DO STATUES TEACH HISTORY?

Do statues teach history?

Over the last few months, Americans have debated the issue of removing statues of Confederate icons from town squares across the United States.  Opponents to the removal of these statues claimed a certain perspective of history is being "white washed".  They feared future Americans will not understand or learn about an important era in American history.

NO HISTORY BEING TAUGHT

The people who protest the removal of the statutes falsly claim these statues teach American history.  In truth, these statues, like most other statues do not teach history.  Statues are created and erected to show people from the outside what is important to their communities.  This is the reason why Arthuro Di Modica created a 3.5 ton, 18 foot long sculpture of a raging bull and placed it in front of the New York Stock Exchange.  There is not plaque explaining the meaning behind this farm animal as it sits in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world.  But those who work on Wall Street understand the meaning.

Likewise, most Confederate statues contain nearly no explanation or meaning of the person crafted in bronze.  Above was the plaque for a General Robert E Lee statue that was remove from Dallas, Texas.  Note the lack of historical information about General Robert E. Lee.  It does not explain why Lee was important to Texas, who he was, or even when he lived and died.  This is why the teaching occures in the classroom.

WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?
As a history teacher in the public schools, it bothers me how there's been little or no protest about the slash and burning to cuts in the subjects of history, civics, and social studies across America. In the last twenty years, school district after school district have created an educational apocalypse with huge cuts to the graduation requirments in the area of social studies.  Most American students receive only one-half year of American history and one-half year of Government.  Gone are the days when students delved into American history when they had one or two years of American history and one full year of US Government.  Local school boards and states made cuts in these important subjects to make way for more math or English classes.

When I addressed the slashing of history requirements from two years to one year, my superintendent instructed me to "teach only the important parts of American history".  To which I rebutted, I am already teaching only the important parts with two years.  This is how "whitewashing" history occurs.

As a classroom teacher I have to cut even more out of my curriculum to fit demands of my school district.  But, the annihilation of US history requirements in my small school district was repeated in all states, in many other school districts, large and small across American.  The whitewashing of American history occurred before our very eyes, without ANY protest or counter point.  No flag waving, chanting for saving our history.

HISTORY IS A UNIQUE SUBJECT
As I have pointed out many times to my principal friends, US History is a very unique subject. Unlike math, English, or literature, the curriculum for US History grows EVERY year.  I began teaching history in 1997.  Now, think about ALL the historical events that occurred since this year.  Bill Clinton was President, Saddam Hussein was the leader in Iraq.  The Twin Towers were still part of the New York City skyline, there was no Facebook, smart phones, and the Internet was a neophyte shadow of what it will become. But with all these historical changes, the US History teacher is not allowed any more time to teach their growing curriculum.  In fact the opposite has occurred in the United States as social studies requirements are butchered from graduation requirements.

If these some people who are so concern about America's the removal of Confederate statues really care about our past, they should contact their state governments, local school boards and DEMAND young Americans take two years of American History and one year of American government. We all should be concerned about the slow and methodical destruction of American social studies in our public schools.

WHAT DOES CLOSE READING LOOK LIKE?

Here is how close reading looks in my 8th grade US History.

First, place the primary source is placed in an easy to read format.  On the left side of the handout is the primary source. Then, on the right side students have questions and space to respond those specific questions (test dependent). The questions on the right are located very near the passage where the student can find the information.  This is important as it will help the students focus on the area where the information can be found. 

Second, when I create the primary source handout,  I highlight keywords in the document that student may not know.  Then on the right side provide definitions.

THE READING PROCESS:
But this is only part of the close reading in my classroom.  More important is the process of reading. 

I have the students read the primary source three times. 


First Reading:  Student silently read, but only skimming the primary source.  They will highlight words on the primary source they don't know or words the have never heard before - even the words I've highlighted in the primary source. Then students share the words with an elbow partner and look up the definitions to understand the context,  Finally I ask students to share any words they "discovered". 

