My New "Go-To" Historical Thinking Tool

If you have ever stopped by this blog before you have probably see me make mention of the fact that I am a HUGE believer in the power of professional development and developing a professional learning network.

If this is your first stop on this blog... I am a HUGE believer in the power of professional development and developing a professional learning network.

Awesome strategies, cool classroom ideas, growing in content knowledge as well as gaining new and useful techniques.  Always moving, changing, adding to lessons in order to make good things in your classroom become great.

All can be found through networking with other teachers.

Just like my new favorite historical thinking tool.  It's called the Evidence Analysis Window Frame, and it is awesome.  It's just a little plastic with some historical thinking questions, but it helped turn a lesson that I have done for 9 years...and done well, into a great lesson. With much less work required by me!

I tried them out for the first time while analyzing the American Progress painting by John Gast.  I have had my students analyze this painting every single year I have taught.  I have always felt like it was done well and students always seemed engaged and involved in the conversation.

This took it to a whole new level.

I printed off 12 color copies of the painting on 8x10 paper.

I split my class into two groups, one group went out into our large open space to work on another assignment, while I spent time with the other analyzing the painting.  This allowed me to focus on a small group of students at a time as well as accomplish multiple things in class that day.

I passed out the plastic covers and some small dry erase markers to the class.  We reviewed what historians do with a source as soon as they get it.  Source it.

These awesome overlays have the basic sourcing questions on the left side of the window.  I can have the students either circle where they find the answer on the painting or write the answer under the question.   Totally depended on the question and type of document.  Since this was a painting/image I had the students do a lot of marking up on the actual document itself.

Then we moved to the contextualization and corroboration side of the window.  I love it!  The work was done for me.  I had the questions to go off of and they had to locate the answers, or proof of their answers on the document.  SO MUCH LESS WORK THAN I DID BEFORE!

So...what were the results?

You can already guess what my thoughts were on the activity for the day.  Less work for me, engaging for the students, at least the same or even better understanding of the document than the previous lesson I had used. Win. Win. WIN!

What about the students?  I told them I was writing a blog post on these overlays and the lesson for the day, and asked them what they thought.  Here are just a few of the responses.

"This was awesome.  I loved the way we could actually write on the picture."

"I could see everything much clearer than before."

"This was interactive.  I totally understand Manifest Destiny better now."

"It was fun!" 

These will be used throughout my class on a pretty regular basis.  I can do a whole-class activity or small group or even use it as a station activity when I'm trying to incorporate many different concepts in one class period.

Ok...real deal now.  What about cost.  How much are these babies and how can I convince my district to get them for me?  Here's the deal.  You can get a set of 5 of these for less than 10$.  That's pretty good!  Order 25 and it's less than 40$.  I'm not sure what your school's financial state is and how willing the district is to help purchase items for the classroom.  But I will say, these are incredibly useful and worth the money.  PLUS...double bonus.  I if you're doing any kind of cross-curricular work with the language arts department, these can totally be used in that class as well!  I already gave one to our 8th grade language arts teacher!

Click here for the website to order.  This link will take you to the secondary version, there is also an elementary one if you click here.

Teaching as a Career

I took on a new challenge this year.  I like challenges.  I like to reflect and see how being challenged has helped me become a better teacher, friend, mother, or wife.  Challenges, although scary are exciting and good.

This year, for the first time since I student taught for 16 weeks 12 years ago, I am teaching a high school class.  And it's not even a class in my subject area (Social Studies).  The class I get to teach is exciting to me because it's something that I have grown passionate about in the last few years.

Teaching.

I have the opportunity, the challenge, and the privilege this year to teach a class for high school teachers who want to be teachers "when they grow up."  The class is called Teaching as a Career.

It is the most difficult thing I have done in 10 years.

There are days I feel like I have no clue what I'm doing.  I have no idea where to go from here.  What concept to teach next and how long to spend on each idea.  I have lost more sleep over this class in the last two months reflecting about the activities and lessons than I have in a very long time.

