The Digital Broadside
News You Can Use
Freeman Students Taking on the World
The competition has a team of 4 students who compete in a Jeopardy style contest where they are asked 100 questions about the following topics:
- Cybersecurity
- U.S. Energy Policy
- Global Economic Realignment
- Middle East
- Global Environmental Issues
- U.S. Education
- UN Millennium Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty & Hunger
- Global Health
- Geography
- Current Events
The team will compete on April 26 against other high schools across the nation. Good luck to the team.
Civil War and Emancipation Day
It takes place this Saturday in Richmond.
Virginia War Memorial 5k
10 Reasons to Teach History
- History gives students an opportunity to develop basic skills: reading, writing, and analytical thinking.
- History helps students better understand the society in which they live.
- History helps students better understand human beings, and in the process of understanding others, students can better understand themselves as individuals.
- History helps students understand people who are different.
- History allows students to gain perspective and learn to see a bigger picture.
- History can inspire students.
- History can provide students with a reason for being; it can give meaning to their lives.
- History can help students feel a sense of connection.
- History is entertaining and fun.
- History allows students to dream and wonder; it gives them the opportunity to imagine a better future.
Prevention Project
If you teach an elective or want to go in-depth with a modern problem, this is perfect for your class. It uses video, discussion, and a call to action for your class. It's easy to use and will engage your students.
If you have any questions, let me know. They can even come to your school if you want to discuss this with you.
Blooms and History
As history teachers, we ask questions to find out what a learner knows and to encourage analytical thinking. Benjamin Bloomʼs Taxonomy of Educational Objectives provides us with a framework for developing a solid questioning strategy.
Level One — Knowledge
• The Level of Simple Recall: Questions ask for factual information. Answers are either right or wrong.
• Begin questions or commands with the following words: define, repeat, record, list, recall, name, relate, underline.
• Example: Name the president of the United States during the Civil War.
Level Two — Comprehension
• The Level of Understanding: Questions ask for reasons. Answers are usually right or wrong.
• Begin questions or commands with the following words: translate, restate, discuss, recognize, explain, express, identify, locate, report, review, tell.
• Example: Explain the primary causes of the Civil War.
Level Three — Application
• The Level of Usage: Questions usually ask for ways to use knowledge and allow for individual creativity. There many be more than one correct answer.
• Begin questions or commands with the following words: interpret, apply, employ, use, demonstrate, dramatize, practice, illustrate, operate, recreate, role play, schedule, shop, sketch
• Example: Role play a debate in the U.S. Senate over the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Level Four — Analysis
• The Level of Relationships and Intent: Questions ask for comparisons to be made or for component parts of an idea to be developed. Answers are more divergent and personal.
• Begin questions or commands with the following words: distinguish, analyze, calculate, experiment, test, compare, contrast, criticize, diagram, inspect, debate, inventory, question, relate, solve, examine, categorize.
• Example: Compare and contrast Franklin Rooseveltʼs New Deal with Lyndon Johnsonʼs Great Society.
Level Five — Synthesis
• The Level of Ideas: Questions ask students for ideas for new or different solutions to problems. Answers are creative and divergent; there is no one correct answer.
• Begin questions or commands with the following words: compose, plan, propose, design, formulate, arrange, assemble, collect, construct, create, set up, organize, manage, prepare.
• Example: Construct a plan for reforming the American political process.
Level Six — Evaluation
• The Level of Judgement: Questions ask students to make value judgments about ideas of their own or others. Answers are very personal, divergent, and sometimes argumentative.
• Begin questions or commands with the following words: judge, appraise, evaluate, rate, revise, score, assess, estimate, choose, measure, select, value.
• Example: Assess the relative importance of foreign and domestic affairs in shaping the election of 1968.
Student Growth Measures
For the second one, please make sure you create an environment for success. Make sure your students have time to complete the assignment and that there aren't distractions in class.
VCSS Conference
Furthermore, if you'd like to join VCSS, you can do so here. Belonging to a professional organization helps you in many ways: 1) you learn more about what you can do in your profession and opportunities open to you; 2) it builds your resume; 3) gives you a way to contribute to your profession. You can join here.
You can also join the National Council of Social Studies here.