Second Reading: Now, the students read for content and annotate. I explain to my students that annotating is like having a discussion with the reading.  Student will jot down their  thoughts next to primary source like, "Wow, that's cool!", "Are you crazy?", or  "Wow, that's what my Mom says all the time". This is to get the students engaged with the document. 

Third Reading: The students read to answer the questions. I encourage students to work with their elbow partner during this process.  Then in the end we discuss their answers. 

I try to make the documents short for my middle schoolers.  If I can not break it up into smaller chunks, then I may read most of the document to my students with students helping me out along the way for the first read.

So, does close reading look the same in your room or is it different?  Let me know.

Finally, if you are looking for SUPER close reading/text dependant readings for US History, check this out!

LET YOUR STUDENTS KNOW THEY ARE SAFE!

Our nation seems to be imploding with strife and hate.  When children see adults screaming at each other, and hurting each other everyday in the news and social media,it will spill into our classrooms.  This is a time calling for American educators to step up and do our part!

Fellow teacher, do not despair or feel helpless in this crazy world.  Now is the time for us to effect a change in the areas we control; our classroom; our interactions with our students.  Each of us can start on the very first day with small acts of kindness and kind words.  Even though our actions may seem insignificant, they are not.  Our small acts will carry the day.  We may not see the outcome our actions, but we will start a ripple that will change the life a student, and possibly others.

My last post was about how we, as educators, can support and help our students feel safe in our classrooms. But I wanted to help other educators in their efforts.  This is why I am giving away a free mini-poster from my Teacher Pay Teacher store.  I call it the "Stop the Hate Poster".  It can found here, and download, 100% free!  I created it in PowerPoint and it's editable, so you can make changes as you see fit.  Please share with as many teachers as possible!

HATE IN THE NEWS-ACCEPTANCE IN THE CLASSROOM

Let's face it, the last 24 hours news from Charlottesville, Virginia has been disparaging and heart sickening.

But the large and most important question for me, as a public school teacher, what can I do?

Here are some plans of action for the coming school year.

#1 - NEVER LOSE HOPE - As sad and unnerving the news from Charlottesville is, I must NEVER forget the most immediate and best impact I can have on society is within my classroom.  Don't get me wrong, I am not mitigating the impact of demonstrations, contacting representatives, or making my voice heard in other ways.  But, I must NEVER succumb to the feeling of hopelessness.  As a public educator, I can make a difference, in small ways, in small steps, within my classroom. Working with students and teaching tolerance in small ways, day in and day out.

#2 - THE SYLLABUS - Let ALL my students and parents know that I accept them as they are...no questions, no judgment.  Building a safe classroom environment starts with me.  As I am reviewing my classroom procedures, I notice nothing is mentioned about this in my class syllabus. It states nothing about about accepting ALL students or my goal to create a safe learning environment where bullying and intimidation is not tolerated. IT STARTS HERE!

#3 - RACE ISSUE - Let's face it - discussing race in the classroom such is VERY difficult. As a public school educator, my words carry weight and significances.  Words can be misinterpreted or students sometimes only hear a part of a sentence; all of which could led to an angry parent or community. But, as a society we need to face it and understand it is NOT best left untouched.  Race can NOT be the elephant in the room any more. But, I must teach my students how to respectfully discuss the issue of race.  How to listen and NOT shout.  Remind them that our diversity is our STRENGTH!

THE TROUBLE MAKERS

Over the Summer I read a book this entitled "Trouble Makers: Lessons in Freedom from Younger Children at School", written by Carla Shalaby.  She has taken my educational philosophy and placed it on overdrive and underscored the part of education that can NOT be quantified with a grade.

#1 Kids act out out because a basic need is not being met.  Such as attention from an adult, fear, rejection, or because the child is a leader in the class, and does not know the correct way to make their ideas heard.

#2 Relationships count with kids.  Yes, we know this, and it's easy to build a relationships with those "good kids".  But, we MUST build kind, loving relationships with those kids that are difficult. Those kids that drive us CRAZY.  Those kids who are defiant.

