Questions, Evidence, & INTERPRETATION: Think Like a Historian...

Hey Top Guns,

      I apologize for not being there again today.  I have a meeting with Mr. Jonas (who is my docent) and other teachers who involved in a program throughout the district.  I will be back tomorrow.

      In the meantime, continue to work on your Investigation Essays.  As far as I know, there are only a few of you who are almost finished and ready to make revisions.  That said, I am posting two rubrics on Edmodo that you are going to use to self-assess yourselves, your Investigation Essays, and possibly another Top Gun you would like to partner up with.  Remember, a little peer review is good for the soul.

      You have already assessed yourselves on the questions you have asked as good historians do.  In the final stages of writing your Investigation Essay, you will need to look back at your work for the evidence you have used and more specifically, where you tied in Through Their Eyes evidence.

 
       As we finish Units 3 & 4 and reflect back on the process of "DOING HISTORY", we will be thinking deeper about three things: QUESTIONS, EVIDENCE, and INTERPRETATION.  This trifecta is what history is all about.  I bet if you think about what you needed to do to write your essays you will see that you've already been doing this.

Love, peace, and taco grease,
C



From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher School District of Waukesha Waukesha STEM Academy

TE: Through Their Eyes - Second Entry...

Top Guns,

      Looking at history Through The Eyes of those who lived history can be the most fascinating aspect of historical study.  It opens a door to understanding both what all humanity shares in common and the many ways in which we are different.  It brings us closest to the real lives of real people in the past.  Still, we can never be an a crazy scientist trying to prove a theory they have believed for years or an Italian boy preparing to leave the only home he knows to join his father in a far away place called New York.    We can never be an African-American woman watching her children dragged away by slave traders.

     
      We have a different set of beliefs, expectations, desires, fears, opportunities and experiences.  What is logical or common place to us may have been impossible in their world.  Likewise, what is inconceivable to us may have been entirely possible at any time in the past.  Ignoring this leads to errors of "presentism."  When we wonder about the past, while avoiding "presentism", we look for the values, skills, and forms of knowledge people needed to succeed back then.  We try to reconstruct the worldview that affected their choices and actions during their day.  Remember, you are the historians.   You are responsible for "doing history".

C...Out!

 *Adapted from Thinking Like a Historian

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

TE: Through Their Eyes...

Happy Tuesday Gang,

      When we look at history - and in our case the story of science - through the eyes of real people that lived in the past, it brings us closer to those people.  When we look Through Their Eyes it opens a door to understanding what we have in common.  What did they look like?  How did they spend their days and nights?  Who was in their family and what were they expected to do?  What motivated them to act in the ways they did?  How did they deal with the problems of their day?


      Exploring these questions and finding others can deepen our historical understanding only if we remember that we are observers of the past, not actors in the past.  What we need to do is to "LISTEN" to the voices of the past without preconceptions.  In order to understand why people thought and acted the way they did in the past we need to see the world as they saw it.  We need to see their world THROUGH THEIR EYES.  

      Think about Through Their Eyes in correlation with our historical figures, Alfred Wegener, Antoine Lavoisier, Harry Hess, Eratosthenes, and Dmitri Mendeleev.  As you use the TE rubric today, look through your paper to see if you have included any perspectives from the "old dead guys" we have read, watched, and talked about.

*Adapted from Thinking Like a Historian

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Investigation 3 & Investigation 4: Thresholds 2,3, and 4...

High Five Friday to my TOP GUNS,

      This week I feel like you have had a lot thrown at you with little to no time to accomplish the things required of you.  So, here is your day.  If my memory serves me correctly here is our agenda or "to-do" list if you will:

1. TEDed - Finish annotating Threshold 4 video (TWO COLUMN NOTES)
2. TEDed - Respond/contribute to the online discussion in the TEDed lesson
3. Edodo - Respond/contribute to the online discussion in the Edmodo thread
4. PAIR READING & TEXT ANNOTATIONS
        -Investigation 3 From Alchemy to Chemistry
        -Investigation 4 Alfred Wegener & Harry Hess
5. PAIR READING & TEXT ANNOTATIONS
        -Investigation 3 Video and Transcript What Did Stars Give Us?
        -Investigation 4 Video and Transcript What Was the Young Earth Like?

      Always remember, never forget, and continue to apply SQ3R in all that we watch, read, write, and discuss.  As you read and annotate the texts be sure to be READING WITH A QUESTION IN MIND.  The question helps us see what is vital enough to annotate.  The annotations will guide us as we begin our research and writing process next week.

    Investigation 3, your question is HOW DO NEW POINTS OF VIEW PAVE THE WAY FOR PROGRESS?  

      

Investigation 4, your question is WHEN AND WHY DO PEOPLE ACCEPT A THEORY?

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Godspell, South, and Mr. Jonas: Arts In School...

Howdy Y'all,
 
      Ken Robinson says, "Kids don't grow into creativity; they grow out of it."  This statement made me extremely sad when I first heard it.  It's sad because there is so much truth to it.  As an adult, I look around and see creativity expunged from many of my peers.  I envy those of my friends who have explored creative outlets and continue to develop them as they grow older.  I have friends who are writers, movie makers, musicians, singers, artists, sewers, woodsmen, comedians, and storytellers.

      It's at this point thinking of my creative friends that I think of Sir Ken Robinson and his statement reverberates in my mind, "Kids don't grow into creativity; they grow out of it."  How is this statement connected to innovation?  Can we still find value for the arts in school?  If so, what is the value of the arts?  What is the place for arts in school?  Why do we see it deemphasized?  

      Aspen Boyer, an 8th grader at the Waukesha STEM Academy, made an interesting observation this morning before we departed for South to watch the musical Godspell.  She said, "If you don't use it, you lose it."  If creativity is like a foreign language this statement couldn't be more true.

Creatively yours,
Mr. C

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

First Flipped Lesson: TEDEd

Hey Gang,

      Welcome to Think Spot.  Welcome back for some of you.  Please click on the link below and register.  I'll try to guide you through the rest.

TEDEd Lesson & Discussion


From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Day 4 of Design Team Boot Camp: Themes and Observations...

Conflict: Blame others, point
fingers, and pass judgement.

Good Day Designers,

      So far, we have covered 3 of the 5 themes of the week.  Those 3 themes are:

Day 1- Ideation
Day 2- Revisit & Review Ideas
Day 3- Selection

      Yesterday's theme was Selection.  What Mr. H and I observed was a little conflict and disagreement as decisions were being made to bring ideas forward.  We also noticed that constraints are becoming apparent when we think about designing a solution to the earthquake/building problem.  As a learning community, we are all engaging and participating.  Engagement and participation are two things that make Design Teams function at high levels.

I-Messages: Describe a
behavior or situation;
not a personal judgement.

      Today, we will be looking at our fourth theme before finishing our week off.  Today's theme is Listening.  There is nothing more important for a Design Team to function and flourish.  Listening is the pivotal skill and it is extremely hard for middle school students to master.


      The activities that Mr. H and I have designed will push you and your Design Teams to the next level.  Differences of opinion, conflicting ideas, disagreements, and frustration are all natural challenges that even the best Design Teams face in the real world.  Adults face these challenges all the time.  Today, lets make listening our driving intention so that tomorrow's final designs demonstrate the best our Design Teams have to offer.

As we head into today, remember to listen to our Design Teams.  Let's have fun and enjoy our Professional Play.


Sincerely,

C & H

P.S.

I-Messages: State and own feelings

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Day 1 of Design Team Boot Camp...

Good Day Design Team,

      Mr. H and myself are extremely happy and proud of the way our first day went.  You are all amazing thinkers with tons of potential.  This boot camp is designed to develop your ability to generate many variations of your ideas as well as combine them with the ideas of others to innovate and create.  In order to do this as a Design Team we have to learn certain habits of mind so that we can practice them with others.

       So far, we have spent time defining teamwork as a group, we have identified challenges that sometimes get in the way of teamwork, and stumbled upon some really great questions that will deepen our understanding as we grow as a Design Team.

How are mistakes and/or failures good things?

All throughout this blog post you will find pictures that log our work, our discussions, our questions, and habits of mind.  Click on some of the questions to see if you can think of any answers we have discovered.  Remember, we have learned:

1. Think alouds
2. Read alouds

How do we share "AIR TIME"?

3. Wizards & Gelflings
4. Reading a Visual Image
5. Turn & Talk (Think-Pair-Share)

How do we make sure everyone is included?

     

Reading a Visual Image

      We are looking forward to the rest of the week.  Enjoy yourselves and be sure to engage.  We love hearing your voices, your ideas, and your enthusiasm.  Our Design Team will only get better because of our work together.

