End of the semester

I can't believe it is the end of the semester already. As a high school teacher, I have some classes that end now and some that this is the halfway point. No matter what, I always make sure to do a survey for my students so I can reflect better on the year. The students love it because they feel they have a voice and that it is really their class. It is important for me so I can see what is working and what isn't. This year has been a change in my homework assigning. I am definitely doing less of this, and giving more freedom on the assignments, so I was excited to see what the students thought about this new policy.
The results were overwhelmingly positive, but there were still some that said the weekly assignment is still too much. There were a few that wanted the "traditional" worksheets for their assignments too. It proved to me that I am going in the right direction, but have not arrived at the destination. But isn't that the point? That as a teacher we never really arrive at a destination but always are on the journey to make our classes better? Isn't that why we do professional development, and twitter chats, and read the books and most importantly reflect on our year? So we can keep journeying on.

 

 

I have realized that less homework has been a good thing, and I am going to even reduce the amount for next semester. I realize that I need to keep impressing on my students the importance of creativity and hard work. I am goin gto work on bringing more creative assessments to my class, and as always keep the balance of what is done. Have a wonderful break everyone and best of luck in the new semeseter. 

Twitter accounts for High School Students

I am trying to create a list of Twitter accounts to get my students started on their own learning networks, and working on creating a positive digital footprint. I have started with these so far. This one includes professsion and Illinois colleges, scholarships and financial aid help, so far. I will keep adding to it, and please feel free to do the same. I also took the list of the Economist to follow from HuffPost and put it here. Please feel free to add anyone I may have accidentally overlooked.

Externalities

Externalities are one of my favorite things to teach in Economics. I open with this wordle and have the students discuss what they think the topic is that we are learning that day. I then have the students create a mind map using Popplet on positive and negative externalities. Next, they split into groups and go through the moral dilemma sheet and discuss each externality.  Finally, after discussing the situations, which usually get heated, we look at the USA Today report on school air quality. Our school is in the first percentile for bad air, we are surrounded by factories, so it is a great discussion on the externalities of factories. We get the tax money, but the poisoned air as well.

Types of Economies

For teaching types of Economic Systems, I have been using the following activity. First, we start off discussing what an Economic System is, what are the characteristics of our current system. Then, I use my Prezi to discuss the different types. From there, the students get into groups, obviously, and have the task to create schools based on the three types of Economic Systems. They create a traditional, market, and command economy school. I have them first think of what questions need to be answered to run a school, and then decide how they would answer them for each type of school. The groups then present their schools to the class.

1st Week Economics Activities

I found these assignments and have been using them the past few years the second or third day of class. They are a great way to introduce the main topics of Economics. The first is a Zoo Game . I have the students work in groups for this and then go over the questions at the end together. I find that this is a way to make Economics seem more accessible to the students, and start them off by explaining that they already know the concepts, they just have to understand why they know.

The second is a fun game that the students really get into. Once again, groups are formed. I inform the students that they are their own country, and that they need to make supplies. They need food, which will be 4 strips of 2 inch green paper. They need clothing, which will be a four color paper chain. They need education, which will be an eight page book with a different color cover. Finally, they need shelter, which is a 2 inch white square, attached to a yellow triangle. Seems simple enough. They then each get an envelope with materials. I tell them they have 7 minutes to complete the task. The trick is I don't give everyone all the materials they need. I only give them some of the stuff. If I am feeling particularly crafty, I give one group nothing, or just a paper clip, or something small. I make sure one group has a ruler, one group has a glue stick, etc. Some groups get more than others. The point is that they have to trade to get what they need. An excellent way to introduce scarcity, utility, trade, interdependence and self sufficiency.  It is also a good way to quickly get to know your students by seeing who gets up and starts the trade. I usually offer money, for the winning group. I make sure to measure exactly and no one usually wins.

Money!