#3 - Give kids opportunity to fail, to learn from their failures AND to correct their mistakes.  Sounds easy, but it's not.  Nobody likes failure.  But, I want to build a classroom where kids know that if they are not making mistakes, they are not learning.

From these three points covered in this book, number two will be the most challenging for me.

How about for you - which do you think are the most important or challenging?

Also, don't forget to visit the Social Studies SuperStore to spice up your classroom for elementary, middle and high school Social Studies classes.

History, acting, and drama = high student engagement!

My students love this history activity I call it Spot the Impostor. It includes acting and drama as students learn about historical people.

This one activity, students will explore Dr. King.  This activity is student centered as the students think like detectives -trying to figure out which people are the impostors, and which is the "real" Dr. King. 

Three students will be chosen to pretend they are Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They will appear next to each other in the front of the room facing the class. During the activity, the three will be asked questions by other students in class. The questions will be about Dr. Martin Luther King’s life. The students will have prepared answers they will read from a script.

Ten other students will ask questions during the game (see student scripts). They will be assigned a number from 1 to 10. This is the number of the question they will ask when the game begins.

After every question, the three Dr. Martin Luther King’s will each give an answer. “Number 1” will always answer first, “Number 2” second, and “Number 3” third. Only one of the three is really Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The real one will always tell the truth when answering questions. After all 10 questions have been asked, class members will vote for the person they think is they real Martin Luther King.

Also, all students will complete a "score sheet" to keep notes as the questions are being asked.

This activity can be found here.

Do the numbers matter? Or is it the process?

My students took the Grit Survey (Growth Mindset Survey) as they usually due every Friday.  The survey asks them many questions about their weekly goals, how often they referred to these goals during the week, what areas these goals were created, and if they achieved their goals.  This week the number of students who achieved their goals dropped.

At first, I am disappointed. But should I be disappointed?

There is much to be read into this data from these weekly surveys.   But let's get back to the REAL meaning of teaching grit and growth mindset.  The point of teaching growth mindset is to have kids think about their goals, understand that if they failed, that they DO NOT allow obstacles to deter their progress.

So, when the number of kids say they did not achieve their goal, should this be interpreted as a negative?  Likewise, if the number of students who achieved their goal, should this be interpreted as a positive?  I am not so sure.

One of the questions I ask my students is how often they think about their goals outside of my class.  17.2 percent of my students do not think about their goals outside of my class.  What if this number decreases?  What if only 10 percent of my students do not think about their goals outside of my class?Would this translate into a higher number of students might achieve their goals?

Results from the latest Growth Mindset survey.  What if the number of students who did not think about their goals dropped to 10 percent?

Isn't it more important for students to think about their goals more outside of class than how many of the students achieved their goals?  To be fair, 29.9 percent of my kids think about their weekly goals outside of my class 5 or more times.  Is this a good number? Should this number be higher?

Now, should I focus on the number of time my kids think about their goals outside of my class?

Boy!  Who knew teaching growth mindset would be SO difficult. :)

Please join me in this process of teaching growth mindset. Leave a comment!

More Grit Reflections...

Friday in Mr. Moran's classroom means another opportunity for students to reflect about their goals and grit.

First item:  On occasion I show students motivational videos about grit, setting and achieving goals, and perseverance.  Sometimes these videos will have little impact upon them since they claim they have seen the same video in some other class.  And for middle school students, it's all about seeing something new...  But this last week I showed them a video about grit which none had watched before.  It was very moving video!  Here is the link to the video if you would like to share it with your students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448.

Second item:  There was a jump in the numbers.  Last time I posted on my blog, I showed a drop in the number of students who achieved their goals (only 45.8%).  But this week, the number of students who achieved their goal climbed to 60.3%!!!

IMPORTANT QUESTION:
Why did this number increase? What happened this week that was different?  If I can replicate this, I can continue this increase.  But here are some ideas for the increase:

A)  Baseball and track started this week at our school.  So for those students involved in these activities, it might be they set some very concrete goals for themselves.  The survey showed that of the students who set extracurricular activity goals, 100% set goals in the area of sports.  In the past survey results were split between sports, drama, and band.  Not this week, my students stated it was all about sports.

