When You See Student Development

I (Heather) was lucky enough to get a glimpse of my students’ empathy with our first activity related to our Refugee unit.

I was introduced to one of the founders of The Syrian Emergency Task Force by a parent, and found out that this organization has an office right here in Little Rock! While speaking with Natalie Larrison of the SETF to see if she would come and speak to our students about the crisis in Syria and what they are doing to help, she made me aware of a program that they have started, called “Letters of Hope.”  To participate in this program, all one must do is write a letter of inspiration, write a poem, or send an uplifting picture to a Syrian refugee. The SETF travels to Turkey every three months or so, and distributes them. We asked our junior high students to write letters for the upcoming trip that was going to take place the following week, and also asked those who were willing to meet at the SETF office to help package the letters for travel. In an effort to ensure that all the letters were respectful and appropriate before turning them over to Natalie, I read all 118 letters our kids wrote. I was overwhelmed with two things. The first was the difference in the writing between the kids I had taught for two years and the kids I have only had for one. I was impressed with the writing skills that most of the 8th graders showed in their letters, but not only that; they had depth. They had empathy.  They contained all of the things that I hoped that they would and more. In fact, I was so touched by the things they wrote that I felt compelled to send the following parent e-mail when I finished reading them (and finished wiping my eyes from tearing up - okay crying):

Good Morning All,

I have been proof-reading the letters the kids wrote yesterday before I take them to drop them off this afternoon, and I want to share with you how proud I am of these kids.  I can tell from what they wrote that they not only paid attention to what we taught them about the issues in Syria, but that they were truly empathizing with these people that they do not know, and will never meet.  I was amazed at the depth of some of their letters, and most of them were so heartfelt I knew I had to share this with you. As not only a teacher but as a parent of one of the members of this "talkie, rowdy class," reading the letters reminded me that despite the many issues this class went through this year,  and the many difficult teenage moments we as parents share with them in our homes, these are great kids. I am honored that I was able to get a rare glimpse into their hearts through this project. I will miss them all next year when they move on to high school.

Thank you for sharing your sons and daughters with me.  It has been a privilege.

I received several responses back from the parents thanking me for sending this e-mail because I took the time to share something good about their kids. Sometimes, a simple e-mail that goes out to parents when an individual or an entire group does something well means so much to a parent, especially if you write it in that moment when you are overwhelmed by something a student has done. Take the time to share these thoughts with your parents. Please share these stories or you will be the only one that knows them.

i2 Innovation - Springdale

It’s been a whirlwind spring. We were busy blogging and planning in April and then May hit us hard. With all the end of year events, final exam preparation, grades due, etc. we got a little behind. We ended the year looking forward to our presentation at i2 Innovation Conference in Springdale, Arkansas.

We’ve just wrapped up our presentation. Thanks to all who attended!  We hope it was a highlight of your conference. If you were unable to attend, here’s a link to all our presentation materials and a complete lesson plan http://bit.ly/studentshoes We hope you’ll take a look.

We’ll be back next week to share details of our cross-curricular unit on Refugee.

When the Interest is Real It Spreads

Every year our WWII unit catches the attention of the 7th graders. They ask questions, most of which we tell them they’ll have to wait to have answered, but their interest is piqued and they remember this as they enter our classes the following year.

This year, we actually had students ask us to create something like this unit for them! They asked us to give them more work, work that will be challenging, require research and analysis. They asked us! For me, this may be the greatest compliment as a teacher, when students are so excited for something that is being done they cannot wait to be included. Heather and I also realized we would be remiss if we did not seize the opportunity.

Once again, we jumped in with two feet. We decided to base a cross-curricular unit for our 7th grade around Refugee by Alan Gratz.

The 7th-grade social studies course is world geography. This opened doors in terms of content, but then the decision becomes where to stop the content. I didn’t want to delve too far into the history since some of it will overlap in 8th grade, but in order to understand the story the history is necessary.

From a social studies standpoint, the unit addressed basic geography - location, culture, history, and politics. I used this unit to build student’s research and writing skills, and discuss the theme of continuity and change over time.

The English component of the unit enabled students to not only read a book and examine the elements we always address: plot, characters, literary devices, themes, and setting, but the very content of this novel opened the door wide for us to delve into issues of social justice. My (Heather) hope for these students (and I know Terri is in agreement here) was that they begin to not only understand the issues of political unrest that have throughout history (and even present day) caused people to flee their countries in fear, but to begin to empathize with people in this unfortunate situation.

Building Better Lessons

I’ve read that every innovated teacher faces challenges of innovation. These challenges may range from resistance from students or parents, struggling to find time to teach and plan with innovation. We’ve seen it, faced it, and experienced it. There are certainly highs and lows in this profession. At this time of the year (it’s April), I (Terri) am certainly feeling the exhaustion start to set in. So now is the time to dig deep and shake up what I do. I need it as much as the students at this point in the year where everyone is looking towards summer break with anticipation. Let me be clear, I love my job! I teach at an amazing school, have the support of the best colleagues around, and work daily with respectful children who want to learn! But by April, we all feel the hours.

So how do I stay true to the profession late in the year? I refuse to let myself settle. I force myself to do what I ask of my students. I strive to model for them what I ask of them - to work until the last minute of the year.

This year this looks like building a new HyperDoc to be the center of my Civil Rights Unit for eighth grade. This will help carry us to the end of the year integrating technology, primary source documents, research, and student investigation. In seventh grade, it means building a new unit from scratch and jumping in with a rough idea of where it will land. This is perhaps the most unnerving thing I do as a teacher. I always want to know the end before we begin, but now I am right in there with the students - researching, making connections, etc. They like that I am not so many steps ahead of them. It’s new content for me to teach, so planning takes longer, and it is timely and relevant which also means it’s a potential hot-button topic for parents. I am learning right along with the students up to the very end of the year - trying my best to model what lifetime learning looks like.

I challenge you now, on the cusp of May and summer vacation right on our heels, to try something new with your kids. See where it takes you!

Cross-Curricular Unit Final Projects

We wrap up the novel using the same groups in which the students work in social
studies to create the final projects. The first is simply called “The Color Project,”
and the idea started with a project bundle I (Heather) purchased from Gretchen
Blynt at Teachers Pay Teachers (the same one the entrance ticket idea came from).
I used Blynt’s idea of having students choose a scene from the novel to create
using one color that seems important to that particular scene, and created a
bigger project around it. To begin, groups are all assigned a color in the novel,
and are tasked with finding as many mentions of their color as they can. They
must collect the quotes and page numbers on a collaborative document. They
are then asked to write a group analysis about their color based on any patterns
or recurrences they see in the quotes they researched. Along with this, students
are asked to choose a scene in which their color is prominent which they will
illustrate using only their color, as well as write an analysis on why they believe
their color is represented in their chosen scene.

Their next group project is the culmination of the unit, and students will present
this final piece at the same time they present their social studies display.  Each
group is assigned a character, and they create a body biography on six foot
bulletin board paper including quotes, characteristics, symbols, and important
events in the character’s life.  They must assign a color to their character, and
explain why that color represents their character's personality.

By the end of the unit for US History, the students have worked collaboratively
to create huge display pieces on their assigned research topic. These
pieces are large black sheets of bulletin board paper 6ft. longg. Each piece
highlights the research by displaying a timeline, relevant historical quotes,
summary of the topic and original artwork. The display piece also allows
for a connection to the color project from English. Each group must assign
a color to the historical topic they have researched, and explain why they
feel this color best suits the topic. This allows for a little extra imagination
and creativity in an otherwise research heavy assignment. Each group must
also create a collaborative Google slides presentation. In order to balance the
individual and group components, each group member keeps an accountability
log of all their work throughout the entire process. This is their chance to
describe their role and contribution to the group.

Here are some of the English and social studies projects hanging side by side:

Where It All Starts to Come Together

Two of my favorite days to teach are the two that Terri and I take the entire 8th-grade class (58-60 students) out of the classroom for two hours each day to weave together both of our content areas with social awareness/justice. The two of us were fortunate to attend a workshop sponsored by Facing History and Ourselves, in which they taught us some techniques and lessons for teaching Alexandra Zapruder’s Salvaged Pages. (This is an anthology of diaries by teenagers who lived in ghettos and concentration camps during World War II.)  The workshop is the basis from which we teach these two days, and they have become some of the most meaningful teaching we do.  Part of it is the content, but the other part is the rare glimpse we get of each other teaching, and the ways we are able to piggyback off of each other’s comments and teaching styles.  I think I learn something new every time we teach this because we each grow in our own knowledge, and then we pass this along to our students in different ways.

We begin our first day discussing why teenagers write, and then reading some of the diary entries and asking the students to determine why those particular authors wrote.  The students then watch a video about the stages of the war, and they begin to understand the years of preparation that it took to make the Holocaust happen. They read different primary source documents from Kristallnacht, including newspaper articles, and telegrams, and the realization hits that this night of destruction is not something that just occurred: it was planned in detail, in writing, with many stipulations.

Day Two Reflection

On the second day of our cross-curricular lesson we gathered with kids interested, but a little more cautious than they were on day one. I think they thought it would be more of the same and didn't want to look at more PSD. We started this lesson with a clip from MTV’s documentary “I’m Still Here:  Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust.” The clip we show is only about 4 minutes long, short enough we can view it several times through the activity, long enough to add layers of depth to our content.

Through multiple viewings of the clip, students share their reactions, analyze specific elements, and discuss editing and presentation choices. With each viewing students are more deeply immersed in the content and are challenged to consider different perspectives. This technique of re-visiting the same material with various purposes in mind shows rather than tells the kids that they can learn something new each time they read a text, especially if they are looking for different elements.

The video itself is heavy because of the content.  Students become connected to this “anonymous girl” as actors read her diary and music and images are used to enhance the somber and depressing mood. The connection deepens when we read the end of her diary to them, and the ominous meaning of her interrupted sentence sinks in.  The possibilities of what happened to her, and why she ends mid-sentence begin to run through their minds.

One can almost feel the relief from the students when the next activity is a kinesthetic one: they are told to move to a location in which they have plenty of room and are given index cards to write down words or phrases that jump out at them as they read one of the provided diary entries.  The kids then create found poetry from the words they have taken from these texts, and they present them to one another. This is a wonderful way to end this heavy two days because the students are able to create something that connects them to teenagers living very different lives from what they know. Empathy is growing in them deeper and stronger as a result of experiencing someone else’s life through the written word.

Innovation - Getting The Students Interested and Making them Enjoy the Work

Since The Book Thief is such a long novel, students begin reading and working in English before they begin discussing the historical components in social studies (although to truly make this cross-curricular we do talk about some of the events in English), one of the ways we begin to tie things together is by having the students create a writer’s notebook that they will use in both classes.  In English, students will journal about quotes or themes related to the novel, as well as answer personal prompts that will eventually guide students toward choosing their topic for a memoir created at the end of the unit. In social studies, students use the notebook first to brainstorm and then to reflect on leadership characteristics. This always opens an interesting discussion on what it takes to be a good leader, especially in regard to the leaders of the world during WWII. Later we use the notebooks for various reflections on primary source documents or class discussions.

As a way to explore the novel and allow students to show what they have read, students are required to create an entrance ticket for each section of the book in order to be admitted to class the day a reading assignment is to be completed.  This has truly become my favorite way to discuss a novel, because the kids come up with symbolic and personal connections to the text in a way that allows them to be creative. Some of their creations truly are works of art: