Witches were the theme for the week of October 26th! Students spent the week investigating the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. Students acted as historians and detectives to research the event, investigate key players in the trials, analyze primary & secondary sources, and generate possible explanations to the hysteria. I want to give a special shout out to all of the 8th grade teachers for helping create our “Haunted Hallway”! Be sure to check out my twitter feed @MrHartnett212 & the Middle School’s Twitter Feed @EF_MS for pictures of the event! Monday: Monday marked the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials investigation. Students download an iBook that I created that would serve as background information to their investigation. The Salem Witch Trial iBook is an interactive book that includes video, interactive images & text, maps, and assessment questions. Prior to using the iBook, students participated in a “kindergarten style” reading that introduced students to the who, what, where, when, & why of the Salem Witch Trials. Spooky music was played to set the tone for Monday’s class. The Salem Witch Trial ibook is available for download on my Edmodo website and the team homework website. I encourage you to check it out! Tuesday: Students used the second half of the Salem Witch Trials iBook to investigate key individuals involved in the hysteria. Students kept track of this information on eBackpack. Students examined who these individuals were and what role they played in the Salem With Trial hysteria. Students also used the Ed Puzzle app to watch several videos on those involved in the Salem Witch Trials. Wednesday: There is a witch in a classroom! Students reviewed characteristics of a witch and began accusing their own classmates of witchcraft! This activity was used to demonstrate the power of hysteria & wild accusations and the role these played in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts. As a class, students began the “pre-bucketing” activity. In this activity, students began to hypothesize different explanations to the Salem Witch trial hysteria in 1692. Students worked as a class to generate their reasons behind the witch trials. Some of the explanations included: jealously, feud among neighbors, religious beliefs, and young girls seeking attention. Thursday: Students were provided with the “Official Case Documents” for the Salem Witch Trials investigation. As a class, students were guided through the process of document analysis. Before the document analysis began, students watched an Ed Puzzle video on Tituba, one of the main protagonists in the Salem Witch Trial hysteria. Students analyzed several documents in class, specifically looking at the source of the documents, deciding if it is a primary or secondary source, the main idea behind the document, important images, quotes, or data, and what “bucket” does the document fit into. I was very impressed with the abilities of each student to think critically when reviewing the documents. Friday: Elizabeth Forward Middle School turned into a crime scene! Not only did students analyze more primary & secondary sources, but students also needed to use their detective skills to figure out what happened to William Augenbaugh, an “esteemed historian” on the Salem Witch Trials. Students moved from document station to document station and used several different iPad applications to analyze different documents. The following iPad applications were used during the document analysis stations:
At the end of class, students participated in a Verso discussion. Students shared their thoughts on what caused the witch trials and participated in an activity called Tweet & Hash Tag that I picked up from Harvard University’s Project Zero Summer Institute. The entire classroom was set up like a crime scene and I hope all of the students enjoyed the activity. Be sure to check out the slide show below for pictures from the Salem Witch Trial investigation.
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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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