also hand out judges sheets and note the importance of the judges in the process. Make sure students know that these are the same sheets judges will use to rate them when watching them debate.
Next state that teacher and a guest are going to model a sample debate and that the students are to rate the debate using the judges’ form. While watching the debate they should come up with questions to ask each debater at the end of the debate. Introduce guest and guest referee for the debate.
20 minutes Mock debate between teacher and guest modeling the May Madness format.
10 minutes Students question debaters about their topics.
10 minutes Students will identify strengths and weaknesses of the debaters. Students will note any rules infractions they saw and any positive or negative things they saw during the debate. Teacher will also note thing s/he saw that the students missed and will also ask guided questions to help students locate other issues they may have missed while watching the debate.
3 minutes Give students homework assignment to write an essay indicating who they think won the debate and why using the information provided during class on proper debating skills. Students will also be asked to write about what skills are needed to be an effective debater and how they think these skills can be used outside of the classroom.
Essential Questions:
What is a debate? (Students should be able define what a debate is.)
What do debate participants need to do during a debate to insure success and victory when participating in a debate? (Students should be able to identify why skills and activities are needed to insure success when participating in a debate.)
Assessment/Closure:
Some information will be gathered from the writing assignment given in class where the students write about who won the debate based on the information on debating and the information on the rules of May Madness given in class.
Much more information for assessment will be gathered from watching the students debate and how they follow the rules during the debate process.
Day 10
Learning Objective: To review the procedures involved in a debate.
To make sure students are prepared to participate in the debate.
Students will be asked if they have questions on the debate process.
They will be asked to think about the debate they saw the day before and how the teachers dealt with the questions they were asked about the person they were debating for. The students will be asked how they can prepare for the question and answer session and how they can expose their opponent’s weaknesses in knowledge. Students will also learn how to effectively deal with the judges that will be watching them and how to appeal to them.
For homework Students should finish annotated bibliography and bring it to class on Monday. They should also be ready to debate on Monday having completed their research.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Lesson Plan
Situating the Lesson
This lesson will take place in day nine of the ten day preparatory unit for May Madness. They have been working on doing the research for the debate and during this and the next lesson they will actually learn about debating and the rules for the May Madness debate.
During the next class period students will be able to ask final questions about the debate process, make comments about the debate they saw in the previous day’s class and be reminded of the best ways to highlight the opponent’s weaknesses. The debates will begin two days after this lesson is presented.
Students will have the opportunity to watch the teacher and another participant model the debate process. They will be able to see the results of effective research and how the resources they have gathered can help them in being successful with the debate.
Instructional Goals
Students will learn what a debate is and the rules to be used during the May Madness debates.
Students will learn how to identify what makes a debater successful.
Students will learn techniques they will be able to use in their May Madness debates.
Standards
DC Public Schools
Historical Chronology and Interpretation
1. Students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned.
7. Students understand the meaning, implication, and impact of historical events and recognize that events could have taken other directions.
Historical Research, Evidence and Point of View
4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations.
Materials
For Students
What is Debate from International Debate Association http://www.idebate.org/debate/what.php
Debate Formats
http://www.idebate.org/teaching/debate_formats.php
Debate directions
See document at bottom of blog
For Teacher
DC Urban Debate League
http://www.dcdebate.org/index.php/hsdebate/
Hunt, Isaac Cosby. “May Madness! A Classroom Competition Merges Historical Research with Public Debate”. Social Education, Volume 70, Number 5 (September 2006). p. 304-311. Note: Judges’ scoring sheet comes from page 311 of the article.
Set Induction
Remind students that May Madness will start in two days.
Ask students if they have questions about the research they are doing and remind them that the annotated bibliography will be due at the start of May Madness.
Note that most of our work has focused on doing the research for the debate. Note that the next two days will focus on the debate process itself. Will start the lesson by asking the students what a debate is?
Lesson Content/Skills/Teaching & Learning Strategies (Procedures)
2 minutes
Students will be asked to define what a debate is. We will then begin discussion on the May Madness debates.
5 minutes
Students will be given the rules and the procedures to be used in the May Madness debate. Also hand out judges sheets and note the importance of the judges in the process. Make sure students know that these are the same sheets judges will use to rate them when watching them debate.
Next state that teacher and a guest are going to model a sample debate and that the students are to rate the debate using the judges’ form. While watching the debate they should come up with questions to ask each debater at the end of the debate. Introduce guest and guest referee for the debate.
20 minutes
Mock debate between teacher and guest modeling the May Madness format.
10 minutes
Students question debaters about their topics.
10 minutes
Students will identify strengths and weaknesses of the debaters. Students will note any rules infractions they saw and any positive or negative things they saw during the debate. Teacher will also note thing s/he saw that the students missed and will also ask guided questions to help students locate other issues they may have missed while watching the debate.
3 minutes
Give students homework assignment to write an essay indicating who they think won the debate and why using the information provided during class on proper debating skills. Students will also be asked to write about what skills are needed to be an effective debater and how they think these skills can be used outside of the classroom.
Essential Questions
What is a debate? (Students should be able define what a debate is.)
What do debate participants need to do during a debate to insure success and victory when participating in a debate? (Students should be able to identify why skills and activities are needed to insure success when participating in a debate.)
Assessment/Closure
Some information will be gathered from the writing assignment given in class where the students write about who won the debate based on the information on debating and the information on the rules of May Madness given in class.
Much more information for assessment will be gathered from watching the students debate and how they follow the rules during the debate process.
March Madness Debate Directions
1. Each student will be given two minutes for an opening statement, five minutes to present information about the person they are debating about and then two minutes for closing.
2. After the presentation of information, the opposing debater will be given three minutes to cross examine the other person.
3. After the opponent has provided information about their person the judging panel will be given the opportunity to question each person about the person they discussed during the debate. Once the judges have completed the question and answer period they will rate the participants using the form found on the next page (note this is the form found on page 311 of Cosby Hunt’s article about May Madness).
4. The judges’ decision is final.
5. In case of ties the person who has compiled the most complete annotated bibliography will be given the victory.
6. Participants are not allowed to interrupt each other during the debate.
7. Participants are not allowed to demean or insult the opponent or the person the opponent is debating about.
8. Those watching the debate should be silent and should not hold side conversations with friends or do anything to distract the debaters.
9. Continued rule infractions will lead to point deductions.
This lesson will take place in day nine of the ten day preparatory unit for May Madness. They have been working on doing the research for the debate and during this and the next lesson they will actually learn about debating and the rules for the May Madness debate.
During the next class period students will be able to ask final questions about the debate process, make comments about the debate they saw in the previous day’s class and be reminded of the best ways to highlight the opponent’s weaknesses. The debates will begin two days after this lesson is presented.
Students will have the opportunity to watch the teacher and another participant model the debate process. They will be able to see the results of effective research and how the resources they have gathered can help them in being successful with the debate.
Instructional Goals
Students will learn what a debate is and the rules to be used during the May Madness debates.
Students will learn how to identify what makes a debater successful.
Students will learn techniques they will be able to use in their May Madness debates.
Standards
DC Public Schools
Historical Chronology and Interpretation
1. Students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned.
7. Students understand the meaning, implication, and impact of historical events and recognize that events could have taken other directions.
Historical Research, Evidence and Point of View
4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations.
Materials
For Students
What is Debate from International Debate Association http://www.idebate.org/debate/what.php
Debate Formats
http://www.idebate.org/teaching/debate_formats.php
Debate directions
See document at bottom of blog
For Teacher
DC Urban Debate League
http://www.dcdebate.org/index.php/hsdebate/
Hunt, Isaac Cosby. “May Madness! A Classroom Competition Merges Historical Research with Public Debate”. Social Education, Volume 70, Number 5 (September 2006). p. 304-311. Note: Judges’ scoring sheet comes from page 311 of the article.
Set Induction
Remind students that May Madness will start in two days.
Ask students if they have questions about the research they are doing and remind them that the annotated bibliography will be due at the start of May Madness.
Note that most of our work has focused on doing the research for the debate. Note that the next two days will focus on the debate process itself. Will start the lesson by asking the students what a debate is?
Lesson Content/Skills/Teaching & Learning Strategies (Procedures)
2 minutes
Students will be asked to define what a debate is. We will then begin discussion on the May Madness debates.
