Before this course I didn’t have much experience with blogs or the Common Core Standards. I had used a blog for one other class, but we didn’t use it very often. I have also referenced Common Core, but had never gone into depth with it. Being a Special Education major, we rarely ever reference Common Core since there aren’t Special Ed. standards. Now I have become very comfortable creating and using a blog, and understanding how the Common Core works. I was also exposed to numerous amounts of sites filled with instructional strategies. I think at times it will be difficult to come up with strategies to teach students material, but now I know how many different strategy sites exist and how useful they can be. For special education I will have to find different ways to teach my students required material according to whichever disability they have. Disabilities prohibit students form participating the way a student without a disability participate. These sites offer countless ways to teach information, so that will be useful when working with students with disabilities. The most useful sites were the ones on the class blog under “Strategy Pages”, “Virtual Circles”, and “VocabularyStrategies”. These three sections contained multiple websites, but every site I visited I found something that would be useful for me. While there are a bunch of helpful websites out there, there are also many useless ones. The sites on the class blog were all useful for me, and made it easier to find information and resources I needed. I will always continue to search for resources because new material and information comes out each day, so I will always have something to search for. I enjoy finding and trying new things, so searching for resources for my class will be enjoyable rather than a tedious task. I don’t really have any critical needs to find resources, other than avoiding the sites with useless information. As long as I can weed out those pages from my search then I will be fine. In the future I might create a blog to keep track of different lesson plans and activities I use or witness throughout my field experiences, student teaching, and future teaching jobs. I would use the blog as a way to document lesson plans, and record what worked, what didn’t work, pros and cons, etc. This would be helpful for me in the future, because it would be organized and easy to reference when I need information about a lesson plan. Overall, this class was extremely helpful in exposing me to resources I didn’t know existed, and actually putting them to use rather than just searching for them. I liked how we were required to use different instructional strategies for each unit and each reading assignment. This really helped expand my knowledge of instructional strategies and how to use them. Now I have a much wider range of resources, instructional strategies, and ideas for my future teaching experiences.
Lesson Plan Review
http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/soc/cecsst/cecsst028.html
Content: The 19th Amendment
Theme: Women’s Rights/Suffrage
Activity: The main part of this lesson is having another female teacher come into the classroom dressed as Susan B. Anthony. The students are allowed to ask her whatever questions they want about the 19th Amendment and women’s suffrage. I would have a male and female teacher dress up as characters from this time period so that there were two different opinions for the students. I would have history teachers play the role, so they would be able to answer questions with correct information.
12.H.1 Analyze various turning points in American history in terms of their development and implications.
Clarifying Objectives:
12.H.1.1 Analyze specific turning points in terms of multiple causation.
12.H.1.2 Analyze specific turning points in terms of the interaction between people, places, and time.
12.H.1.3 Analyze specific turning points in terms of motives, beliefs, interests, hopes, fears, and consequences.
12.H.1.4Analyze turning points using multiple perspectives of various individuals and groups.
12.H.1.5 Evaluate the extent to which economic, social, cultural, and political factors of specific turning points impact the historical narrative of the United States.
12.H.1.6 Analyze the historical narrative of various turning points using the ideas of “historical contingency” and “historical inevitability”.
12.H.1.7 Use the antecedent circumstances of specific turning points to interpret contemporary problems and infer solutions.
Content Area: American History
Grade Level: 12th Grade
Resources: Another female history teacher, and an outfit from that time period.
Lesson phases: during reading. This wouldn’t be an introduction lesson, because the students would need a little bit of prior knowledge to participate. However, this wouldn’t be an end of lesson activity, because they will be learning more information rather than applying already learned information. This would be best suited for a “middle of the lesson” activity.
Instructional strategies: interactive, participation strategy. Has the potential to be humorous while engaging, so it would be something the students would remember.
Thinking skills: At first, this activity would probably use the basic thinking skills of Bloom’s taxonomy, but as the activity progressed higher level thinking skills would be used. At first the students are just asking questions to learn facts, but as the questions go on they would get more analytical and require more thinking. The questions being asked are up to the students, so they pretty much have control over what thinking skills are. The teacher acting as Susan B. Anthony however, could trick the students into asking higher level questions.