Why is listening sometimes harder than
speaking your thoughts?

Sincerely,

Mr. C & Mr. H

What do you do after you realize a
mistake and you have put a bunch of
time in to your work?

Reframing Misconceptions: Historic Dates...

Dates are not facts to be remembered.

Dates are tools to help us frame a perspective and measure our understanding within the chronology of time!!

Sent from my iPhone

Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War, CC/CH, & UP...

Hey Nearly High Schoolers,

      Happy Thursday to you all and I wish you the best of luck on your MAP testing both today as well as next Tuesday.  Today, in continuation to the direction we are heading, we will be attacking a piece of text with a question in mind and viewing a documentary.  The question we are using to attack text is this: How does "inequality" affect the American Dream?  If this question does not suit you, if you would prefer to read with a question that you have generated yourself, then rock out with your bad self!  You are all asking some phenomenal questions.  Remember that when we attack text by using a question we are trying to construct meaning, make connections, and find RELEVANT INFORMATION.

Below is a short synopsis of what the documentary is about.  It is the hope of this teacher that the events, people, and themes we find in this documentary in addition to the relevant information we read in our texts will help us as we try to THINK LIKE HISTORIANS.

    Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War is a series of videos that examines and documents life after the Civil War. The series portrays a violent aftermath of greed, violence, anger, intimidation and fear that occurred during the Reconstruction Era. Many history books fail to portray this period of American history as vividly or in such detail as shown in this series. Many post Civil War stories for people and groups like ex-Confederate soldiers, Southern civilians, Afro-American and Native American troops are highlighted. The series includes many images of a time after the Civil War that includes the bloody surrender at Appomattox to the rise and decline of the Ku Klux Klan. The series depicts the plight of various segments of the Southern society; poor whites, newly freed slaves, returning soldiers and Southern white landowners.  To see a picture of what happened to people who fought against each other and interacted during the period of rebuilding their country and lives

One final thought...
These are the learning targets we will be reflecting on after this week's work.  Just something else to chew on.
Media in Social Studies: I can identify main ideas, analyze supporting details, and evaluate inferences within discipline specific readings

Content in Social Studies: I can apply content in order to evaluate relationships of people and ideas and draw conclusion

Yours Truly,
C

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Welcome to WEST!!

Greetings Wolverines and STEMers,

      Here we are again guys and gals!  Your time here in Jonas's class will flow in 3 phases.  The phases are below and we will be referring back to this blog post frequently throughout the class.

PHASE 1:  DEFINE...

What is an American?  What does that mean?

That said, collaboratively define the American Dream.

PHASE 2:  INTERACT WITH TEXT and MEDIA

Two excerpts from Howard Zinn...

PowerPoint Slides...

"In the year 1877, the signals were given for the rest of the century: the blacks would be put back; the strikes of white workers would not be tolerated; the industrial and political elites of North and South would take hold of the country and organize the greatest march of economic growth in human history. They would do it with the aid of, and at the expense of, black labor, white labor, Chinese labor, European immigrant labor, female labor, rewarding them differently by race, sex, national origin, and social class, in such a way as to create separate levels of oppression-a skillful terracing to stabilize the pyramid of wealth."

"Control in modern times requires more than force, more than law. It requires that a population dangerously concentrated in cities and factories, whose lives are filled with cause for rebellion, be taught that all is right as it is. And so, the schools, the churches, the popular literature taught that to be rich was a sign of superiority, to be poor a sign of personal failure, and that the only way upward for a poor person was to climb into the ranks of the rich by extraordinary effort and extraordinary luck." 

       -Howard Zinn from his book, A People's History of the United States

How does this fit into our definition of an American and/or our definition of the American Dream?  

How do these things relate?
  

PHASE 3:  QUESTIONING Documentation Application... textual overlay
      Over the past few weeks as I sat down to think about The American Dream and what it has looked like for Americans over the course of history, I have asked some of these questions.  Perhaps while you engage your partner in thinking and academic conversations these questions may help you generate some questions of your own.
1.Which aspects of the human experience were constant from 1801-1930?

Mr. C's CRAZY THINKING!!

