This lesson may be completed in whole or in part, depending on the needs of your students and the time that you have. FOCUS QUESTION In what ways is equality a proposition, or belief, worth fighting for? LESSON OVERVIEW Students will consider whether equality is important to our democracy as they develop a deep understanding of the literary and historical value of the Gettysburg Address through a game-based close reading of the text. LESSON OBJECTIVES Analyze primary sources … [Read more...]
Integrating Technology: Making Myriopticons
May 24, 2018 by Leave a Comment
OK, so this post isn't about digital technology but it does present an idea for combining history with a maker lab of sorts that incorporates math, engineering and art. Let's take a look at a blog post from In Custodia Legis, which features, “A Historical Panorama of the Rebellion” myriopticon, a toy manufactured by Milton Bradley around 1865. "The myriopticon was an educational device targeted at prepubescent boys that consists of a box containing a painted scroll and two scroll tubes. A key … [Read more...]
Timely Connections: Fake News & Civic Reasoning
November 17, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Practicing primary source analysis helps students develop historical thinking skills that also happen to be very important civic literacy skills. In an article from the Fall 2017 issue of American Educator, Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) provides assessments of online civic reasoning and tips for going beyond identifying news as "fake" or "real" to understanding where information comes from and who is behind it. Social studies consultant and History Tech blogger Glenn Wiebe provides … [Read more...]
Integrating Tech: Let’s Recap & Primary Source Analysis
June 5, 2017 by Leave a Comment
This is a guest post from veteran teacher Heather Klos, an 8th grade U.S. history teacher and the Social Studies department chair at Crownover Middle School in Corinth, Texas. Primary sources are one of the most valuable tools we have as social studies teachers. What better way to incorporate primary sources for the 21st century learner than through the use of technology. This year I discovered Recap and realized quickly that this could be a powerful tool in the analysis process for my … [Read more...]
Learning from the Source: Geography & the Civil War
May 15, 2017 by 1 Comment
This is a guest post from Nicole Woulfe, a middle school social studies teacher from New Hampshire and a Citizen U pilot lesson implementer. Learn more about the creation, implementation and reflection of this lesson. Focus Question What role did geography play in the turning points of Vicksburg and Sherman’s March during the Civil War? Content goal Geography Grade 6 Competency: Students will demonstrate and apply knowledge of geography and geographic tools in the study of the … [Read more...]
Tech Tool: Creating a Google Form Zoom-in Activity
March 29, 2017 by Leave a Comment
This is a guest post from Sara Conyers, a middle school history teacher at Longfellow Middle School in Falls Church, Virginia. Creating a Zoom-in primary source analysis activity using Google Forms is quick and easy. Step 1 – Select Image Select a primary source image that will challenge your students to dig deeper into the meaning and message of the creator. Images can be photographs, fine art, political cartoons, sheet music, printed ephemera and more. Step 2 – Create … [Read more...]
Teaching Now: Zooming In on the Benefits of Primary Source Analysis Using Google Forms
March 19, 2017 by Leave a Comment
This is a guest post from Alissa Oginsky, a museum educator and 6th-grade history teacher at Holmes Middle School in Alexandria, Virginia. Teachers are always on the hunt for new and exciting ways for students to exercise their critical and creative thinking skills. The journey, in fact, never seems to stop! Like many history teachers who have projected, printed, hidden parts of, and even cut up primary source images, I have seen the incredible power primary sources offer by giving students … [Read more...]
Integrating Tech: Zoom-in to Primary Source Analysis
March 15, 2017 by Leave a Comment
This is a guest post from Patti Winch, the Middle School Social Studies Specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in Virginia. I first learned about Zoom-ins about 10 years ago when taking a class with Northern Virginia’s Teaching with Primary Sources program or TPSNVA. Zoom-ins were originally developed by a FCPS teacher and subsequently shared via the TPSNVA platform. The strategy is also highlighted in Making Thinking Visible by Ron Ritchart, Mark Church, and Karin Morrison … [Read more...]
Tech Tool: Creating a Google Form for Primary Source Analysis
March 17, 2016 by 1 Comment
This is a guest post from Kelly Grotrian, an American History teacher at East Brunswick High School in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Google Forms is a great tool to use for student primary source analysis because it provides a single point of access for multiple sources and efficiently collates student responses into a spreadsheet which you can use to evaluate work and inform your instruction. Here is how to start using Google Forms (new version) with a primary source analysis … [Read more...]
Integrating Tech: Primary Source Analysis using Google Forms
March 10, 2016 by Leave a Comment
This is a guest post from Kelly Grotrian, an American History teacher at East Brunswick High School in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Far and away my favorite Google App for Education is Google Forms. Forms allows you to present a variety of primary sources to students in an organized fashion and to collect data on the analysis of those sources to inform your instruction. Google Forms also allow learners to work at their own pace, which is something that my students enjoy because they have the … [Read more...]
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