Students on Team 8-1 American History have officially ended their investigation and exploration of the American Revolution! While this is always a poignant moment for myself, I am very proud and impressed by the level of effort and inquiry that each student put forth throughout this monumental event within our history. One of the more demanding tasks that each student performed was related to document analysis on the Continental Army’s winter encampment at Valley Forge. Students were provided with four documents that pertained to the trying winter that General George Washington and his army faced while staying at Valley Forge. The documents that the students analyzed were the following:
Using a slightly modified document analysis tools created by the Library of Congress, students performed document analysis on each of the aforementioned sources. Students were asked to identify key source material, context, and meaning for each of the documents. Students were also given the opportunity to compose a Document Based Question (DBQ) response relating back to the documents. I was overjoyed by the amount of students who not only participated in this DBQ response, but also by the number of students who showed vast improvement from prior DBQ responses! Following the Valley Forge document analysis, students turned their focus on the Southern theatre of the American Revolution. This school year, I decided to create a website (web-quest of sorts) that presented material based on the American Revolution’s southern campaigns. Students first looked at key naval battles, strategies, and individuals of the American Revolution. One of my favorite aspects of the website (and student’s favorite) was the 3D model of the Gunboat Philadelphia from the Smithsonian Learning Lab. This 3D model also comes with a narrative about the resource. Students were shocked to hear that the actual Gunboat Philadelphia can be seen in the American History museum within the Smithsonian! The Weebly website also included pages dedicated towards Native American involvement within the American Revolution, events and individuals for the western theatre, and battles and strategies used within the south. Students also were introduced to the Battle of Monmouth and enjoyed listening to the song dedicated to this battle from Hamilton the musical. Perhaps my favorite portion of the website that I created was the blog question at the very end. Using information that they gathered through their web-quest activity, students also utilized a collection created on the Smithsonian Learning Lab to answer a “putting it all together” blog post. To check out the website and responses made by students from Team 8-1, please click on this link! Students then moved to the finale of the American Revolution: The Yorktown Campaign. For this vital moment in our history, I enjoy employing the Google Earth application and a series created by George Washington’s Mount Vernon titled, Now or Never. As a class, students and I locate Yorktown on Google Earth and discuss why might British General Cornwallis choose Yorktown to station his army. From there we debate if this was a “smart” move by the general by looking at the pros and cons of the general’s choice. Now or Never is one of my favorite video resources to use in my class. Not only do I love this resource, but also my students take a survey at the end of viewing Now or Never and the overwhelming majority of students enjoy the series! I like to use the Ed Puzzle application when having students watch video files because I can add my own comments and questions for students to respond to while they are engrossed in the action. I have recently heard that George Washington’s Mount Vernon have also released a series relating to the Constitutional Convention, which I am ecstatic to watch and hopefully utilize within my instruction.! Following the end of the American Revolution, students were introduced to what I liked to call the “Now What Do We Do?” portion of American History. The Americans have won their independence, and now face the tremendous task of building a nation. To introduce some key happenings such as the Treaty of Paris 1783, why/how the Americans won, and the Northwest Ordinance, I ask students to partake in a QR Code Gallery Walk. I like to utilize this instructional technique when presenting new information because it asks for students to make educated predictions and also promotes reflection. Students navigate from station to station and first read a prompt that normally ask students to make a prediction. Using a sharpie marker, students respond to the prompt on the background paper (see images below) and then scan a QR Code to a wiki website that I have created. Often I incorporate other iPad Applications (such as Poll Everywhere) within the gallery walks. Students then answer concept-check questions based on the Wiki’s content. I like to conclude this activity by asking students to share their predictions and check for understanding based on the responses from the concept-check questions. Finally, students explored the Articles of Confederation via an iBook that I designed. The iBook contains several interactive features such as video media, interactive images, multiple-choice questions at the end of sections, and a 3D model. This year, I also expended the iBook to include Thinking Routines designed by Harvard University’s Project Zero. The Thinking Routines that I asked students to engage in were:
With the help of Ms. Alyssa Betz, I also incorporated Maps for Individualized Thinking (MITs) as students worked their way through the iBook. Using the iCreate Studio space, specifically the Apple TVs and giant wipe-boards, students responded to the Thinking Routines and MITs. More information about the Thinking Routines that I used (and others) can be found at this link! It is quite obvious that Team 8-1 American History students have been extremely diligent over the past few weeks and I look forward to sharing more about future events!
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Mr. Steve Hartnett
Mr. Hartnett will update the Room 212 Blog with classroom updates on a regular basis. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @ MrHartnett212 Archives
July 2019
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