5 minutes
Students will be given the rules and the procedures to be used in the May Madness debate. Also hand out judges sheets and note the importance of the judges in the process. Make sure students know that these are the same sheets judges will use to rate them when watching them debate.
Next state that teacher and a guest are going to model a sample debate and that the students are to rate the debate using the judges’ form. While watching the debate they should come up with questions to ask each debater at the end of the debate. Introduce guest and guest referee for the debate.
20 minutes
Mock debate between teacher and guest modeling the May Madness format.
10 minutes
Students question debaters about their topics.
10 minutes
Students will identify strengths and weaknesses of the debaters. Students will note any rules infractions they saw and any positive or negative things they saw during the debate. Teacher will also note thing s/he saw that the students missed and will also ask guided questions to help students locate other issues they may have missed while watching the debate.
3 minutes
Give students homework assignment to write an essay indicating who they think won the debate and why using the information provided during class on proper debating skills. Students will also be asked to write about what skills are needed to be an effective debater and how they think these skills can be used outside of the classroom.
Essential Questions
What is a debate? (Students should be able define what a debate is.)
What do debate participants need to do during a debate to insure success and victory when participating in a debate? (Students should be able to identify why skills and activities are needed to insure success when participating in a debate.)
Assessment/Closure
Some information will be gathered from the writing assignment given in class where the students write about who won the debate based on the information on debating and the information on the rules of May Madness given in class.
Much more information for assessment will be gathered from watching the students debate and how they follow the rules during the debate process.
March Madness Debate Directions
1. Each student will be given two minutes for an opening statement, five minutes to present information about the person they are debating about and then two minutes for closing.
2. After the presentation of information, the opposing debater will be given three minutes to cross examine the other person.
3. After the opponent has provided information about their person the judging panel will be given the opportunity to question each person about the person they discussed during the debate. Once the judges have completed the question and answer period they will rate the participants using the form found on the next page (note this is the form found on page 311 of Cosby Hunt’s article about May Madness).
4. The judges’ decision is final.
5. In case of ties the person who has compiled the most complete annotated bibliography will be given the victory.
6. Participants are not allowed to interrupt each other during the debate.
7. Participants are not allowed to demean or insult the opponent or the person the opponent is debating about.
8. Those watching the debate should be silent and should not hold side conversations with friends or do anything to distract the debaters.
9. Continued rule infractions will lead to point deductions.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Takaki Chapter 11 or Getting Spatial
My lesson would focus on the peddlers mentioned in the chapter. I would start with this image from the From Haven to Home exhibit that was at the Library a year or so ago. I would ask students to look at this woodcut by Albert Potter and ask them about what they see in the woodcut. Then we would discuss the importance of the peddler in the Jewish community and how they helped the community grow. Next I would have the students look at this panoramic photograph of Hester Street from 1902. I would have them compare and contrast what they see in that image with this image of the Jewish Quarter of Boston from 1899. I would consider asking them to think about what it would be like to live in this community and discuss the benefits and disadvantages of living in this community.
I would want to go a step further and talk about peddlers in other communities. There is a wonderful recording called "Fish Vendors Cries" in the Florida Folklife collection. There are also descriptions of the Street Cries of New York Vendors in the American Life History collection. (Note: There are some other vendor/peddler stories from New York in the American Life Histories as well. I really like "The Pack on My Back".)If I could find a recording or description of what the Jewish peddlers would say I would want students to listen to that and then perhaps write their own call to sale if they were peddlers trying to make a living during that time and perhaps during the present.
If possible I would also like to share this film of a New York Fish Market by Thomas Edison and mention that according to the description of the film 1500 push cart peddlers worked Hester Street at the start of the 20th Century. How would they distinguish themselves from the other peddlers on the street?
To further highlight the crowding these communities faced I would probably show one of the Panoramic Maps of New York (this is one is by Currier and Ives and is from 1892) and show how tightly packed the houses were at the turn of the century. Again how would they distinguish themselves from other peddlers in the community?
One other thing (and note this is not Spatial) I would like to share with the students are the Yiddish playscripts from the American Variety Stage collection. Takaki has not really mentioned much about the performing arts in the book and I think it might be interesting for the students to see these scripts and read about the role of these plays in the Jewish community and how they showed beliefs and ideas of the time.
I would want to go a step further and talk about peddlers in other communities. There is a wonderful recording called "Fish Vendors Cries" in the Florida Folklife collection. There are also descriptions of the Street Cries of New York Vendors in the American Life History collection. (Note: There are some other vendor/peddler stories from New York in the American Life Histories as well. I really like "The Pack on My Back".)If I could find a recording or description of what the Jewish peddlers would say I would want students to listen to that and then perhaps write their own call to sale if they were peddlers trying to make a living during that time and perhaps during the present.
If possible I would also like to share this film of a New York Fish Market by Thomas Edison and mention that according to the description of the film 1500 push cart peddlers worked Hester Street at the start of the 20th Century. How would they distinguish themselves from the other peddlers on the street?
To further highlight the crowding these communities faced I would probably show one of the Panoramic Maps of New York (this is one is by Currier and Ives and is from 1892) and show how tightly packed the houses were at the turn of the century. Again how would they distinguish themselves from other peddlers in the community?
One other thing (and note this is not Spatial) I would like to share with the students are the Yiddish playscripts from the American Variety Stage collection. Takaki has not really mentioned much about the performing arts in the book and I think it might be interesting for the students to see these scripts and read about the role of these plays in the Jewish community and how they showed beliefs and ideas of the time.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Answering Learning Process Questions
1. How did I learn more effective ways to study, to figure out what was important and how to retain information without writing it down.
I learned about study skills when I started doing tutoring at the campus study skills center. The center did a lot of work with students to teach effective study skills and while waiting for students to arrive I would look at the handouts and sit in on some sessions. When I graduated from college and started work on my first masters degree, I became the graduate assistance in one of the branch campus study skills centers and suddenly found myself teaching these same courses. I eventually started using these skills in my daily life including reading summaries and introductions to books and paragraphs, focusing in on topic sentences and ending sentences and focusing on lists and materials that showed up again and again.
With work often what I read is material that will come up in a meeting later on. I have a pretty good memory for work materials and I find if I talk to someone about the topic the material sticks even better. I even find if I've read something and it doesn't make sense, hearing people talk about the material will help me to understand and remember the material. I will write dates down and will make lists to jog my memory if I can't get something done in a timely manner or if I'm really tired or it's the end of the day when I'm at my low energy point.
2. Why do I follow text with a ruler?
Because when I normally read material I read it very quickly, sometimes so quickly that I feel like I'm not retaining material. When I read with a ruler I'm forcing myself to slow down and read and think about everything on the page.
3. Why do I read the articles with a pen and Takaki like a novel without a pen?
The articles often have materials I know I need to remember for class discussions. So I read with a pen to highlight materials I want to remember or material that relates to what I am doing at work. Often I discuss this material with my colleagues which helps me to remember it more and to tie it even more closely to work activities.
I have a hard time with Takaki because a part of me disagrees with him and wants to focus more on try to get past these historic issues and deal with what's happening in the world today. However I also know a lot of what is already in Takaki so instead of having to read to remember I read more to figure out what I should do for the class assignment. As I know a lot of Takaki already I don't feel the need to highlight anything specific in the book and items that I didn't know get discussed with my husband or with family members who also know this history.
4. How do I compare Takaki with other sources and what kinds of questions do I ask as I read Takaki? How do I find his items one sided and what do other sources say about the colonization of the Americas?
I will admit that during the first few weeks I read Takaki I wanted to throw the book away, burn it or do other horrible things to it. I found the book annoying and whiney and wished that it included both sides of immigration experience so that readers could compare and contrast and could understand what was happening as the first groups arrived in the United States. As Takaki has moved away from a "the whites are evil point of view" to a "this is the immigrant experience point of view" I've gotten more comfortable with the book.
I was fortunate to have a family that indulged my love of reading and gave me lots of diverse books that looked at the American experience in different ways. I think I am bringing forward these ideas when I read Takaki. My family and my previous instructors also encouraged me to look at both sides of an argument and I will try to find the good and bad in everything. What was going on in the English/white minds as they settled in the United States? Was everything based on saving the savages? Or were there people who believed that Indians were good and were intelligent? Why doesn't Takaki mention that in his discussions?
