3b: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques- Mock Treaty of Paris 1763
I love doing reenactments in the classroom, it allows students to engage with history and to make it a personal experience instead of a date or event to memorize.
We had discussed the 7 Years War and its conclusion, the Treaty of Paris 1763, and students had denounced the event as unfair to the majority of the parties involved. Because of this, I challenged my students to recreate the Treaty of Paris 1763 and make it as 'fair as they saw fit'. This led to some interesting results. Students were first randomly assigned to one of the 3 parties involved (England, France, Native Americans) and tasked with detailing what they wanted from the new treaty using the graphic organizer provided (food, land, resources). We then set up a mock conference room with each party sending delegates to advocate for their country's/peoples' wishes. In the first round of discussion, each party wanted to make the treaty a 3-way split in everything because that was what students considered 'fair'. They were then taken-aback when I asked them if this arrangement really was fair. Was it fair for the 'winner' of a war to get the same share as the 'loser'? This prompted shocked faces and mass scrambling for new negotiations. The second round of discussion was lively (and heated at times), as each group tried to get the most for their party with what leverage they had, even using promises of payment and alliances to broker a deal. After this second round of debate some classes had come to an agreement for a 'fair' treaty while others had met a stalemate. This activity was engaging for students because it allowed them to connect to history on a personal level while also providing them with a perspective on politics and how political debate demands compromise. |
3c: Engaging Students in Learning- Native American 1-Pager
This artifact is the summative assessment of the Native American unit that I taught in a 6th grade Social Studies classroom. This activity is called a 1-pager and students are required to completely fill a blank page with quotes, statements, questions, and pictures detailing a particular topic.
Students picked a Native American region to research and create a 1-pager on. They had to include information about the Native tribes living within this region like housing, food, religion, government, territory, climate, and clothes while also including 2 unique facts that separated their Native region from others. This activity is a fantastic way to accommodate for ELL and students on 504s and IEPs. It allows these students to convey to me that they understand the information required of them through pictures and short phrases, while allowing students in advanced classes the freedom to express their skills as well. Top left & top right= students with IEPs Bottom left= student in general Social Studies class Bottom right= student in advanced Social Studies class |
3e: Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness - Roanoke CSI
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I was very excited to teach this lesson as it was an investigation into the disappearance of the the lost colony of Roanoke. The activity was for students to look at the evidence (primary sources) left at Roanoke and decide which one of 6 scenarios was the most likely cause of Roanoke's colonists' disappearance.
But like many things, plans go awry. What was supposed to be an exciting and engaging investigation, turned into a dry recitation of facts that students had a difficult time tying together to make a coherent argument. This disappointing first day spurred me to make adjustments to the lesson for the second day. Instead of going through the evidence for each scenario as a class I broke up the scenarios into six groups and had each group analyze one specific scenario's evidence. Each group then presented their scenario and evidence to the class and discussed its credibility. This was much more engaging for my students and the participation throughout all of my classes improved immensely. Not every lesson plan is set in stone, nor do I think they should be. |