Artifact Bag: Can you guess that time period?

              In class we were assigned to create our own artifact bag and lesson to go with our unit plan. My unit plan is on Early Americans from Columbus to the Industrial Revolution to the formation of government. This lesson focuses on the industrial revolution. If I was teaching my unit plan to a real class this would be the third lesson I teach after my Direct Instruction and Inquiry. For this lesson students are given a bag containing different primary sources/ artifacts during a specific time period. After discussing the artifacts with one another and filling out their graphic organizer they will come to a conclusion on what time period these items were from. 
               This lesson is based off of Fuhler's ideas. He explains how to teach using artifacts to students. These are the steps he tells teachers to take:

I believe these steps are very useful for students. They allow students to go through the inquiry process with their classmates. They have to use what they have in front of them (the artifacts) and then use books and websites for further research to come up with a conclusion. 
 When I taught my lesson to my teacher candidates I explained what an artifact is and what archeologist do to while looking through artifacts. I then explained that they will be archeologist today and go through the artifacts in the bag. My artifacts included:

These items each represent something during the industrial revolution. For example: 

lightbulb- electricity was invented during this time period.

map of a railroad- railroads were invented.

newspaper article on automobile- cars were invented

newspaper article on a sewing machine, button, needle, and thread- women got jobs for sewing and sewing machine made it much easier and faster

cotton- represented slaves picking cotton and using the cotton gin as well as cotton for sewing 

diary entry- many people worked long days in factories to produce and work on these new inventions. 

I also included a book on Benjamin Franklin and how he created electricity.

Here is my PowerPoint Presentation on the artifact bag containing the graphic organizer, artifacts, and sources for more information:

      Doing this project helped me get a better understanding on teaching history using primary sources. Before this project I was unaware I could get primary sources; I thought just museums and archeologist were able to access them. While researching artifacts for my topics I realized that there are many websites that contain primary sources. Here is a link you could use to access many primary sources to use in the classroom. 

       I believe having students work with primary sources makes students more interested in the lesson. Having hands on items of materials from people in the past makes students feel connected to them and the past. They could put themselves in this person's shoes and feel like they actually know that person just by reading their diary entry or holding money etc. Students will remember doing this activity because they could relate to it and it is an authentic lesson.

      This lesson could be used to teach all grades. It can apply to all standards. However the topic and difficult level will vary depending on the grade level. For example, in a 1st grade classroom I would not have any artifacts that requires reading because they will not be able to read certain words and get the full meaning of the artifact. I will include items that they could touch and are somewhat familiar with. However, if I was teaching a sixth grade class I would use written items and not such of an obvious object that they will be able to determine right away. I would want to use items that require some thought process. 

Here is a link on different ways teachers can teach using artifacts to elementary school students in different grades. 

      Overall, I believe artifacts are a great way to teach history. It is authentic to students and they will be able to connect and remember what they learned from the lesson. It will allow them to get a better understanding of history because they could see how things actually were during different time periods all around the world. 

Here is a link to my mini lesson on my artifact bag. 

All Over the World

       Technology keeps advancing over the years. It is amazing what we can accomplish and do with technology. We are able to play games, research, work collaboratively and much more. An amazing feature is being able to communicate with people from all over the world. Today in class we skyped with a 6th grade science classroom from Kansas and it was a wonderful experience.

       When we were on skype with this class I learned so much about where they live and what I could do in my future classroom. This sixth grade class was learning about biomes and had a lesson based off of biomes and they were using us. Each student would ask my class a different question pertaining to different biomes and geographic features; such as, " Does the place you live in have tall grass?" They were trying to guess what biome we lived in by process of elimination. They soon guessed what biome we lived in. We would also ask them questions about where they lived and found out they lived in Kansas.
     I believe that this is a wonderful experience. Students can connect and talk to each other from all over the world and learn from one another. Although they were in science class and their questions were mainly about science it could still connect to social studies. They can see how people have different cultures from one another depending on where they live and their geography. They shared that they have also skyped with people from Florida, England, and New York City and had a great time in all of the sessions.
     I will definitely incorporate skype or any other means of communication with people around the world in my future classroom. Students would take that experience with them forever. The teacher said that she has students reflect after each session; I think that is important because students can internalize and discover what they have learned and accomplished for themselves. In my classroom I could have students do what this teacher did on biomes and many more different lessons. For example, I could have students ask the other side questions about what a normal day would be for them so they see how people from around the world live. I could also have a professional teach the lesson or show how something works in their field. With technology the world is limitless.

Here is a link of 50 different ways teachers can use skype in their classrooms.

Above is a video of a teacher using skype in a classroom with her students to interview an author of the many books they have been reading.

Above is a video that explains why teachers use skype in their classrooms. 

Immigration Then Vs. Now (CE)

       There are many different ways to teach current events in the classroom. I wanted to make my current events lesson as engaging and authentic as I could. I brought social media into the lesson. Students were to read the article, Issue Overview: Immigration and Reform and be prepared to have a class discussion. However, before I went over the article I wanted to see if students knew what the term immigration was. I had a word wall of immigration terms and had students pick a word they recognized it and define it. Then I went over the definition of an immigrant. I also wanted to students to understand what immigrants feel like going through the process to get to the United States. I showed a virtual tour of Ellis Island and had students put themselves in their shoes. Once I saw that students got the idea of what immigrants are I went over key points in the article.
     Newsela is a great website to get articles from. It has so many features that is great for teaching. For example, you can change the reading level to make it more complex or easier depending on the grade level. There is also a a translator that translates the article to different languages if there are ESL students in your classroom. Another great feature that is great is being able to highlight in different colors and pose questions in the notes. This allows students to think while reading. You can also take the quiz that is given about the article to see if you understood it. It is very easy to navigate and a very useful tool to use while teaching current events. Below is a picture of the different options of Newsela.

     Once I went over key terms in the article and showed students how to navigate Newsela it was time for students to reflect on their learning. Students were to make their own twitter and follow my page, @immigration_123. On this twitter there was four questions students had to answer sharing their thoughts about immigration and the article. Students really enjoyed using twitter in the classroom because they are so used to using social media in their everyday lives. I followed several immigration pages and Newsela so they could see our tweets. I also had students hashtag our class code and Newsela so it is easy to find other tweets based on our topic. 

Here is a link to the many other ways teachers can use twitter in a classroom.

Below is  a picture of the twitter page with some of student's responses. 

Here is a link to my PowerPoint Presentation. 

      This lesson follows my unit plan as well as the social studies standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3

Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.5

Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.

Social Studies Standards

4.1 GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK STATE: New York State has a diverse geography. Various maps can be used to represent and examine the geography of New York State. (Standard 3).

My classmates used different methods to teach current events in the classroom. I would use their methods in my future classrooms. For example, one group used a debate on women's equal rights. They divided the class up, provided articles and a graphic organizer to be filled out as well as explain the components of a debate. I would definitely use this authentic activity for older grades. I think teachers splitting up the class themselves is a good idea so that students would not pick the side they are most comfortable with. Another group used the 5 w's which are: who, what, why, when, and where. They had students fill out the graphic organizer based on their current events article. I would use this method for the younger grades because it is simple.

Here is link of many other authentic ways to teach current events in the classroom.

Teaching Economics: Scarcity

   Here is a link to the class's PowerPoint Presentation on teaching economics. 

   Here is a link to my Thing-link on teaching scarcity in economics. 
 
        Students may think that learning about economics is confusing or boring. However, there are so many different ways teachers can make learning economics into an engaging activity that students will remember forever. There are different sections in economy such as microeconomics and macroeconomics. Economy influences people's daily lives in many different ways and students may not even realize. As a teacher it is important for students to be aware of how the economy effects them.
      I was assigned to teach about Scarcity. Scarcity is having a small amount of something needed. While researching I found many different ways I can teach scarcity to young children all the way to high school students. However, one way to teach scarcity really stuck out to me and I would definitely use it in my future classroom. This engaging activity includes students portraying scarcity in the real world. 
The activity that really stuck out to me for younger grades is as followed: 

- teach the differences between necessities and wants
- explain what producers and consumers are
- students will get to chose one lollipop from a bag one by one
- students will then raise their hand if they did not get their first choice in flavor
- students will see the people who got to chose towards the end did not get their first choice
- they will realize as more and more people are choosing an item the less there is to choose from

The activity that stuck out to me teaching older level students is: 

--Divide the students into 2 groups.

-Ask one group of students to arrange the cups so that everyone has one.

