Writing on the Wall

Overview

The Spring 2011 Government class took some time to explore the Constitutional Convention in a 21st Century way. Utilizing MyFakeWall.com students created Face book style pages of particular members of the Constitutional Convention. This was a simple activity to gather information, incorporate technology, and do some simplistic writing.

Operation

Students researched individuals who attended the Constitutional Convention. They gathered information about their age, education, family, and additional information and then constructed a profile of the individuals. Students were encouraged to be creative with their comments and posts, and kept a good balance between humorous and serious.

Outcome

Here are links to some of the walls that were created during our study of the Constitutional Convention.

William Livingston

Richard Bassett

Luther Martin

Gouverner Morris

A Different Way to Write

Overview

Our focus for U.S. History class for the past two weeks has been writing. In an attempt to increase creativity, incorporate technology, and infuse history we have turned our attention to YouTube and to Fodey.com. This assignment was to focus on the creative elements of writing and inferring.

Operation

Students examined primary source document to gain background information, and then were given net books and instructed to watch the following clip from YouTube about the Battle of Wounded Knee. They were instructed to act as a newspaper reporter and prepare to write an article about what is taking place.



After watching the clip students then used the Fodey Newspaper Clip Generator to write a reflective piece to their audience. They were challenged to be descriptive in their writing and create meaning for their audience.

Outcome

The student generated articles provided for a fun way to utilize simulation in a simple technology exercise that focused on writing. Below is just one example of the student pieces that resulted from this assignment.

Wagons West

Overview



The sixth period 11th grade U.S. History class took an opportunity to learn Westward Exploration in a whole new way. In an attempt to utilize the Project Based Learning approach and promote creativity and interaction with their learning, Mr. Griffith created the “Wagons West” project for the class. Students were to work in groups and prepare a wagon exhibit that they would use to showcase and demonstrate what they learned.




Operation

Students were able to research one of four different westward destinations. They then put together displays of miscellaneous artifacts, images, and maps into a wagon that they created for their project presentation. The collected items were used to assist them in presenting their wagon display to the rest of the class.

Outcome

Student presentations took place in class and each group took their wagon to the front and presented the wagon contents and the information surrounding the items in the wagon. The interactive exploratory components to this project allowed students to pursue their own interests and present them in a creative format.

Parent Strategies for Juggling Imvolvement and Life

by Leah MacVie

Today’s students have crammed schedules. They wake up early, shove food in their face, jump in the car, run from class to class, go to band practice followed by soccer practice, get their homework done while eating, and then off to bed. If you think that is stress inducing, imagine their parents, who work full time and juggle schedules for 3 kids.

As a parent, you have to choose your priorities. Here are a few strategies for balancing life and being involved in your child’s schools.

Support your Child

Coming up with a consistent schedule during the week will definitely help students to nail down a routine. Show an interest in not only what your child is attaining in school, but also what they are learning and interested in. When adults keep asking about the grades, students begin to believe that’s all that matters. There is more to school than grades. There are experiences, friendships, open minds, innovative ideas, and current events.

Meet the Teachers

For younger students, contact your child’s teacher a few weeks after the start of the school year to say you want to stop by and introduce yourself. For the older students, you may have this opportunity at an open house.

Stay up to Date


Some teachers will send out newsletters. While you don’t always have the time to comment face to face on these newsletters, you can e-mail questions and comments at any time of day. Also, check the school Web site, and contact the webmaster if you notice it is out of date. If you can, attend school board and PTA meetings, even if for a short amount of time.

Volunteering Time

If you are lucky enough to have a flexible employer that supports families, then it’s definitely a great idea to ask your child’s teacher when an extra pair of hands will be needed and to schedule it in advance. If you don’t have daytime hours to spare, then ask your child’s teacher how you can volunteer in other ways, like baking or assembling handouts.


Juggling involvement and life isn’t easy, but being consistent with these simple strategies will help you to maximize the time you have.

Leah MacVie blogs about educational choices at http://www.leahmacvie.com./ She loves contemplative comments from bloggers like Rob Griffith and appreciates helping faculty that think online learning is an interesting choice.

Gubernatorial Glog!

Overview

In an attempt to introduce students to the candidates for New York State Governor race, the Participation In Government class conducted research on Carl Paladino and Andrew Cuomo to put into a Glog poster. GlogsterEDU is a technology tool that allows the Glog creator to make a digital interactive poster. Glogs can include voice, text, images, video, and links to additional websites and information. This is the first Glogster project that these students have been able to work on. The students worked collectively to assemble a Glog that would demonstrate the political positions, background, and personal profiles of the these two Governor hopefuls.

Operation

Students were divided into two groups and each group assigned on of the two gubernatorial candidates. They independently began to research different aspects about the candidate they were assigned, and put all their finding together into one political Glog about the candidate. Utilizing GlogsterEDU they created a multi-media digital poster that represents the research of multiple students working together on the same component of the assigned project.

Outcome

Below are the two Glogs created to showcase the New York State Gubernatorial candidates. they were created to portray all aspects of the candidates, and explore more than just the political rhetoric discussed by the news media. Enjoy

Lewis, Clark, and the Corps of Discovery

Overview

In a desire to create an engaging environment that mixed Halloween traditions, technology components, and content instruction into a single day, the Social Studies class studied the Lewis & Clark expedition in a new way. Student groups had to research events for a timeline activity, were involved in a hands-on image creation activity (pumpkin carving), and put together maps of the traveled route by using pumpkin seeds in a mapping exercise.

Operation

The classes were each divided into 4 groups, with each group having to complete all of the following tasks.

1-They had to carve a pumpkin using the profile image of Lewis, Clark, Jefferson, or Sacajawea

2-They had to map the route of the Corps of Discovery using pumpkin seeds


3-They had to put events into a Dipity timeline created for this assignment.


Student groups were given time before the activity date to research and find profile images, and document specific events that took place during the Lewis and Clark expedition. They came to class, were directed to the different learning stations, and began to work on their tasks.

Outcome

Despite some technical glitches (students unable to edit the Dipity timeline) the overall experience with this activity was tremendous. Student involvement and teamwork allowed them to focus energy towards accomplishing all three task components at the same time.

The finished products were a tremendous sight to behold and the students should be proud of all they accomplished and learned in this activity. Here are a few samples...














The Student Created Dipity timeline:

Lewis-Clark, and The Corps of Discovery on Dipity.

Productive Economics

Overview

The Economics class has been studying supply this week and engaged in an activity that measured productivity and output. Students were "hired" to work in a Paper Chain factory and given a limited number of resources to create 5 link paper chains during a given time period. After each work session another labor component (student) was added and the process began again. Total output was recorded and marginal output measured during this activity.

Operation

Students joined in the production process of creating Paper Chains by measuring, cutting, folding, and stapling. Feedback was provided regarding division of labor and specialization. This feedback was immediately implemented and the workers performance was measured by counting the total number of Paper Chains created during the work session.

Outcome

The level of student engagement and excitement for this activity was amazing. Students we offering specialization advice, describing ways to implement division of labor, and attempting to increase total output at during each work session. Adding another level of input (student) after each round brought new ideas and fresh thinking to the work process and environment. The culminating aspect of this activity was the competition of two production "plants" fighting not to be shutdown.

This activity allowed students to see the reality of competition in the marketplace, to participate in quality control and manufacturing, and to experience the highs and lows of the workplace environment. I thank all our Paper Chain employees for their hard work.

Check out the Animoto video...