Follow-up: Which of those aspects can we still see today in the 21st century?
2. Based on what we are reading, watching, and interacting with which parts of the past are comparable?
 Follow-up: From this, what parallels or similarities can you find?
 3. How do you think the past is similar to the present?
 4. How do you think the past is different from the future?
 5.Where can we see "deprivation" influencing the American Dream? (MLK Jr.)
 6. How has "inequality" influenced the American Dream?
 7. What do you think influences The American Dream?
 8. By looking through history, the past, what can we see influencing the American Dream?

Generate 5-10 questions pertaining to the American Dream as it applies to the Great Depression and/or the text so far.

We want you to collaborate on a document.  

Fold this into textual evidence.  

Frame your questions around the Great Depression.

 

Have fun and enjoy!  Phase 4 is a doozy!!

Yours Truly,
C



From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Mr. C's crazy thinking.

The American Dream: Happy Monday...

Hey Partially 9th Graders,

We start this week with a couple questions:

1.  How has your experience this year at STEM influenced your idea of learning?

2.  How do the times that a person lives through influence that person's idea of the American Dream?


      Our friends at West are eagerly awaiting our arrival tomorrow to begin work on The American Dream.  We will be interacting with text and media.  We will be thinking about and looking for evidence that answers some curious questions.  We will be formulating and generating questions of our own.  This last and final West experience is the start of our push to the end of the 2012-2013 school year.

      It has been said and quoted many a time that, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".  Well folks, today is that step in a direction.  Most of the links found in this Think Spot post lead to a blog Dubbs found that is fantastic.  It gives us one author's perspective of The American Dream, and a tiny insight into the timing of the origin of The American Dream.  As I read this post it came across to me as a little idealistic.  An academic conversation with our 8th grade learning community would be an awesome place to share ideas about this text.

      Here is another person's idea of The American Dream.  Think about the Great Depression.  Think about what we know about the last two TLH categories: CC/CH & UP.  Remember CC/CH is "Change and Continuity".  Also remember UP is "Using the Past".  Let's look at the text provided by Dubbs and the link provided by your's truly to see if we can begin to THINK LIKE HISTORIANS.


Your's truly,
C
     

 



From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Using the Past with Change and Continuity: TLH Challenges...

Happy Camel Day Almost 9th Graders,

      I am still looking over some of your exit slips from yesterday.  To some of you, thank you for showing your best thinking.  This little formative assessment gave me a glimpse into who cares, who doesn't, who is getting it, and who needs more time.  The exit slip activity asked you to show your thinking in a paragraph.  We were thinking specifically about the TLH categories UP and CC/CH.

     So far here are some of the thoughts from our learning communities...

"Change and Continuity is what changed and what stayed the same.  Using the past is how the past is similar to the present." - David

"Using the past is an example like the Stock Market crash of 1929 and also 2008.  In 1929 businesses started to foreclose and in 2008 prices started going up on everything." -Olivia

"You basically have to define what's the same and what's different over time." -Alejandro

"Change and Continuity is dealing with how history changes and remains the same compared to time.  It's like a line: a linear progression.  Using the past is a direct comparison between two historical events or periods, like a 'Spot the Difference' game.  -Nathaniel

"I understand that change and continuity and using the past are both looking for similarities and differences.  I don't understand how they both do it differently.  The only difference I see is that the key word for using the past is RELEVANT and the key word for change and continuity is PATTERNS." -Lucas

      After you have read some of these responses think about the following question.  Which one of these quotes illustrates your level of understanding?  From these 5 statements let's move forward and try to further our understanding of the past.  

  

   


From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Looking Back As We Move Forward: Previous Posts...

Hey Gang,

      Please click on these links and review where we have come from to get to today...

Separate. Isolate. Recombine.

Tableaux

Tableaux & Metacognition...

PEER REVIEW

From tableaux to thinking, reflecting to peer review, our learning is taking many forms this week.  The feedback we received on our tableaux will give us insight into what good feedback and poor feedback look like.  We will get a clear picture of the kind of CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM that helps move us forward in our work.  You all have done well taking on this new learning strategy of tableaux.  Let's try to use what we have learned during the tableaux process for what we are trying to do with ARGUMENTATION & PERSUASION.  Enjoy peer review, and try to have fun!

Yours truly,
C
P.S. A little nugget that our Ana Sanchez shared with Dubbs and I yesterday...
WHY I HATE SCHOOL BUT LOVE EDUCATION



From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Tableaux & Metacognition: Things to Think About...