-Ask the other group of students to make enough kool-aid so that everyone gets a cup. Do not specify whether or not the cups should be full.

-.Instruct students that one group is not allowed to communicate with the other.Students will soon realize that 1/2 gallon of kool-aid is not going to be enough for everyone to get a full glass of kool-aid.

When students come to you with this problem, instruct them that they must now figure out a solution without addressing the other members of the class.

- There are two options. Either students each get a very small cup of kool-aid or a full gallon is made but is watered down so that each student gets a full cup.

When students decide on a solution and pass it out, the other students may complain or be shocked by what they were given.

- Explain to students that an issue of scarcity or a lack of resources has just been dealt with. Further explain that this is similar to the way that heads of household and government sometimes deal with scarcity

I would also show this video on Scarcity to engage my class:

Once I am finished teaching scarcity I can have my students make a song or rap about it like these students did in this video: 

One Nation, Many Cultures (NAT)

       During class my colleagues and I did a jigsaw activity on the different Native American tribes. We were each paired up and was able to research our specific assigned tribe together. After, each group had to share their findings and thoughts with the rest of the class. Before this cooperative learning activity I was not very knowledgeable about any of the tribes at all, I actually realized I had many misconceptions about them. After researching on my own and listening to my classmates presentations I became more knowledgeable about each tribe and really saw how geography affects people’s living style. I also learned many different methods to teach about geography and Native Americans after watching my peers. I believe I would be able to use this activity in my future classroom with a few alterations. 

       I read many different articles to help me get a better understanding of geography and Native Americans.  I could take what I did and read about for this project and use it for my future class. For our assignment each group was assigned a different tribe; therefore, I did not to have to do all the research myself. It also made me remember which tribe was which because I remember the different groups teaching it. My partner and I were also able to share ideas and communicate with each other to come up with our lesson. We were also able to watch the different method our peers used to teach about their tribe. These are some of the reasons why I like doing jigsaw activities. I would use jigsaw activities for many of my lessons in my future class.   I have read many articles for this course about Native Americans as well as articles on different teaching methods I could use to teach geography to elementary school children. In the slide show provided it explains 103 different ways teachers can teach geography to elementary school children. There were a few that really stuck out to me.
     While watching my classmates present about their tribe I learned different methods I could use to teach. I will use these methods in my future classroom for teaching. I would do this project in my future classroom, but I would adapt it based on the grade. This project will help students learn to generalize concepts taught in several ways. They will be able to explain how: Geography affected the cultures of the different Native American tribes, each Native American group had to learn to adapt to their location in relation to weather, plants, animals and water, tribes were very different depending on their geographic location, and much of Native American life was lived by the way of the land; geography directly influenced their life.
    In conclusion, this jigsaw activity is a great way for elementary students to communicate and work as a group as well as learn geography. Students will learn how to research and look through different sources, communication skills, time management skills, and about many different tribes. Students will also learn how geography influences cultures in so many different ways and relate it back to their lives today. They will see how rivers, mountains, trees, sand, etc. all had a huge influence on a tribe and how Native Americans used these resources off their land to survive. I think this is an engaging activity that students can learn from and will remember for the rest of their lives.

To read more about my reflection after this project you can read my essay.

Metropolitan Museum Scavenger Hunt

    I believe people learn best from doing and exploring for themselves. Over Columbus break I went to the Metropolitan Museum of History and learned so much about what was important to people during certain time eras and how different cultures portrayed their artwork. Seeing all the different artwork in real life made it easier for me to learn rather than to just see it in textbooks. As a future teacher I will incorporate class trips to different museums and historical places into my lessons.
    An engaging way for students to learn from going to a museum or historical is have students complete a scavenger hunt. Students will be actively learning instead of passive learning. Students can be divided into different groups to complete this assignment and have to go through the whole museum to find the answers to questions and take pictures. I think working in groups communicating with classmates to find the answer is a very engaging activity and students will remember doing this and their answers. Every hunt highlights the importance of teamwork and the value of each team member’s contribution as well as the many fascinating aspects of group dynamics and problem solving.
Here is a link to questions I could ask for the scavenger hunt. 

This video gives tips on how to set up a museum scavenger hunt. Some tips include: providing the materials and questions, include questions about various objects or topics, and be clear of directions.