As a reference librarian/archivist by training I like to search for other information that answers my questions. I'm also married to an American history buff who also knows quite a bit and has a huge American history library that I can use for research. I also have a lot of learned friends. When I've talked to them about Takaki they have given their comments and encouraged me to be open-minded toward Takaki which has been easier said than done.
I learned about study skills when I started doing tutoring at the campus study skills center. The center did a lot of work with students to teach effective study skills and while waiting for students to arrive I would look at the handouts and sit in on some sessions. When I graduated from college and started work on my first masters degree, I became the graduate assistance in one of the branch campus study skills centers and suddenly found myself teaching these same courses. I eventually started using these skills in my daily life including reading summaries and introductions to books and paragraphs, focusing in on topic sentences and ending sentences and focusing on lists and materials that showed up again and again.
With work often what I read is material that will come up in a meeting later on. I have a pretty good memory for work materials and I find if I talk to someone about the topic the material sticks even better. I even find if I've read something and it doesn't make sense, hearing people talk about the material will help me to understand and remember the material. I will write dates down and will make lists to jog my memory if I can't get something done in a timely manner or if I'm really tired or it's the end of the day when I'm at my low energy point.
2. Why do I follow text with a ruler?
Because when I normally read material I read it very quickly, sometimes so quickly that I feel like I'm not retaining material. When I read with a ruler I'm forcing myself to slow down and read and think about everything on the page.
3. Why do I read the articles with a pen and Takaki like a novel without a pen?
The articles often have materials I know I need to remember for class discussions. So I read with a pen to highlight materials I want to remember or material that relates to what I am doing at work. Often I discuss this material with my colleagues which helps me to remember it more and to tie it even more closely to work activities.
I have a hard time with Takaki because a part of me disagrees with him and wants to focus more on try to get past these historic issues and deal with what's happening in the world today. However I also know a lot of what is already in Takaki so instead of having to read to remember I read more to figure out what I should do for the class assignment. As I know a lot of Takaki already I don't feel the need to highlight anything specific in the book and items that I didn't know get discussed with my husband or with family members who also know this history.
4. How do I compare Takaki with other sources and what kinds of questions do I ask as I read Takaki? How do I find his items one sided and what do other sources say about the colonization of the Americas?
I will admit that during the first few weeks I read Takaki I wanted to throw the book away, burn it or do other horrible things to it. I found the book annoying and whiney and wished that it included both sides of immigration experience so that readers could compare and contrast and could understand what was happening as the first groups arrived in the United States. As Takaki has moved away from a "the whites are evil point of view" to a "this is the immigrant experience point of view" I've gotten more comfortable with the book.
I was fortunate to have a family that indulged my love of reading and gave me lots of diverse books that looked at the American experience in different ways. I think I am bringing forward these ideas when I read Takaki. My family and my previous instructors also encouraged me to look at both sides of an argument and I will try to find the good and bad in everything. What was going on in the English/white minds as they settled in the United States? Was everything based on saving the savages? Or were there people who believed that Indians were good and were intelligent? Why doesn't Takaki mention that in his discussions?
As a reference librarian/archivist by training I like to search for other information that answers my questions. I'm also married to an American history buff who also knows quite a bit and has a huge American history library that I can use for research. I also have a lot of learned friends. When I've talked to them about Takaki they have given their comments and encouraged me to be open-minded toward Takaki which has been easier said than done.
Please Focus on the Show....
One of the afternoon radio shows I occasionally listen to uses this sound clip when they get callers who go off on weird tangents that don't relate to what's going on with the show. As I thought about my learning process this week that quote seems ever so accurate...
This past week was incredibly difficult for me. I came back to work after traveling to Reno knowing that I was traveling to Williamsburg on Thursday and had a lot to do to catch up at work and also prepare for the conference. I was also trying to finish a baby blanket for my newest grandniece who I would be meeting for the first time after the conference. I've been dealing with a lot of lack of motivation lately and having all this going on did not help.
On top of that on Wednesday evening our office lost one of our colleagues, a person who edited the Learning Page, coordinated our summer workshops before I took them over and someone who created a lot of instructional materials for teachers. She also started working with me when I started teaching our first searching workshop to make that workshop "teacher friendly". She was someone who encouraged my decision to start working less with archives and reference and more with education. This colleague was extremely pleased that I was taking education classes to be able to learn more "teacher lingo" and about the classroom experience. So needless to say instead of wanting to do any reading about authentic learning I really wanted to spend time with my family and friends and be supportive of my office colleagues.
When I decided to start reading I really had to work hard to focus. Instead of just reading and underlining items that I felt were important to remember I actually started writing summary notes at the tops of articles and along the sides of paragraphs so I would remember what I had just read. When I started to drift off I would mentally yell at myself to focus. I don't normally study like this but I was absolutely desperate for anything that would keep me focused on what I was reading. When I really got off track I grabbed a writing pad and just started writing everything I was thinking about on the pad from ideas for the class blog entries to my desire to work on a prayer shawl for my colleague's daughter. Writing things down really seemed to help and I was able to get several of the articles read for this evening's class.
My next blog entry will focus on answering some of the questions you asked in your questions about my learning processes
This past week was incredibly difficult for me. I came back to work after traveling to Reno knowing that I was traveling to Williamsburg on Thursday and had a lot to do to catch up at work and also prepare for the conference. I was also trying to finish a baby blanket for my newest grandniece who I would be meeting for the first time after the conference. I've been dealing with a lot of lack of motivation lately and having all this going on did not help.
On top of that on Wednesday evening our office lost one of our colleagues, a person who edited the Learning Page, coordinated our summer workshops before I took them over and someone who created a lot of instructional materials for teachers. She also started working with me when I started teaching our first searching workshop to make that workshop "teacher friendly". She was someone who encouraged my decision to start working less with archives and reference and more with education. This colleague was extremely pleased that I was taking education classes to be able to learn more "teacher lingo" and about the classroom experience. So needless to say instead of wanting to do any reading about authentic learning I really wanted to spend time with my family and friends and be supportive of my office colleagues.
When I decided to start reading I really had to work hard to focus. Instead of just reading and underlining items that I felt were important to remember I actually started writing summary notes at the tops of articles and along the sides of paragraphs so I would remember what I had just read. When I started to drift off I would mentally yell at myself to focus. I don't normally study like this but I was absolutely desperate for anything that would keep me focused on what I was reading. When I really got off track I grabbed a writing pad and just started writing everything I was thinking about on the pad from ideas for the class blog entries to my desire to work on a prayer shawl for my colleague's daughter. Writing things down really seemed to help and I was able to get several of the articles read for this evening's class.
My next blog entry will focus on answering some of the questions you asked in your questions about my learning processes
Takaki Chapter 10
I would start off by having the students compare and contrast the Japanese and Chinese immigrant experience talking about the differences in the experiences of the two groups. I would remind them of the sources used in the previous discussion of the Chinese and also provide links to the Smithsonian Feature "A More Perfect Union", KQED's Feature on Japanese Immigration, and the material from the Columbia Basic Ethnic History project. If the students needed additional support I would have them look at the Immigration feature for the Chinese and Japanese communities to see if that provided any additional support.
As an additional discussion topic I would have the students look at the experience of those immigrating today either by adding additional readings or having the students do oral history interviews with today's immigrants. You can see a sample project on the Learning Page.
I might also have the students look at online exhibit on the Floating World of Ukiyo-e the and focus on the section looking at cross-fertilization between the west and Japan and its impact on this particular art form. This might lead to another discussion on how different cultures have played a role in United States and if these changes have been for the better or the worse.
I'm also wanting to bring some maps into this lesson. One favorite is this world map from 1858 which documents where different groups ended up in the United States. Another fun thing about this map is that it's in French so that the students won't have text to guide them but will have to look for visual clues that may help them. I also really enjoy using the National Atlases and these all have sections on immigration and where immigrants ended up. It might be interesting to compare the 1890 maps to the 1970 maps (the most recent we have online). The students can compare the maps and look for similarities and difference in immigration between 1890 and 1970 and see where groups settled in 1890 and where they settled in 1970 and could specifically focus on the Chinese and Japanese and see where they settled and why they chose these specific locations.
As an additional discussion topic I would have the students look at the experience of those immigrating today either by adding additional readings or having the students do oral history interviews with today's immigrants. You can see a sample project on the Learning Page.