I like this lesson because it is different from typical history lessons. After a while, reading facts from a textbook and regurgitating them onto a piece of paper gets boring and the students stop retaining information. I think this activity is a good way to make the lesson exciting, to keep students interested, and to encourage them to learn more about the topic. This activity has the potential to be funny, and I believe if you can make students laugh and enjoy the content then they are more likely to remember the information. Although this isn’t an extremely lengthy and detailed lesson plan, I think it fits well with my topic since a good amount of the lesson is based on people’s views of women’s rights.
I would modify the lesson by finding a male and female teacher to act out different roles from that time period. I think this would give the students two different perspectives to think about, rather than just one. I wouldn’t have the students write an essay afterwards, because I have other activities that require them two write about what they have learned.
Instructional Strategy: Post-Reading
Strategy: RAFT- Role, Audience, Format, Topic.
Location: http://www.adlit.org/strategies/19783/
This would be an “at home assignment” for the students. They would have to pick a stance/character dealing with women’s rights and the 19th Amendment. Examples: Woman, women’s activist, male, government official, etc. They would have to write something as that specified character, and they would have to pick an audience to be writing to. Then they would choose a format to write in (letter, advertisement, speech, journal entry), and a topic to write about (the topic would be women’s rights or 19th amendment). For the topic they could also state their opinion or argument on the subject.
Example:
Role: Woman fighting for rights.
Audience: Citizens
Format: Poster
Topic: Why women should have equal rights as men.
If I were a student on this assignment, I would be making a poster to put up around town and encourage people to fight for women’s rights. Here is a link to a poster I created: http://www.postermywall.com/index.php/poster/view/36c774d1000d20f2f435cea5f4476f2e
For this activity, the students are given a chance to explore and express what they have learned in their own way. There aren’t super specific rules, just guidelines for them to follow. I like this activity because it gives them the freedom to share what they thought was most interesting about the subject in their own creative way. Not every student will want to write a letter, so they could draw and color a poster, write a journal entry, or a newspaper article. This activity will also be a good way for me, as the teacher, to know what the students have really learned so far.
Instructional Strategy: During Reading
Strategy: Paragraph Shrinking
Location: http://www.adlit.org/strategies/23331/
For this strategy I would keep the students in their original groups from the first activity, and I would give each group an article that talks about women’s rights, the 19th Amendment, etc. Each article will be different; for example, one article may be from that time period, and another one would be from current newspapers. The students would take turns reading a paragraph out loud within their group. At the end of each paragraph the group should write down the main ideas of the paragraph (main idea, important facts). Once everyone is done each group would share with the class the main ideas of the article.
This would be beneficial because the variety of articles would offer the students different perspectives of the topic to think about. Articles can contain a large amount of useful information, but they tend to be fluffed with pointless information. Because of this, students reading important articles may not retain the needed information. With this activity, the students would be reading and learning the necessary material, rather than just the “fluff” of the article.
Example:
Article: http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage
Main points:
Paragraph 1: August 26, 1920. Took over 100 years. 19th Amendment; women deserve all rights and responsibilities that men have.
Paragraph 2: Until women had their rights they were views as a submissive wife and mother who’s only concern was the home and family. Known as “Cult of True Womanhood”. 1848- Seneca Falls convention.
Paragraph 3: Women’s movement died down during the Civil War due to the focus on African americans. National Woman Suffrage Association fought for a universal suffrage amendment to federal constitution.
Paragraph 4: National American Woman Suffrage Association was formed in 1890. Argued women deserved to vote because they were different from men rather than equal to men.
Paragraph 5: Western states extend the right to vote to women in 19190. Women’s work and effort during WWI helped them gain the right to vote; officially established August 26, 1920 as the 19th Amendment to Constitution.
Instructional Strategy: Pre-Reading
Essential Standard:
12.H.1 Analyze various turning points in American history in terms of their development and implications.
Clarifying Objectives:
12.H.1.1 Analyze specific turning points in terms of multiple causation.
12.H.1.2 Analyze specific turning points in terms of the interaction between people, places, and time.
12.H.1.3 Analyze specific turning points in terms of motives, beliefs, interests, hopes, fears, and consequences.
