Since my last post, students from Team 8-1 & 8-2 collaborated together to create an iBook on the Federalist Papers. Prior to any iBook construction, students were situated in collaborative groups and performed document analysis on Federalist Papers #1, 10, 51, & 84. Using the Apple TVs and giant wipe-boards within the iCreate Studio, students were able to create visuals that reflected their analysis of the above-mentioned Federalist Papers. From this point, students were assigned specific roles to aid in the design of the iBook. Several students worked within the One-Button Studio to create the Intro Media for the iBook. These students donned historical costumes and used their creativity to introduce the contents of the iBook. In these videos, students became news anchors, talk-show hosts, game show contestants, etc. and edited their final videos using iMovie! Other students were assigned the role of researching the authors of the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, and creating a biography section of the iBook.
The primary focus of the iBook was the chapters that specifically focused on the students’ document analysis. Students wrote these chapters on the Google Doc platform. Students were able to collaborate with one another on the same document and could share and provide feedback with one another in a timely and convenient fashion. These students also made the decision on what interactive features should be included within their iBook. Students selected from the list below and then worked on creating their features and including these features within the iBook:
When it came to actually building the entire iBook on iBook Author, I worked with the Editors from each group. The Editors were students, selected by their peers, who took the lead on this particular project. These students were given an introduction to iBook Author and then given free reign on designing the iBook. While Mr. Englert is currently working on the final touches for Periods 4 & 6 iBooks, I have finished Period 2 & Period 5’s iBook. Please take the time and download these iBooks by clicking on the links at the bottom of the page! Since the file size for both iBooks is rather large, the download may take a few minutes. Following the Federalist Papers iBook creation, students were introduced to George Washington’s presidency. Using Near Pod, students and I went on a virtual field trip to Federal Hall in New York City to explore the site of Washington’s inauguration. In addition, students were introduced to Washington’s Cabinet and spent some time examining Alexander Hamilton and his Report on Public Credit. Students enjoyed the rap-battle from Hamilton the musical as we investigated the ideas of assumption and a national bank! Currently, students are in the middle of exploring the Whiskey Rebellion. This event is often a student-favorite because most of the action takes place in the Pittsburgh region. Using Google Earth, students familiarized themselves with the locations associated with Whiskey Rebellion, and then began reading an iBook that I created on the event. Like the iBooks that the students created, the Whiskey Rebellion iBook contains various interactive features that help bring the event to life for students! I almost forgot to mention that last Thursday, Elizabeth Forward Middle School celebrated another Culture Day! The focus of this Culture Day was the country of Morocco. Students were introduced to some basic facts on Morocco through Quizlet and played several rounds of Quizlet Live. Then students used a Morocco Travel Guide application and designed their own itineraries as if they were traveling to the country. Students researched the history of Morocco, the sights to see, the major cities, wildlife, language, foods, sports, etc. and included these in their itineraries. Students used a variety of applications to design their itineraries, with Pic Collage, Prezi, Google Slides, and Keynote being the most popular. I would also like to say thank you to everyone who has said congratulations on my recent honor of being named a PBS Digital Innovator for 2017! Not only do I consider myself very fortunate to be the recipient of this award, but I also consider myself to be very lucky to work with some of the most talented and inspiring educators and students! Thanks again! Period 2 Federalist Paper iBook Period 5 Federalist Paper iBook
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Team 8-1 American History Students are well on their way with a brand new collaborative project that focuses on the Federalist Papers and iBook Author! Before I explain this new and exciting endeavor, let’s take a quick look at the past two weeks in Team 8-1 American History Class…
Following the investigation of the Articles of Confederation, students participated in a simulation based on the Constitutional Convention. Students were each assigned an actual member of the Convention, and performed a bit of research on their Convention member. Students were then presented with the “Burning Issues” that faced the fragile United States following the American Revolution. These “Burning Issues” included:
Acting as their assigned member of the Constitutional Convention, Team 8-1 Students used their knowledge of their assigned individual and that of the constituents that they represent to make decisions on the above mentioned “Burning Issues”. Once these decisions were made, our delegates worked with delegates from their region (New England, Middle, & Southern) to create official stances for these “Burning Issues”. A chosen delegate presented these official stances to our Convention in order to create compromises between each region in the hope to aid our struggling nation during the late 1780s. Once these compromises were created, students took time to investigate the real events of the Constitutional Convention and compared the actual convention with the Team 8-1 American History Convention. Unfortunately, I missed several days of school last week due to illness, but the show still continued for my students! While I was out sick, I recorded several lessons for my students outlining the key components of the United States Constitution. Using the Ed Puzzle application, students watched these videos (in some cases it took several tries to film the video due to my coughs & sneezing), and gathered pertinent information for an upcoming project. On the day before my return, students used an online tutorial to investigate the Federalist & the Anti-Federalists. The tutorial, created by CPALMS, included awesome practice activities for students to check their understanding! Thanks to all my students for the patience that they showed while I was out! For some time now, I have been contemplating a way for students to create with iBook Author. I have created several iBooks during my time as an educator, and have always enjoyed the research and thought that goes into each creation. Several weeks ago, I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be awesome for my students to create with iBook Author?”…. and the following project began to come into fruition. Due to the popular Hamilton Musical, several of my students have acquired a deep interest in Alexander Hamilton. I have read the Alexander Hamilton biography by Ron Chernow (a great read!), and can understand why students find Hamilton to be a polarizing figure, with or without a musical that bears his name. Therefore, I took this idea of a student created iBook and began to develop ideas on how to include Hamilton. After narrowing down my list of ideas, I settled on focusing this new project on the Federalist Papers. If you are not aware, the Federalists Papers are a collection of 85 essays published in New York that gave support for the newly created Constitution. I wanted my students to look at a select few Federalists Papers and perform document analysis of these primary sources. From there, I thought it would be interesting for students to “translate” these essays into their own words and provide explanations on how these papers still apply to us today. With all of these ideas in my head, I began to design the Federalist Papers iBook Creation Project for my students. Team 8-1 American History students will be working with Mr. Jourdan Englert’s American History students on this project. In addition, students will be utilizing the collaborative iCreate Studio space! Students will be creating video introductions for their iBook within the One-Button Studio and also designing the iBook as a group. When I pitched this idea to my colleague, we both felt that it would be beneficial for students to make the majority of the decisions in terms of the actual contents of the iBook. This project will not only call for students to perform research, but will also put their primary source analysis skills to the task. Students will also show of their creativity because they will be the “editors” of their own iBooks. I cannot wait to display some of the student work that will come from this project! Thus far, students have analyzed Federalists #1, 10, 54, & 81 and have began brainstorming ideas on what to include in their iBook! |
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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