I might also have the students look at online exhibit on the Floating World of Ukiyo-e the and focus on the section looking at cross-fertilization between the west and Japan and its impact on this particular art form. This might lead to another discussion on how different cultures have played a role in United States and if these changes have been for the better or the worse.
I'm also wanting to bring some maps into this lesson. One favorite is this world map from 1858 which documents where different groups ended up in the United States. Another fun thing about this map is that it's in French so that the students won't have text to guide them but will have to look for visual clues that may help them. I also really enjoy using the National Atlases and these all have sections on immigration and where immigrants ended up. It might be interesting to compare the 1890 maps to the 1970 maps (the most recent we have online). The students can compare the maps and look for similarities and difference in immigration between 1890 and 1970 and see where groups settled in 1890 and where they settled in 1970 and could specifically focus on the Chinese and Japanese and see where they settled and why they chose these specific locations.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Takaki Chapter 9
First a couple of personal comments:
1. It is really hard to do your readings when your colleagues are off playing roulette (and winning big). (And to answer your questions: yes, I gambled; yes, I lost (a whole five dollars); and yes, I did a bit of reading...)
2. It is really hard to do your readings when you've just spent five hours working in an exhibit booth talking to people and doing demonstrations and all you want to do is watch the sun set (it was really very pretty) and put your feet up.
3. Reno is not quite the hot spot one would expect but Lake Tahoe is lovely.
More stories later...
Now for the homework...
In our Teacher Guide for the Primary Source set on Native American Assimilation the quote given at the top of the page is "Kill the Indian and Save the Man". I think I might start any lesson I did by asking the students what they thought that quote meant and if there are vestiges of that idea in some groups or activities that have taken place later in history and in the present day.
One of my favorite sets of images to use to discuss Native American Assimilation can be found in the Primary Source Set for our the Thematic Resource The People...Native Americans . There are two images that are side by side showing first Native Americans arriving at the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania and then these same students a few months later. I would hand one image to half of the class and then the second image to the other half of the class and have them each do the KWL chart and then have each side present what they see in the image and then show the images together and have them compare the students in each image. Something one of my colleagues has done is put together a viewfinder made out of a note card pr small piece of paper so that the students can focus on one part of the image at a time perhaps identifying who is who in each image.
We do have one lesson plan that focuses on Native American Boarding Schools. I love the quotes to be used with the students' journal pages especially the one from Zitkala Sa who talks about what it was like to have her hair cut.
One of my favorite collections is the Curtis Collection of Photographs. We have a Collection Connection for the Curtis Collection that asks questions about Curtis and his images. I think it would be interesting to look at these images and what is also taking place at the time with the Native American Community. What is Curtis saying with these photographs? Why did he ask that they wear their traditional garb and pose in certain ways?
Other places to visit include the Indian Removal Act Primary Sources which includes internal and external sources relating to Indian Removal, our Immigration Feature on Native Americans the music, stories and oral interviews collected by the American Folklief Center from the Omaha Indians from the late 1800's and from the 1980's, the American Life Histories interviews done during the Depression which include some people's experiences with Native Americans and the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest collection which looks at the lives of the Indian tribes in the American Northwest. I've also found some really neat items on Calisphere from the University of California and on the Indian Country Diaries website from PBS.
I think that I would want to end any lesson relating to this topic with the question of what would we have lost if we had totally assimiliated the Native American Tribes? What knowledge would we not have? What experiences would have been lost? I think I would also want the students to think about what traditions they have that are passed down and how their lives would be different if those traditions had been lost.
1. It is really hard to do your readings when your colleagues are off playing roulette (and winning big). (And to answer your questions: yes, I gambled; yes, I lost (a whole five dollars); and yes, I did a bit of reading...)
2. It is really hard to do your readings when you've just spent five hours working in an exhibit booth talking to people and doing demonstrations and all you want to do is watch the sun set (it was really very pretty) and put your feet up.
3. Reno is not quite the hot spot one would expect but Lake Tahoe is lovely.
More stories later...
Now for the homework...
In our Teacher Guide for the Primary Source set on Native American Assimilation the quote given at the top of the page is "Kill the Indian and Save the Man". I think I might start any lesson I did by asking the students what they thought that quote meant and if there are vestiges of that idea in some groups or activities that have taken place later in history and in the present day.
One of my favorite sets of images to use to discuss Native American Assimilation can be found in the Primary Source Set for our the Thematic Resource The People...Native Americans . There are two images that are side by side showing first Native Americans arriving at the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania and then these same students a few months later. I would hand one image to half of the class and then the second image to the other half of the class and have them each do the KWL chart and then have each side present what they see in the image and then show the images together and have them compare the students in each image. Something one of my colleagues has done is put together a viewfinder made out of a note card pr small piece of paper so that the students can focus on one part of the image at a time perhaps identifying who is who in each image.
We do have one lesson plan that focuses on Native American Boarding Schools. I love the quotes to be used with the students' journal pages especially the one from Zitkala Sa who talks about what it was like to have her hair cut.
One of my favorite collections is the Curtis Collection of Photographs. We have a Collection Connection for the Curtis Collection that asks questions about Curtis and his images. I think it would be interesting to look at these images and what is also taking place at the time with the Native American Community. What is Curtis saying with these photographs? Why did he ask that they wear their traditional garb and pose in certain ways?
Other places to visit include the Indian Removal Act Primary Sources which includes internal and external sources relating to Indian Removal, our Immigration Feature on Native Americans the music, stories and oral interviews collected by the American Folklief Center from the Omaha Indians from the late 1800's and from the 1980's, the American Life Histories interviews done during the Depression which include some people's experiences with Native Americans and the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest collection which looks at the lives of the Indian tribes in the American Northwest. I've also found some really neat items on Calisphere from the University of California and on the Indian Country Diaries website from PBS.
I think that I would want to end any lesson relating to this topic with the question of what would we have lost if we had totally assimiliated the Native American Tribes? What knowledge would we not have? What experiences would have been lost? I think I would also want the students to think about what traditions they have that are passed down and how their lives would be different if those traditions had been lost.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Performance Assessment
Inquiry Question: How can students tell the difference between primary and secondary sources and determine if these sources are valid and/or biased?
Standards and Skills:
From DC Standards
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills: Historical Evidence, Research and Point of View Grades 9-12
1. Students distinguish valid arguments from fallacious arguments in historical interpretations (e.g., appeal to false authority, unconfirmed citations, ad hominem argument, appeal to popular opinion).
2. Students identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations.
3. Students evaluate major debates among historians concerning alternative interpretations of the past, including an analysis of authors’ use of evidence and the distinctions between sound generalizations and misleading oversimplifications.
4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills: Chronological and Historical Interpretation Grades 6-8
11. Students distinguish relevant from irrelevant information, essential from incidental information, and verifiable from unverifiable information in historical narratives and stories.
12. Students assess the credibility of primary and secondary sources, draw sound conclusions from them, and cite sources appropriately.
13. Students assess the credibility and reliability of Internet sources.
14. Students detect the different historical points of view on historical events and determine the context in which the historical statements were made (the questions asked, sources used, and author’s perspectives).
Observable Indicators:
Students will be able to state ways to identify primary and secondary sources and will provide examples of primary and secondary sources.
Students will be able to look at samples of resources they might use and identify it the item is a primary or secondary source.
Students will be able to provide examples of websites that normally provide high quality primary and secondary sources.
Students will be able to explain the ways to examine a website to determine if the website provides valid resources.
Students will be able to identify bogus websites or websites sharing spurious information.
Students will be able to list ways to identify bias in a document or on a web resource and will be able to show examples in a document.
Context for Task
Students will be doing research for a debate (the final assessment for the full unit) which will include providing an annotated bibliography including both primary and secondary sources. Students must learn how to identify resources that will help them complete their research or they will not be successful in locating resources that will help them to effectively debate an opponent or answer questions about their person presented by the panel of judges. They must understand that most resources have a bias and that not all material presented on the internet is valid.
Products and Performances for the Assessment Task
Students will need to provide a draft annotated bibliography at the end of this particular task indicating the resources they have found this far in preparation for the debate. This will allow the instructor to see if they have found appropriate resources and understand the concepts provided in this particular section of the unit. In addition their performance in the debate will provide an indicator of how much information they have found and if the information was valid or not.
Stimulus Questions
Compare/Contrast Primary and Secondary Sources.