12.H.1.4Analyze turning points using multiple perspectives of various individuals and groups.
12.H.1.5 Evaluate the extent to which economic, social, cultural, and political factors of specific turning points impact the historical narrative of the United States.
12.H.1.6 Analyze the historical narrative of various turning points using the ideas of “historical contingency” and “historical inevitability”.
12.H.1.7 Use the antecedent circumstances of specific turning points to interpret contemporary problems and infer solutions.
Content Area: American History
Grade Level: 12th Grade
Theme: Rights and Change
Topic: Turning Points in American History
I found my pre-reading strategy from the “Study Guides and Strategies” website; http://www.studygs.net/preread.htm
Strategy: Brainstorming
I would split up students into groups and give each group a large piece of paper. I would throw out a few topics/vocabulary such as, rights, amendments, civil rights, women, etc. to activate prior knowledge they have on the topic. Each group would write down what they know about the topic on their paper. They have the freedom to display the information however they want; table, bullet points, word map, etc. Once they are all done I would have each group put their papers on the wall and share with the class what they wrote down. The common facts shared between all groups would be put together into one list. This list would be referred to later as we learn more about the topic.
Example:
*I’m using bullet points to display what information I know about women’s rights, but it can be done in any format*
- Women originally did not have the same rights as men
- Groups of women fought to gain their rights
- An activist is someone who works towards social reform.
- There were also laws against African Americans as well as women.
- Happened before the Great Depression.
- 19th Amendment.
- Activists were also known as suffragists.
- Women could be put in jail for fighting for their rights.
#4A “I” Poems: Invitations for students to deepen literary understanding
Questions about the article:
1. What is the best way to grade “I” Poems, since there aren’t any specific rules and the students can pretty much do whatever they want?
2. Is there any specific activity that is a good introduction to “I” Poems, other than collages of a person like we did in class?
3. Is it better to give students examples of “I” Poems before they write their own, or is it better to see what they can come up with just by describing “I” Poems?
This is my vocabulary word map strategy I used to share the main points of the article.
I-Poem
I am one of many brave women
I wonder when our day will come
I hear men bringing us down
I see women fighting back
I want my rights
I am one of many brave women
I pretend I am not scared
I feel a victory coming my way
I can almost touch my right to vote
I worry about being overpowered
I cry in private
I am one of many brave women
I understand there are laws against us
I say what I desire
I dream for freedom
I try to hide my weaknesses
I hope we will win
I am one of many brave women
#3C Strategy Overviews
Essential Standard:
12.H.1 Analyze various turning points in American history in terms of their development and implications.
Clarifying Objectives:
12.H.1.1 Analyze specific turning points in terms of multiple causation.
12.H.1.2 Analyze specific turning points in terms of the interaction between people, places, and time.
12.H.1.3 Analyze specific turning points in terms of motives, beliefs, interests, hopes, fears, and consequences.
12.H.1.4Analyze turning points using multiple perspectives of various individuals and groups.
12.H.1.5 Evaluate the extent to which economic, social, cultural, and political factors of specific turning points impact the historical narrative of the United States.
12.H.1.6 Analyze the historical narrative of various turning points using the ideas of “historical contingency” and “historical inevitability”.
12.H.1.7 Use the antecedent circumstances of specific turning points to interpret contemporary problems and infer solutions.
Content Area: American History
Grade Level: 12th Grade
Theme: Rights and Change
Topic: Turning Points in American History- Women’s Rights
Essential Question:
How can citizens ensure that their government stays responsive to their needs, interests, and rights?
Topical questions:
1. What is the 19th Amendment? Why is it important to American history
2. How did women achieve the ratification of the 19th Amendment?
3. What was the amendment’s impact on America during that time, throughout history, and present day?
4. What would life be like for you if this amendment was never ratified? Do you think women’s rights are inevitable? (If women hadn’t gotten their rights back then, would it have eventually happened at some point in history?)