One thing that has been constant since I started teaching Economics is the fake money system. The students earn "money" for being in class, their job, as well as extra jobs they do. They have to pay rent on the first of the month, front row seats are more. They also play "That's Life" a few times throughout the semester, where they pick a card and then they have to pay whatever it says. For example, buy lunch for your mom pay 30 dollars. They have to keep track of their money in and out on a checkbook sheet, which is an assignment due at the end of the semester. They have to be responsible for their money, if it is stolen or lost it doesn't get replaced. They don't get sick days or vacation days. They cost of items always goes up, and the pay doesn't, which usually leads to them forming a union at some point, a great lesson to learn! In the end, I give them extra credit for the money they have left. There are other things that the money can buy, like a repick on their household budget project, or food from my "store." A lot of great economic lessons can be learned.

When it gets tough

This has been a...well lets just say challenging week for me. There have been a few different issues that have made me start to get wary of teaching. This has happened a few times to me over my past nine years. However, I read a great blog post on how to deal with people who frustrate you. The author, David Cain, suggests to look at everyone frustrating you as testing you. It really works. But I needed more. I am feeling defeated in a lot of ways, so it was going to take more than a Jedi mind trick this time. I resorted back to an old favorite. A list. Ok, I'm a list maker. I love a good list. It's weird, because my space, classroom, etc, ist not all that organized, but in reality, I love a list. So I got started. And you know what, I felt better. I remembered that it is first, foremost, only for that matter about my students. I realized my frustrations were all linked to things outside my classroom walls. The students were my saving grace. Looking at their faces as we discussed Muckrakers or the Fiscal Cliff, with all their enthusiasm brought me back. The amazing projects they did for their assignments continue to go above the high standards we set in the beginning of the year. But beyond that it was more. It was the extra things they did. It was the food drive we are running where even at my school of 62% poverty we still collected over 30 copy paper boxes full of food. It was the hundreds of dollars we collected for the Red Cross and victims of hurricane Sandy. It was beyond the three carloads of coats that we are donating. It is their selflessness that gives me hope in the future, and gives me my reason to teach.
Last year, some female students and I started working out after school with the intention to practice healthy habits. This year, the number has more than tripled with more girls coming each day. Their committment and willingness to try new workouts gives me pause to think how adaptive the students are and how excited they are to be challenged. It reminds me of my why. Why I got into all of this. Why I try to find new lessons everyday. Why I spend a few hours looking for new technology and increasing my PLN. Why I want them to be better, but more importantly why I want to be better for them.

Economics Curriculum

Here is my curriculum for the semester long high school Economics course. This course is a survey course. The curriculum includes goals, objectives, Common Core Standards, key terms, lesson ideas, and a pacing guide.

Curriculum Guide

Economic Unit Plans

Here are my unit plans for Economics as a semester introduction course. The units include Essential Questions, Key Terms, Learning Outcomes and lesson plan ideas. Feel free to use any or all of them.

Unit 1 An Introduction into Economics
Unit 2 Elements of Microeconomics
Unit 3 Free Enterprise at Work
Unit 4 Elements of Macroeconomics
Unit 5 Government and the Economy
Unit 6 International Economics

Economic Theories

When I am teaching Economic Theories I use this as an opening. I hand out these Word Clouds to each group of students. I have them figure out the following questions. What is the theory about? What should the theory be called? Do you agree with the theory why or why not? This is a great way to get them thinking. Then, I have them discuss with the other groups and compare and contrast the theories. The links below are for the Word Clouds that I use.
Adam Smith Theory

Supply Side Theory

Fiscal Policy

Jean Baptiste Say

Keynesian Economics

Karl Marx

Monetary Policy

Supply Side Economics

Economics Ideas

For Economics, I have been trying to do more long term projects. I have found that they get the ideas and concepts much more by doing these. The first one that I do is I have fake money that they get paid for doing jobs and being in class biweekly. With that money, they have to keep a checkbook, and pay rent and other bills. I also have a game called "That's Life" that they have to play every few weeks and they draw cards to see what unexpected expense they encounter. This can be from buying lunch at Subway to buying new tires. I also discuss with them about what happens they if they lose their money. They have to keep track of their money all semester long, including what they get paid and what they spend.

Another project I do is have them start a business. They have to do the research and find out how much it really costs to start a business and what else goes into starting a business. I have put the documents and rubrics here on LiveBinder.