Explain why one must use secondary sources when doing research.
Students will be given an example of a website. They must show whether or not the website is valid and explain their reasons for their decision.
Students will be given an example of a document with a specific bias. They must identify if they item is biased or not and defend their decision.
Criteria for Evaluating Student Performance and Student Products
An excellent student will be able to easily distinguish between primary and secondary sources. He or she will be able to explain how to determine if a website is biased and whether or not the website is valid or not. The student will consistently be able to identify valid websites and determine the bias found in documents or on website at least 90% of the time.
An average student will be able to tell the difference between primary and secondary sources at least 70% of the time. He or she may be able to explain how to determine if a website is valid or not but may not always be able to consistently determine the validity or bias found on a website or in a document.
A failing student will be unable to distinguish between primary and secondary sources. He or she will not be able to identify between valid or invalid web resources and unable to determine the bias of a document or website.
Scoring Rubric
TBA
Example of Exemplary Response or Product
TBA
Standards and Skills:
From DC Standards
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills: Historical Evidence, Research and Point of View Grades 9-12
1. Students distinguish valid arguments from fallacious arguments in historical interpretations (e.g., appeal to false authority, unconfirmed citations, ad hominem argument, appeal to popular opinion).
2. Students identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations.
3. Students evaluate major debates among historians concerning alternative interpretations of the past, including an analysis of authors’ use of evidence and the distinctions between sound generalizations and misleading oversimplifications.
4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations.
Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills: Chronological and Historical Interpretation Grades 6-8
11. Students distinguish relevant from irrelevant information, essential from incidental information, and verifiable from unverifiable information in historical narratives and stories.
12. Students assess the credibility of primary and secondary sources, draw sound conclusions from them, and cite sources appropriately.
13. Students assess the credibility and reliability of Internet sources.
14. Students detect the different historical points of view on historical events and determine the context in which the historical statements were made (the questions asked, sources used, and author’s perspectives).
Observable Indicators:
Students will be able to state ways to identify primary and secondary sources and will provide examples of primary and secondary sources.
Students will be able to look at samples of resources they might use and identify it the item is a primary or secondary source.
Students will be able to provide examples of websites that normally provide high quality primary and secondary sources.
Students will be able to explain the ways to examine a website to determine if the website provides valid resources.
Students will be able to identify bogus websites or websites sharing spurious information.
Students will be able to list ways to identify bias in a document or on a web resource and will be able to show examples in a document.
Context for Task
Students will be doing research for a debate (the final assessment for the full unit) which will include providing an annotated bibliography including both primary and secondary sources. Students must learn how to identify resources that will help them complete their research or they will not be successful in locating resources that will help them to effectively debate an opponent or answer questions about their person presented by the panel of judges. They must understand that most resources have a bias and that not all material presented on the internet is valid.
Products and Performances for the Assessment Task
Students will need to provide a draft annotated bibliography at the end of this particular task indicating the resources they have found this far in preparation for the debate. This will allow the instructor to see if they have found appropriate resources and understand the concepts provided in this particular section of the unit. In addition their performance in the debate will provide an indicator of how much information they have found and if the information was valid or not.
Stimulus Questions
Compare/Contrast Primary and Secondary Sources.
Explain why one must use secondary sources when doing research.
Students will be given an example of a website. They must show whether or not the website is valid and explain their reasons for their decision.
Students will be given an example of a document with a specific bias. They must identify if they item is biased or not and defend their decision.
Criteria for Evaluating Student Performance and Student Products
An excellent student will be able to easily distinguish between primary and secondary sources. He or she will be able to explain how to determine if a website is biased and whether or not the website is valid or not. The student will consistently be able to identify valid websites and determine the bias found in documents or on website at least 90% of the time.
An average student will be able to tell the difference between primary and secondary sources at least 70% of the time. He or she may be able to explain how to determine if a website is valid or not but may not always be able to consistently determine the validity or bias found on a website or in a document.
A failing student will be unable to distinguish between primary and secondary sources. He or she will not be able to identify between valid or invalid web resources and unable to determine the bias of a document or website.
Scoring Rubric
TBA
Example of Exemplary Response or Product
TBA
Stress and the Study Method.. Sometimes Things Have to Change
I've heard some of my classmates talking about having to juggle work, class and other issues and how sometimes it gets in the way of studying. One thing college and graduate school taught me was how to make the use of little moments of free time to study and how to study when lots is going on. I can usually study while my husband is practicing his trumpet (and he's doing a lot more because his concert schedule is picking up). I can usually study on the metro unless someone has really loud thumping music where I can only hear the bass on their I-Pod or other personal listening device. Though my work and home offices normally are in a state of disarray (I'm a piler not a filer) I can find stuff in my piles fairly quickly and the moderate disorder doesn't bother me. I just clear a space and get started.
However over the last couple of weeks things have gotten a bit crazy. A number of things are calling for my attention while I'm also trying to prepare for my first work travel in nearly a year with three trips in four weeks and a number of presentations and other projects also coming due. When I start getting overwhelmed with things I need to do the piles start to bug me and I want to clean them NOW!!! I find I need silence for reading and assignments when normally background noise is not a real distraction for me. And unfortunately I start doing the one thing I shouldn't: I procrastinate. I let things that seem more pleasant (like watching the baseball playoffs or Grey's Anatomy or CSI or reading a trashy magazine) distract me from doing the things I need to do.
So what do I do? I make a space of quiet away from most of distractions. I become more focused on taking notes and making myself think about the assignments and how the readings will help me complete them. I start reading with a ruler to slow myself down (I tend to be a very fast reader but if I read too quickly I often won't retain what I've read). I try to get up earlier (I am a very early morning person so that I can read before the cat and the spouse are awake). And I talk a lot more to my colleagues about what I'm reading so I can better tie it to work and so I can remember it. I also try to keep lists so I can see what I have done, what I need to do and the deadlines to get it all done.
As I've been thinking about this post I've also been thinking about kids who live in homes where there are lots of disruptions or where they have to work multiple jobs while also maintaining a home and sometimes the family. I'm fortunate that I can find a quiet place to study. How many of them can find a quiet place or time to ready. I wonder how many of them are able to juggle a variety of tasks successfully and how many just give up and drop out. I wonder if we could find ways to help them more effectively balance homework/studying and home if we could provide tips on how to study when there are distractions that can deter study.
However over the last couple of weeks things have gotten a bit crazy. A number of things are calling for my attention while I'm also trying to prepare for my first work travel in nearly a year with three trips in four weeks and a number of presentations and other projects also coming due. When I start getting overwhelmed with things I need to do the piles start to bug me and I want to clean them NOW!!! I find I need silence for reading and assignments when normally background noise is not a real distraction for me. And unfortunately I start doing the one thing I shouldn't: I procrastinate. I let things that seem more pleasant (like watching the baseball playoffs or Grey's Anatomy or CSI or reading a trashy magazine) distract me from doing the things I need to do.
So what do I do? I make a space of quiet away from most of distractions. I become more focused on taking notes and making myself think about the assignments and how the readings will help me complete them. I start reading with a ruler to slow myself down (I tend to be a very fast reader but if I read too quickly I often won't retain what I've read). I try to get up earlier (I am a very early morning person so that I can read before the cat and the spouse are awake). And I talk a lot more to my colleagues about what I'm reading so I can better tie it to work and so I can remember it. I also try to keep lists so I can see what I have done, what I need to do and the deadlines to get it all done.
As I've been thinking about this post I've also been thinking about kids who live in homes where there are lots of disruptions or where they have to work multiple jobs while also maintaining a home and sometimes the family. I'm fortunate that I can find a quiet place to study. How many of them can find a quiet place or time to ready. I wonder how many of them are able to juggle a variety of tasks successfully and how many just give up and drop out. I wonder if we could find ways to help them more effectively balance homework/studying and home if we could provide tips on how to study when there are distractions that can deter study.
Takaki Chapter 8 and Group Work
I have never been a fan of working in groups. I find it much easier to work alone and have control of the results of a project. My experience with group projects has been pretty bad even if the final results were good.
If I had my druthers I would always let people work individually on a project or exercise. However my colleagues at work love group assignments and almost always encourage teachers to work together in groups. I go along because they I don't want to rock the boat and for the most part the teachers like to work in groups as well.
