Posts filed under 'Teaching in the Content Areas'
In Joan Brodsky-Schur’s American history class at the Village Community School in New York, students interact with various primary sources to get a deeper understanding of historical events and figures, and to explore history through differing points of view. In her book, Eyewitness to the Past, Joan says that she asks her students to do a significant amount of writing as they respond to these primary sources or use the sources as models to create their own historical diary entries, newspaper articles, or letters.
“I am well aware of the pressure this puts on educators who simply do now have the time to read and respond to everything students write,” Joan says, adding that teachers should assign the work anyway and then find creative ways to read and respond.
Over the years I have adapted many strategies to keep my students writing while keeping myself sane. I always thoroughly respond to work that is being revised for the public to see, whether it will be shared in print, online, or on a bulletin board. Unless they are required to fix their mistakes, most students do not pay attention to all those red marks. So I do not waste my efforts; I was them to pay off. I usually am not the first reader who has looked for mistakes or made suggestions for improvement of the content. I often pair students or put them into writer’s workshop groups to do this for one another before a draft gets to me.
This year I experimented with using the track changes feature in Microsoft Word. It is widely adopted in the business world and therefore a valuable tool for students to learn. Essentially, students email their work to me or post it electronically on our class bulletin board. I download it to my computer where I turn on the track change feature and make my comments and corrections directly on the electronic version of their papers. I email their work back to them and students then have the option to accept my changes or not and can make further revisions.
It always helps students when they are given the rubrics ahead of time so they know in advance how they will be evaluated. In each category students can earn from one to five points. A student who does not follow instructions and whose work reflects little to no mastery of English skills and social studies content receives a one. This student’s work is given no credit and thus the student must redo it. … A student receives five for outstanding work and original thinking. This student is often a gifted writer and avid reader who brings to the task extensive learning acquired not only in the classroom but well beyond it.
In strategizing how to maximize the effect of my feedback to students, I pay special attention to the first assignments in a series. For example, if students are writing a sequence of four letters, I want to make certain that they are on the right track as early as possible. I focus my time responding to their first letter, because if they do not understand what they are expected to do they will run into problems in subsequent letters. However, I may well not have the time to respond to each student’s first letter individually. In that case, I might read out loud to the class some student work that best exemplifies what I am looking for in the assignment. Anonymously, of course, I might also read out an example of student work that is lacking on some score as well.
For their subsequent letters I might as some students to read aloud their work in class on a rotating basis or I might skim their letters, evaluating them based on just a few criteria each time. For example, I might say to the class, “On the next assignments I will be looking to see what you incorporate at least five facts into your letters, and that you write in complete sentences.” Or I might announce, “This time I will be looking for a well-reasoned explanation of why you do or do not support the tactics used in the Boston Tea Party. I will also pay special attention to your spelling.” Then I read the set of letters with only those things in mind, which makes the process much quicker for me. Or I might not read several of the letters at all. Instead, I might ask students to keep their letters in a portfolio of their work and then ask them to choose the one letter they think reflects their best work for me to grade.
Do you have a tip for responding to student work? Share it in the comments section.
December 30th, 2008
Sarah Mulhern is a sixth grade language arts teacher in New Jersey. Her blog, The Reading Zone, not only focuses on her teaching and students, but also showcases the work she and her students do with Monarch butterflies. In this guest blog post, you can read about how Sarah integrates Monarch butterflies into her curriculum. A short commentary follows her entry by Herb Broda, author of Schoolyard Enhanced Learning
Chrysalis. Pupa. Larva.
Typical vocabulary for a middle grades science class, but not the norm for a 6th grade language arts class. However, if you were to peek into my classroom during the first month of school, you would see students reading, writing, and observing our monarch butterflies. My bulletin boards are plastered with monarch posters, butterfly quotes, and maps of North America. The tables have tomato cages, butterfly nets, and potted milkweed covering the season tablecloths.
Our word wall includes the words chrysalis, pupa, and larva alongside language arts words like genre and visualization. While this may sound odd for a Language Arts class, I raise monarchs with my students every fall. From egg to adult, we care for and eventually release our butterflies for their journey to Mexico.
Our classroom theme is “Journeys”, as my students are on the final leg of their journey to middle school. They also get the chance to emerge every morning, as a new person- just like our caterpillars. However, this is only the beginning of our connection to monarch butterflies.
What many people do not know is that monarch butterflies are amazing creatures. They begin their lives as small yellowish eggs on milkweed plants across North America. When they hatch they are so small you need a magnifying class to find them! For the next two weeks they will do only two things- eat milkweed and create frass (caterpillar poop!). During those two weeks they will shed their black, white, and yellow striped skin four times. The fifth and final time they shed their skin they will become a chrysalis (n.b. butterflies form a chrysalis while moths form a cocoon.) This chrysalis is a bright green that is flecked with gold spots. The monarch remains in this chrysalis for approximately ten days before the green outer layer becomes clear and we can see the butterfly inside.
When this happens, the adult is ready to emerge! When my students enter my classroom in September they are immediately greeted by our first caterpillars. We begin our reading and writing workshop by sharing our monarch experiences- we read picture books and non-fiction about monarch butterflies and we write about our shared experiences in our writer’s notebooks. Two weeks ago, we were extremely lucky and both of my language arts classes were able to view a monarch emerging from its chrysalis during class!
Even better, we were able to view through the document camera, which allowed us to zoom in for an even closer look. We have used that experience as a shared memory and have been writing a class personal narrative during the active engagement aspect of our writing workshop. This serves as a model for my student’s independent personal narrative projects.
While we read and write about our monarchs in September, our monarch theme continues through the rest of the year. Monarch butterflies from east of the Rocky Mountains make a lengthy migration each spring. Some of them travel upwards of 3000 miles, from Canada to the trans-volcanic mountain range southwest of Mexico City. The trans-volcanic mountains will be home to millions of monarchs for the months of November to March. The butterflies migrate to the sanctuaries of the in the Mexican states of Michoacán and México.
And this is what makes monarch butterflies so amazing. While the summer generations have a life cycle of approximately one month, the last generation born in August/September will live for upwards of nine months. This generation will make the long and dangerous journey to Mexico, to small sanctuaries that they have never visited. Their great-great-great grandparents made the journey from Mexico to the United States the previous spring!
This migration shapes our curriculum for the rest of the year. We participate in
Journey North’s Symbolic Migration by creating paper monarchs. On the back of these monarchs we write letters in English and Spanish, working with our Spanish teacher, and the butterflies are mailed to the Journey North offices. Journey North then sends them to schools around the monarch reserves in Mexico. We can even track our monarchs’ progress on the Journey North website! In the spring, each child will receive a paper monarch from somewhere in North America. Just as our fall monarchs do not make it back to us in the spring, we receive different paper monarchs in the spring.
In the spring, each student logs onto Journey North and plots their monarch on an interactive map. They can see if their monarch has made it through the winter and can connect with the creator of the monarch they received!
All of my experience with monarchs is courtesy of an amazing organization in New Jersey-the Monarch Teacher Network. The Monarch Teacher Network is a growing network of pre-k to secondary teachers who have received training to use monarch butterflies to teach a variety of concepts and skills, including our growing connection with other nations and the need to be responsible stewards of the environment. The group hosts workshops across the country and has a sister organization in Canada. This past February I was privileged to join the MTN on a fellowship trip to the monarch bioreserves in Michoacan, Mexico.
This life-changing journey was chronicled on my blog, which you can view here. I visited the mountaintops which are home to billions of monarchs each winter. I also spent time at a bilingual P’urhépecha school in Santa Fe, Michoacan, Mexico. The few hours I spent with those students and teachers forever changed my world view. When I came home, I was able to share these experiences with my students.
We don’t just focus on monarchs in my class, though! The monarchs lead us to discussion on responsible global stewardship and conservation. Last year we had a fantastic time participating in a project called Voices…From the Land. In Voices, students use natural materials to create (and photograph) “eco-art” in an outdoor setting. The art is based on that of Andy Goldsworthy. The students then write poetry or prose about the art and their experience… giving the art, landscape and authors a “voice”. Students then layout, design and publish a full-color hardcover book of their photographs and poetry, sharing books with other schools in the project. The schools involved come from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Peru. Last year, we produced a gorgeous book of art and poetry, along with receiving similar books from a class in Canada and New Zealand. This year, we hope to correspond with students from that school in New Zealand! In one simple project we covered curriculum areas from language arts, science, technology, and social studies.
