Going global with ePals

Taking the notion of user-generated content seriously, ePals does a wonderful job of connecting teachers and students in an online global community that has something for just about everyone. One of the things I thought about doing with my fourth and final lesson plan on North Korea had to do with somehow connecting with a school in that country to find out what their educational system was like. A teacher from the U.K. had posted a similar request, although considering how isolated and closed-off North Korea is, that's probably a long shot.

Still, it's a noble idea, something that ePals specializes in. Although ePals doesn't just traffic in ideas. It puts them into motion. There's a very strong interactive quality to ePals that's attractive for teachers. One of the real interesting activities I noticed was in one of the forums. Called "Ask Elia," it gave students a chance to send questions to a global explorer who was in the process of climbing Mount Everest. What an amazing opportunity to be able to talk with someone who is attempting such a monumental task - one that students might even dream of doing themselves one day.

The Learning Centers area is also packed with activities for students connecting with others around the world. Along with interactive games, there's a section called "Global Citizens" that gets students thinking about how they can actually become global citizens, which is something that is often talked about but also an idea that's hard to act on. Also, the area that deals with current events offers a wealth of articles on topics ranging from the Boston Marathon bombing to cyber bullying and gun violence in schools. Many of the subjects relate to what children see on the news, what they are going through in their daily lives or what they are talking about to their friends. I can see this area being of great value to social studies teachers, much like the Smithsonian section.

A social studies teacher could set up a virtual tour of the Smithsonian through ePals and have students research a number of topics, including the music of the Bahamas. There's a link to an area on the Natural World, which gets students to start thinking like scientists. This would offer classes a wide, almost never-ending range of cross-curricular opportunities for those educators who can think creatively in planning imaginative lessons for their students. Those teachers who use ePals would benefit greatly from it.

Final lesson plan

The following is my fourth and final lesson plan for TCH 632. It is designed for sixth grade, but could be used for any upper elementary or junior social studies class, I believe. The students will be making a Glogster showing what they've learned about North Korea. Of course, the country has been in the news a lot lately, making nuclear threats toward the U.S. and South Korea. But not much is known about the nation, which has a totalitarian government based on a cult of personality unique to North Korea.

Here is my lesson, with my Jing screen capture describing how to make a Glogster.

http://screencast.com/t/hiIkTsOwemL

Lesson Plan for TCH 632

Marian University

Name   Peter Lindblad                                                                                        Date taught:  May 15, 2013

Lesson Title: Understanding North Korea                                                                         Course Title/Grade level(s) Social Studies, 6th grade

School      Marian University                                                          

Type of Lesson:      __X_ introduction                  _ continues development       ___ completes instruction