The next big project I do is for Personal Finance, which I think is one of the most important things we can teach our students. I have the students pick from a hat if they are married, single or divorced, what education level they have and how many kids they have, 1-8. They are to assume they are 30 years old and figure out a month's budget. They pick the month, and figure out their job, create a resume and calculate their taxes and more. I have put the documents and rubrics here on LiveBinder

American history lesson ideas

For a different activity this year I decided to try a video project. I have been trying to try different kinds of activities to keep the students involved and interested. I have done videos before but this time I tried something different. I wrote immigration an d urbanization on the board. I had the students get into groups and had them write their own critical thinking questions. As I circulated the room I have to admit I was nervous at first. I didn't know if they would ask the challenging questions I wanted to see. Luckily, I was wrong. The students were asking better questions than I imagined and those questions were leading to more questions. It was great. I then had them create a storyboard about the topic that they would turn into a movie they were star in and direct. They researched online and created creative stories that they then turned into a movie.

Some of the best stuff that they came up with was how they personalized the experiences of the immigrants at the turn of the century. As I walked around listening to the conversations in the loud classroom it struck me how important it is to allows students to work together with loosely created guidelines. This kind of assignment is a fantastic way to see how far students can go. As long as I was there to offer guidance the students learned more than they ever would've with a traditional lecture.

Creative (technology) Learning

I have created a Live Binder with resources for using technology in the classroom. These are sites that I use frequently, and have found user friendly for the students. There is nothing like the look on a student's face when they discover a new technological resource they can use to create something original. These sites are great with guidelines for the students to use or left up to their own choices. I have tried to organize them by type. There are obviously lots of other sources that are great to use for students in the classroom. But once again, as I have stated many times in this blog, I have found students retain the knowledge much more when they enjoy the work.

1:1 For students

I have been able to see a few schools in action using 1:1Ipads, and I was amazed. After that, I started doing research. I have been compiling research on the topic which can be found on my Live Binder. I would appreciate any other feedback on the topic. I am trying to convince my administration to begin the discussion on how this can be achieved at our school. I would love to have the school get in on this right away, and have recently discovered there are a few other teachers who are interested in this as well. Again, I'd love any feedback on your work with this topic.

CSI in the History Classroom

Recently I did a lesson on the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York in the 1900s. Before, I had taught this showing a picture and telling the students what happened. This time, I decided to switch it up. I did a picture method that I learned from Glenn Wiebe, ESSDACK extraordinnaire. This is where you take a picture, crop it, and then reveal a small portion of the photo little by little. This builds up the excitement. When I did it, I allowed them to guess at each moment, and questioned them. It's best to use a photo that won't be obvious and could be multiple different situations.

After revealing it, I let them still guess what it was, without telling them. I then had them write questions they had about the photo. They did this in partners, but could be done alone. Then, I had a bunch of primary sources that I spread around the room and had them "dig in." The result was incredible. As I was walking around listening to the groups, they had more and more questions and information. I told them to keep writing down their questions and keep searching for more answers. When the bell rang, they didn't want to go, they wanted to keep talking about the fire. I realized this was one of the more productive lessons I have done. The students were able to have a great conversation and take the learning farther.

Link for primary sources:
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/supplemental/bibliography.html

Technology in the classroom

Recently I have been thinking a lot more about having a 1:1 program for laptops/tablets/IPads or whatever for our students at my school. I have emailed our administration a few times asking for direction on how to proceed with making this dream a reality. I have yet to get any response. My next step is turning to other teachers out there asking for help. How did you make this happen for your school? I am in a school where funding isn't a real issue, but obviously the powers that be will need to see the savings. I know a lot of teachers have said they wrote grants, but I am looking for more specific answers about which grants or types of grants to look into. If anyone can shed some light, that would be amazing.

Students Sharing the control

I have read a lot of articles lately about having students share in control of the classroom and of the school as a whole. There was an article about students at an alternative school that are deciding the rules of the school as a debate. There was an article about students who are deciding the projects they are doing in their classes.