Every year my students fall in love with the monarchs, and I fall in love with them all over again. We build a community around our caterpillars, say goodbye to our butterflies as a family, and work hard to be responsible citizens of the world. My teaching was revolutionized by my time spent with the Monarch Teacher Network. It was the best professional development I have ever participated in- which explains why I spend part of each summer as a volunteer staff member training more teachers! If you are interested in the Monarch Teacher Network workshops, please check their website. If your state isn’t listed, leave a comment and maybe we can work something out! Every year the project expands to new states (and continents)! If you have any experiences, questions, or comments about monarchs in the classroom, please comment!
Wow! What wonderful ways to integrate the monarch butterfly into so many aspects of the curriculum! I want to be sure to reinforce the mention of the Journey North website that is included in the entry. Journey North includes several highly interactive activities for students.
The Tulip Project, for example is a wonderful way for students to take part in a real scientific experiment. Bulbs are planted in the fall and you record the zip code of your school. In the spring you note when the bulls first emerge and then record when they are in bloom. What I love about the activity is that students plant the bulbs in the fall and then can monitor the results of their own labor in the spring.
As students all over North America record the emergence and eventual bloom of their tulips, an interactive map allows classes to follow the progression of spring across the continent! It really is one of the simplest interactive scientific projects that I have seen. Be sure to check out Journey North—there are a number of other interactive projects available there also.
Commentary by Herb Broda
November 12th, 2008
Political debates are everywhere these days—at home, at work, on television, and sometimes even in the checkout line at the grocery store or at the dentist’s office. It’s only natural that the elections and other political issues make their way into classrooms. In our latest installment of Questions & Authors, we asked Joan Brodsky Schur, author of Eyewitness to the Past, to share her ideas about how teachers can take advantage of children’s curiosity and the timeliness of the issues, while also respecting all students’ opinions and background:
As teachers we have tremendous potential to shape young minds, and that often gives parents and school boards reason to be wary of what goes on in the classroom. In an election year, teachers are eager to educate their students about the democratic process, but anxious not to arouse suspicions that they are using their classrooms to advance their own political views. Open debate about the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may be particularly sensitive, especially when students have family members in the armed services.
How can teachers create classrooms that are open forums of rigorous debate about controversial issues, without incurring hurt feelings among classmates or angry reactions among parents? While this dilemma is not easy to solve, I prefer to see it as a positive opportunity. This election season opens up important “teachable moments” in which we can help students learn how to question assumptions, think critically, and form well-reasoned opinions based on facts. Here are some suggestions for making these things happen.
Introduce the Issues Yourself
Do not rely on students to bring up all sides to an argument related to the current election. If you start off the discussion with a question like, “What do you think America should do about XYZ” the discussion is likely to appear lopsided. Many of us live in communities that are predominantly “red” or “blue,” where we often share the same political persuasions as our neighbors. I worry about those students who hold minority viewpoints within the broader school community. Whatever their opinions, they are often intimidated from expressing them because they expect to be pounced on by their classmates. The discussion may feel personal rather than objective, and open discussion is stifled from start.
I recommend that you initiate discussion not by asking students what they think, but by presenting two sides to a selected issue right away, preferably using quotations from prominent politicians and commentators. Should there be a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq? Should we build a U.S.-Mexico border fence? Should we have universal healthcare? Many websites provide useful information of this type; I especially recommend the Lehrer Report. Be sure to distribute the quotations in writing, or keep them posted in a visible place, because we often “hear” only what we want to hear.
This tactic immediately takes the discussion out of the realm of the personal. It also demonstrates that those who have dedicated their lives to public service do not feel that it is “disloyal” to criticize their government; rather they see that as part of their role of being a good citizen.
Even-Handed Discussion Techniques
After the controlled set-up, I like to extend debate by asking students to develop and research more arguments for both sides of an issue. In class I then ask for a supporting piece of evidence for Position A, then for Position B, and keep alternating. I don’t move on until I elicit something new for both sides. In this phase students understand that I am not asking them what they think about Position A, only what arguments can be made on its behalf. This keeps discussion even-handed, and some students feel more comfortable joining discussion because they do not need to disclose their own opinions.