Big Idea or Essential Question   Why are we in conflict with North Korea?
Learning Target /Objective(s)    Define and distinguish between key vocabulary words related to North Korea. Give examples of similar standoffs between the U.S. and other nations’ leaders. Understand the history of North Korea and its relations with the U.S. and its ally, South Korea. Locate on maps the cities of North Korea. Analyze primary source documents related to North Korea.
Standard(s)     B.8.4 Explain how and why events may be interpreted differently depending on the perspectives of participants, witnesses, reporters, and historians B.8.10 Analyze examples of conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among groups, societies, or nations
Academic Language/Vocabulary for this lesson (define) Demilitarized zone, annex, sovereignty, armistice, cease-fire, Juche, Communism, Songun, nuclear-weapons state, socialist republic, totalitarianism, cult of personality, isolation.
Lesson Rationale     Tensions between North Korea and the United States have been on the rise lately. Little is known about North Korea, however. It remains a mystery to most people in the U.S. By demystifying it, students can gain a greater understanding of the issues that have caused such friction between the U.S. and North Korea and why they are coming to a head now.
Student prior knowledge and prior thinking (include student misconceptions about what will be taught): - Students should be aware of the current events regarding North Korea, its leader Kim Jong-un, and the U.S. - There is a misconception that North Korea is a Communist state, but the government operates under a different ideology and is considered a Socialist Republic. Students will understand the differences.
Instructional Materials, Resources, and Technology
Plan Access to Glogster site Internet Computer lab Technology links (see descriptions at end of lesson plan): http://punk79.edu.glogster.com/north-korea-cult-of-personality-9911 http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/northkorea/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/14/opinion/lee-north-korea-refugee http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15256929 http://www.mapsofworld.com/north-korea/culture/ http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/North-Korea.html#b	Rationale Glogster offers students the chance to organize their information in an easy-to-digest format. Using the Internet, students can find the information they need for their studies of North Korea. This glogster link shows an example of a finished piece. These links help students gain an understanding of North Korea and its politics.
Classroom Management Considerations Students will pair up after the video. Each pair will be assigned a topic related to North Korea that they will research, using Internet sources, so a computer lab will be needed. Access to Glogster will be needed, as each pairing will work together to complete a Glogster on their particular topic. The pairings will then be broken up, with each student pairing with a different student and presenting their Glogster to their new partner. Students will be asked to assess the work of their fellow students in an exit ticket.
Learning Tasks • aligned with learning targets, state standards,  big idea and/or essential question • aligned with  students’ learning needs of  individuals and  whole class • aligned with the academic language demands of this lesson.
Plan 1.  A 12-minute video will be shown from the CNN web site on Hyeonseo Lee, who fled North Korea. Students will start class by writing their reactions to the video in their journals. 2.  Breaking into pairs. Each will choose an aspect of North Korean life to research using web resources and then create a Glogster on their respective topics.   3.  Students will then be paired with a different student from the class. Each one will present the Glogster they worked on to their classmate. Each student will fill out an exit ticket in which they assess their new partner’s Glogster and their own work in a one-paragraph write-up.	Rationale 1.   Students will understand how difficult life is in North Korea.    2. Students will research a particular topic related to North Korea and create a Glogster featuring the information. 3.  Students will be able to assess the work of their fellow students.
Questions to elicit higher thinking in students during the lesson and provide opportunities for students to engage in dialogue about their learning:   - What were some of the causes of the recent conflict between North Korea and the U.S.? - Compare and contrast this nuclear showdown with others the U.S. has faced in the past. Are they different? Are they similar in some ways? - Describe the difficulties North Koreans face in their everyday lives.
Assessments • assessing prior knowledge and readiness for lesson • assessing learning during lesson and at end of lesson including student self-assessment of learning as associated with the learning target. • planning the next steps of learning based on the data or information gained through the lesson’s assessments.
Plan Students will have a checklist of items related to their particular topic about North Korea that they will have to address in their Glogster. Exit ticket allows students to assess the work of their classmates. Teacher will observe and listen to students’ explanations of their different Glogsters.	Rationale Creating a Glogster will help them focus on important information and images they need to address their topics - Exit ticket will allow students to self-assess their work and that of their colleagues. - Listening and observing students at work will give the teacher an idea of how well students are collaborating.
Accommodations / Differentiation to support student learning
Plan The mix of students in each pairing would be heterogeneous, with students of varying learning levels put together. Sight-impaired students will be assigned to tasks involving audio for their Glogster. Make sure each student has access to Glogster and the Internet.	Rationale This mix of students allows them to work with those on a different learning level from their own, perhaps giving them the chance to benefit from each other’s strengths while working on their own weaknesses.

Question everything

Chapter 13 of John Lee's "Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Methods" deals with assessment, and one of the informal techniques that's closest to my heart has to do with questioning. Lee talks about how questions should be framed in such a way as to lead to meaningful responses and how they ought to be open-ended and inviting.

Of course, this got me thinking about my time as a journalist. That's what reporters do. They ask questions. And they don't even have to be deep thoughtful questions. No, the questions a reporter asks are designed to do one thing above all else, and that is, they are supposed to get the subject talking. It's important to get the interview subject to drop their defenses and open up about themselves, their work or their lives. It's not exactly the Socratic Method, but it's important to get students used to provide thoughtful, reflective answers on various subjects addressed in class. Even the shy ones must be prodded, very carefully, to voice their opinions or provide a cogent response.

One time, a few years ago, I was invited to be interviewed on a radio station in the Twin Cities. Michael Jackson had just died, and the station wanted an "expert" to talk about how his death would affect prices for Michael Jackson memorabilia. It was a half-hour show, and I was pretty nervous. See, it's comfortable for me to be the interviewer, but up until that time, I had rarely ever been interviewed myself. The fact that I was not really much of an expert on Michael Jackson memorabilia made it all the more nerve-wracking, but I was representing my magazine, so I needed to be on. Somehow, I got through it, although it was a bit rough. It helped that only days beforehand I had interviewed an actual memorabilia expert about this exact topic.