B) It is nearing the end of our schools marking period.  So, students might have been working for a while to improve their grades and their hard work is now paying off.  Therefore, they have achieved their goals in academic areas.

C) Finally, this week I've explained to my students why I asked them to do certain things.  I explained why it is important to write down their goals.  Why it is important to share their goals with another person.  Why it is important to have place their goals in a place where they can "see" them everyday. Because they understand the purpose, might they have more buy-in?

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?
Finally, I added one more question to the survey this week.  I asked my students how often they think about their goals outside of class.  There data was insightful!

21.8% Never think of their goals except when I ask about them in class.
28.2% Think about their goals 1 - 2 times outside of class
25.6% Think about their goals 3 - 4 times outside of class
24.4% Think about their goals 5 or more times outside of class.

These numbers are loaded with ideas and questions for myself.  But, the first question I have is, how can I get the 21.8% kids to reflect upon their goals more?  These are the kids who don't understand the importance of grit and setting goals.

So this week, there is more to ponder...

Going Deep with Grit!

It's been about a month since I've started to use Google Forms to gather students data on their Grit Reflections.  And here are some of the things I've learn from it:

• GOOD or BAD? Since the 3/2 survey, 53 students stated they achieved their goals, but later, that that number dropped to 46 during the last survey (3/23).  If I was running a business and viewed this number as I might view the number of sales per week, I would be alarmed.  Sales going down is not a good!  But, this isn't only about the number of students achieving goals.  It's about getting kids to learn NOT to give up on their goals.  So, when the data shows five kids did not achieve their goals, I view this as five students who are pushing and growing.  So, I will revise my Grit Reflection to add a section for these students who did not achieve their goals.  I would want to know NOT why they failed, but how do feel about failing?  I am hoping they will view failure as not being permanent. Instead I am hoping they view failure as a temporary set back.

• IT'S THE ENVIRONMENT:  For students to learn grit and growth mindset, it needs to permeate the classroom.  Yes, posters and taped signs on the desk are important.  But, the message needs to go farther.  I have added reflection assignments about the people of history we study.  I ask students to rate the historical personalities grit or growth mindset on a scale of one through ten.  Then students have to justify their answers.  
• Likewise, during our parent-teacher conferences, I've raised the growth mindset.  When a student or parent speaks of struggling on a class or a certain subject, I bring it around to growth mindset.

• LOVE GOOGLE FORMS.  Why didn't do this sooner?  Google forms not only save on paper and the hassle of working with paper, but it is so much easier to collate data.  I can see in flash the areas where students set their goals and if they achieved their goals.

I need grit to teach grit...

So here are the things I'm doing in my classroom to make the grit connections:

Google Forms - Grit Reflection Sheet

1) I understand teaching grit requires changing my environment.  This means using terms such as growth mindset, fearless, and the power of yet in my classroom, as much as possible - each and everyday.  I am constantly seeking ways to use these terms and make grit relate to my students' life.

2) I have created a Google Form for the Grit Reflection Sheet.  This helps me collate and analyze the data from my students.  This also makes storing the information much easier.  So now I can track one student, track one class, or all the classes.  If all goes well, I should see more students making their goals.

3) I have enlisted the help of my colleagues. When I gather grit data from my student Grit Reflection Sheets, I share it with my colleagues.  I ask my colleagues to seek out students who specifically cite their classes as an area where a goal was set and achieved.  This way students can see grit being reaffirmed by other teachers.

Teaching Grit Week 2 - Students who say Nothing!

During this week, I've reflected upon so things about teaching GRIT!

1) How to address student a student who says, "I don't have any goals"?  So on Monday, I had students write a weekly goal in their agenda.   For those students who said, the couldn't think of a goal on Monday, I asked them to think of a goal for Tuesday.

Then, on Wednesday, I had students review their goals and share with another student how they are doing?  Have they achieved the goal?  Still working on it? Or did not achieve it.

2) Teaching Grit must infuse your teaching.  I found myself sniffing out and looking for those teaching moments that may pop up at any moment... And, these moments are so small and fleeting...A casual comment made by a student, "I can't do my homework".  Then I smile and say, "Not yet".

I will let you know how the Girt survey goes.

Teaching GRIT - WEEK 2

Monday: Teachable moment - Sunday was the Super Bowl and the New England Patriots won the game after a heroic come-from-behind effort.  Not many students are Patriots fans, so some students could not get past the win for a not-so-favorite team.  But, I used it as an example of what people can do when they are focused on the "power of yet" and overcoming obstacles.


Friday students took a Grit Reflection Sheet:  They answered four questions about their successes and failures, mistakes from the past week.  Then students shared their thoughts in their teams and the class.

I created a Grit Reflection Sheet to allow students to think about their successes, and qualities of grit.  I had a few students share how they passed their math tests earlier this week, and they were pleasantly surprised. When I asked them what they did to pass the test, they stated they spent hours studying.  Then, I reminded them how hard work was important to their success.

I then explained to the students how when I was a young student, I believed the "smart kids" were born smart.  God blessed them with all the brains.  Meanwhile, I was not a smart kid, did very poorly in school, and born without brains.

But grit taught me to be successful.  Grit taught me to push through my failure.

I also will review the student's' reflection sheet and look for patterns, how many students focused on math, English, and I will share this information with those teachers.

Finally, I added small signs to all desks in my classroom to serve as reminders to the students.  I'm hoping these reminders will keep their eyes on the prize.

If you have any ideas about grit, and how to teach it, please let me know in the comments sections.

The Power of Grit - The beginning of a journey!

Last week marked the beginning of second semester.  This means I receive an entire new groups of students for all my classes.  One positive thing about a semester class is I can easily implement changes in my classes during the same year.  One of my changes includes implementing Grit education in my teaching and classroom.

First week:  I download Angela Duckworth’s grit assessment and I tweaked a few questions and made them more student friendly for my 8th graders.  I also added a couple to make situations more real and personal for the students.  The students scores ranged from 4.6 to 1.9, from a 5 point scale.  I placed these scores on a Google Document and shared them with my team.  Near the end of the semester, I will have students retake the assessment to see if their scores improved or declined.

I also explained to the students about the importances of grit and how learning has a lot to do with mindset, and your willingness to make mistakes.  To demonstrate to my students my commit to making mistakes, reminded students of my test policy.  Students may retake tests as many times as they like. Likewise, on assignments - students may make corrections on assignments.  Hoping they understand that learning is a process.  

Then, I showed the students the TED Talk with Angela Duckworth about grit and mindset. Click here to see it.   After the video we reviewed the main ideas and the importances of grit in their learning.

NO POWER: Then, on Friday, I a teachable moment using grit.  We lost power at school.  Not only once, but twice in different classes.  My class is technology dependent, so I thought we were dead in the water.  But, instead students continued to work.  The webpage they needed was already loaded onto their Chromebooks when the power went out. So, even without the wifi, they still had access to their information. So, with a dark classroom,  some students asked to use their phones to see their work in the dark.  Later, when the power returned, I complimented the students on their grit.  They overcame a real-life obstacle, and instead of simply giving up to the dark, thei continued to learn.

I want to share my grit journey with you, and I would like your ideas too.  Please feel free to email me or leave a comment on my blog.

What is this U-Haul Scavenger Hunt and Crossword Puzzle activity?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So, a video must be with a million, right?

This being the case, I have created a short video to explain an activity I created that combines U-Haul and geography.

So, why U-Haul? Because kids see these every time they make a road trip. These colorful vans with SUPER cool graphics and geographic facts about the states.

So, watch this video. And, you might want to download this SUPER geography activity for your upper elementary or middle school class.

Visit my store to download it: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Elementary-Middle-School-State-Scavenger-Hunt-2697919