Because I don't just want this class to be good.

I want it to be awesome.  If these kids get nothing else out of the class, I want them to walk away knowing that being a teacher is awesome.  It's hard work, much harder than most know.  It often comes without an appreciation for all the time and work put in.  But there is no better feeling in the world than to watch kids walk away from your class with a smile or continuing the conversation in the hallway or at home.

Today my "Future Teachers" (as I like to call them) had the opportunity to put some of the things they have learned into action.  They had to prepare a professional development session for their high school teachers on Breakout EDU.

Let me just say that again and let it sink in a bit.

These...HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS presented a new concept for the classroom TO THEIR TEACHERS on a day they normally could have slept in.

Talk about an intimidating crowd.

They did an awesome job!  I was so proud of them as I walked around today watching them lead this activity.  They weren't perfect, there's room for improvement, but they did something today that many current TEACHERS have never attempted.  To speak and instruct other teachers.

What an awesome learning experience for everyone!

And now I have to figure out what to do next week.

PS...haven't checked out Breakout EDU yet?  Google it.  Now.  It's awesome.  More on that little gem coming later!

Archaeological Dig - Presentations & The Soft Deadline

The last few blog posts have been detailing the project that my 8th graders have spent the first portion of the school year working on.  I wanted to introduce the various topics of the school year to my students through the interaction and identification of historical artifacts.  I have split the blog posts about this project into three different sections.  (Click on the first two to read those posts)

1. The Set-Up
2. The Dig & Identification of Artifacts
3. The Presentation and Reflection

The students spent the previous week(s) working on learning the basics of archaeology, participating in an actual dig, and identifying the artifacts they found.  And now that they have a good idea of what they uncovered and what the event of their dig represents, it's time to put it all together in order to present their findings to the class.  

I originally set out to have this blog post be about the requirements I set up for the presentation the students would give.  But then, on one of my evenings of attempting professional development in the comfort of my PJ's and watching Facebook Live videos about PBL (an area I'm very interested in, and slowly learning more about).  I stumbled upon some cool ideas...which happens often with PD in my PJs!  (Try it sometime!)

The first.  Allowing for student voice and choice in their presentations.  And while I absolutely love the idea of including more student voice and choice in my classroom.  I decided that this project wasn't the place for it.  Why?  Because past experience with allowing students to choose their presentation format ends up with one or two REALLY COOL ONES and the rest barely above crap. Harsh?  Yes, but part of allowing student to choose the way they present means that the learning is more focused in the process and the final product doesn't necessarily end up "pretty."

You see...I wanted these to be "pretty."  As in, I wanted to teach the students what makes a good presentation.  Otherwise, I end up with paragraphs typed in calligraphy font and no pictures.  Ugh. I wanted to use this time to show the students how to make a quality presentation.  At the same time, I did relax on requirements of font types and background themes.  Spending more time on getting students to learn how to "talk to the audience" and not just read sentences that are projected on the board.  Later in the school year I can provide options for more voice and choice in student products, but for this particular project, part of the learning was also learning how to use the technology well.

Which brings me to probably one of my favorite new strategies that I discovered.  This will become standard in my class for all presentations given by my middle schoolers.  Are you ready...

The Soft Deadline.

Huh?

Yeah, I hadn't ever heard of this before either.  But I'm telling you.  If you only pick up one thing, one strategy to use from my blog posts about the archaeological dig we did.  Take this one.  It's that good.

The idea of the "soft deadline" is to offer the students an opportunity to practice their oral presentation for the teacher in order to gain immediate feedback on what they could do to improve.  I LOVE THIS!