This week I will break the class into groups and have each group focus on a specific aspect of Chinese immigration. I will have one group create testimony that they would give to Congress in support of the Chinese Exclusion act. I would have another testify against the act. I would have one group represent a Chinese man living in the United States without his family and the benefits of staying in the United States vs returning to China. I would have a fourth group represent the family left behind in China and the impact of this person not being in China to support the family. The last group would represent a person who has lost a job due to Chinese immigration. I would have each group do research and then present their materials to the class showing the different aspects of the issues relating to Chinese immigration.
In addition to Takaki I would have students look at the material from the Chinese in California Collection especially the themes presented within the collection, the California as I saw It collection of first person narratives about life in early California (a good example is The Last of the Mill Creeks, and Early life in Northern California, by Sim Moak which has a chapter that focuses on discrimination of Chinese immigrants after the Railroad Strike of 1877 and the presentation on the Chinese within the Immigration feature and the section on Immigration within the American Memory Timeline .
Outside of LC I would refer students to the California Historical Society California History online which has a wonderful section on Chinese Immigration to the United States, NARA's Our Documents collection that has information and an image of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the main NARA site with a section on searching for information relating to Chinese exclusion , the Chinese Historical Society of America which has a presentation on the Exclusion Acts and the PBS series on Becoming American that focused on Chinese Immigration.
If I had my druthers I would always let people work individually on a project or exercise. However my colleagues at work love group assignments and almost always encourage teachers to work together in groups. I go along because they I don't want to rock the boat and for the most part the teachers like to work in groups as well.
This week I will break the class into groups and have each group focus on a specific aspect of Chinese immigration. I will have one group create testimony that they would give to Congress in support of the Chinese Exclusion act. I would have another testify against the act. I would have one group represent a Chinese man living in the United States without his family and the benefits of staying in the United States vs returning to China. I would have a fourth group represent the family left behind in China and the impact of this person not being in China to support the family. The last group would represent a person who has lost a job due to Chinese immigration. I would have each group do research and then present their materials to the class showing the different aspects of the issues relating to Chinese immigration.
In addition to Takaki I would have students look at the material from the Chinese in California Collection especially the themes presented within the collection, the California as I saw It collection of first person narratives about life in early California (a good example is The Last of the Mill Creeks, and Early life in Northern California, by Sim Moak which has a chapter that focuses on discrimination of Chinese immigrants after the Railroad Strike of 1877 and the presentation on the Chinese within the Immigration feature and the section on Immigration within the American Memory Timeline .
Outside of LC I would refer students to the California Historical Society California History online which has a wonderful section on Chinese Immigration to the United States, NARA's Our Documents collection that has information and an image of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the main NARA site with a section on searching for information relating to Chinese exclusion , the Chinese Historical Society of America which has a presentation on the Exclusion Acts and the PBS series on Becoming American that focused on Chinese Immigration.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Learning Styles, the Pine School and Stitches East
This past week our team hosted a group of students from the Pine School, a private school in Florida. These students spent two days visiting several reading rooms, getting tours of the Library and meeting curators. Since I rarely work with people under the age of 18 it was an interesting experience trying to determine what materials to use with them and what parts of the website to show. It also ended up being interesting watching them use the website and some of the activities we use with teachers. Watching them get comfortable using the website was interesting. None of them took notes though some of them did follow along as I did searches on the computer. Several of them dove right in finding topics of interest and looking at the materials they found. Others needed more guidance and suggestions of ways to refine searches or more details on where to search for information. As I reflected on their computer use I wondered if the skills used to learn how to navigate a website are different than the ones used in reading a book or learning facts from a chapter.
It was also interesting watching them work with our Primary Source Investigation exercise. The students were from grades 8-12 and they had different levels of prior knowledge. Watching them trying to find the links between the materials in the exercise was fun. The 11th graders did direct some of the discussion based on their prior knowledge but watching the younger students interact with them was interesting. In one case the 11th grader was certain that the link between the items was woman's suffrage but the 8th grader put the items together and slowly started showing the older student why the focus of the materials was labor rights. I wonder how much the student know about the subject of labor and how that impacted his analysis and how much of his analysis was based on what was in front of him. It would also be interesting to see how the two of them tackle a homework assignment or a chapter in the book.
Instead of focusing on how I read chapters and pick up information (which hasn't changed much since the first class) I decided to focus on how I dealt with teachers and learning options at a knitting conference I attended over this past weekend.
Stitches East is a big knitting conference that took place this past week in Baltimore. They offer a number of classes covering everything from basic knitting to advanced lace work. As I was thinking about the blog on the way home I thought about how I reacted to the different teachers I worked with this weekend. I had a horrible time with one teacher who basically gave us a graphic documenting the pattern we were to work on and who quickly demoed a technique we were to use for fair isle knitting. I couldn't pick up the skill and instead of talking me threw it he took the knitting out of my hands and showed me the skill and then left me to master it. Another teacher supplied written out instructions and then also did demonstrations and then stood behind us to watch us to see any problems and correct them while the knitting was in our hands. A third instructor supplied both charts and written directions for her projects and was very excited when a student helped her to find another way to explain something that I was having trouble with.
I've never knitted well when supplied with just a graphic with the pattern listed. I need the words. I also have discovered that I need to have someone watch me do something and show me where the problem is instead of just doing a demonstration. Having a teacher that is friendly and patient is also a good thing for me. I also like teachers who can look at things in different directions and look for other ways to explain problem topics instead of just saying the same thing over and over again. I am also one that can't have music on when I am learning something new and if there must be music it has to be instrumental. The first teacher insisted on playing old 60's tunes with lots of vocals and I found myself getting more and more frustrated with him and the class.
Thanks to teachers two and three I knitted my first mobius scarf and my first cable pattern ever. I left teacher one's class part way through severely frustrated and wondering if I will ever learn what he was supposed to teach.
It was also interesting watching them work with our Primary Source Investigation exercise. The students were from grades 8-12 and they had different levels of prior knowledge. Watching them trying to find the links between the materials in the exercise was fun. The 11th graders did direct some of the discussion based on their prior knowledge but watching the younger students interact with them was interesting. In one case the 11th grader was certain that the link between the items was woman's suffrage but the 8th grader put the items together and slowly started showing the older student why the focus of the materials was labor rights. I wonder how much the student know about the subject of labor and how that impacted his analysis and how much of his analysis was based on what was in front of him. It would also be interesting to see how the two of them tackle a homework assignment or a chapter in the book.
Instead of focusing on how I read chapters and pick up information (which hasn't changed much since the first class) I decided to focus on how I dealt with teachers and learning options at a knitting conference I attended over this past weekend.
Stitches East is a big knitting conference that took place this past week in Baltimore. They offer a number of classes covering everything from basic knitting to advanced lace work. As I was thinking about the blog on the way home I thought about how I reacted to the different teachers I worked with this weekend. I had a horrible time with one teacher who basically gave us a graphic documenting the pattern we were to work on and who quickly demoed a technique we were to use for fair isle knitting. I couldn't pick up the skill and instead of talking me threw it he took the knitting out of my hands and showed me the skill and then left me to master it. Another teacher supplied written out instructions and then also did demonstrations and then stood behind us to watch us to see any problems and correct them while the knitting was in our hands. A third instructor supplied both charts and written directions for her projects and was very excited when a student helped her to find another way to explain something that I was having trouble with.
I've never knitted well when supplied with just a graphic with the pattern listed. I need the words. I also have discovered that I need to have someone watch me do something and show me where the problem is instead of just doing a demonstration. Having a teacher that is friendly and patient is also a good thing for me. I also like teachers who can look at things in different directions and look for other ways to explain problem topics instead of just saying the same thing over and over again. I am also one that can't have music on when I am learning something new and if there must be music it has to be instrumental. The first teacher insisted on playing old 60's tunes with lots of vocals and I found myself getting more and more frustrated with him and the class.
Thanks to teachers two and three I knitted my first mobius scarf and my first cable pattern ever. I left teacher one's class part way through severely frustrated and wondering if I will ever learn what he was supposed to teach.