The morale of this story, if there is one, is that as adults, we're often called on to do things that we aren't comfortable doing. Using questioning in the classroom can at least prepare students for these types of situations they will probably face later on in life. So, as educators, we're not just assessing. We're preparing students for life after school. Assessing a child's learning serves a couple of purposes: one, it helps teachers figure out where their students are at as far as their educational development; and two, assessment just might help them when confronting difficult situations in the working world.

Getting to know you

Last Wednesday, our little class of future teachers was scheduled to meet with some local young minority adults for a night of fun and a getting-to-know-you session. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, I was forced to miss the event, and I hated to miss out on the opportunity to interact with students I've never met.

Although I was unable to be present that night, I did have occasion last fall to observe a racially mixed third grade classroom in the Madison area. Interestingly enough, 85 percent of the student population of that particular school receives free and reduced lunches, which is a really high number. My initial knee-jerk reaction, sadly enough, was to gird my loins and expect the worst. It's hard to avoid jumping to the conclusion that poorer students will be more unruly than their more affluent counterparts. Of course, in reality, that's not always the case.

And it wasn't in this one either. I truly enjoyed my time working with those kids, and in almost every instance, they were really well-behaved and a delight to be around. Not all of the children were highly engaged in the lessons being taught, but let's face it, that's the norm in any classroom.

One of the lessons taught by Dr. Aida Michlowski during her presentation on multiculturism had to do with putting ourselves in other people's shoes and trying as hard as we can to understand what they're going through. Just in talking to students about their lives you begin to see a little bit what challenges each of them face, but you also learn their strengths and their interests, and you find out what talents they have. Things like color and religious background begin to matter less and less. All kids need opportunities to enhance their skills while working on those areas that give them difficulty. And they need to be challenged to break out of their comfort zones and apply what they've learned in new and foreign situations.

Still, as teachers, we need to be cognizant of whatever challenges they face outside of school and work to block them out. Or better yet, perhaps even turn them to their advantage in some way.

Reading time

Fitting reading activities into daily classroom activities presents problems for teachers. On the one hand, they know reading is important, but then again, educators have to wonder about whether class time should be spent doing something else. After all, students can read whatever material that's pertinent to a particular lesson at home, perhaps in preparation for the following day's class, and there's only so much time in a school day.

However, as John Lee, author of "Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Methods," writes, "Teachers should value all forms of reading in class." Why? I suspect it's because in-class reading activities can improve the reading skills of all students. For example, when students read to each other, and listen to how their fellow classmate is reading, it can improve fluency. Perhaps that's more of a concern for those teaching reading, but in the end, the more opportunities students have to read, it's likely they'll become better readers. And that goes for understanding as well as fluency.

But, time is limited, and we, as teachers, have to make the best use of whatever precious minutes are available for reading. How do we do that? Lee has some suggestions. One, he opines that setting aside 10 to 15 minutes for reading is ideal. You can't read "War and Peace" in that amount of time, but you can provide students with small chunks of written material to peruse within that short period.

According to Lee, teachers need to keep these pedagogical factors in mind when assigning readings, whether in class or out: determine how students would benefit from reading certain written materials when learning about a particular subject; consider conditions such as time, students' reading abilities and length of the source; and how the reading should be adapted and contextualized.

Going further, as potential teachers of social studies, we ought to think about the literacy-related skills the National Council for Social Studies has determined are essential for studying related subject matter. Of course, reading, studying, and thinking are three of them, but we ought to be concerned also with having students develop reference and information search skills, tech savvy and the ability to organize and use information.

There is a great social studies activity outlined on pg. 260-261 from National Geographic's Underground Railroad Experience at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad that offers a rich variety of opportunities for students to work on their social studies literacy skills. I'm sure you all read it, but it follows an imagined runaway slave through different states. Students use various resources to determine the risk the slave faces while on the run. Map skills, visualizing and creative writing are some of the skills that such an activity fosters. And these are the kinds of things we need to keep in mind when developing social studies literacy lessons in our own classrooms.

Assessing without really trying

There are those rare teachers who seem to handle their classroom instruction effortlessly, moving from topic to topic with the ease of a ballroom dancer. And when something unexpected arises, it doesn't throw them. They roll with the changes, without losing sight of the objectives of their lessons. Then, there are the rest, the ones who have to work at classroom management and get flummoxed when things go wrong. They can still rally to create educational opportunities that successfully meet learning targets, but it's a struggle. I'm guessing I'll be in that category, the one where nothing comes easy.