You see, this project/presentation was going to end up a pretty substantial chunk of the students' grades.  After hearing about the soft deadline idea, it really made me think about the fairness of that grade.  All the time, work, and effort put into a huge presentation with a huge grade and the only time they get to receive feedback from me is after it's done?  I didn't like that.  I have always made it a point that I am not out to trick my students or keep them from succeeding.  In fact, I want to do as much as I can to help them along the way.  This was simple.

To create sort of a timeline for you.  The students had 5 total days to work on the last portion of the project (identifying artifacts, theme, and creating the presentation).  We are on a block schedule so that meant 75 minute class periods.  The 6th day would be due date...presentation day.  On the 5th day (which was a Tuesday) I sent all groups to our large open lab to work.  Their goal, which they knew since day one, was to be ready to give a "practice presentation" to me in the classroom.

This would allow them to not only see what it looked like projected on the wall, but also interact with the technology, make sure the document was shared correctly with me, and go through who would be speaking and when.  I would provide them with immediate feedback that could help them take their presentation to the next level, if they chose to make the changes I suggested.

Out of about 24 groups total I had over half who were ready for the soft-deadline in time to practice their presentation with me.  The results were awesome.  EACH ONE OF THOSE GROUPS ended up with MUCH BETTER PRESENTATIONS and better overall grades than they would have had.

What about the half that weren't ready???

That ended up being a little bit of tough love from me and a lesson learned for them.  One of the biggest things that I end up trying to teach my students it to be independent workers and use the time given to accomplish goals.  Each day I would write on the board a list of things they should attempt to finish on a daily basis.  This was done to help them stay on track and keep them going.

This looked a little like...

1. Complete the artifact analysis sheets.
2. Begin corroboration chart to identify overall theme of tub.
3. Show Mrs. Weber completed corroboration form.
4. Read through instructions and begin to assign roles for Google Slides Presentation

However...other than walking around and checking on groups periodically, I DID NOT tell when to move from step to step.  They were in charge of making sure everything got done.

A chance to learn some natural consequences.  I had groups that were on task and busy the entire time.  They were my first to present on the soft-deadline day.  They were also some that received the highest grades.

I also had other groups that weren't on task all the time.  You know what?  That's ok...to a certain extent.  As long as the project got completed.  Some of those groups just missed out on the soft deadline opportunity.  Some needed it.  Badly.  Natural consequences.  Learned lessons.

At the conclusion of the project I had a couple outstanding presentations that were asked to come and repeat it again for the Board of Education at their monthly meeting.  This was a huge confidence boost to them and a chance to allow my students to "show off" for an audience outside of the classroom.  Awesome.

Interested in the project documents including rubrics?  Have questions about KCSS or the Walmart Community Grant?  Want to talk about different options to modify this project without funds, let's talk about it! Contact me on Twitter @JillWebs or on Facebook - Jill Weber-cms and we can collaborate!

Curious about PBL and the Live Facebook chats I've been following?  Find them on Facebook at LifePracticePBL and/or follow Ginger Lewman on Facebook and Twitter.  Seriously.  Follow her. I promise you'll find something you can use.

I am sure there will be more to come with my journey into PBL.  I am thinking our next project over the election will be a great time to allow for complete student voice and choice.  I may even dabble at having them create their own grading rubric and be part of the evaluation process.  What!?! Seriously. I think it could be awesome.  Stay tuned! 

Archaeological Dig - The Dig & Identification of Artifacts

This is the second post in what will be a series of posts on a project/activity/experience I have been working to create for my 8th grade American History Students.

I have been working on a way to introduce archaeology to my students and give them some hands-on experience digging up artifacts.  I have been working this last year to gain the funds necessary to even attempt the idea I have in my head.  After receiving some grant money through the Kansas Council for Social Studies Mini-Grant and Walmart Community Grant I was able to start doing some serious planning to get this underway.  The project title is Digging Up America and I have decided to break it into three different sections.  Breaking the project into three different parts allowed for short-term goals for a long-term project, and made it simpler for the kids to grasp.

1. The Set-Up
2. The Dig & Identification of Artifacts
3. The Presentation of Artifacts - Coming Soon!

The actual archaeological dig portion of the project is where I spent the vast majority of my time, energy, and grant money.  The idea is a merge between something other awesome teachers have done. My high school American History teacher, Mr. Kulhman, started out our Junior year with a "dig."  It included shoe-boxes filled with sand/dirt and artifacts.  We uncovered them and discovered the first topic our group would be responsible for learning about.  

The second amazing teacher is Keil Hileman.  His classroom is a literal museum.  He took a personal interest in collecting historical artifacts and used those to "hook" students into the content.  It literally exploded into a classroom filled with cool stuff.  He has spent years collecting and adding to his stash of artifact goodies.  He even has some elective courses that are specific to archaeology and the study of artifacts.  So cool!

Digging Up America came to me as a way to use artifacts and archaeology to "hook" my students into the events and topics we will study throughout the year.  I have eight large storage tubs that I filled with a mixture of play sand and that "moon sand" stuff.

Each tub has artifacts buried that are related in some way to a major event in early American History. This year I decided on these topics:

• Plains Indians around the time of the enounter with Spanish Explorer Francisco de Coronado.
• Lewis and Clark Expedition 
• Working on the Transcontinental Railroad - blasting through the Sierra Nevada Mts.
• California Gold Rush
• Indian Removal Act/Trail of Tears
• Homestead Act - Pioneers living in Western KS
• Civil War - Confederate 
• Civil War - Union

After receiving the Kansas Council for Social Studies Mini-Grant of $500 I went to work searching for artifacts that would fit each category.  I decided to shoot for at least six actual artifacts and one "broken relic."  The broken relic was to sort of represent finding broken pottery that would need to be put back together.  I found a primary source picture or advertisement, had it laminated, and then cut it into many different puzzle pieces.

As you will see as you scroll through the pictures, some artifacts are truly realistic, actual primary sources, some are replicas, and some are almost laughable.  With all the supplies I needed to purchase plus artifacts and having the $500, I needed to be somewhat cautious with how much I spent on each item.  However, that changes a little now.  I found out at the end of August that I also received $1,500 from a Walmart Community Grant.  This is huge!  This allows me to spend a little more on some higher-quality tubs that can hold more sand and more artifacts, purchase small digital cameras for students to use to "document" their findings, and have some money to incorporate more realistic and authentic artifacts.

Students were divided into teams of two or three. On the day of the dig, they reported to class to find a folder with their "dig site" information.  Inside, they found instructions, an estimated location and a range of time that it was believed their artifacts have been buried.  These would act as clues to discovering their overall theme later.

We lucked out with no rain, which was a concern since this has been one of the wettest summers in Kansas.  They headed outside to find their dig site that was labeled to correspond with their information.  

Teams were to uncover all artifacts, attempting to follow the procedure for excavating a dig they learned in the previous introduction to archaeology.  They were also told to document the dig by taking photos of artifacts as they were discovered in the sand.  They were to attempt to remove as much of the sand and dirt with the tools before touching the item with their hands, and provided a sifter to go through and make sure they found everything within their dig site.

I am lucky enough to have a husband who has a hobby and knack for photography.  He was able to use one of his four volunteer days off from work in order to come and help take pictures while I was busy.  Between him and myself we ended up with many cool photos throughout the day.  All of these pictures were made available to the students through a shared folder.  They can later use these to create their final presentation as well as using the pictures they took with their iPads throughout the dig.

Now the real work begins... figuring out what it all means and what all the artifacts have in common!

Interested in the project documents including rubrics?  Have questions about KCSS or the Walmart Community Grant?  Want to talk about different options to modify this project without funds, let's talk about it! Contact me on Twitter @JillWebs or on Facebook - Jill Weber-cms and we can collaborate!

