Monthly Archives: January 2012

A Low-Tech Project Students Treasure: Civil War Journals

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I’m a big fan of tech. My students do podcasts, blogs, videos, and ePortfolios.

Historically, the project my students like most is one where they use very little technology. Students create Civil War journals from the perspective of a Civil War character. While this project relates specifically to the Civil War, I suspect the ideas can be modified for use in other historical units.

Student-designed Cover

When asked if they would let me keep journals to show future classes, students refused to part with their projects.

We order blank bare books and have students tea-stain them. You can download tea-staining directions by clicking here: Tea Stain Instructions.

The unit runs between six and eight weeks of the school year. Throughout the unit, students create a number of pages. Their writing indicates both knowledge of Civil War content, research skills, and the 6+1 Writing Traits. Some pages are required, others are not.

Enlistment Journal Entry: Glory Roader perspective. A friend is teaching him to write. 

I’ve seen and commented on articles bemoaning the ease of plagiarism in the age of the Internet. Much plagiarism can be avoided when students take on the perspective of a character rather than writing a report.  Simple character names and identities can be obtained from an Interact Simulation of the Civil War. The packaged unit is modified to meet the needs of Upper Primary students.

Battle of Bull Run Journal Entry

The Battle of Bull Run is my favorite battle to teach. To help students build background knowledge, you can read Paul Fleishman’s Bull Run. Each of the sixteen chapters is written from the perspective of a different character in a different place – excellent modeling for students as they write in their tea-stained journals. An audio version of the book is available. I enjoy switching voices and having student read some of the character entries. Using Jean Fritz’s Stonewall, students visualize and sketch as I read. They can follow the actions from Stonewall by using maps from Bull Run. Again, students combine factual information with their fictional character’s life.

Letters from Home

My students tell me that some of their favorite pages are Letters from Home. They pretend they have received a letters from family members such as mother, fathers, and siblings. How would the voice of a mother’s letter differ from the voice of a father?

Sometimes envelopes will contain “momentos” from girlfriends, pictures from children, or a newspaper article update.

Throughout the unit, students also learn to write essays and research reports. Here are a couple of examples:

Students research freedom quilts and work with teams to design their own.    

Creation of Freedom Quilts
Since we focus on the courageous stands that were taken during the Civil War, students research Freedom Quilts. They learn some of the codes embedded into famous quilts. they also research tactics used by conductors on the Underground Railroad.

Then, groups of students create their own Freedom quilts. To the left is a scanned copy of students’ creation along with a short explanation of the codes.

Biographical Essay

Biographical Essays
Students also write biographical essays on important Civil War people. Essays force students to process information in yet another way. After researching a person, students have to grown an idea that becomes a thesis statement.

Again, it is difficult for students to plagiarize if instruction is scaffolded so that students create thesis statements and topic sentences prior to writing an essay.

Thoughts on the Gettysburg Address

Summaries and Reflections
It’s important to me that students reflect on the Gettysburg address. Can they come up with at least a one-sentence explanation of each paragraph? What makes it such an important speech?

Newspaper Article on Lincoln’s Assassination

Newspaper Articles and other Free Choice Pages
Students are allowed “free choice” pages. Some choose to make drawings of their homes. Others make newspaper articles  like the one to the left. Still others take “family” portraits, change the font to sepia, and write captions about what their family, friends, and fellow soldiers were doing. Students might write a eulogy mourning the death of a good friend. Below are some thumbnail pictures of other Civil War Journal ideas.

I don’t know what makes this project so exciting for the students. Maybe they like writing in books that look old. Maybe students have come to know their character so well, they have a hard time parting with him. Perhaps they treasure the journals because they have put so much effort into writing and designing them. Whatever the reason, I am convinced that students can get as excited about non-tech projects as tech projects.

In what non-tech ways do you help bring history alive?




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Keeping Students Engaged in a 1:1 Project-Based Classroom

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This weekend I worked on a guest post for Dangerously Irrelevant and 1to1 Schools. Both blogs are run by Dr. Scott McLeod. If you give a student a computer, you’ll want to subscribe and read his stuff.

Scott has allowed me to cross-post onto this blog (Thanks, Scott!). Here is the article:


Image approved for copy by Creative Commons.
Source: http://bit.ly/vYUkXB

When laptops first arrived in my classroom, I worried about classroom management. How could I create an environment where students used their computers as tools rather than toys?

I was worried for nothing. The following are suggestions for keeping students engaged in a project and accountable for their time with computers:

Students make a plan.
Students are most tempted to open widgets, games, and social chats when they are faced with a blank screen and have no plan.

Much of the time, students think they have a plan. If you ask them What are you going to do?, the answer is usually I’m gonna make a Power Point about… or I want to make a movie about… Those answers indicate that students are thinking of technology before content.

Instead, ask What are you trying to learn? or What are you trying to communicate? or What are you working on as a writer? Those questions get answers like I want to know more about the horses that Civil War generals rode or I want to convince people that Justin Bieber is the best singer ever or I’m trying to describe the character’s actions.

When you ask about learning and communication, you are signaling that the content is more important than the technology. Pull aside those who are struggling with plans. Let them talk together and encourage them to sketch their ideas with diagrams or bullet points and return to the computer later. Students with a plan tend to stay on task.

Students set time-bound goals.
Once students have a plan, they break the project into smaller tasks that can be finished in 10- to 15-minute chunks of time. Have students write the specific tasks on Post-it notes. Post-its are set beside the computer. On their Post-its, students finish the sentence, “In the next [x-amount of] minutes, I plan to…” They generally write things like…

  • Create an outline for my essay
  • Write my introduction
  • Find three pictures about…
  • Do my voice recording
  • Finish four slides of my Power Point/Keynote
  • Find at least three database articles on…
  • Draft at least three paragraphs
  • Use Google docs to peer-edit so-and-so’s essay
  • Upload my story to Voicethread

Tasks should be specific. I’m gonna work on my project is not specific enough. At the end of class, Post-its become “exit slips”. Students tick off the tasks they have completed and hand the Post-its to the teacher so the teacher can see the progress.

Laptop screens are “fisted” or “put at half mast”. 
Teachers don’t lecture much in a project-based learning environment. However, sometimes student work time is interrupted so the teacher can give reminders or clarify directions.

Ask students to “fist” their computer (or “put the screen at half mast”). Screens should be gently lowered so that students’ fists fit between the edge of the track pad and the screen.

When screens are fisted, students are not distracted by items on their screen nor can they type. At the same time, students do not lower their screens to the point that the computers go to sleep. In an iPad environment, students might carefully face their screens down on the desk.

Fingers indicate the amount of time students need to complete a shorter task.
Some tasks are shorter and need to be completed within a few minutes of class. After students have worked for a reasonable amount of time, ask students to show fingers for how many additional minutes they need. Fisted computers signal completion.

If a student is far behind the rest of the class, try to determine whether the student got distracted or if the student needs reteaching. Have the student take a screenshot of his or her progress. Screenshots are helpful to guide future conversations.

Circulate the room, conferencing with students.
Walking and talking with students is important with or without computers. In her article 10 Ways to be a Terrible Teacher, Vicki Davis describes the terrible teacher as one who is working on his or her own computer and not paying attention to students.

Students welcome teacher conversation. They are eager to share their progress and request advice when they’re stuck. You build relationships with students when you talk to them about their work.

Rather than banning chat, teach students how to use it for collaboration.
Chat features are programmed into Gmail and Google products. The first year, I banned chats. Then, I realized that chats can be used for student collaboration.

I glance at the chat windows as I circulate the room. Since students have specific, time-bound goals, most chats are used to ask peers to look over a paragraph or help with another aspect of the project.

Don’t be afraid to have tough conversations with individual students.
Each year, I have to pull aside one or two students to talk about time management. It’s not a punitive conversation. The conversation goes something like this:

I’ve noticed you haven’t made much progress on…I need to know what’s getting in the way of your progress. I’m not asking because I want to get you in trouble. I’m asking because you’re now x-years old and I’m worried that, if you get in the habit of…,then school will be really hard for you in the future.

Many of the suggestions above apply to project-based learning environments both with and without computers. The trick in a 1:1 environment is to maintain focus on learning and communication. Then let technology naturally enhance those outcomes.

What tricks do you use to keep students engaged?

[cross-posted at 1-to-1 Schools]

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Overcoming “I-Don’t-Know-What-To-Write-About”

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I’ve written my first ever guest post. It is featured on Teachercast. The post gives suggestions for overcoming the “I don’t know what to write about” phenomena in literacy instruction.

Teachercast is a growing website with many resources and tutorials. Please check them out as you read the post.

Also, today is the last day to vote for “Most Fascinating Blog.” If you have not yet voted, please consider voting for this blog or for another blog you find helpful. Click here to vote: http://www.online-phd-degree.net/2011s-most-fascinating-teaching-blog-the-fascination-awards/. Voting ends Jan. 27th, 11:59 EST.

Have a great Friday!
Janet Moeller-Abercrombie

Weighing in on the Handwriting Issue

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I am stepping on my soap box again. This time it is on the issue of teaching handwriting. An Education Week article clearly stated the reasons behind the teaching of handwriting. I liked the author’s point that, by teaching handwriting, we are teaching important fine motor skills.

Beyond that, I think we’re asking the wrong question and making the issue too complicated.

First, we’re asking the wrong question.
It’s not about the medium by which things are written (handwritten or type) – it’s about the fluency with which students can clearly state their ideas and their observations.

As I read articles about the speeds at which news travels over social media, I note that news is shared almost instantaneously. My job is to make sure students can efficiently get clear ideas to an audience. That is a skill students will definitely need going forward. I don’t care if they type those ideas or write them.

If parents really want their kids to learn handwriting, I can send home a handwriting book for practice. I hope that parents want me to teach the things students CAN’T learn independently at home.

Second, we’re making handwriting too complicated.
I have beautiful handwriting. Really. I loved my mother’s handwriting and would spend hours tracing over her script so that I could write like her.

But I’m okay with the fact that my students will not write like John Hancock. I prefer to approach handwriting in the context of “real life.” In the real world, I believe there are three levels of handwriting quality:

Level 1: You write for you. No one else will read it. Level 1 writing is for shopping lists, brainstorming, and outlining.

Level 2: You are communicating an idea. Someone needs to read it. It’s only polite that the reader can easily decipher your ideas. Math work and daily assignments are Level 2 work.

Level 3: You’re publishing. Most final presentations are typed by Grade 5 (at least in my school). If not typed, Level 3 work must be in pen, and in the neatest handwriting possible.

Some of my students prefer to handwrite their stories. Some of my students prefer to brainstorm and outline on paper, then type rough drafts. Some students demonstrate the whole writing process all on their computer. If the final products demonstrate quality work within a reasonable time period, I’m happy.

What’s your opinion?

STOP Teaching Tech!

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This is my soap box. I started climbing it yesterday as I was reading articles and posts about technology in the classroom. I hesitated as I neared the top.

I hope that readers will forgive me if I step on the soap box every once in awhile to question trends I see in educational discussions. I hope you will keep the discussion going and correct me if I am in error.

STOP Teaching Technology To Students
Charlie Roy, in a guest post for Dangerously Irrelevant, clearly stated reasons why teachers should focus on pedagogy, not tech. This is my own proverbial litmus test:

If, after the first month of school, I spend more than 10 minutes teaching a program or tool, I’m doing something wrong. Take, for example, movie-making:

Month 1: Spend 90 minutes teaching students to make movies and make quality productions.
Month 2: Students videotape themselves to practice speaking and evaluate improvement for a Living Museum project.
Month 3: Students video a book talk to demonstrate knowledge of reading skills.
Month 4: Students demonstrate scientific process through video
Month 5: Students use video to communicate their learning to parents.

Notice how the activities for months 2-6 comprise specific teaching points. Students should speak clearly (eye contact, volume, posture, etc.), analyze and self-evaluate speaking skills, demonstrate reading comprehension, demonstrate use of the scientific process, and communicate learning to parents.

If, after the first month of school, students are asking me questions about tech tools rather than content, I am doing something wrong. Students can Google search almost any tech question. My tech-savvy colleagues have created video tutorials to remind students of Google site basics. Feel free to use those videos with your students. Students need to know how and where to research to find answers to general technical problems.

STOP Teaching Technology To Teachers…Unless they ask
We learn to use what we need to use.
I spent a whole semester learning to use SPSS for statistical research. I’m using six commands to complete my dissertation. After a semester’s-worth of work, I remember six commands. Teachers, in general, are practical people. If they see a direct link between a tech-based activity and increased student learning, they’ll want to find out more.

Suggestion 1: Rethink PD
We tell teachers It’s not about the technology – it’s about the learning, but we model the opposite. We plan professional development sessions around “How to use…” Instead, consider the following:

  1. Spend some time with teachers and teaching teams. Find out what they’re doing. Learn what they want their students to learn. Then, prepare PD by playing with some tools that you believe will enhance what teachers are already doing.
  2. Spend the first 30 minutes of PD showing (not telling) teachers ideas that enhance the learning currently going on in the classroom. Anticipatory sets apply to teacher learning too.
  3. Offer breakout sessions where teachers learn one of the tools demonstrated. We preach differentiation. Model it. Let tech-savvy teachers run the breakouts. Better yet, let students run sessions.

Suggestion 2: Employ an “Each one Teach one” philosophy.
My students have been making iMovies for three years. I made my first iMovie six months ago. Here’s how my students learned:

  • My teaching partner taught his class.
  • We scheduled an hour for his students to teach my students (60 min of tech).
  • I scheduled an hour for my students to teach another class of students (60 min of communication).

We have used this method to teach movie-making, podcasts, and Google ePortfolio sites. Only 60 minutes are spent “learning” the technology.

The other 60 minutes are about communication. We have one rule for students teaching students: Student “teachers” are not allowed to touch student “learner”s’ computers. The “teachers” can use any number of methods to communicate procedures. They can use words. They can set a computer beside the learner’s computer and model the actions. They can point learners to video tutorials. They can write lists of steps.

The “Each one Teach one” process helps allay the fears of teachers who are insecure about their own tech abilities. This doesn’t, however, give them permission to stop teaching. Instead of teaching tech, these teachers should be responsible for helping students analyze the quality of the layout, the presentation, and the content. They should be circulating and saying things like,

  • I like how you…,
  • That looks like it would be helpful for [so-and-so]… Can you show him/her?,
  • I need to see [x]…Can you figure out how to do that?,
  • I don’t understand what you mean by…,
  • Why did you choose…?
I agree with Matt Bromley: We may be unintentionally scaring teachers away from using technology in the classroom because we make it too complicated. Keep it simple.
  1. Give teachers permission to not know all the technology tools.
  2. Help teachers empower student discovery of cool tech things.
  3. Encourage teachers to focus on holding students accountable for their choices of tools, their uses of tools, and the quality of work produced.