Takaki Chapter 7
Since Takaki doesn't really use the term Manifest Destiny in previous chapters I thought it might be interesting to focus on what Manifest Destiny was, tie it to some of the materials from the previous chapters and the beliefs brought to America by the British and then focus on how Manifest Destiny had an impact on the native peoples of the United States. I would start by showing the image American Progress by George Crofutt (originally painted by John Gast) and ask what the students see focusing on the details found in the image and what the image is supposed to represent. I might use some of the material found on the PBS website on Manifest Destiny to help inform me and to guide the conversation. I would also want to tie this discussion to the chapter and ask the students if they think the actions of the Bear Flag group and the Texas settlers were based on Manifest Destiny or something else.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Mini Ethnography of Teaching and Learning
The Educational Outreach Team at the Library of Congress is one of several groups within the Library that provides professional development for teachers. Our primary goal is to introduce teachers to the primary sources available on Library of Congress website that are available for use in the classroom. Our secondary goal is to provide tips on how to incorporate these materials into lesson plans and other classroom activities. We do this through materials presented on the Teachers Page and through workshops and programming offered to teachers both in-house and away from the Library. In the past fiscal year the Educational Outreach team presented 63 in-house workshops for 1248 people. This included our four summer teacher institutes where we hosted 89 teachers in four sessions. We did 24 out of house presentations for 4275 people including workshops at the National Conference for Teachers of English, the National Council for the Social Studies conference, and the National Educational Computing Conference.
We do presentations at national and regional educational conferences and occasionally for state organizations. We have also participated in large scale programs such as the Song of America tour where our team developed a day-long teachers institute that was given at each tour stop.
Our in-house program has been quite active. We accept groups from all over the country for half and full day long workshops offered in-house at the Library. For those teachers who cannot travel we offer video-conferencing options. We have also worked to develop a presence in the DC Public Schools offering professional development workshops during the weeks designated for in-service programs. The Educational Outreach division has also offered summer teacher institutes where teachers from throughout the country can come to the Library for a two and one half day program where they meet and work with reading room curatorial staff, learn how to use our website, are given examples of how to incorporate primary sources in the classroom and are asked to create a classroom exercise they might use with their students.
The Educational Outreach team also coordinates the Teaching with Primary Sources program. This congressionally funded program allows our team to collaborate with colleges and universities to help them create programs and classes that help teachers learn how to incorporate primary sources in classroom activities with a focus on Library of Congress resources. We are also developing a virtual institute for those teachers who cannot participate in the Teaching With Primary Sources program so that they can access these experiences from their home districts.
Our workshops do focus on introducing our Library of Congress resources but we pride ourselves on being able to work with teachers from a variety of different disciplines. Besides working with American History teachers, we have done subject specific workshops on Geography, English/Literature/Writing, Music and the other Performing Arts, Foreign Languages and Science. Workshops can be as short as an hour (just a quick website overview) or can last all day. If we have a limited time for instruction we will tend to provide a lecture with handouts that the teacher can refer to after the presentation. If we have a longer time we will do hand-on activities or offer the teachers the opportunity to work in one of our computer classrooms to practice some of what they have learned. We also try to allow lots of time for sharing and discussing what the teachers have learned. For example we may ask the teachers to pick one item that they found while searching that excited them and ask them to put it on their screen and allow the other teachers to wander around and see what their colleagues have found during the day. We may also ask the teachers to talk about one thing they learned during the workshop and how they will use it in the classroom.
One major problem we have with our workshops is that there much information to present and we have a small amount of time to do our presentations. The participants can get frustrated and overwhelmed at all there is to learn and there is often little time during the sessions to reflect on what has been learned and to figure out if they have questions or if they missed a something they need to repeat a search or exercise presented during the workshop. However the teachers are very excited to see what we have to offer and the resources that they can use with students.
To deal with the overwhelming amount of information we have to offer we offer a variety of handouts including guides to the website and tips on using the resources. When possible we also offer links to the resources offered on the website. We also make sure to introduce teachers to the Ask A Librarian website within the first few minutes of the workshop so they know where they can ask questions when they are back home.
We do limited assessment with the teachers. We make sure to allow time for questions throughout each workshop so that we can see where participants need additional instruction. Summer Institute participants are given an exercise where they develop a lesson using the Library’s resources. This helps us to determine what they have learned and what they will take back to the classroom. We also provide summer institute participants with an evaluation to complete at the end of the institute and are working to develop an evaluation that we can use with workshops. We ask questions such as what provided the teacher with an “aha” moment or what didn’t work for them during the institute. Teachers are asked how they will use the resources when they return to the classroom and for information on topics they would like to see at future institutes. We also ask what they would tell the Librarian of Congress about the Library and its web resources if given the opportunity to talk to him. The summer institute evaluations have truly helped us determine future topics and to make modifications to how and what we teach during the institutes. We have also used the evaluations to help justify serving breakfast and lunch to institute participants, something that is quite expensive but provides the teachers with time to interact with each other, the instructional staff and also time to reflect on what they have learned in the morning session.
Most of our programs are offered in the National Digital Library Learning Center a large space in the Madison Building. The space includes two video-conference areas, once of which can also function as meeting room and a theater space that can host up to 45 people. Both the meeting room and theater area have large screen monitors with viewers and a computer area where teachers can show their presentations. When we do hands-on workshops we use computers classrooms located in rooms in the Adams Building. These classrooms have a teacher station in the front and depending on the classroom up to twenty computers available for students.
Student arrangement depends on the classroom setting. In the NDL Theater there are 45 seats placed in rows. Normally students will sit in chairs and will arrange chairs as needed if a group exercise is given or they will move into other parts of the Learning Center. The conference room/large video-conference area is arranged in a large square. This works well for smaller groups. The computer labs are arranged in rows with the teacher in front. As the staff has no control on the arrangement of the rooms there is no easy way to gage how the arrangement of the rooms may impact on education taking place during the workshops.
In-house workshops are offered on demand (excluding summer teacher institutes) for groups. Groups interested in programming contact the workshop coordinator. They are asked what they want to gain from a workshop. Is it hands-on experience with the website? Is it learning about primary sources? Is it a tour of some of the reading rooms with meetings with the curatorial staff? They are asked what subjects the teachers who will be participating teach, what grade levels the teachers work with, and how much time they have available to spend at the Library. Once we get that information and settle on a date and time for the visit, the workshop coordinator plans the activities and locates presenters and support staff for the workshop.
For summer institutes we mount the website announcing the institutes and the subjects to be covered in early January. There are links to an application form that applicants fill out. Applications include requests for standard information but also includes a requests that teachers write a statement indicating why they wish to attend the institute and how they will share the information with others. There are more that three times as many applicants as there are available slots for participants. Participants are selected on a first come first serve basis but we try to limit the number of participants from each state attending each institute session. We also read the statements and do some selection based on these statements. After accepting an initial 25 participants we do create a waiting list in case those selected cannot attend.
The large majority of people coming to our workshops are white and female. Most have been in the classroom for several years and are coming as part of a professional development experience. We have done workshops for DCPS teachers for a couple of years and many of the teachers in those workshops are non-white. We also do workshops for pre-service teachers and for those who teach pre-service teachers. As many of our resources are being directed toward our Teaching with Primary Sources program, we have done a lot of programming for the coordinators of the state programs and for their teachers when they come into town. We have done a number of workshops for the teachers participating in the Northern Virginia Teaching with Primary Sources program because of our proximity to these teachers and do see teachers from the Pennsylvania partner at least once a year. We do also get groups of teachers participating in the Department of Education Teaching American History grant program and the Library has partnered with a few of the groups that have received grants from this program.
The Educational Outreach staff consists of ten people, the large majority with extensive teaching or educational publishing experience. Seven of the staff members are white and three are African-American. One is male. Of the ten members of the Educational Outreach Staff four teach the large majority of the workshops. One is trained as an English teacher, one is trained as an elementary school librarian, one has coordinated library instruction programs on the college and university level and is trained as a reference archivist and one has taught Social Studies to students from grades k-8. Several of the other Educational Outreach Staff will teach workshops if needed but are tasked with coordinating other projects that keep them from being available to teach workshops.
As many of the teachers are interested in working with subject specialists, we will bring in curatorial staff from the various reading rooms to do presentations. As most of the curators and Library staff we work with tend to lecture and just show material from the collections, we will occasionally work with the curators to help them develop teacher friendly content which includes a hands-on component and an opportunity for the teachers to interact with the curator instead of just listening to a lecture. We also work closely with the Digital Reference Team, the reference unit that questions relating to our online collections and who have subject specialties that relate to the online collections. They will also provide instruction for workshops as needed. The Digital Reference Team also does a number of video-conferences for teachers and in-house programming for special guests visiting the Library.