I personally wanted to share my thoughts. I love the idea of students having some say and control. I am a firm believer that students will act how we treat them. If we treat them like prisoners, they will act this way. If we treat them like children, they will act like it. If we treat them with respect and like adults they will rise to the occasion. If we want students to be ready for the real world, we need to treat them like they are in the real world.

When students understand why they are asked to do things, or feel they have some say, they are more willing to follow along with the program. It is key for success of a school to involve them. I remember being in graduate school and always hearing about involving all of the stakeholders in the decision making process. I have yet to see that on a school wide basis where I currently work, but that doesn't mean it can't exist. It can start small, in my classes. I can allow them to decide the amount of points an assignment is worth by developing the rubric for how they will be graded. I can allow them choice in the format of an assignment. I can allow them choice in the topics we will study for the year. All of these things can be done with some guidance.

I do think this can work. It may seem like more in the beginning, and may take more prep by the teacher, but the outcomes will be worth it. The important thing is the follow through from teh part of both the students and the teacher.
What do you think? Have you tried this in your classrooms?

New Adventures

One of my favorite things to do as a teacher is to try a new assignment or lesson out. I love the thrill of putting it together. I love seeing how the final product turns out as it wildly exceeds my expectations. I love how I can bring new excitement to the lesson so that the students can match my excitement.

This week, I am trying a new assignment. We are doing magazines. Now, these aren't just any magazines, they are going to be turned into finished products online with youblisher.com. Also, the students are creating what the information in their magazine will be. My instructions were simple. It is to be about the Civil War. They are to create 4 essential questions that their magazine will be answering with the 20 articles their group writes. they have an Editor in Chief, and then divided up the other responsibilities. The excitement of watching them try something new reminds me of the power of education.

Last week I also tried something new. I had the students create songs, using real songs, about Manifest Destiny. We then taped them and put them on YouTube. The amount of effort that the students put into this when they heard it was going to be on YouTube was incredible.
For the record, I uploaded it on my account, without their names, and they didn't have to appear in the videos to protect anyone that wanted to remain annonymous in this adventure. Although most posted the link on their facebook pages and have been actively checking on how many views they have.

What do you think about new assignments? Worth the work and frustration? What is the best new idea you have had?

Professional Development

It seems counterproductive to me that so many great professional development conferences are held during the school day. I for one, do not want to miss my classes for any reason. The amount of time wasted to me is something I can not justify. So I am currently looking for some professional development conferences or courses that can be done online, or on the weekend. I understand most don't want to attend at these times, but for me it would be time well spent. Let me know if you know of any great conferences, regarding Social Science, technology in the classroom or other great teaching strategies that are offered in this format.

Technology in the Classroom

This year I have left it up to my students on what kind of homework they want to produce. I have given them some websites that they can use for their assignments if they want. These are some of the sites organized into types.
Presentation tools
Prezi
Very easy, saves automatically, a student favorite. Students can easily share and when making Prezis they can add pictures and videos.
Empressr
Very similar to powerpoint, saves online, easy to share
Zoho Show
Very similar to powerpoint. Saves online.

World History Prezis

Here are some of my Prezis for the beginning chapters of World History. Please feel free to use any of them.
Foundations of Civilizations

Ancient India and China

Ancient Middle East and Egypt

Ancient Greece

American History Webquest

Webquests are a great way for students to engage in the learning process. Here are some webquests I use in the classroom that I have found from other teachers, websites, and textbooks. A lot of these are issues that go through out the entire year. Feel free to use any of these.

Checks and Balances
Does one branch of the government have too much power?

Separation of Church and State

American Indian Policy
How should the Federal Government deal with Native American Lands?

Civil Rights
What should the Federal Government do to protect and expand civil rights?

Federal Powers
How much power should the Federal Government have?

Global Interdependence
Is global interdependence good for America?

Migration and Urbanization
How does migration affect patterns of urbanization in America?

Sectionalism
How do regional differences affect national politics?

Technology and Society
What are the benefits and costs of society?

Women in Society
Why do Americans disagree over women's rights?