Some benefits of doing a scavenger hunt in a museum are: 

1. Build problem solving skills

2. Easy to customize

3. Teach teamwork

4. Exercise body and mind

Here are some pictures of me at the Metropolitan Museum of History: 

Learning from my Peers

       During fieldwork when we were not teaching for two days we had to watch and observe our classmates teach the class. There were four groups in total. I was the first group to go, then I observed the teacher candidates the following weeks. While observing my classmates I learned new great methods I could use in my future classrooms as well as what not to do.

       I noticed that the second group to teach was very organized and had good timing. However I noticed that they would just say "very good" after getting one answer to a question. They would not check with the whole class or get multiple answers. I also noticed that they had a lot of words on the slides and a lot of words to fill in on their notes. This might seem overwhelming for students; to make I less overwhelming, teachers can have each bullet point go up by itself. I liked how this group had name tags for students so that they could call on the students name instead of pointing at them. I also enjoyed when they had students repeat words to drill it in their heads. However, teachers should not use "teacher vocabulary" while teaching students such as calling activities guided practice or independent practice. Here is a link to my Direct Instruction observation for group 2. I like how in the inquiry and cooperative learning lesson you modeled exactly what to do and the thought process students should go through to complete the activity. I also like how you walked around to help groups who needed help while completing the activity. I really liked how teachers explained how students should communicate while completing  the cooperative learning activity by filling in the acronym. However, I think teachers should have modeled and gave directions on what exactly what to do like they did for the inquiry lesson. Here is a link to my inquiry lesson observation and my cooperative learning observation.

        The third group had a method to see how well students understand the topic. This group had three colored index cards (green, red, and yellow). Teacher candidates would ask students to hold up the card to see where students stood then would reteach if they saw yellow or red cards up. However, when asking students to hold up their cards they may be embarrassed to say how they really feel so maybe ask for those who do not understand to hold up first. I also believe that teachers should not just rely on index cards; they should call on multiple students for the answers and have the rest of the class agree or disagree. I would use this in my future classroom This group also taught together and went off of each other to teach instead of one at a time which was great teamwork. However, teachers should always have an independent practice to see if students understand the material on their own. Here is a link to my Direct Instruction observation for Group 3. The third group combined their inquiry and cooperative learning lessons this was a great engaging lesson and activity; however, our task was to complete three lessons. Before starting the lesson teachers played a video without asking students to think about something or asked any questions after the video was played. Teachers should always ask questions or have students think about something while watching a video to make sure students are watching and make it meaningful. Also, teachers should always model and give specific directions to make sure students understand what is expected of them. I like how while completing the activity they would ask students meaningful questions and asked them to share their opinions. This allows teachers to understand students' thought process. Even though there is not a lot of time to complete all of the material, teachers should not cut out essential parts to a lesson. Here is a link to my inquiry lesson and cooperative learning observation.

        The fourth group also used index cards to see how well their students understood the material. However, they laminated them so that they could be reused which is a good idea. They also had name tags on the students done in big black letters so that it is easy to read while standing in the front of the classroom. I like how this group repeated words and definitions to drill the information into the students head. They also had a very nicely designed PowerPoint presentation that was engaging to look at.  I also enjoyed how students worked in groups to come up with an answer; however, I think it would be more beneficial to call on random groups not just one person in a group to give an answer. I also like how they had a kahoot as a closure, but I think students need more time to read and think of the answer of the question. Also, the guided practice activities should be done at the end of the lesson instead of throughout the lesson, but had engaging activities that built off of one another. I also liked how the independent practice required students to draw a picture because it switches things up a little bit and allows students to show off their creativity. However, instead of asking students to draw one thing they learned about students should try to in cooperate everything they had learned in the lesson. Here is a link to my Direct Instruction observation for Group 4. During the second day of teaching for Group 4,  they combined both their inquiry and cooperative learning lesson which worked out for timing purposes. I really liked how they showed a video relevant to the students age to encourage them that they could become entrepreneurs.Each group also had kindle fires  to complete the activity which is good to bring technology into the classroom. Here is a link to my cooperative learning and inquiry observations for Group 4. 

        I believe that learning from doing and watching is the best way to learn. I learned a lot from the feedback my peers gave me after teaching my lesson and from watching them teach their lessons. I will definitely use some of the methods my peers used in their lessons in my future classroom. I also learned what works for students and what does not work.