Though we would like to offer more workshops, the importance of providing educational support for major initiatives such as the New Visitor Experience and the Literacy Initiative are diverting staff time and expertise from developing new workshops and activities. Though we are thrilled that Librarian of Congress and other senior level staff are excited supporting the K-12 educational community, we are concerned that more and more staff will be diverted to other projects and away from our current successful initiatives. Hopefully we will find ways to continue our successful initiatives while also building new programming to support the k-12 community.
We do presentations at national and regional educational conferences and occasionally for state organizations. We have also participated in large scale programs such as the Song of America tour where our team developed a day-long teachers institute that was given at each tour stop.
Our in-house program has been quite active. We accept groups from all over the country for half and full day long workshops offered in-house at the Library. For those teachers who cannot travel we offer video-conferencing options. We have also worked to develop a presence in the DC Public Schools offering professional development workshops during the weeks designated for in-service programs. The Educational Outreach division has also offered summer teacher institutes where teachers from throughout the country can come to the Library for a two and one half day program where they meet and work with reading room curatorial staff, learn how to use our website, are given examples of how to incorporate primary sources in the classroom and are asked to create a classroom exercise they might use with their students.
The Educational Outreach team also coordinates the Teaching with Primary Sources program. This congressionally funded program allows our team to collaborate with colleges and universities to help them create programs and classes that help teachers learn how to incorporate primary sources in classroom activities with a focus on Library of Congress resources. We are also developing a virtual institute for those teachers who cannot participate in the Teaching With Primary Sources program so that they can access these experiences from their home districts.
Our workshops do focus on introducing our Library of Congress resources but we pride ourselves on being able to work with teachers from a variety of different disciplines. Besides working with American History teachers, we have done subject specific workshops on Geography, English/Literature/Writing, Music and the other Performing Arts, Foreign Languages and Science. Workshops can be as short as an hour (just a quick website overview) or can last all day. If we have a limited time for instruction we will tend to provide a lecture with handouts that the teacher can refer to after the presentation. If we have a longer time we will do hand-on activities or offer the teachers the opportunity to work in one of our computer classrooms to practice some of what they have learned. We also try to allow lots of time for sharing and discussing what the teachers have learned. For example we may ask the teachers to pick one item that they found while searching that excited them and ask them to put it on their screen and allow the other teachers to wander around and see what their colleagues have found during the day. We may also ask the teachers to talk about one thing they learned during the workshop and how they will use it in the classroom.
One major problem we have with our workshops is that there much information to present and we have a small amount of time to do our presentations. The participants can get frustrated and overwhelmed at all there is to learn and there is often little time during the sessions to reflect on what has been learned and to figure out if they have questions or if they missed a something they need to repeat a search or exercise presented during the workshop. However the teachers are very excited to see what we have to offer and the resources that they can use with students.
To deal with the overwhelming amount of information we have to offer we offer a variety of handouts including guides to the website and tips on using the resources. When possible we also offer links to the resources offered on the website. We also make sure to introduce teachers to the Ask A Librarian website within the first few minutes of the workshop so they know where they can ask questions when they are back home.
We do limited assessment with the teachers. We make sure to allow time for questions throughout each workshop so that we can see where participants need additional instruction. Summer Institute participants are given an exercise where they develop a lesson using the Library’s resources. This helps us to determine what they have learned and what they will take back to the classroom. We also provide summer institute participants with an evaluation to complete at the end of the institute and are working to develop an evaluation that we can use with workshops. We ask questions such as what provided the teacher with an “aha” moment or what didn’t work for them during the institute. Teachers are asked how they will use the resources when they return to the classroom and for information on topics they would like to see at future institutes. We also ask what they would tell the Librarian of Congress about the Library and its web resources if given the opportunity to talk to him. The summer institute evaluations have truly helped us determine future topics and to make modifications to how and what we teach during the institutes. We have also used the evaluations to help justify serving breakfast and lunch to institute participants, something that is quite expensive but provides the teachers with time to interact with each other, the instructional staff and also time to reflect on what they have learned in the morning session.
Most of our programs are offered in the National Digital Library Learning Center a large space in the Madison Building. The space includes two video-conference areas, once of which can also function as meeting room and a theater space that can host up to 45 people. Both the meeting room and theater area have large screen monitors with viewers and a computer area where teachers can show their presentations. When we do hands-on workshops we use computers classrooms located in rooms in the Adams Building. These classrooms have a teacher station in the front and depending on the classroom up to twenty computers available for students.
Student arrangement depends on the classroom setting. In the NDL Theater there are 45 seats placed in rows. Normally students will sit in chairs and will arrange chairs as needed if a group exercise is given or they will move into other parts of the Learning Center. The conference room/large video-conference area is arranged in a large square. This works well for smaller groups. The computer labs are arranged in rows with the teacher in front. As the staff has no control on the arrangement of the rooms there is no easy way to gage how the arrangement of the rooms may impact on education taking place during the workshops.
In-house workshops are offered on demand (excluding summer teacher institutes) for groups. Groups interested in programming contact the workshop coordinator. They are asked what they want to gain from a workshop. Is it hands-on experience with the website? Is it learning about primary sources? Is it a tour of some of the reading rooms with meetings with the curatorial staff? They are asked what subjects the teachers who will be participating teach, what grade levels the teachers work with, and how much time they have available to spend at the Library. Once we get that information and settle on a date and time for the visit, the workshop coordinator plans the activities and locates presenters and support staff for the workshop.
For summer institutes we mount the website announcing the institutes and the subjects to be covered in early January. There are links to an application form that applicants fill out. Applications include requests for standard information but also includes a requests that teachers write a statement indicating why they wish to attend the institute and how they will share the information with others. There are more that three times as many applicants as there are available slots for participants. Participants are selected on a first come first serve basis but we try to limit the number of participants from each state attending each institute session. We also read the statements and do some selection based on these statements. After accepting an initial 25 participants we do create a waiting list in case those selected cannot attend.
The large majority of people coming to our workshops are white and female. Most have been in the classroom for several years and are coming as part of a professional development experience. We have done workshops for DCPS teachers for a couple of years and many of the teachers in those workshops are non-white. We also do workshops for pre-service teachers and for those who teach pre-service teachers. As many of our resources are being directed toward our Teaching with Primary Sources program, we have done a lot of programming for the coordinators of the state programs and for their teachers when they come into town. We have done a number of workshops for the teachers participating in the Northern Virginia Teaching with Primary Sources program because of our proximity to these teachers and do see teachers from the Pennsylvania partner at least once a year. We do also get groups of teachers participating in the Department of Education Teaching American History grant program and the Library has partnered with a few of the groups that have received grants from this program.
The Educational Outreach staff consists of ten people, the large majority with extensive teaching or educational publishing experience. Seven of the staff members are white and three are African-American. One is male. Of the ten members of the Educational Outreach Staff four teach the large majority of the workshops. One is trained as an English teacher, one is trained as an elementary school librarian, one has coordinated library instruction programs on the college and university level and is trained as a reference archivist and one has taught Social Studies to students from grades k-8. Several of the other Educational Outreach Staff will teach workshops if needed but are tasked with coordinating other projects that keep them from being available to teach workshops.
As many of the teachers are interested in working with subject specialists, we will bring in curatorial staff from the various reading rooms to do presentations. As most of the curators and Library staff we work with tend to lecture and just show material from the collections, we will occasionally work with the curators to help them develop teacher friendly content which includes a hands-on component and an opportunity for the teachers to interact with the curator instead of just listening to a lecture. We also work closely with the Digital Reference Team, the reference unit that questions relating to our online collections and who have subject specialties that relate to the online collections. They will also provide instruction for workshops as needed. The Digital Reference Team also does a number of video-conferences for teachers and in-house programming for special guests visiting the Library.
Though we would like to offer more workshops, the importance of providing educational support for major initiatives such as the New Visitor Experience and the Literacy Initiative are diverting staff time and expertise from developing new workshops and activities. Though we are thrilled that Librarian of Congress and other senior level staff are excited supporting the K-12 educational community, we are concerned that more and more staff will be diverted to other projects and away from our current successful initiatives. Hopefully we will find ways to continue our successful initiatives while also building new programming to support the k-12 community.
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