Once students have mustered a variety of facts and arguments I move into the “What do you think?” phase. Here again I alternate speakers pro and con. “Someone made a good point in support of Position B, is there someone who wants to counter that argument in support of Position A?” I will ask. I keep lists on the board of those students who want to speak for one side or the other. Discussion gets passionate, but the format keeps the class orderly. If anyone speaks out of turn I erase his or her name and put it on the bottom of the speaker’s list.
By now students understand that we are debating ideas, not our friends or rivals. I censor all comments that cross that line. A student cannot call Tanya “dumb,” but she can say that Tanya made a dumb argument because she got her facts wrong. Since this is not a formal debate, I also let students know that it’s acceptable to abandon an argument if you change your mind and can explain the reasons why. In fact, when this happens you know that students are learning from the discussion and thinking hard.
Using the Past to Teach about the Present
For those of us who teach American history, this is an opportune moment to help students transfer the intense emotions they feel about today’s election to understand the dilemma’s facing Americans in elections past. The controversial issues we grapple with today are good reminders of what our ancestors went through at different times in history. No one has a crystal ball to help them make hard choices. Only after the fact does a historical event seem “inevitable.”
If teachers are worried about tackling certain questions head-on, there are ways to introduce them indirectly as you study the past. Is it all right to criticize your country during wartime? Abraham Lincoln was a critic of the Mexican War of 1846-48. The country showed great unity during World War II, yet landmark Supreme Court decisions supporting conscientious objectors were won during that time period. How were our veterans treated after the Vietnam War, and how can we do better this time? Presidents have faced re-election campaigns as they waged war. Were Americans living during those time periods shy about criticizing Lincoln’s conduct of the Civil War, or FDR’s leadership during World War II, and if not how did critics express themselves, and to what effect?
Presidential election years are a wonderful time to role-play elections past, like the elections of Thomas Jefferson VS John Adams in 1800, or Andrew Jackson vs. Henry Clay in 1832. Re-staging an election can electrify students, injecting partisanship and passion into their study of the candidates and the issues they represented, along with all the hoopla of slogans and cartoons.
With careful thought and preparation I believe this is an opportune moment to make the classroom a vital place in the lives of our students, the future electorate of our country.
So, how have you handled political issues in your classroom? Do you think it’s useful or important for students to have these debates and discussions in school? What recommendations would you have for teachers who are new to the profession and are faced with a controversial topic in their classroom?
September 10th, 2008
Here is a collection of resources that you can use to make the connection between art and literacy.
“Art is literacy of the heart.”
–Elliot Eisner
Create your own masterpiece at Jacksonpollock.org, a site developed by “existential computing” artist Miltos Manetas. Click to change colors and drag the mouse to create the whirls and lines of Pollack’s iconic images. Use it as a hook for a lesson combining art, literature, and technology or as a writing prompt:
http://www.jacksonpollock.org
Explore great art on the Internet with Artcyclopedia. From movements to masters this searchable database connects you to online museums and other sites you can integrate into lessons by theme, artist, or content:
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/
Solve an art mystery with A. Pintura: Art Detective, an online game about art history and composition featuring works by Raphael, Titian, Millet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Picasso and concepts such as portrait, color, and perspective. Use it as a model for students’ own fact-filled mystery stories:
http://www.eduweb.com/pintura/index.html
Connect. Integrate. Innovate. Transform your teaching with arts- integrated resources from ArtsEdge. Their database of over 400 lessons is searchable by art type, content area, and grade level:
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/teach/les.cfm
Is your classroom dance-poor or painting-rich? Discover the power of art-based lessons from a range of arts with The Arts Go to School by David Booth and Masayuki Hachiya. Filled with model units and art activities, the book’s design allows you to pick and choose from dance, music, painting, drama, or movement lessons to fine-tune the arts in your classroom. Browse the entire book
online:
http://www.stenhouse.com/8175.asp?r=n142
June 18th, 2008
The authors of TeamWork compiled a study guide to use by yourself or with a study group to help you reflect on ideas in the book. In each section of this professional development guide you will find an introduction to a chapter, reflection questions, and action steps. You may journal as you read the book and use the reflection questions as a guide for your writing or for a discussion. Action steps range from basic to more complex steps.
Download the study guide from the Stenhouse website and enhance your understanding of this great book.
June 6th, 2008
What happens when test-stressed teachers and video-game addicted children take a trip down to the schoolyard?