2014 Drop-a-Thon
However, most of this is first semester material. So I'm now asking teachers to drop second semester material and SOL review material.
This newsletter is global (one guy in China), so email me for a username and password.
What to share:
· Power Points
· Flip Charts
· Worksheets
· Notes
· Exam View files
· Project ideas
General Rules:
· If you use anything from the dropbox, please give back to the dropbox
· If you already see 3 Power Points for SOL VUS.4a, you don’t need to add a 4th VUS.4a power point
· If you’re putting something in the dropbox, you know people may alter it to fit their own needs
· Always give credit for someone else’s work when possible
· If you borrowed from someone, and you know who’s it is (maybe their name is on the Power Point), email them a Thank You!
Teacher Opportunities
JMU History and Social Science Content Academy
SOL Social Studies Content Academy at James Madison University. The academy will be held Monday, June 23, 2014 – Friday June 27, 2014. The 6-12 Social Studies Academy will examine pivotal periods in history and will explore innovative teaching strategies for middle and secondary social studies classrooms in a collaborative environment. Participants will engage in sessions that provide historical content followed by hands on sessions that examine various applied learning activities, including discussions of differentiated learning approaches that provide the tools for students to learn and to do history in the classroom. Emphasis will be placed on developing better historical thinking skills, particularly improving the interpretation of various primary sources.
Check out these opportunities for teachers:
Eisenhower Summer Institute (not free)
Turn on AMC
Additionally, the Virginia Tourism Corp. has launched a "TURN" trail to celebrate the premiere of AMC's new spy thriller - filmed largely in Petersburg and the Richmond area - that is set to debut tonight at 9 p.m. with a 90-minute special.
Instructional Ideas
Sparking Inquiry
It's pretty easy to set up and looks a lot like class notes. You can also implement this in small steps. Here's what you do:
- Divide a piece of paper in 2 or 3 columns.
- In column 1, provide students with text (primary or secondary), a quotation, picture, graph, chart, etc... You can provide this on the worksheet, or have students hand write it down themselves. They can even choose their own passage in a longer reading.
- Column 2 is optional, and simply is used to cite where the passage came from, whether a page number, URL, etc... But this reinforces research for students.
- Column 3 is the student response to the passage. Students react, analyze, predict, summarize, or question the passage.
If you want more samples, please email me.
Spent
Six Degrees of Separation
For example, connecting John Adams to the Sandra Day O'Connor:
- John Adams appointed John Marshall to the Supreme Court
- In 1928, John Marshall was replaced by William McKinley in the $500
- McKinley sent Pershing to war in 1898
- John Pershing was a mentor to Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Eisenhower nominated Potter Stewart to the Supreme Court
- Potter Stewart was replaced by Sandra Day O'Connor to the bench
Admittedly, that was a tough one. But that's what you can do with this. Make it as easy or difficult as you want. One hard one can equal two easy one for points. You can either give students the random connections or have them make it up.
It teaches them research skills and creative thinking. It can also help them review past material.
Flocabulary
There is also a student password for them to use the site at home.
Let me know what you think.
Trivia and Other Balderdash
Trivia: Teachers- 13 and Mike- 9
Last Week: No winners this week. The answer is: Mathew Henson, one of the first men and first African American to reach the North Pole with Robert Peary.
- The first to plant an American flag
- Was "married" to an Inuit (apparently, a lot of explorers "married" the locals and had kids
- 90, 0 (longitude and latitude of the North Pole)
This week:
Happy Spring Break
History in the News
- McCutcheon v. FEC was ruled on last week by the Supreme Court. Here are one and two articles on the issue as a reaction. In short, the Court said it is illegal to restrict people to the number of candidates an individual can donate to. The monetary cap is still in place, but now they can donate to as many politicians as they want. This is now a change in the SOLs, like CE.5d which talks about limits.
- What won't be in the textbooks or SOLs is the issue of transparency in political donations. The resignation of Brendan Eich has given a new example of competing rights and the First Amendment. Can someone's political beliefs cause them to get fired?
Contact Information
Email: mjhasley@henrico.k12.va.us
Website: blogs.henrico.k12.va.us/mjhasley
Location: 3820 Nine Mile Road, Richmond, VA, United States
Phone: 804 652-3752
Twitter: @MikeHasley