Happy Monday Guys & Dolls,

      As we kick off our week there are a few things we need to finish up from last week as well as some questions to think about.  Let's have a discussion or community circle to flush out some of our answers together.  Think about your learning.  Think about your interaction with text and media.  Think about your interaction and collaboration with each other.

      1.  When you do a tableaux again, what will you do the same?  What variations or improvements will you make the next time?

      2.  Why do you think tableaux can be a great way to learn?  How does tableaux get us to think about text and media?

      3.  How does working and collaborating with others help us construct meaning of history?  How does working and collaborating with others help us construct meaning of text, media, and information?

      4.  Has your understanding of the Great Depression expanded?  Has your understanding of learning expanded?  Do you feel better equipped to interact with text and media now?

Can't wait to hear some of your responses!  Enjoy and have fun together!

Yours truly,
C

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

TABLEAUX: Thinking About History and Learning Targets...

Happy Wednesday Gang,

      Yesterday, as we were wrapping up our work session for history, we began to discuss the learning targets for our tableaux projects.  Here are the learning targets we are trying to hit through text, media, collaboration, and performance:
I can identify main ideas, analyze supporting details, and evaluate inferences within discipline specific readings.

I can apply content in order to evaluate relationships of people and ideas and draw conclusions.

      How are we showing that we are meeting these learning targets by creating our tableaux?  What are some of the main ideas or THEMES that are being displayed through our tableaux?  Can we find any patterns that reoccur?

Sincerely,

C






From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/Q_VVGafuMwk

Separate. Isolate. Recombine.

      Every history has a story.  Every story has a history.  And, a picture is worth a thousand words.  This simple truth and well known statement is why tableaux function so well for constructing meaning.  As I said in the blog post from yesterday, nothing in history happens in isolation.  There are always bigger things at work.  There always seem to be multiple things that need to be taken into account.  Keep this in mind as you work in your groups today to practice and finish your tableaux.

      Another item from the blog post yesterday was the introduction of a trick.  Separate.  Isolate.  Recombine.  Click on the link Google Image Search: The Great Depression.  What you will find is a slew of images connected to the Great Depression.  If we conducted an analysis, we could probably find certain images that would fit into categories.  This would be the first step in the trick: Separate.  Once separated, we can isolate a certain few that would tell the story we want for our tableaux.  When we have separated and isolated the images we want to use in constructing meaning, we can then recombine them in a way that makes sense to us and others.  This last part of the trick would illustrate, recombining.  Synthesis, coalescing, and recombining are all part of constructing meaning.  It is the hope of this teacher that you find making sense of history similar to making sense of  text or media.  Separate.  Isolate.  Recombine.

      In closing, look at the learning targets below.  Be ready to share an answer to this question: How are we showing that we are meeting these learning targets by creating our tableaux?

2 Media in Social Studies: Identify main ideas, analyze supporting details, and evaluate inferences within discipline specific readings

3 Content in Social Studies: Apply content in order to evaluate relationships of people and ideas and draw conclusions

     

     











From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Your Brain Is Hooked on Being Right - Judith E. Glaser - Harvard Business Review

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/02/break_your_addiction_to_being.html?utm_medium=linkedin&utm_campaign=Biz+101&utm_source=twitterfeed


Sent from my iPhone

Tableaux...

Here are some examples of tableaux from the book. Read the captions if possible.

Be in the Mystery: Separate, Isolate, Recombine...

Happy Monday to you,

      Every story has a history, and every history has a story.  We will attempt to tell the story of the Great Depression with the tableaux we create this week.  As we conduct our analysis and synthesis this week remember that nothing in history happens in isolation.  There are always bigger things at work.  There always seem to be multiple things that need to be taken into account.  That said, when we analyze we think in terms of BEFORE/DURING/AFTER.

      There is a neat trick that can help our analysis.  Keep this neat trick in mind as we move into our groups, revisit our graffiti, look through our texts, and conduct our tableaux:
1. SEPARATE.  
2. ISOLATE.  
3. RECOMBINE.  

      The Tableaux strategy is a series of scenes presented by groups of four to eight students who

are frozen in poses or positions that depict an historical event, famous speech, scientific concept, or scene from a novel. One student reads the Tableaux captions while the others create the scene being described (Wilhelm 2002). The Tableaux script can be based on existing text (textbook, novel, short story, magazine article) or original text written in response to something the students have read or studied.  Below, you will find the link to the youtube video we watched last week.  What makes a good tableaux?  What are some different variations or ways to make our tableaux different?  Enjoy, and have fun together.