Of course, experience can help, but occasionally, the really talented teachers are just naturals. Learning how to conduct informal assessment techniques, though, can help those of us who are somewhat more clumsy or inexperienced in front of a class at least carry out assessments without kids becoming aware that they are being evaluated. Well, "evaluated" is not the right word, actually. Evaluations usually involve tests, according to John Lee, author of the textbook "Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Methods." Although both assessments and evaluations involve gathering information about student learning, assessment can be used as an aid to instruction, because it is conducted at the start of, during and after instruction, whereas evaluation only occurs at the end. Lee offers three informal assessment techniques that should be easy for all of potential teachers to employ.

Questioning is one means of informal assessment that provides teachers with a means of gaining an immediate understanding of where students are at in the educational process. Queries should be open-ended and non-confrontational. They should open doors, not slam them shut on students. We want to encourage their curiosity, and in the end, we want them to give good answers. So we wait .. we wait for them and help guide them to come up with a well-formulated answers, and we need to call on both the enthusiastic and the shy. That way, we get everyone involved, helping elevate all students in the class and not just reinforce the knowledge of a few elite students.

A second way to assess students without them being aware it's being done is to poll them. When a teacher needs to check for understanding regarding certain subject matter in a way that is less intrusive, a quick way of doing it is to find out how many students agree with points being made or certain concepts being taught. Lastly, there is the seat check technique. By circulating about the room and checking on students' work at their seats, teachers can get a good idea where they're at with regard to the rest of the class. Coming up with criteria that can be used to determine how well they are carrying out their assignments is a key component of this technique. Teachers who do this can correct and redirect students who are off track. All of these three techniques appear easy to implement without being obvious about it. 

Group think

There are three little words that educators should remember when designing lessons based on interactive instruction: "dynamic," "active" and "meaningful." According to advice from John Lee, author of "Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Methods," programs that attempt to engage students using interactive instruction should be all of those things and more.

Keeping students actively involved is not as easy as it sounds, but making sure they are engaged with other students is one way. Collaboration, on the other hand, leads to meaningful learning, if it promotes the idea of students working together on something that they can relate to in their daily lives. To make a lesson dynamic, however, requires a skilled hand. Teachers must design lessons with flexibility in mind, organizing materials in such a way as to build energy and create intellectually vigorous activities with shifting concerns.

For the novice teacher, these are treacherous waters. There are a world of considerations to ponder while designing such lessons, not the least of which is how do we group our students. Many of us have already written lesson plans that make a point of including group work in classroom activities. It stands to reason, however, that few of us have put much thought into exactly how we group our students. Do we split them up into groups of four? What exactly will they be doing in their groups? How should they divide the work? Will they present their findings to the class? Should each group be homogeneous or heterogeneous? Perhaps partnering up students in pairs would be a better idea?

All of this comes down to knowing our students, their abilities and what they know already about the subject they'll be studying. Just as it's important for educators to be flexible when it comes to creating dynamic interactive instruction, we should be just as malleable, and perhaps even experimental, when it comes to splitting students up into groups. As Chapter 9 of Lee's book reveals, there are many considerations to address before implementing interactive instruction approaches. Just the act of being willing to try different means of grouping students, I believe, will create the kind of dynamic learning environment teachers want. Shaking things up on occasion can keep students from getting complacent. The idea I find very interesting is that of jigsaw grouping, where teachers have each group complete one activity and then change the composition of each group before moving on to the next task. What better way to keep students on their toes than to change the game on occasion.

A civics lesson

Considering the low voter turnout numbers we see with almost every election, there's never been a greater need for civic competence education. Of course, that's not the only civics problem in America. The general populace is woefully uninformed about the issues of the day. Just as disturbing is the widespread lack of understanding about how government works and who the main players are. I hate to say it, but I would lump myself in that group, as well, and as an educator, I plan on modeling for students a curiosity about contemporary politics and how historical events have influenced what is happening today.

