Entries for Summer Inservice

Hooray for Heroes

The presentation on heroes was a good reminder to me that we are responsible for making sure that our students remember the heroes of the past. I especially enjoyed learning about heroes that were not familiar to me. After the presentation, I went home and had dinner with my family and relayed the pharmacist story where the pharmacist didn't know Johnnas Salk. My father, both a doctor and a polio survivor, was shocked by the fact that an adult working in that field would have forgotten such an important person in history. I like the idea that when talking about heroes, "you can't take them out of their time period". I.E. the Mr. Hershey story where he was prejudice because he lived during segregation. It's important part of their life/history to discuss, but it doesn't make it ok (heroes have flaws). My favorite line was to emphasize that history....is hi-STORY. Just reminded me to tell history through real stories to make the connection stronger.

Some of the activities I will use in my classroom from this presentation include the table mottos, the ziploc bag quilt (bulletin board idea), the cereal boxes, and some of the stories of the heroes. I also really like the idea of having the year start with students sharing their unsung heroes. This to me seems like a great way to both learn about students and who's important in their lives, as well as treat them about traits at the beginning of the year. Lastly, I really enjoyed the "hero hat" idea where students pull a hero and trace their outline of their body so that they can make a lifesize hero that they will then help me teach about when it comes up in that part of history.

Solve for Y and Viewfinder

These two strategies are definitely tools that I would like to try out this year. The level of thinking that students have to do in order to complete these activities takes them higher up on the Bloom's taxonomy in terms of thinking. Solve for Y especially grabbed my interest because it can be used with multiple media. Next year, I'm going to try to incorporate new technology into my classroom as much as possible, and this would be a great way for them to research information to make connections with history and it's long-term effect/repetition in current media.

The viewfinder is a great way to compare and contrast primary resources to draw conclusions about historical events/time periods etc. We created a viewfinder that combined the artist strategy and the Boston Massacre artifacts that we have learned about. I'm excited to have the students really think more about the perspective of the authors of these artifacts and tell how they affect what is being relayed about the massacre. They always want to know more about this event, and I feel like this activity will really help this topic come alive.

Making Permanent North American Settlements I

I really enjoyed the historical context that was given in this presentation. When teaching about the triangle trade route, we often mention sugar and tobacco etc., but I've never really truly understood how/why these products and the people who grew them ended up being there/making it successful. To me, the history is such an important part of this foundations grant because even if I don't remember everything that is taught, the presentations are making me think about the history in different ways. I feel more knowledgeable which will help me to dive deeper into the history with my students instead of giving the basic information which is provided to us in the textbooks.