Archeological Dig: The Set-Up

This is the first post in what will be a series of posts on a project/activity/experience I have been working to create for my 8th grade American History Students.  There is no real way to put ALL of this into one post.  It would be too long and no one would read it in it's entirety.

I have been working on a way to introduce archaeology to my students and give them some hands-on experience digging up artifacts.  I have been working this last year to gain the funds necessary to even attempt the idea I have in my head.  After receiving some grant money through the Kansas Council for Social Studies Mini-Grant and Walmart Community Grant I was able to start doing some serious planning to get this underway.  The project title is Digging Up America and I have decided to break it into three different sections.  Breaking the project into three different parts allowed for short-term goals for a long-term project, and made it simpler for the kids to grasp.

1. The Set-Up
2. The Dig & Identification of Artifacts
3. The Presentation of Artifacts

Before I let my students participate in an archaeological dig, I needed them to know what they were doing.  I wanted them to look into what an archaeologist is, how artifacts are excavated, and then how they are identified.  

This part needed to be pretty quick and simple.  A hook to get them started before the big dig.  I decided to use one of my favorite teaching strategies.  The jigsaw.

I divided the students into teams of 3.  This would be their "home" team, with which they would do their dig and final presentation.  I divided the information I wanted students to know into three topics. Each team member would be assigned a topic to research, complete with a form to fill out and a list of websites that would be good to use.  The topics...

1. What is archaeology?
2. Dig sites and excavation
3. Treatment of artifacts

With the jigsaw strategy each team member will go off and research their assigned topic.  I can add some differentiation into this as well by assigning easier topics to lower-level students, but as you'll see this won't take as much time.  Plus, the point of this part was to introduce archaeology, not the extensive research.  

I also wanted the students to review how to use one of my favorite technology presentation apps on the iPad.  Adobe Spark Video.  They used this last year as 7th graders and I wanted them to refresh their skills.  Students were required to researching their topic by filling out the form provided and then create a Spark Video that included all of the information from the research form.  Once completed they went back to their "home" teams and presented their information to the team.  

This ensured that each person was exposed to all of the information about archaeology and digs, but didn't have to pour over hours of research.  By dividing up the required work this speeds up the amount of time I spent on it, while incorporating technology that we'll use throughout the year.  Win. Win. 

Here is an example of Spark Video used for each topic!  I just love this app because it is super-easy for students to use and there's not a bunch of options for themes, fonts, colors, and so on. While those effects can be cool, it is also a major time-suck when students are working on a presentation.  Adobe Spark forces kids to focus on good content.  A new super bonus...it is now available on the web so it can be used on all tablets and computers. (click here for Adobe Spark, they have other cool things too!)

What is Archaeology?  By Camdyn P. 

Dig Sites and Excavation: By Owen H.

Treatment of Artifacts: By Mac

**They were required to pick a "theme" for their video that supported the topic.  With about 15 different themes to choose from, the above "sandy" look was chosen by most students.  Fits perfectly with our topic!

Stay tuned for the next post on The Dig & Identification of Artifacts!

Interested in the project documents including rubrics?  Have questions about KCSS or the Walmart Community Grant?  Want to talk about different options to modify this project without funds, let's talk about it! Contact me on Twitter @JillWebs or on Facebook - Jill Weber-cms and we can collaborate!

History Blurbs

If you are new to reading this blog, you should know that I am a HUGE believer in teacher professional development.  And by that, I mean I think teachers should seek out professional development that works for them.  One of the most powerful things for a teacher is to connect with other teachers who teach the same subject, scope and sequence, and topics.  Just having a conversation with other educators can have you walking away smarter and with ideas that are good for your students.

Today was another one of those days for me.

I have been part of a Social Studies Study Group made up of 20-40 other social studies teachers (many middle school, but we are growing and adding more high school teachers each year).  We get together four times each school year.  I always walk away smarter, with ideas I can implement tomorrow.

Today I was made smarter thanks to a conversation middle school teacher, Mike Sabala.  We were talking at our tables about different things we do in our class and he mentioned that he has his students complete "blurbs."

Now that sounds interesting...

It is.

Mike has his students fill out "History Blurbs" on the important people and topics in his class.  A blurb is...

1. The name of the event/person/topic
2. A definition/description 
3. A simple illustration
4. Three facts about it
5. See Also:  Connect the topic to at least two other people, places, or things that are connected to this event in some way and NOT already mentioned in the above description or facts.  I LOVE THIS ONE!

Awesome!

So I did what I do best... I took his idea, added my own little twist, and came up with this...

I love that this requires students to think just a little deeper about something we learned in class and asks them to make connections to other events.  A simple way for students to keep a record of the information they learn as well as rank how well they feel they understand it.  This might just become a regular thing in my class.

Bonus!  This technique would be very easy to adapt for all content areas and age groups.  Thanks Mike for making me smarter today!

Telling Stories and Seeing That Look!

When you ask a teacher "what is the best part of your job?"  You're likely to get an answer that attempts to convey the way it feels when a student finally grasps a concept they've been struggling with or some sort of "look" that a student gets when they surprise even themselves with what they are capable of doing.

Truth?

I rarely get that "look."

Not because students don't learn things or have success in my class.  They do.  But social studies isn't like math or science, where kids really need to focus, study, and practice to grasp new concepts. There are very few "Ah-hah moments." 

I have always thought social studies was more about the "social" part and not as much the study. Many times it can be confused with just learning about important events and memorizing dates.  But to me it's more than that.  Social studies is about the people.  The stories of the people who lived through, participated in, and impacted these events that we study.

Today my 7th graders got to hear stories.  Stories of a man who was a captain during World War II, a jeweler who designed jewelry for a princess, a family man who liked to fish and do impulsive things, and part of the "history" we all study.  

And got "that look."  The look of complete awe and amazement at finally coming to realize the important connections that are made by looking into our past.  

This lesson is called The REAL History in a Bag.  It is the finale (or kick-off, depending on how I organize things each year) to my Training Future Historians introduction.  The previous class period had the students participate in a History in a Bag - Teacher Edition, which I wrote about here.  That was practice.  

Today students would be challenged to analyze five artifacts that belonged to an individual that died over 40 years ago.  By studying the artifacts the students should be able to answer these questions...

1. Was the owner of these items male or female?
2. What was his/her name?
3. Where did he/she live?
4. What did he/she do for a living?
5. What were some of his/her hobbies?

The artifacts were set out at four different stations.  I held one back to give out for the end.  Students were divided into groups and sent with an artifact analysis sheet and set off to study the sources.  

They are...

1. Jewelry

2. Letters

3. Tackle Box

4. Sewing Box

 Finally once the little historians were through each of the 4 artifacts, I passed out the last one.  A newspaper article.  I save this one for last for two reasons.  One, it is longer and would take longer to go through than the other stations.  Two, it gives most of the answers to the above questions.

After giving them some time with the newspaper article, I ask them if they can answer all 5 questions.  They can.

And then I get to tell the story of Paul A. Lohmeyer.

1. Jewelry:  Mr. Lohmeyer was President of the Green Company Inc.  He made these two pieces out of a thimble cut in half and dipped in gold.  The flowers were old tie pins that men used to wear to hold their ties in place on their shirts.  These pins were a gift for his wife.

2.One of my favorites!  Mr. Lohmeyer had many high profile clients.  He designed and sold a charm to Princess Grace of Monaco, more popular in the U.S. for her movie films such as "To Catch a Thief."  Grace Kelly.  This is the thank you letter she sent him.  **At the start of class I showed a short video clip that was a brief biography of Princess Grace. They are too young to know who she was.  This gave them some background knowledge. Watching the students try to figure out the signature was great!  .

3. The tackle box:  No real mystery to this one.  Paul liked to fish in his free time.  One of his hobbies.  He had a collection of antique fishing lures that I didn't have for the kids to look at today.

4. The Sewing box:  Mr. Lohmeyer also served in the Army during World War Two.  He raised to the rank of Captain and was placed in charge of a German Prisoner of War Camp.  His treatment of the prisoners respectful and fair.  To thank Captain Lohmeyer, the POW's made this box for him.  Without tools.  The screws were inserted with a can lid.  Even some of the pieces were fashioned out of a can.  

 5. The Newspaper Article:   Mr. Lohmeyer stopped off at an animal auction one day, just for the fun of it.  With all the bidding excitement he joined right in and ended up buying a Hampshire Lamb, and taking it home in the back seat of his car (can you imagine his wife when he got home???)  The lamb lived in his back yard and his two daughters would walk the lamb on a leash up and down their suburban street.  The neighbors must have been entertained!

The Conclusion:

Mr. Lohmeyer bought that lamb in October of 1967, little over a year later on December 3, 1968 he was killed in a car accident on his way home.  He was 55 years old.  This picture is a school photo of his youngest daughter in 7th grade, less than a year after he died.  Her name is Julie.

And then I move to the last slide of the presentation.  A picture of Julie today.  And I wait.  I don't say a word.  I just watch them and wait for...that look!

You see...I, along with my sister, is pictured standing here with Julie.  My sister also teaches at the school, so these kids are familiar with her.  It doesn't take them too long to put it all together...

WAIT!  So you're related to her?!?  That makes Paul Lohmeyer your grandpa!  

Yep.  

Stories people...hook your students with stories.  Tell them about the people who lived through these dates and events that shaped our country.  Because it is in the people and their stories that real history lives. 

History in a Bag - Teacher Edition

This activity is part of my "Training Future Historians" Boot-Camp to prepare incoming 7th graders of the changes they need to make in order to analyze history instead of just read about it.  History in a Bag is something I have done before, but this year I changed it up some.

Change is good.  I truly believe that allowing for the possiblity of change to even some of my best activities have opened up the possiblity for those to become even better.  Sharing and collaborating with my PLN on Twitter has provided major ideas that require minor adjustments and create awesome learning opportunities for kids.

This minor adjustment came from @Iola_L4Ri and his take on the lesson idea called History in a Bag.  (Click here for the version from @Iola_L4Ri and click here for the original idea from Glenn Wiebe's History Tech blog)  The idea was just too good to pass up!

*************
About a week ago I sent out an email to the teachers in the middle school asking for their help.  I was hoping to get 5-6 people to agree.  I had TEN!  Just goes to show how AWESOME the staff here is at supporting each other and the things we do in the classroom!

The purpose of this activity is to have my students put into practice those historical thinking skills they've been learning about.  This allows for students to identify, analyze, corroborate and contextualize artifacts, make a conclusion and support it with evidence.  It is an awesome thinking activity that engaged every single one of the students today.

I paired up my students, gave them a record-keeping chart and sent them off to their first station.

The conversation throughout the day was fantastic!

"Mrs. Weber, this is hard, but I like the challenge."

"I think I know this one, but I'm not sure the other artifacts support my idea."

"Ohhh...this bag has to belong to a female.  Look at the name on the dog-tag, we don't have any teachers here by that name, so that means she must be married and have a different last name." - - WOW!

"This one is belongs to a girl, I know it because the t-shirt size is medium and that's too small for any of our guy-teachers."

"This one could be the band teacher, but the pretty cross is from the Methodist church which is my church, the band teacher doesn't go to my church, so it must be someone else who plays the drums."

This was such a great day in class and I'm so proud of the way my 7th graders worked!  They were all mad when I told them they had to wait until next week to find out the answers!  I gotta have them wanting to come back!

Plus...this is just the "warm-up."  The REAL History in a Bag is next Tuesday, and THAT is something to see!