It's no wonder then that the National Council for the Social Studies has sounded the alarm in calling for an increased emphasis on civic competence in social studies education, as was stated by author John Lee in Chapter 7 of "Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Methods." Lee states, "Civic competence requires knowledge of the democratic system of government in the United States and the rights and responsibilities of citizens." I would argue that Lee's definition is too narrow. Of course, with elementary students, there is a process to developing civic competence, and it begins with a healthy balance between respecting authority and respecting others, as Lee writes. And, as they advance through elementary school, high school and then college, they become more aware of the complexities involved in politics and take part in the local, state and national dialogue over social and political issues.

And that word "dialogue" is important, because it implies that students engage in it in an attempt to come to a common understanding with their fellow citizens. To have a meaningful dialogue, however, it behooves citizens to be knowledgeable about all sides of that particular issue being discussed. Not knowing everything about that issue certainly doesn't preclude people from joining in the conversation; however, the more knowledge you have, the more empathy and acceptance you might have for the opinions of others.

After reading Chapter 7, I was thinking about the Pledge of Allegiance. I haven't recited it in years, and yet the words came back to me immediately. And I started wondering if we were ever taught the history of the Pledge of Allegiance. I honestly couldn't recall if we'd ever studied the back story in class. So, I looked it up online and found out that it was originally composed by Francis Bellamy in 1892 and that it wasn't adopted as the pledge by Congress until 1942, during the years of World War II. I remember saying the Pledge of Allegiance in school and not thinking anything about the words or what they meant. Most kids don't think about it, but it seems to me that learning about it beforehand would help students respect it more. Otherwise, it's just an exercise in rote memorization. This is a great teachable moment, and I suspect there are many others that crop up during the elementary years to instill in students a respect for the institutions of government and the trappings of patriotism.

Over time, as well, I would hope that educators would help their students look at politics and government with a critical, independent eye and not just swallow hook, line and sinker everything they read or see on TV news programs.

Walking in someone else's shoes

Knowing exactly where Montenegro is on a map is a fun skill to pull out at parties. If nothing else, it might come in handy on trivia nights at the local tavern. But, ultimately, if you can't talk intelligently about anything else having to do with the country, then you practically know nothing at all about it or its people or its culture.

When we're younger we might fantasize about faraway lands, but mostly, we're concerned about our immediate surroundings. As teenagers, we might wonder what the girls are like in the next town over, or if we're in sports, we wonder how good their teams are. Those other places are mysteries to us.

Author John Lee, in the textbook "Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Methods," reminds those of us training to be teachers that " ... sometimes we limit our understanding by rigidly valuing one place over another." In other words, we might want nothing to do with places we've heard are terrible in some way. Word of mouth can be a powerful deterrent. For instance, a child in a small town might be indoctrinated to believe that cities are dangerous places to visit or live. The same goes for other countries. Altering those entrenched perceptions is not always an easy job.

"Teachers have to help their students expand on the attachment children and adults have to their home," writes Lee. The well-worn phrase "expanding their horizons" comes to mind, and while it may be overused, that's certainly what we, as future educators, are called to do. Empathy is something we want students to develop. We want them to, essentially, take as many walks in the shoes of as many people who are different from us as they can. An in-depth study of geography can help educators guide their students to become empathetic learners.

And it can start with simply showing students pictures of people from different countries going about their daily activities. Seeing them at work or at leisure can trigger questions about what their lives are like. Figure 6.4 in "Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Methods" shows three images of life in South Africa. There's one of San Bushman hunting with a bow and arrow alongside an ancient settlement called Umtata, with small houses dotting the not-so-densely-populated landscape. Another photo shows how fertile the land is. Being from farm country in Wisconsin, surely children from here might feel a kinship with the agricultural character of such a region and think about how different farming is there compared to here. Wisconsin also happens to be a land where outdoors activities like hunting and fishing are treasured. Seeing the rudimentary bow and arrow used by the San Bushman might get students to compare and contrast hunting activities in their country with those of other nations.

Lee postulates, "The more closely we associate ourselves, through experience, with a place the more likely we are to be willing and able to study that place." I'm already planning to do some research on South Africa after I post this blog.

Cultural diversity in the hinterland

Frederic, Wis., was not exactly a melting pot of different ethnic groups or religious belief systems in the late '70s or early '80s. Sure, there were Methodists, Catholics and Lutherans, but as far as Islam or Buddhism or Judaism goes, the place was devoid of such exotic faiths.

Nor was it a locale where people of color flocked to. In the entire time I went to school there, no African-Americans were enrolled at Frederic. And the only Asian student we had was a Japanese exchange student, whose stay in town was all to brief. To say the least, it was a vanilla environment. So, when it came to cultural diversity and the curriculum, let's just say it wasn't a high priority. After graduation, I couldn't wait to go to college and meet people of various backgrounds.

The place has changed some in the years since, and more attention is paid to exposing students there to different cultures, including the Native American community that resides close by. No other field of study offers a greater range of opportunities to investigate other cultures than social studies. And with the drive in this country to come up with national standards for every subject, including social studies, teachers will be compelled to create learning environments that encourage cultural diversity education. More than that, however, they will be encouraged to investigate cultural diversity in their own communities and their own classrooms and design lessons that reflect the different backgrounds of their students.

As John Lee, author of "Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Method," writes on page 323 of the book, "At the classroom level, teachers must implement the curriculum, which provides teachers another opportunity to reflect the diversity in their school and classroom." Examples of this approach abound, as teachers in our state of Wisconsin conduct lessons on immigration and what ethnic groups settled here, or they might direct their students to research the various Native American tribes that have populated the region throughout history. Also, they might design lessons that deal with the influx of Hmong immigrants to Wisconsin and have their students research the reasons why they settled here. Lee's book mentions how an elementary teacher in New Mexico might have his or her students study the contributions of Native Americans to the region they call home.

These types of lessons naturally engage students, who often want to learn about the histories of their own families or those of their fellow classmates. In the end, lessons like these give children of different backgrounds the chance to share their cultural backgrounds with others who may be unfamiliar with their ethnic heritages. That's one of the wonderful experiences schools can provide.

Cause and effect in 'Argo' and historical thinking

"Argo" recently won the Oscar for Best Picture, and after finally getting around to watching it today, it certainly is worthy of the honor. It has to do with the Iran hostage crisis, a moment in history that I haven't forgotten, even if some of the memories of it are a little fuzzy.

In November 1979, militant Islamists broke into the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage, fueled by the emotional surge of the Iranian Revolution, which deposed the Shah of Iran. The standoff lasted 444 days and helped decide a Presidential election, as incumbent Jimmy Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Carter's inability to bring the hostages home safe and sound cost him the office.

What few remembered about the event, at least before "Argo" came out, was that six embassy workers escaped before the embassy takeover and were taken in by Canadian diplomats. "Argo" tells the story of how the Central Intelligence Agency and the Canadian government conducted a joint operation to help those six escapees flee Iran before they were captured.

Being only 12 years old when it happened, I had a very vague recollection of what exactly caused violent uprising that resulted in the hostage situation. I remembered it having something to do with the Shah's ouster and Islamist fundamentalism sweeping through Iran like a tsunami. I remembered seeing images of American flags being burned and seeing American political figures burned in effigy on the streets of Tehran. They hated us, and part of the reason was that Shah was viewed as a friend of the United States. What I had completely forgotten was how the U.S. took in the Shah, who was dying of cancer at the time. The Iranian people wanted retribution for the Shah's reported cruelty while in power, and the U.S. refused to turned him over to the Iranian government for judgement and in all likelihood, an execution.

There is a movement afoot in social studies education to develop "historical thinking" skills among students today. The National Center for History in the Schools has defined historical thinking activities as those with involve chronological thinking, historical comprehension, historical analysis and interpretation, historical research capabilities, and analysis and decision-making related to historical issues.

In short, teachers are not just supposed to get students to memorize all of the possible causes of a certain historical event. Instead, having a historical understanding of that event involves being able to prioritize what causes are more important than others. Given the story of "Argo," my understanding of the Iranian hostage crisis has evolved.

Would the hostage crisis have happened if the U.S. had denied the Shah entry into the country? We'll never know for sure. Anti-U.S. sentiment in the region is complicated, and that one act alone may not have actually driven Iranian militants to such extreme measures. Then again, knowing the history of the Shah's bloody rule, it's safe to assume that the U.S. giving safe passage to the Shah certainly played a big role in bringing to a head the events of 1979. As history teachers, we need to encourage our students to dig deep to find out what really caused something to happen. More importantly, though, they need to be able to analysis historical events to argue what effect those causes had on the event being investigated.

Evolution of a lesson plan

Quite by accident, my partner, Dona, and I have collaborated on a lesson plan that aligns perfectly with National Geography Standard 12, which states, "Students must develop an understanding of the fundamental processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement across the Earth's surface, and thereby come to appreciate the spatially ordered ways in which Earth has become the home of people."

In all honesty, all we initially wanted to do was teach a lesson on Ellis Island. We wanted our students to learn how Ellis Island played a such a huge role in settling the wild frontier of a country still in its infancy. Almost as if by magic, our lesson expanded its scope, moving from Ellis Island to the much larger subject of immigration. So, we divided the class into groups, assigned them a country of origin to study and directed them to find out as much data on how people from that country migrated to America as they could, paying special attention to the migration of different ethnic groups to Wisconsin.

One of the buzz words in education these days has to do with "unpacking" the standards, or the process by which educators - through their subject knowledge and pedagogical training - decide what concepts, facts and ideas should be taught in relation to a specific standard in such a way as to make it meaningful for students. Dona and I did some unpacking, only I'm not sure we were aware we were doing it. At least, I wasn't. Below is a video of an educator who has fully embraced the "unpacking" the standards concept.

We certainly didn't pick a standard and design our lesson around it. We picked a subject we thought would be interesting to students and important for them to study. Lo and behold, there was a standard for that. Essentially, what we did was we spent some time spit-balling ideas, and without us really realizing what was happening, the subject of our lesson grew outward from our initial "Ellis Island" idea. And our collaboration resulted in a lesson plan that I, and I assume Dona as well, feel will be meaningful for our imaginary fourth grade students.

For instance, as part of this lesson, they must find out the history of their family's migration to America and Wisconsin. What could be more meaningful for kids than to find out where exactly they came from? This is their inquiry, and because it is personal to them, this is the kind of authentic learning we, as educators, strive for.

This blog is not meant to be boastful. After all, Dona and I did sort of stumble around until we arrived at our destination, especially since our collective lack of tech savvy slowed the process considerably. It was an interesting collaborative effort, however, especially as we worked Sunday on the Google document version of our lesson together via the Internet from different places. We tried different things, tweaked our ideas some and completely abandoned those that didn't work. And somehow, in the end, we sort of "unpacked" not only the standard that we wanted to address, but also the very subject matter we wanted our students to study.

It was a great experiment in collaborative learning, since a lot of the time, we prospective teachers are taught to group students with differing levels of ability. My first collaboration, with Sandy, was different. She is much more advanced with regard to technology than I, but she took this digital immigrant by the hand and helped me learn to do a flipped lesson via Sophia and a timeline using something called Dippity. And I'm the better for it. But, I also enjoyed working with Dona, because we're both at about the same level when it comes to technology. In essence, we had to pull our team up by its own bootstraps. So, perhaps there are advantages to grouping students together who have different levels of ability and who have similar skill levels.

Impressed by Prezi

Many people have said that teaching is akin to performance art. So, it makes sense that I should be blogging about education and the use of Prezi (see the YouTube video below for a Prezi demonstration) on the night of the Oscars. There certainly are comparisons to be made between acting and teaching. As a teacher, we need our performances to be riveting. And, as Daniel Day-Lewis's performance in "Lincoln" proves, authenticity is important in creating accurate portrayals of historical figures, just as it is for students in the field of social studies.

Inquiry lessons that make use of authentic, real-life materials enhance learning, and educators need to know how to handle them. They must do a good job of identifying the information in those resources that is germane to the subject being studied. Furthermore, teachers must be able to see, in advance, how students can best utilize the materials in their studies, while also making sure they know which resources are ideal for that particular inquiry and which ones are less applicable.

When we consider using technology in the classroom, it certainly does help educators and students connect to authentic materials they might not otherwise be able to access, including old photos of the past or diaries from those who lived through certain events but have since passed on. Being able to interact with such material can only improve any historical inquiry students undertake.

More than that, however, various technological advancements and computer programs allow students to take that information and present it in ways that grab the attention of their audiences. One such program that I've had the pleasure of toying around with recently is Prezi. My partner, Dona, and I are using it for the next lesson plan we're doing, and it very user-friendly, which is important for two digital immigrants like us.