5. In present time period, what are women’s rights like around the world compared to women’s rights in America?
Concept-Based Vocabulary:
- Amendment
- Women’s Rights
- Activist
- Ratification
- Inevitable
- Perspective
- Political Cartoon
Anchor Text:
With Courage and Cloth: winning the fight for a woman’s right to vote by Ann Bausum
- Bausum, A. (2004). With courage and cloth: Winning the fight for a woman’s right to vote. Washington, D.C: National Geographic.
Student Learning Outcomes:
After this lesson, I think the students will have a much better understanding of the details of the women’s rights movement, why it was/is important, and how it affects their lives almost 100 years later. Students will know different terms related to this topic, and be able to use them when discussing this topic. They will be able to understand the interactions women had with men, the government, and other women during this time period. The students will be able to apply these events to their own lives, and understand why this was such a controversial and important event during that time. The students should consider how they can make sure they are given their full rights by the government after learning how these women accomplished that task. The students will also examine the differences and similarities between women’s rights in America and women’s rights around the world; giving them a more global view of women’s rights. They will have a much better understanding of women’s rights and the 19th amendment, rather than knowing the textbook definition of women’s rights and the 19th Amendment. At the end of this lesson, the students will know why this event is considered a turning point in American History.
Unit 3B Socratic Seminar
Theme: Rights and Change
Topic: Women’s Rights and the 19th Amendment
Grade: 12
Rationale: I want the students to be able to what “rights” are as they relate to an individual’s legal rights. I want them to understand why women were denied rights, what women had to do to gain rights, and why it was/is such big deal that women have rights. I want the students to be able to relate events from the early 20th century to their lives today. They should be able to understand the importance of these events and how it has impacted each of their lives today.
Essential question: How can citizens ensure that their government stays responsive to their needs, interests, and rights?
Open ended questions:
1. What is your definition of “rights”?
2. What do you think made women start fighting for their rights?
3. How do you think the different groups of people involved felt about the women’s rights movement? (Men, women, government, etc.)
4. Do you agree with the women? The men? Why or why not?
5. What are the pros and cons of women’s rights?
6. Do you think women gaining their rights was inevitable?
7. If women had not gained their rights back then, what would your life be like today?
Student learning outcomes:
After these questions, I think the students will have a much better understanding of the details of the women’s rights movement, why it was/is important, and how it affects their lives almost 100 years later. The students will be able to apply these events to their own lives. The students should consider how they can make sure they are given their full rights by the government after learning how these women accomplished that task. The students will have a much better understanding of women’s rights and the 19th amendment, so they won’t just know the textbook definition of women’s rights.
Media: I would use these political cartoons to spark discussion with the students about different views of women’s rights, and to show them how difficult it was for women to gain their rights. Analysis of these pictures could really get their wheels turning and make them think about different perspectives of women’s rights. These are all powerful pictures that could really assist in my socratic seminar.
#3A Making Sense of Online Text: SQ3R
Survey:
The title of this text is “Making Sense of Online Text”, by Julie Coiro. Under the title there is an italicized sentence that says, “Four strategy lessons move adolescents beyond random surfing to using Internet texts meaningfully”. There is also a picture of a computer, a computer keyboard, and hands typing on the keyboard. These things indicate to me that this article will be about teaching students how to extend their literacy past textbooks.
Questions:
Will this text cover useful strategies on how to teach students electronic literacy?
Why is online material harder than textbook material for students to comprehend?
Does reading online material and navigating websites require different comprehension skills than reading and navigating textbooks?
What are necessary comprehension skills for navigating online material?
How do we teach students to differentiate between good and bad online text?
Read-Recite-Review:
As I was reading this article I learned a good amount of information about online literacy, why it is important for students to have, and how we can help them achieve it. To comprehend online text, students also have to know what a search engine is, how it works, and how information is organized on websites. Once students find the intended information, they need skills on evaluating and synthesizing the information to decide what is important. As teachers we need to be knowledgeable in these areas so we can pass the skills on to our students. Online literacy would be beneficial for any class subject, not just a reading class. As a special education teacher, we have to constantly look for alternate ways for our students to learn because some of the characteristics of a disability may prevent a student from learning the traditional way. Online literacy could be useful for students with disabilities because it offers another way for them to learn information. The internet is filled with resources and information that can be useful to anyone, so learning how to be literate online would be very important to any student in any subject.
Kate Beinke 