On Monday, October 17th, students were introduced to the Middle Colonies through a lesson on Near Pod. Students were able to go on a virtual field trip via Near Pod to the cities of New York and Philadelphia. I want to give a special shout out to all of the 7th grade Social Studies teachers for preparing the students for this lesson. The prior knowledge that students possessed on William Penn and the founding of the Pennsylvania was very impressive! On Tuesday, students participated in a QR Code Gallery Walk on the Southern Colonies. Students walked around the classroom and the 8th grade hallway and performed different tasks on bulletin board paper. Then students would scan a QR Code to a Wikispace and answer-accompanying questions on the eBackpack app. Our Review Extravaganza for Chapter Three took place on Wednesday. Students traveled to different review stations to prepare for the Chapter Three exam. The review stations consisted of the following:
Italian Culture Day took place last Thursday, October 20th. To introduce students to different aspects of Italian culture, students were split into three teams and competed against one another is a “locked box” challenge, which was loosely based on Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. Students were given a series of questions that they worked together to answer on Quizalize. When the students earned three stars, the group was provided with a clue to unlock the box. Students could attempt to unlock the box or answer another set of questions to earn another clue to the lock’s combination. I was very impressed with the students’ ability to work together in their groups and congrats to all of the winners! Friday was test day in American History class. Once again I was very pleased with the overall scores for this exam. The exam was provided on eBackpack and contained multiple-choice questions, short answer, and a section identifying primary and secondary sources. Another shout out goes to the 7th -8th grade girls volleyball team for hosting a students vs. staff volleyball match. I had a blast playing both the 7th & 8th grade girls volleyball team and I know the other teachers did as well! On Monday, students were introduced to the Salem Witch Trials through a iBook that I created. The iBook contained a video introduction to the Salem Witch Trials and also described the following for students:
The iBook also contained several concept-check questions built within the iBook, along with interactive images and slides. On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to travel to the University of Pittsburgh and participate in a Workshop provided by the Bill of Rights Institute. Several employees and university professors led in-depth analysis of primary source material concerning the Bill of Rights. Mr. Englert, Mr. McDowell, and myself were very impressed by the wealth of knowledge and classroom applications that were provided during this workshop. On Wednesday and Thursday, students examined the individuals behind the Salem Witch Trials by using the iBook and a collection of short video clips placed on the Ed Puzzle application. Not only did students examine the young afflicted women, but they also were introduced to several of the individual’s accused of witchcraft. Students recorded their findings on the eBackpack app, which will be useful in their document based questions response. On Friday, October 28th students were introduced to primary source analysis. I utilize a tool/method from the National Archives when having students analyze primary & secondary sources. Students also worked on a pre-writing strategy called bucketing to prepare for their first Document Based Question written response. Next week’s agenda:
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Monday, October 10th was the 8th Grade Field Trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo. Students had the opportunity to listen to a presentation on biodiversity and to see some of the animals up close. Students were given the rest of the day to explore the different exhibits at the Pittsburgh Zoo. One of the favorite places to visit was the PPG Aquarium and the giant stingray tank. In addition, students had the opportunity to see the polar bears swim in the water, which is apparently pretty rare to see. In fact, according to a Pittsburgh Zoo employee, polar bears only spend about ten percent of their life in the water. All in all, the trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo was a huge success and I hope that everyone had a great time! On Tuesday, students completed their final theories for the Lost Colony of Roanoke Investigation. Students collaborated with their investigation teams to choose a final theory (Native American attack, assimilation, or relocation,) and use evidence to support that theory. Once again, the blog feature on Weebly was used for students to share their thoughts on this investigation. I was very impressed by the final conclusions that students generated and the amount of supporting evidence that was provided. Great work everyone! On Wednesday, we dove into Section 3-2 of Chapter Three: Colonial America. Students were introduced to the founding of the New England Colonies. Using a Near Pod Presentation, students were introduced to the following topics:
Students were also shown a brief video clip fro History Channel’s America The Story of Us, which portrayed the Pilgrims relationship with local Native Americans. On Thursday and Friday, students utilized a tool from the Smithsonian called the Smithsonian Learning Lab to navigate a web-quest to further examine the Starving Time at Jamestown colony. Last school year, I was able to work with the Smithsonian to utilize the Learning Lab platform. The “collection” that students examined was titled Discovering Jane, which depicts the story of the discovering human remains at the Jamestown colony site. Students are introduced to forensic anthropology, as they are able to take an in-depth look at the remains of “Jane”. Students also utilized the Ed Puzzle application to watch two short videos on The Starving Time and the excavation process at the Jamestown cite. The web-quest, concluded with a 3D model of four other graves that were discovered on the site and an explanation of each grave. Students must have really interested in this 3D model because I received numerous emails about how they would like to use this resource more in the future! On Thursday and Friday, I attended a training at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU) focusing on the Games For Change Student Challenge. Games For Change is an organization located in New York City that promotes using video games to deliver important messages and truly believes that gaming can make a difference in the world. The challenge involves students creating a video games based upon one of the following themes:
On Thursday, I received training on the game design process from the Institute of Play. I also had the opportunity to collaborate with educators from school districts in our region to create an analog game. On Friday, I received training on the Scratch, Mouse, and Serious Games platform. I am very excited to bring the Games For Change Student Challenge to EFMS. The week of October 3rd saw the beginning of a new historical investigation, a guest speaker, and the commencement of Pink Out Fridays at Elizabeth Forward Middle School. On Monday, October 3rd, we began Chapter Three: Colonial America in American History Class. Using a Near Pod Presentation, students were introduced to reasons for colonizing North America by the English and were introduced to early settlements such as Roanoke and Jamestown. Students participated in a Thinking Routine that I learned from Harvard’s Project Zero titled “The Explanation Game”. Students are shown an portrait and through a series of guiding questions, students work to identify a famous individual and explain their reasoning. The individual that students identified was Pocahontas. In addition to Pocahontas, students were introduced to the following individuals: John Smith & John Rolfe. On Tuesday, we began our lesson with an introduction on Primary vs. Secondary Sources. Using the Educreations application, students used their iPads as wipe boards to show if an item that I displayed was a Primary Source or a Secondary Source. We took this a step further and examined a Primary Source titled The Starving Time. Written by John Smith, the Starving Time displays the desperate situation that the colonist at Jamestown faced during the winter of 1508-1509. Be sure to ask your students about the Starving Time Primary Source because the details within the source are very interesting! A new historical investigation began on Wednesday, which focused on the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Instead of a historical cold case, students are currently investigating a historical missing person(s) case. To begin this lesson, students watched an introduction video on Ed Puzzle explaining the background of the Roanoke Colony. Students then migrated to a website that I created on Weebly that will act as a central location for this investigation. Be sure to check out the website at this link! From there, students were given another Primary Source, writeen by John White, explaining his return to the Roanoke Colony. Students worked with their investigation teams to read through the source and answer clarifying questions on the Socrative application. On Thursday, students completed their analysis of the john White Primary Source and then assigned different theories to be investigated by each members of their team. These theories help explain what happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke and are the following: Native American attack, Assimilation, and Relocation. Using the website, students began to research their assigned theory and recorded their evidence on their case file on the eBackpack application. Students then began to share their findings with the team members and in order to formulate concrete ideas to explain the mystery behind the Lost Colony of Roanoke. On Friday, Officer Jordan Angelo from the Elizabeth Township Police Department came to visit our students to talk about his role as a police officer and to offer information about drug and alcohol use. Officer Angelo provided students with very interesting information and asked the students to participate in different scenarios. At the conclusion of his presentation, Officer Angelo fielded questions from the students. Not only did the students appear to enjoy this lesson, but it was obvious that they appreciated Officer Angelo taking time to visit our class! Friday also marked the beginning of Pink Our Fridays. Student Council is currently selling EF Warrior Live Pink t-shirts for $10.00. Half of the profits from the t-shirt designs will be donated to a Breast Cancer Awareness Charity! Next week students will conclude their investigation on the Lost Colony of Roanoke and continue exploring topics from Chapter Three: Colonial America. In addition, next Monday is the field trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo! A special shout out to Homeroom 212 and their great displays of teamwork during our first Olweus Lesson this past Wednesday. Students worked together to complete the "Straw-Tower Challenge". Congrats to Caedon, Dan, Skylar, and Jon for winning the challenge! |
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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