American History DBQs

Document Based Questions are a great way to figure out what students have learned and to utilize higher order thinking skills. Students have to analyze documents and create a written response to a question while bringing in their prior knowledge. I have posted the DBQs that I use that I have found online. Some are the retired AP DBQs others are from other teachers or textbook companies. I have also found that having a student create their own DBQ is a wonderful learning experience and I was very impressed with the results.
Please feel free to use these in your own lessons.
DBQ Rubric

Generic DBQ Scoring Rubric

English Colonists Settlements

Women in the American Revolution

Articles of Confederation

Constructionalists

Constitution

Alien and Sedition Acts

Marbury v Madison

Era of Good Feelings

Erie Canal

Jacksonian Democracy

Nat Turner

Changes in Womens roles from Revolution to Civil War

Antebellum Compromise

Settling the West

Compromise of 1850

African Americans after Civil War

Reconstruction

1865-1900 Agriculture Revolution

Industrialization 1865-1914

Immigration 1880-1920

Populists

Organized Labor in the 19th Century

Progressivism

Treaty of Versailles

1920s DBQ

Roosevelt and Hoover

New Deal

Foreign Policy 1920-1941

World War II

Dropping the Atomic Bomb

The Cold War

Cold War Fears

Great Society

Vietnam War

Civil Rights

Debating Feminism

Counterculture

Richard Nixon Presidency

American History Prezis

Here are some of the Prezis I use for American History. Feel free to use these in your own classes.

Early American Civilizations

The President's Cabinet

War of 1812

Nationalism and Sectionalism

American System

Trail of Tears

Manifest Destiny

Mexican American War

Civil War Photos

Civil War Vocabulary

Reconstruction

Unions and Working Conditions 19th Century

Big Business 1800s

Industrialization

Robber Barons and Captains of Industry

Plessy v Ferguson

Square Deal

Great Depression Pictures

New Deal

World War II

World War II pictures

The 1950s

Vietnam

Cold War

Economic Prezis

Here are some of my Prezis for Economics.
Opportunity Costs

Types of Economic Systems

Free Enterprise System

Incentives

Fads
Information on fads complete with video clips

Demand

Supply

Pricing Game
Teach students to understand how price is the main form of communication between producers and consumers. Guess the prices of items.

Market Structures

Types of Businesses

Prisoner's Dilemma
Information with clips from movies

Black Market
Information on the trade for body parts, with critical thinking questions

Conglomerates

Nonprofit Organizations
Information on NonProfits and examples

High School Dropout Information
Complete with clips from the PBS series

Personal Finance
Information on Saving, Checking, Credit Cards, Identity Theft and More. Complete with video clips.

Essential Questions about Monetary and Fiscal Policy

Federal Reserve Board

Inflation Game

GDP

GDP Game

GDP Opening Questions

Free Trade

Labor in America

Currency

Banking Crisis
Too Big to fail?

Prezi

Prezi is my new favorite presentation tool. I found it last year, second semester and it has revolutionized the way I do presentations. I love that you can add video and images right into it. I love that it saves automatically. I love how easy it is to use, and how much freedom you have to use it. Students enjoy using it, and the automatic save feature is a saving grace for so many students. They also can access it again at home, so if we are working on something at school, they are able to access it later without worrying about emailing it to themselves or having a jump drive. I'm going to post the links to some of the Prezi's I have done so far, feel free to use them. I will separate them into Economics and American History.

American History Homework

This year I have started doing an alternative to typical high school homework and have had wonderful results. I provide the students with the homework sheet, which includes a rubric, and they come up with the final product. This gives the students the freedom to create meaningful work while I am still able to make sure they are understanding the material. I have posted the links for these assignments. Please feel free to use them. For American History, I have created it with the chapters for Pearson's United States History.

American History Chapter 1
Many Cultures Meet (Prehistory-1550)
American History Chapter 2
Europeans Establish Colonies (1492-1752)
American History Chapter 3
The American Colonies Take Shape (1607-1765)
American History Chapter 4
The American Revolution (1765-1783)
American History Chapter 5
Creating the Constitution (1781-1789)
American History Chapter 6
The New Republic (1789-1816)
American History Chapter 7
Nationalism and Sectionalism (1812-1850)
American History Chapter 8
Religion and Reform (1812-1850)
American History Chapter 9
Manifest Destiny (1800-1850)
American History Chapter 10
The Union in Crisis (1846-1861)
American History Chapter 11
The Civil War (1861-1865)
American History Chapter 12
The Reconstruction Era (1865-1877)
American History Chapter 13
The Triumph of Industry (1865-1914)
American History Chapter 14
Immigration and Urbanization (1865-1914)
American History Chapter 15
The South and West Reformed (1865-1920)
American History Chapter 16
Issues of the Gilded Age (1877-1900)
American History Chapter 17
The Progressive Era (1870-1920)
American History Chapter 18
An Emerging World Power (1890-1917)
American History Chapter 19
World War I and Beyond (1914-1920)
American History Chapter 20
The Twenties (1919-1929)
American History Chapter 21
The Great Depression (1928-1932)
American History Chapter 22
The New Deal (1932-1941)
American History Chapter 23
The Coming of War (1931-1942)
American History Chapter 24
World War II (1941-1945)
American History Chapter 25
The Cold War (1945-1960)
American History Chapter 26
Postwar Confidence and Anxiety (1945-1960)
American History Chapter 27
The Civil Rights Movement (1945-1975)
American History Chapter 28
The Kennedy and Johnson Years (1960-1968)
American History Chapter 29
The Vietnam Era (1954-1975)
American History Chapter 30
An Era of Change and Protest (1960-1980)
American History Chapter 31
A Crisis in Confidence  (1968-1980)
American History Chapter 32
The Conservative Resurgence (1980-1993)
American History Chapter 33
Into a New Century (1993-Present)

Economics Homework for High School

This year I have started doing an alternative to typical high school homework and have had wonderful results. I provide the students with the homework sheet, which includes a rubric, and they come up with the final product. This gives the students the freedom to create meaningful work while I am still able to make sure they are understanding the material. I have posted the links for these assignments. Please feel free to use them.
Economics Chapter 1
What is Economics?
Economics Chapter 2
Economics Systems
Economics Chapter 3
The American Free Enterprises System
Economics Chapter 4
Demand
Economics Chapter 5
Supply
Economics Chapter 6
Demand, Supply and Prices
Economics Chapter 7
Market Structures
Economics Chapter 8
Types of Business Organizations
Economics Chapter 9
The Role of Labor
Economics Chapter 10
Money and Banking
Economics Chapter 11
Financial Markets
Economics Chapter 12
Economic Indicators and Measurements
Economics Chapter 13
Facing Economic Challenges
Economics Chapter 14
Government Revenue and Spending
Economics Chapter 15
Using Fiscal Policy
Economics Chapter 16
The Federal Reserve and Monetary Policy
Economics Chapter 17
International Trade
Economics Chapter 18
Issues of Economic Development

Afraid of Change

I have recently had a number of encounters with teachers and students that have led me to believe that one of the biggest problems we have facing us is our unwillingness to change and try something new. Some of my greatest life experiences have come from events that I took a risk on and went beyond my comfort zone. Yes, trying something new can backfire. Yes, technology sometimes does not perform the way you intend it to on that day you are using it in class, but the majority of the time it can enhance the learning process when used correctly. Students are not the same as they were 50 years ago, or even 10 years ago. The world is not the same either. We as teachers need to make sure that we are changing with the times. We have to modify our lessons to make sure that the students are prepared for today's changing world. We need to keep up with the other nations that are producing graduates that we can compete in today's global economy.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle is that people just don't know. They don't know about the new technology. They don't know how to implement it into their lessons. They don't know if the change will make them fail. We need to step outside our classrooms. As a teacher, we are sometimes stuck in an island of our own classroom and we don't get to reach out and see what others are doing and collaborate with the different departments and levels.

Another obstacle that prohibits change is fear of failure. The school system is in the public eye. People want results. There is pressure on administrators and teachers to produce these results. What ends up happening is that schools are fudging the data to get results they want to see. When we don't correctly identify the problem, we can't correctly identify the solution. For example, instead of saying students are dropping out, we say they are transferring to being homeschooled. What happens to these students? Where do they end up? How do they effect society in the future when they have been lost in the education world? Schools are scared to be the first to do this, because it could casue a dramatic shift. Ignorance is bliss. We need to step up for our profession, our students, our society and the future. We have to be able to educate the community we work in on what is really happening and what our real solution will be to the problems we are facing. We can't keep sweeping these problems, and therefore students, under the rug.

When people feel they work in a safe, collaborative environment, they are able to flourish.

Homework Assignments

While taking a course last semester I started rethinking my homework policy. I know that I am not alone in this constant struggle of students not turning in homework, and thinking of what is the point of the assignment. I wanted to change up the way I assigned work and after following a few discussions on Twitter which were suggesting the same, I pulled the trigger for this year. We are now nine weeks in, and my homework assignments are much fewer, but far more meaningful. I decided I would assign one chapter assignment a week, but with a lot less structure on what the final product should look like, but with more focus on what I want the students to learn. I decided I would use my essential questions to determine the questions of the homework. I went through the chapter and picked a few terms that were most important. No more mindlessly copying vocabulary for my students.
The results have been amazing. I am getting so many great assignments. The students are coming up with ideas I have never even dreamed of myself.  I have had students create videos, comic strips, animation videos, Pokemon trading cards, write letters personifying events, create brochures and utilize more technology then I could've ever hoped for. The rate of students turning in work is much higher than in my previous 9 years of teaching.

I have attached a few examples of my assignments.  Please comment on what you think.
 American History Chapter 1
Economics Chapter 1

Current Events

As a history teacher, there is nothing more important then tying the material we are learning to what is going on in the world today. One thing I started doing is Freedom Fridays. This is where the students bring in current events and lead the class in discussion. Some of our best discussions have come on these days. The students feel more relaxed, and often they bring up information from the past on their own. I also find that having them read one news article a week, and answering some basic questions really adds to some great discussions. I pick these articles based on stuff that means something to high schools, free speech, food and education usually, and then of course the odd, sensational story too. With the articles that are online, I have them use a blackboard type discussion format where they are under the protection of a code name to answer. They are able to speak freely, without worrying about what their classmates will think about their opinions. It is also good practice for the students for the future when they are commenting on online news stories. I make sure they are appropriate and that they are practicing grammar and spelling techniques that are important in the classroom. I also pose repsonse questions to them, so that they are pushed to think critically about their responses. The greatest compliment I received was from a former student who said that he still goes on and reads the articles I post for homework since they are so interesting and that is where he is getting his news from. As a teacher, I am striving for that lasting impression in all my lessons.

Preview a Chapter

I have had the chance to go to many great in services and conferences and learn different pre-reading strategies. I think these are the hardest to develop and some of the most important things there are for students to learn. My favorites are the stem starters and the word sort. Stem starters are a series of questions, such as How did ____adapt to the environment? What circumstances led to the changes in the lives of ____? What contributed most to ______? What waas the status of ____ before/after the ____? The students can go through the book and find words to fill in the blanks and then answer the questions. Word sort is where you find the important terms from the chapter and have the students sort them into any groups they want, and then justify why they did that. I have them repeat this a few times, using different categories. From there, I have them create a visual of the words and categories, such as a wordle.

Music and History

Personally, I can't think of a better way to learn about American History than by using music of the times. I have done this with many different parts of American History. I just recently did this with the Vietnam War. I introduced the material by handing out the lyrics to Blowin in the Wind, Born in the USA, Travelin Soldier, Draft Dodger Rag, Fortunate Son, For What it's Worth, Ohio, Master's of War, What's Goin On and Fightin Side of Me. By going through the lyrics and listening to the songs the students get a great picture of the time. The students enjoy the lyrics and then I have them put their own spin on the songs. What would they do different with the music? What did they like? I also like having them find songs from today that would match up with the music. Another new twist on this is having them create YouTube videos with the songs, lyrics, and pictures to publish for the classmates to see. Enjoy!