Tableau: Theater and Language

Yours truly,

C

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Trimester 2: WICR & Mosaic of Thought...

Hey Gang,

      We are at the end of Trimester 2.  Time flies when you're having fun!  There are a few things we will need to accomplish this week as we wrap up Founding & Framing.  The Edmodo link will take you directly to the items you will need to complete for the week:

1.  Load your text sets.
      - I have collected some of your works.  Pick them up and put them inside your text set.
2.  WICR Checklists
      - Each Text Set must contain one of these after you have reflected on your Inquiry Process.
3.  Mosaic of Thought
      - This is an assessment that looks at your ability to synthesize information over an extended period of time.  Each Text Set must include one of these as well.

      The end of Trimester 2 marks the end of this moment in History.  We move forward into the Washington administration, our first 4 Presidents, Westward Expansion, Manifest Destiny, and on top of all this we will be looking at very important examples of how Americans truly tested the Constitution.  

Yours truly,
C


From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Guest Teacher February 21: TLH, WICR, SQ3R...

Happy Thursday/Friday Kiddos,

     Today is a throw back day.  That means we will be immersing ourselves in text.  We may also be looking at topics within history that we have already discussed before.  As you do this you will need to focus on 3 things...

1.  TLH Categories
2.  WICR
3.  SQ3R Strategies

      TE- Through Their Eyes
      CE- Cause & Effect
      TP- Turning points
      CC/CH- Change & Continuity
      UP- Using the Past
Here are your TLH Categories that I am expecting to see in your texts as you annotate them.  You must read Article 27: History's Paradox.  The other article you may choose.  The articles may be read with a partner or alone.  NO MORE THAN 2 PEOPLE IN A GROUP!!

      WICR stands for Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, and Reading.  We will revisit this next week when Dubbs and I are back.  This will be the linchpin that carries you into high school.  Remember it well.  WICR rocks!

      And finally, I will be leaving you with SQ3R.  Some of you may hate me as much as last years 8th graders for this little bundle of joy.  SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review.  Think about how you use this today in your reading and be ready to write a short Quickwrite next week on how you use this in your literary life.

Enjoy, and have a great day!!

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Immersion/Coalesce Conferences w/ C & Dubbs...

Howdy Y'all,

      Happy Tuesday, and saddle up for a great day!  I am so so so so looking forward to sitting down with all of you to talk history.  I know history is not everybody's thang, but I assure you, there is something for everyone in history.  All it takes is aligning your interests and curiosity to what was taking place at that time.  Keep this in mind as our conversation together may urge you to think about what your GO PUBLIC INQUIRY will entail.  

      You will find some of the questions I will be asking below.  Some of the questions should look familiar.  Dubbs and I are not trying to trick anyone nor set anyone up for failure.  That being said, feel free to SHOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW.  Sometimes what you don't know is more important that what you do.

Why did the American Colonists want to free themselves from Great Britain?

What makes a good leader?

What happens when government goes wrong, and why had government gone wrong under the Articles of the Confederation?

What's the difference between the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution?

How did problems lead some Founding Fathers to create a Constitution?

Why could the Constitution be considered a "political innovation" of its time?

How did the Founding Fathers use "synthesis" and "inquiry" to create the Constitution?

Why do you think it's called the American "Revolution"?

How did the United States get to 1787?

WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE NOW THAT YOU HAVE STUDIED THIS MOMENT IN HISTORY?

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy

Welcome Back to Think Spot!

Hello Everyone,

      Thank you all so very much for letting me know that you all use this as a resource.  I will double and redouble my efforts to make weekly posts here for you to use in your learning.  Please know that Dubbs and I are proud of you.  It is a great feeling to know that learning is still happening even though we are not in the classroom with you all.

      Today, here are the essential questions that are your exit slips:

1. Why could the Constitution be considered a "political innovation" of its time?

2. How did the Founding Fathers use "synthesis" and "inquiry" to create the Constitution?

3. Why do you think it's called the American "Revolution"?

      These questions can also be found on edmodo.  Please respond to one or all of these questions in a new post.  Also, get ready for a Socratic Seminar as well as something new...  PINWHEEL DISCUSSIONS and PHILOSOPHICAL CHAIRS!!  These are really fun designs for academic conversations.  We hope you enjoy your day.  We miss you.

From the cluttered mind of C & Dubbs, Teachers
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy