John Spencer's Blog: Practical Musings from a Not-So-Master Teacher

Integrating Games as Extended Metaphors

2009-07-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

I am not a big fan of most educational games. They seem to suffer from the Jeopardy Disease, which is to say they require students to recite disconnected facts with the goal of earning points. Don't get me wrong, this might be fine for review purposes. However, I've had some success in using games to teach concepts:

Dodgeball - I do a modified dodgeball game where there are tiny teams that can then form alliances with big teams. This teaches the alliance system as well as imperialism (the desire to take over the world)

Risk: I use a modified version of this game in teaching the causes of World War I

Pit: There's a card game I made that's similar to this that shows the rational/irrational side of the stock market and we usually discuss whether the market is a "check" on greed or if it creates greed

Monopoly: I begin with basic Monopoly and then change the rules for socialism and communism. In socialism, no one goes bankrupt. There are high taxes. Passing "Go" redistributes wealth. In communism, I control the board and all people make the same salary, all properties are redistributed. We then talk about the pros and cons of each system.

Tag: I play a version of tag where each person has to tag all other people and only the tenth person can be free (all other nine people become "it" as well) I use this to explain the fear of communism in the Cold War and also the destruction of native civilization based upon disease (The book 1491 does a great job with this subject)

Simon Says: It's a simple game, but a great one to teach socialization and obedience and the dangers of it. We discuss the concepts of freedom and coercian and militarism in school. This helps set up the unit on World War II.

Incidentally, I want to reiterate that I don't do games all the time. Typically, these are created in the beginning and become a reference for us later on in the unit.

Assessment: Portfolios

2009-07-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Often when I think of assessment, I forget that it's not designed for the teacher. Ultimately, if I want students to become self-directed learners, I need assessment to be based upon a dialogue between the teacher and the student. I need students to learn how to analyze their own work.

From my experience, the best method for authenticity is a portfolio. Here, the student directs the dialogue and has a chance to reflect on his or her own work.

When students create portfolios in my class, they choose examples and write reflections on the following:

1. A work that was the most challenging

2. A work that demonstrates mastery of a concept and a skill

3. Two works that demonstrate growth from the beginning to the end

4. A work that was most meaningful and led to greater personal development - In other words, what was the most meaningful to the student and most relevant to his or her life?

5. A work that could be used for further development

Afterward, they create a self-assessment based upon both the standards and upon personal reflections. Questions I use for the personal reflections vary from year to year, but include:

What were your greatest strengths as a student?
What were your greatest weaknesses as a student?
In which areas did you improve the most as a student?
Why is history relevant to life?
How have your beliefs about your world changed over the course of this semester?

Assessment: Concept Map

2009-06-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

Most assessments do not measure what students know. Rather, they measure what students do not know. A multiple choice test will not tell a teacher whether a student knows the causes of the Civil War, but whether they know the wrong answer.

I can see some validity in testing ignorance, but it seems that assessments should test student knoweldge as well. One format for testing knowledge is an essay test. While this provides great qualitative, critical thinking knowledge, it often fails in the respect that its scope must be limited.

On assessment solution is the concept map. My favorite electronic format is CMaps (also called IHMC Cmap Tools) where students can demonstrate knowledge in the form of a web. Unlike the traditional webs, students can add pictures, graphics, color-codes, shapes and verbs to make it more interdimensional. The program is offered to educators as freeware, which makes it ideal for teachers at all levels.

If the computer route is not an option, another method would be creating pencil and paper concept maps. It lacks some of the interdimensional elements, but it works really well. As a result, students are able to demonstrate what they are thinking it a web-like format. It doesn't have to be linear. It isn't bound by rules of grammar. It's almost like a snapshot of the mind; a snapshot that tells teachers not only what students know but how they organize this knowledge.

A word of advice here: offer a few writing prompts connected to the map. It might be something like, "Describe, in a paragraph, how two of the ideas relate to one another" or "Summarize the key ideas of your concept map."

Graffiti Gallery

2009-06-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

The Graffiti Gallery combines visual, creative and kinesthetic learning into one activity. I've seen many variations on this strategy and I don't claim it as mine. If you have any ideas on how to improve it or change it, please offer some feedback.

I place large poster boards (or butcher paper) on different areas of the classroom. Students walk around from place to place and read the feedback of other groups and then offer their own. I usually give three to five minutes per zone and require one person in each group to write an answer in that group's color. However, there are times when all students in the group must write something. Afterward, we review these as a class.

A tech-integrated variation is a virtual graffiti gallery where students go from blog post to blog post or where they go from Google Document to Google Document.

A few examples:

Quotes on each one and a short reflection to each quote
A short passage (poem, expository text, case study) with a critical thinking question
Graphic organizers at each one. For example, there might be charts or Venn Diagrams and students fill them out
Brainstorms at each location
Key term and students must find an example for each

exit slips

2009-06-29T07:45:00.000-07:00

One of the fastest ways for me to know whether my students are understanding the information each day is with a real simple exit slip. I don't claim to take credit for this, but I use it in my class on a daily basis.

At the end of the day, I ask a question that students must answer on a short slip of paper. Some teachers use index cards, but I'm too cheap, so I cut regular paper into strips that students use for the exit question.

The exit question can be broad or specific. For example, I might ask, "What were the four causes of World War II?" or I might ask a personal question, "How do you see globalization in your world?" or someting more philosophical, "After learning about ways to manage your money, do you think having more money will make people happy?"

It really comes down to the question, "What do I want the students to tell me based upon the lesson?" Sometimes I want an overview of knowledge. Other times I want something with more critical thinking. The students have five minutes to answer it (sometimes less time) and then they turn it into a small bin as they leave the class.

At the end of the day, I read through the cards and I pull out kids who might need extra help. I also get a sense of what the class, in general, needs help with.

Think-Write-Pair-Share

2009-06-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

I like the notion of a think-pair-share and I've heard the information about its efficacy. It makes sense that students should think and reflect on an idea, pair up with a person and then share the information to a larger group. It's a simple concept that does a great job in avoiding groupthink. In fact, I thought about it often when I read Wisdom of Crowds.

I have a slight variation on it, because I believe students remember information better after they have written information, rather than simply thinking about it.

The process is simple:

Step One: Students think about something. This could be a brainstorm question, a personal question, a general reflection question.

Step Two: Students take what they thought about and write. This could be a web or graphic organizer, but it soud be something written and visual.

Step Three: Students pair up and share their information.

Step Four: The pairs share their information to the class or to a small group.

Rethinking Art Appreciation

2009-06-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

The creative impulse is an aspect of all human experience. Regardless of race, ethnicity, culture or nationality, it is a deeply human desire, perhaps even a need, to express oneself creativity. Sadly, much of "the arts" have been relegated to "elective" classes and occasionally social studies or language arts. However, I can see a meaningful integration of art into all subjects. Here are a few ideas:

Math - Demonstrating proporotions, patterns and other elements found in art. It doesn't have to simply be an MC Escher styled artist. Math teachers can use art when teaching math. Moreover, there is a ton of math in achitecture. One of my favorite units in math involved designing both the interior and exterior of a house. Teachers mocked my teacher's approach to this, but we aced the standardized test on area, surface area, perimeter and a host of other math-related concepts. In other words, she gave us a realistic, artistic avenue to use math.
Science - I would use art when teaching the history of science as well as the intersection between culture, art and science. There are tons of examples. Off the top of my head, I think of the rise of modernism with quantum mechanics and how this shaped society. Then there are the issues of human / environment interaction, which are always a part of the science standards. I can also see examples of naturalist, impressionist and nature-related artists and how these could apply to understanding science.
Social Studies - I use art appreciation throughout every era that I teach. It's impossible to understand any people group without viewing their art. I think it's a shame that many studnets know of Cesar Chavez but have never seen images of Chicano Park or seen the social art associated with the movement.
Language Arts - Art and literature are so intertwined that it would be impossible to mention one without the other. Yet, many teachers fail to engage students in the arts when reading novels and short stories.

It goes beyond simple appreciation. Students should have a chance to create collages, draw pictures (not simple story sketches), interpret the mood of a story by using paints/chalks/water color and use artistic formats in mindmaps (integrating images into it).

Organizing: A Few Models to Consider

2009-06-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

Here are the three main ways that I have organized service learning:

Curricular

All the service is done in-class
Ideas: painting flower pots for the nursing home, crocheting blankets for a hospital, setting up gift baskets for Secretary's Day
Option 1: Students participate in groups in researching an issue and doing some type of service connected to it
Option 2: The class creates a service project as a group (such as a food drive) that connects to current subject

Co-Curricular

Service is done both in and outside of class
Ideas: painting flower pots and then delivering them, doing a food drive and then volunteering at the food bank
Option 1: Students do a portion of planning as an enrichment activity
Option 2: Students work in groups creating plans for the project and then do the projects on their own
Option 3: The class takes some time to do the service project as a whole but most is done later

Extracurricular

Service is done outside of class
Ideas: any place, anywhere - lots of flexibility here (food bank, domestic violence shelter)
Option 1: Have a leadership team and then work together on various projects as a group - a very loose, fluid structure
Option 2: Break students into groups that plan activities after school, work on parts outside of school and then do a service event on their own

The First Three Weeks of Service Learning

2009-06-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a general framework that I've used in starting a service learning program.

Week One: Promote it

Part One: Discuss Together

1. Get students to bring in other students

2. Create a video

3. Dialogue about issues in the community

4. Brainstorm potential projects and stress that we won't be able to do all of them at once

5. Be honest about committment and sacrifice

Part Two: Actually work on a simple project

Week Two: Seriously Plan

1. Get groups together and make decisions

2. Have students work on the exploration part of service learning (such as a Needs Assessment)

3. Continue / Finalize the simple project

4. Set a timetable for projects

5. Generate goals

Week Three: Get working

If the numbers are there, have groups separate out and take charge of different projects

Reading and Writing Tutorials

2009-06-25T15:58:00.001-07:00

I created these to use with the students in my class. Feel free to use, modify or reject.
Complete Sentences
Conclusion
Dialogue
Elements of Literature and Poetry
Homonyms / Homophones
Introduction
Letter: Business
Letter: Personal
Persuasive Essay
Point of View
Prefixes
Punctuation Guide
Six Traits of Writing
Summaries
Transition Words

Advice on Service Projects

2009-06-25T15:39:00.000-07:00

I've made way too many mistakes in service projects. For that reason, I've created the following list regarding service projects

If possible, go local. While global fundraisers can raise awareness, students often miss opportunties to know the issues in-depth.
Integrate service activities with daily projects. For example, try a few visits to the food bank with the daily food drive.
Make sure at least part of it is physical, tangible work. Students want to see what service learning in action. Writing letters is okay, but they want to go out and do something.
See if you can tie it into social studies class or to a novel in language arts. The more connections, the deeper the learning.
Work with a place that is flexible in terms of too many or too few volunteers. Sometimes twenty kids say they'll show up and you get eight or twenty eight.
Always have at least two leaders at service events. Designate one person as the one in charge of dealing with parents and students and the other as the person working with an organization or charity.
Get permission slips out at least a week in advance and organized at least two days before the project
Bring a camera and take candid shots. It sounds obvious, but we've had tons of projects where no one took pictures.

The IMPACT Approach

2009-06-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

The IMPACT Approach

We use the following values in all of our service projects. They must incorporate as many of these as possible

Rationale: Involvement in the Community

Community involvement should be a reciprocal relationship, where students partner with the community. Therefore, students benefit when community members participate in documentaries, give guest speaker presentations or donate to our fundraising causes. On the other hand, the community benefits when we write letters to soldiers, donate cans to the food bank and volunteer hours with local charities. Community involvement helps students find future success in their college, career and community.

College - There are many scholarships available for students who have participated in community service. IMPACT begins that process early so that it can continue in high school as well.
Career - Companies look for employees with high ethical integrity. For that reason, years of community service will help on future resumes.
Community - Students learn what it means to be responsibile citizens who practice social justice.

Rationale: Meaningful Learning

We want students to ask the difficult questions of "What do I believe about life?" and "What is the best way to live?" Therefore, we structure activities, events and projects meant to make education more meaningful. We welcome the inquisitive student who asks the question "Why do I have to learn this?" Meaningful experiences are designed for students to find future success in their college, career and community.

College - If students know what they believe and see education as life-long learning, they will take a more meaningful approach to their college years.
Career - We provide meaningful experiences for students to explore future career opportunities while developing their own career philosophy.
Community - From going to the food bank to running their own car wash, service learning experiences make education more meaningful.

Rationale: Practical Skills

Ultimately, the measure of an education is whether it changes a person's life. Therefore, we provide practical skills that students will use in life. These include goal-setting, budgeting, typing, public speaking and literacy. The ultimate goal is that students will be able to use what they learned in "the real world." Practical skills prepare students for future success in their college, career and community.

College - Literacy, goal-setting, note-taking and public speaking are all examples of practical skills that students will use when they are independent and in college.
Career - The practical skills mentioned above are necessary in most careers.
Community Some of the best ways to transform a community begin with simple, practical answers. Therefore, it is important that students think of how they can use their skills to serve others.

Rationale: Accountability

Accountability begins with the belief that all students will learn and that we will do anything possible to make this happen. We hold students to high standards and provide extracurricular activities (such as the book club and writing club) as well as offering various tutoring to ensure that all students will learn. Academic accountability prepares students for future success in their college, career and community.

College - Students learn the necessary skills so that, four years after they leave our school, college will be a viable option.
Career - Accountability means students will learn the skills, the values and the concepts that will lead to success in whatever career field they choose.
Community We want students from Borman to have a good reputation among the community. High behavioral and academic standards foster greater partnerships between the school and the community

Rationale: Creativity

Sometimes, as a student, it can feel that everything must be the same - from worksheets to uniforms to the same cafeteria food as everyone else. For this reason, we provide creative outlets for students to use in exploring their world. Whether it is in media arts, visual arts or writing, students have the opportunity to use their creativity to serve the community. Creativity prepares students for future success in their college, career and community.

College - Students who practice creative arts learn valuable higher level thinking skills that can help in college. In addition, there are many fine arts related scholarships available for students.
Career - In the globalized workforce, creativity is a key ingredient to a company's success. For this reason, many corporations rate "creative thinking" among top skills needed by employees.
Community Creative arts can change a community. The murals in Philadelphia are a great example of how the community was transformed through art. This led to a higher morale and a lower crime rate

Rationale: Technology Integration

Technology integration is a key component to a student's academic success. In IMPACT, we guarantee that students will use a computer every day. By the end of the year, they will create an electronic portfolio and website, design and implement an independent research project, participate in all aspects of making a documentary in addition to learning word processing, spreadsheets, presentation software, blogging, wikis, concept mapping and other skills. Technology integration prepares students for future success in their college, career and community.

College - Universities are already shifting toward higher levels of technology integration. IMPACT students will have gained these skills before they enter high school.
Career - Within the next few decades, nearly every career will require some type of technology literacy. Those who have the skills will be more competitive in the global market.
Community Technology has the ability to connect students to a global village and help the community. Yet, it also has the potential to destroy community. Therefore, we engage students in a dialogue about using technology responsibly.

Form: Service Reflection

2009-06-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

This is what I use with students:

Part One: Evidence that you served, in the form of a letter that includes contact information (so that we can call the person or organization if we need to verify that the information is correct).

Part Two: Some type of online reflection. You can e-mail me your reflections (at least three paragraphs). You can contact me and we can do a podcast or video reflections. Or you can post your reflections to our service blog at socialvoiceaction.blogspot.com. In your reflections, you need to answer the following questions:

What did you do? How long did you serve? Who did it benefit?
How did you feel about it ahead of time?
How do you feel about it now?
What did you learn from the service? For example, did you learn something about the community? About yourself?
Would you recommend it to another person?

Student Leadership Team

2009-06-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

Once a week, our Student Leadership Team meets to plan together. This is important, because it empowers students to take ownership of the learning process. My friend who runs a service learning group has a Core Group that works as a service learning leadership team. I can see the validity in this, but I make it more of a democratic meeting where anyone is invited.

Here is what we do (not always in this order):

1. Review past projects - reflect on how they went and create feedback for the future

2. Plan future projects (brainstorming, for example)

3. Review progress on current projects and assign jobs (if need be)

4. Engage in specific dialogues about social issues. For example, if we are painting pots for the nursing home, we talk about the way America treats the elderly. This fourth, philosophical part, is crucial and avoids the meetings becoming too managerial.

Project Planning Sheet

2009-06-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

Check it the Project Planning Sheet on a Google Document

I use this with the Leadership Team that meets once a week.

Project Planning Sheet

Description of the Project

Who is involved? Who will this project benefit?

What will be accomplished?

Where will this take place?

When will this take place?

Why are we doing this project?

How will we accomplish this project?

What supplies are needed?

What permission do we need? (admin, student council, permission slips, etc.)

Connection to IMPACT Values

Which IMPACT values does this project include? (involvement in the community, meaningful learning, practical skills, academics, creativity, technology integration)

Connection to Student Learning

Which standards does this project relate to?

Goals

Make a list of goals for this project

Tasks - Breakdown of Project

Create a to-do list for this project

Task	Due Date	Progress	Responsible

Reflection Questions:

What were some aspects of the project that went well?

What were some aspects of the project that could be improved?

Would you recommend this project again?

Did we accomplish our goals? Why or why not?

Service Learning Cycle

2009-06-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

Description:

Students begin with a process of exploration/awareness. Often, this means doing research, interviewing community members, reading a book or engaging in a dialogue with a teacher. It can be either direct inquiry or guided inquiry, as long as the student has a chance to really explore the issue.

From there, students move toward engagement / action. This usually means community service. However, that can be as launching a canned food drive or as narrow as tutoring one student. We would like to see students take ownership in the planning and execution of service learning; however, this will often mean teacher involvement in the initial phase of providing scaffolding.

The final area is expression / advocacy. Here, students might write to a congressional representative, paint a mural, create a documentary, write a book, create a play – whatever method they find best. At the same time, they must also create individual service learning reflections. Often times, the process is messier than this. For example, a student might engage in the service of painting over graffiti and in the process have a chance to explore the issue with a neighbor who wants to discuss it.

Five Potential Pitfalls with Service Learning

2009-06-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

I'd love to write about how great service learning can be and how it's all sunshine and fluffy bunnies and everything like that. The reality, though, is that service learning is often a challenging endeavor. So, here are a few things that make it difficult:

Failure to be flexible: I have had to learn to allow students to do the planning and to make mistakes in the process. It can be really hard to avoid micromanaging.
Failure to know the procedures: districts have tons of legal procedures and even if they seem insane, they exist for a reason. I've had to learn these and adhere to them. (For this reason, I do absolutely no fundraising as a group)
Underplanning: I eventually developed an individual project planning sheet to keep me organized in this, because I would forget permission slips or I'd forget to notify parents about the address
The Dip in Motivation: I plan one "big event" per quarter, because many of the jobs can get dull and long and tedious. The big events help keep motivation high.
Trying to do too much: We have had moments where we simply planned too many projects and as a result it failed.

Teacher Roles in Service Learning

2009-06-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

If you are doing service learning as a team-wide concept, here is an idea that worked well for me one year:

GROUP ROLES

Project Coordinator
• Keeps a log of all projects
• Keeps track of service hours
• Manages sign-in sheets
• Helps develop project goals
• Plans each of the projects with the student leadership team

Events Coordinator
• Coordinates all events
• Takes care of PO's, etc. for the "big events"
• Calls places for donations

Data Manager
• Analyzes the data
• Monitors weekly progress toward attaining goals

• Develops surveys for teachers, parents and students

Communicator / Public Relations
• Makes necessary phone calls
• Any press releases needed
• Any necessary promotions – marquee signs, fliers
• Contacts people
• Talks to administration
• Takes notes and agendas for the team meetings

Service Hour Organizer

2009-06-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

Accountability is a buzzword in the educational community. For me, it conjures up images of heavy-handed coercion and cheesy extrinsic motivators. However, at its root, the term "accountability" simply means to give an account.

I believe in honesty and transparency in community service. So, I developed a service hour tracker that helps kids to recognize their service hours. This enables me to check how many hours we are doing in awareness, action and advocacy; how many hours we are doing overall; the hours for each student as well as the amount of time each project takes. We use this with our Student Leadership Team.

Service Hour Tracker on Google Docs

Starting a Service Learning Program: Is this right for you?

2009-06-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

Service learning is a phrase I've heard educators apply to everything from writing letters to a represenative to leading a massive social movement. At first glance, it seems like an obvious thing that schools should do. So, why don't they? First, it can be a touchy subject. Service can be dangerous, political and confusing. Second, it can be hard work. It can mean giving up prep time or weekends or after school hours. Finally, to some people, it doesn't seem academic.

Step One: Personal Reflection

If you're considering starting a service learning program, you might want to consider the following questions:

1. What is the purpose of service learning? If you believe it is to make a difference, what will happen if you fail to make a big difference? What will you do to avoid reinforcing stereotypes about things like poverty and injustice? If you believe it is to challenge social inequities, what will you do to avoid it being a politically motivated project? If you believe it is to prepare students for college and add to resumes, what are the dangers in using extrinsic motivation for service?

2. Do you have time for this? What will you do to make time for it? What will have to go?

3. Who will help you? What parent volunteers will you need? How will you motivate students?

Step Two: Creating a Plan

Think of you plan as a comination "for myself" and "for others" document. It's easy here to overplan, so you might want to keep it to just the essentials.

Mission / Vision / Purpose - Often, this is the kind of stuff administrators look for, so even if it feels gimmicky, take the time to do this. A mission is what you will do, a vision is what you eventually hope to be and a purpose is your core identity as a group.
A Rationale on how this will increase student learning
Generate a few goals - keep it simple, such as the number of hours, the number of projects
Decide exactly how many projects you will do and when you will meet - this could be as simple as a monthly schedule
Whether this will be curricular (part of the school day), co-curricular (part of the school and outside of school hours) or extracurricular (out of the school hours)
Create a system for who will be involved (parents, students, community members) and how you will keep track of attendance as well as how you will recruit them. Will it be open enrollment or will it be something where they have to join in the beginning?

Step Three

Get permission to get it started. Find out the following information:

The procedures for fundraising
The procedures / permissions for off-campus service projects
The methods of promoting it - new student orientation? daily announcements?
The procedures for turning in meeting minutes if it's a club

Jigsaw

2009-06-25T10:15:00.001-07:00

The Jigsaw concept is one of the most common implementations of Cooperative Learning. Before mentioning the way it works, I want to approach the pros and cons of it:

Pros

It's easier to dissemenate detailed information
It's an accurate portrayal of most workplaces - where groups move back and forth with roles for each
Each student has a specific role to play in the process

Cons

It is overused in some classes, missing out on individual and whole-class reading
A "weak" student can ruin the results for all of his or her group
It can mean too much planning, especially if there are odd numbers with multiple students from an original group

How It Works:

This works best when students learn the process ahead of time:

1. Divide the class up into groups, so that each group has 4-6 members. I'll call this the "Home Group."

2. Each member of the Home Group goes to a separate station where they learn information. This works best when there is a group leader in each of the new groups. It also works well when the students have a graphic organizer where they are taking notes.

3. The Home Group meets again and goes over the information. Make sure students don't simply copy graphic organizers. To do this, try offering discussion questions that all members must use.

Murals

2009-06-24T20:57:00.000-07:00

An example of one of our outside murals

An example of one of our indoor murals

Okay, so on some level the concept of teachers creating murals with students sounds superfluous. After all, how is shading and blending going to increase academic achievement? The reality is that murals often combine "soft skills" and "hard skills." In terms of soft skills, students learn creative thinking, problem solving, group interaction, creativity, leadership and communication. In terms of hard skills, the project almost always requires scaling (which can be difficult for students to grasp), research (especially in choosing the design elements in relation to society) as well as reading and writing.

Even so, I would not recommend using murals everday. For me, they work best as an after-school or enrichment activity. In my class, murals have been a tangible, expressive, collective way to demonstrate what we have learned in a visual framework.

So, here are the steps to creating a mural

Step One: Engage students in research. Establish a theme, a concept, a mood - basically use all the elements of literature. Have them do a quick write-up about this and then find visuals for inspiration.

Step Two: Create a concept. Ask hard questions, such as, "Who is left out? Who is there? Is any one gender, ideology, race or culture predominant?" Essentially, this incorporates aspects of social studies.

Step Three: Create a master plan. Assuming you have approval, commission artists to create the draft. Put the entire thing together and make sure there is buy-in from admin to teachers to students.

Step Four: Using a grid system, begin scaling. Students will look at a block on the paper and sketch the same block on the wall. Although this doesn't have to be perfect, it should be fairly accurate. If this process isn't working, you can use an overhead projector and trace.

Step Five: Begin painting. Make sure you have the right colors and materials. Begin with your "base coats" and then move toward blending and shading. Designate a student to be in charge of light source who makes sure the colors are all using the same light source. In general, paint from the bottom down (drips and it looks more realistic) but remember that art is never precise.

collages

2009-06-23T06:11:00.000-07:00

The term colage can conjure up images of a watered-down activity, with trite ideas and pasting from Scholastic Readers. However, I have come up with a few ideas for how to use and improve collages.

Ideas for Collages

Create a collage that represents a poem or a novel - have students include the mood, theme, ideas
Create a collage for a difficut, interconnected concept in social studies (like globalization or industrialization) showing how they see that concept in our world
In a math lesson, students can create collages for shapes, patterns, fractions, or other math concepts they see in their world
Students can make picture mosaics, with various colors and textures and then have a philosophical discussion about reality, truth or diversity
Create a collage telling one's mood, feelings or life story

Advice for Improving Collages

Let students take them home if they need to
Have students bring in a ton of magazines from all sorts of interests
Preview the magazine - censor it if you need, meaning you might have to pull out a few inappropriate pages
Make sure the addresses are cut out of all covers
Use paint on the white spaces and give students an opportunity to be creative
Make sure students write reflections explaining their collages - an easy, engaging way to add writing to an artistic endeavor
Encourage group members to talk about their collages as they work on them or occasionally create group or partner collages that force dialogue

Why I Prefer Blogger

2009-06-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

In my class, all students have a Google account. This means, they can use Google Documents, Blogger and a host of other services for free. With that in mind, I'm making a list of why I prefer Blogger and then complaints and rebuttals about Blogger.

It's easy to customize the templates. Students can learn CSS and change up aspects of the backgrounds and they can change up the layout. Unfortunately, it's harder and more expensive to change the CSS in Wordpress.
It blends seemlessly from other Google accounts. For example, students can create a chart in Google Docs, import it to Google Spreadsheets, create a graph that is embedded in a new Google Doc and then publish it to their blog as a blog post. This is a feature you simply don't have with Wordpress.
Blogger has no adverisements. This is also true of Edublogger or Wordpress, so I'm really not knocking the other two sites.
It's easy to control the privacy settings. I can have students set their personal journals to private with me as their only readers.
It's easy for collaboration. Multiple students can share blog ownership.

Claims and Rebuttals

Claim #1: Blogger has an almost dangerous navigation bar that allows people to flag it easily or view previous blogs that might be innappropriate.

Reality: It's way simple to edit the code and get rid of the navigation bar and then simply add a search feature with the html code

Claim #2: Blogger has fewer cool gadgets to add.

Reality: Given the fact that it is html, css and javascript enabled, just about any gadget can be added.

Claim #3: It doesn't let you have separate pages

Reality: Simply create a link to blog posts and set all the links within a navigation page. The links on this site are done that way. In fact, I was able to add rollover objects like one would see on a website.

Avoiding Copyright Issues

2009-06-21T08:34:00.001-07:00

For nearly five years now, my students have created an online social studies magazine called Social Voice. The title is a bit edgy, even Marxist, but it sums up the goal in simple language. I want students to express their individual and collective voice on all things social studies. At the same time, I want them to listen, to explore the silence, to ask inquisitive questions. I'm not sure where this fits in with the world of standardized testing. Call me crazy, but I'd rather teach humans than data.

In the process of creating our eZine, we began to ask whether our photographs were violating copyright. After a class discussion, students explored options of using both public domain photographs and Creative Commons licensed images. Now, when students create documentaries, websites, presentations or anything else, they are required to follow copyright rules. The following are some of the sites that students have been using.

Public Domain Pictures: I'm not crazy about this site, because it can be difficult to find the exact license for pics. Plus, they seem to be real "stock pictures" and that can make things feel too packaged. However, some students have liked this site.

Flickr Creative Commons: I love the blend of artistic styles as well as how easy it is to search and to find the exact licensing details. This is the site we use most often our our websites.

Wikimedia Commons: Many of the pictures we can't get at Flickr seem to be available on Wikimedia Commons. They seem to do a great job guaranteeing that photos aren't violating copyright.

National Archives: Being a social studies class, we often need historical photos. Within the National Archives, there are many public domain pictures that suit our purpose.

Library of Congress: Similar to National Archives, but with more pictures.

Documenting America: This project is part of the Library of Congress.

ARS Gallery: Whenever we need decent "scenery" pictures, the ARS has free public domain photographs that work really well.

Morguefile: I love the artistic, indy feel of this site. It's become one of my favorites.