Reviewing Herbert Broda’s recent book, Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning, Emmet Rosenfeld, a 15-year veteran English teacher and blogger on the Teacher Magazine website, says that what happens is a “meaningful natural encounter within the framework of school.”
Rosenfeld says that it is increasingly rare these days to see schoolyards with kids “clustered around a butterfly bush identifying local species.” Today’s schoolyards are more like “a forlorn soccer field near a brick building that displays a banner proclaiming, ‘This school is fully accredited.’”
He praises Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning for its real-life advice on getting administrators on board for trips outside of the classroom, for providing the “nuts and bolts” of actually leaving the classroom, and for providing clear linkages between outdoor activities and curriculum standards.
The full review appears on the Teacher Magazine website.
May 22nd, 2008
Without teamwork, we cannot prepare students to meet the challenges of the next millennium. If each teacher individually tries to address every curricular objective and cycle back to the broader standards of learning, there will never be enough time in the day or the school year to finish the job. We have to work together to integrate and reinforce importance concepts from all subjects, teaching students that learning is recursive, related, and really, really cool.
–The authors of TeamWork
To many teachers, the idea of team teaching seems like a luxury. It sounds wonderful, but who has the time for that kind of collaboration? In their new book, TeamWork, Monique Wild, Amanda Mayeaux, and Kathryn Edmonds argue that with careful planning, collaborative teaching actually saves time by drawing on both individual and collective strengths. And if you’re resourceful, these award-winning teachers say, you can carve out planning time without skipping meals or abandoning your family life.
The authors of TeamWork spend countless hours unifying their curriculum, coordinating classroom activities, discussing student progress, and collaborating on creative ways to bring the curriculum to life for their students. They even wrote their book together during stolen minutes between classes, or while sitting in a parking lot in Monique’s Acura, waiting for their daughters to finish dance lessons. “Ultimately, it was our passion about the benefits of teaming for students that propelled us to find the time to work when it seemed there was none,” says Amanda.
This same passion fuels their teaching every day. They believe that teaching as a team enables them to infuse their lessons with engaging and challenging content, while also ensuring that the curriculum meets state and national standards.
The three “Teamers” begin the planning process in the summer with a series of meetings. “The summer meetings might frighten people,” Kathryn says, “but we probably meet for a total of only four full days. And in that time, we can outline our entire year.” Once they have the framework in place, they can pull lessons together quickly throughout the year, staying a few weeks ahead of where the students are.
The Teamers were provided with 90 minutes of planning time each day by their school’s administration — half of that time is used for team planning and the other half for individual planning — and every minute is critical. “We plan the meeting the day before so that we’re clear on what we have to do,” explains Monique. “We table things if we can’t come to a conclusion.” They also have a timetable for what topics are addressed on what days: for example, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are set aside for IEP meetings and on Fridays they address classroom discipline issues. “We set these at the beginning of the year, so we don’t have to ask ‘what are we doing today?’”
It also helps to have ground rules for meetings: always start at the agreed-upon time, don’t run over the allotted time, stick to the topic, and don’t get distracted with other things like grading papers. Resist the urge to multitask, advises Monique; it’s more efficient to concentrate on one thing at a time as a group.
The Teamers also take advantage of their different personalities to move planning forward — Amanda is “the dreamer” who comes up with imaginative ideas to engage students; Monique plays the role of “the enforcer” who makes sure that things happen on time; and Kathryn has great organizational skills that “keep the team humming.” The key, Monique says, is using the group’s balance to meet all the objectives: “We divide and conquer.”
The Teamers realize that other obligations at school or at home sometimes can cut into the most well-planned meeting, but they try to keep interruptions to a minimum. “When that starts to happen on a regular basis, we have a frank discussion,” says Monique, and they might modify their team meeting schedule. “That time remains sacred at all cost.”
Family time is equally important. The teachers’ ambitious teaching and planning schedules could easily overtake home life, but they won’t let that happen. “Our schedules revolve around our families. We don’t cancel family plans because of work,” Monique says.
And sometimes, family members pitch in their own ideas to help with the process — like the converter Monique’s husband bought for her so she could plug her laptop into her car during all those dance lessons. Without that kind of team spirit, TeamWork might have never been written.
May 22nd, 2008