Great for doing timelines and other types of presentations, Prezi offers the opportunity to arrange bite-sized chunks of information in logical order with eye-catching graphics that are make it difficult to tear yourself away from the screen while watching them. Two of the more interesting ones I viewed were one on Martin Luther King, Jr. and another on great jazz bassists. The Martin Luther King, Jr. example was a timeline that featured the important events in his life, while allowing viewers to also take in video clips and speeches he gave. The one on jazz bassists was even more interactive, with historic performance clips and detailed explanations of their contributions to jazz.

Dona and I are planning a Prezi on Ellis Island. I can't wait to see how it'll turn out. I don't know if it'll be Oscar-worthy, but we'll do our best.

Regeneration and the Inquiry Process

An inquiry involves an investigation of some kind, but it all starts with a question. Somebody with an interest in the Vietnam War may ask, "Which side actually won it?" Or, that person might want to know what started it in the first place. So often in education, however, those questions come from teachers. They're the ones who start the conversation or get the ball rolling on experiments designed to test hypotheses. Wouldn't it be wonderful though if those questions came from the students themselves?

Perhaps that's our mission as future teachers, although it's not enough to simply encourage students to ask the  big, essential questions we want them to consider. More importantly, we need to get results. We need to prime the pump and get them to actually spit the questions out. The inquiry process might just get the results we're looking for. In John Lee's "Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Methods," the author refers to the "regeneration" that can occur with the inquiry process, a four-step cycle that begins with sparking learner interest in a question. Lee writes on pg. 58, "The development of a child's interest in learning is an essential task for teachers at the onset of an inquiry activity." The sequence continues with clarification of the question or problem, which the teacher does by considering matters related to standards and curriculum. An examination is then conducted, followed by the suggestion of an answer.

The great thing about the inquiry process, however, is that it can generate more questions from students related to the subject at hand. As Lee writes on pg. 58, "Students' interests in solving these problems may well fuel new learning opportunities - moving them to step 2 again for more clarification before they examine materials and resources to address the problem." Prior to reading the Lee book, I hadn't thought of the inquiry process in that way.

I love the idea of regeneration, this constant cycling of questions, examinations and the search for answers, which, in turn, can bring about more questions. It's the teacher's job to initially spark an interest in something, and they can do it by simply showing students a provocative photo or, as the example in the Lee book shows, by asking about the effects of high gas prices. It starts with such a simple question: "Has anyone seen the price of gas lately?" You might start a conversation in a restaurant the same way. That's what good interviewers do. It's all about getting people talking. In essence, it's the same thing in education. How often have teachers lamented the lack of student commentary in their classrooms? Perhaps the answer is as simple as asking the right questions.

The power of storytelling

Every community has a story to tell. As a matter of fact, every community has hundreds, even thousands of stories to tell. You learn that as a reporter that wherever you are stationed, be it a small town or a large city, there is an endless supply of tales to tell. And even the people who've lived there their whole lives - the ones who, as they say, know where the bodies are buried - don't know them all.

As we've learned from John Lee's "Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Methods," engaging stories can spark an interest in history among students. Being a former newspaper man, who used to do a lot of "Looking Back" type pieces for published editions, I loved reading about characters that have inhabited different communities over time or the events that changed the course of history for a place. Floods, tornadoes, snowstorms, droughts have wreaked havoc on communities in this state. Changes in technology have affected how residents have become more connected with the world. Wars in foreign lands have resulted in the deaths of people who called various communities home. I think newspapers and other chronicles of a community's history present many wonderful opportunities to not only learn about the history of that village, town or city, but also about what was happening in the country or the world as a whole that affected life as they knew it.



Lee writes on pg. 13 of "Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Methods" that, "Children must understand that history is not based on a single narrative or a sole perspective." That is absolutely true. The fabric of history is woven with many different threads. What we learn the more we read about historical events is that people and places were impacted differently by various events. The Civil War is a great example. The battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg affected the soldiers of both armies differently. Reading journal entries or letters from them that have survived over the years offer varying perspectives on what actually happened. That to me is the joy of studying history.

Lee's example of Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune and their friendship offers students a different look at race relations and politics in the 1930s and '40s. The educational treatment of that subject helps students feel as if they are part of the story. That same feeling of being connected to that story can happen through reading newspaper accounts of a community's history, or even better, oral histories of certain events that took place can certainly give students a greater sense of what it was like to live in the past and offer them an interesting perspective on what is happening today in their hometowns.

Whatever the case, storytelling is a powerful tool for teachers, and when used right, it can lead to a lifelong pursuit of historical truth, which can certainly evolve over time.