Creating My Own "Broken Relics"

I love to mix things up, take something that we have been doing and throw in an extra little challenge. I also love it when the challenge involves something hands-on that makes kids have to work together.

Enter the "Broken Relic"

What I do:
I take a picture of whatever it is I want to serve as the relic.  I love to take a primary source that I'm going to have the students analyze like a poster or photograph. I print off the picture, turn it over and then start creating my puzzle.

I send the puzzle (still together) to be laminated.  This helps preserve the pieces if you plan on burying them.

Once they return all nice and shiny, I cut up the puzzle pieces.  I keep them in envelopes labeled until I am ready to use it.  I can use it as bell work to hook students, as a clue in a Breakout EDU activity, or as a station in order to get the kids moving and working together.  However, my favorite way to use it is...

Bury that baby! I LOVE to bury the pieces in sand. Make the students have to uncover the artifacts. This is a very inexpensive way to add a little "archaeology" into your classroom. Kids love having to uncover them.  You can get a 50 1b. bag of sand at Lowes for $2.00 and a plastic tub at Walmart for less than $2.00. Cheap and easy way to make an activity a little more engaging.

After students put the puzzles together, have them analyze the document. I LOVE to use this evidence overlay (purchase here) with dry-erase markers. Just another way to up the engagement of your students.

Tips for organization and management:

• If kids have to tape this together and you're planning on using it for more than one class (talking mostly to secondary teachers here) label the pieces on the back a different letter or number for each class.  This way you can keep track of which pieces belong to what class.
• Anytime you can have a volunteer help you label and cut out the puzzles.  Especially if you have many class periods and you're trying to sort it all out.
• Reverse the idea and have kids have to locate a primary source photo to turn into a puzzle for their classmates. Rotate puzzles throughout the classroom so that each group gets to analyze another team's primary source. All the prep work is on them and they get to analyze a variety of sources!

By creating your own broken relics the possibilities are endless!

5 Simple Ways to Increase Writing in Social Studies Class

Gone are the days in which reading novels and writing essays belonged in an ELA classroom.  All subjects are expected (and should) be integrating and supporting the reading and writing skills that students are taught in Language Arts class.

"But, but...I went to college to be a history teacher, not an English teacher. I don't know HOW to teach ELA!"

That was me. Seriously. I was ready to fight teaching reading and writing skills as long as I could.

Until I learned some simple strategies to help me.  This list is meant to help those who are struggling to add reading and writing skills into their classrooms and possibly give some new ideas to others.

#1: Go talk to you ELA Teachers. NOW!

Think about it. If another subject area wanted to start adding in pieces of Civic Engagement into their classroom and needed ideas, you would want them to come to you right (get ready...cause that's coming)?? You are the "social studies" expert. Why wouldn't you be running down the hall to see the "reading and writing expert" in your building?  Go.

Tell them you want to start including some more writing skills in your room. Ask them what language they use? How do they teach the kids to structure a paragraph? What grammar skills are they focusing on this year? Trust me...depending on the year it could be different. Last year our 7th grade ELA teacher really focused on capitalization of proper nouns. I was able to help support that. The kids knew it.

Piggy back off of what they are doing...Have they taught supporting evidence with quotes from sources? How do they want students to cite their sources? What are some simple strategies for locating evidence within text?  Anything that you can say that reinforces what your ELA teacher is doing will make it easier on both of you

The amazing ELA teachers at Cheney Middle School!

#2: Start with what you know. 

This is the first thing I did. I started requiring the kids to write in complete sentences. I know that one. I don't know exactly what year the kids are taught how to capitalize the first letter, subject, verb, and end with punctuation. But they know it before 7th grade. Unless it was specified on an IEP I started counting off for those simple errors.

You see, kids came to my class thinking "it's not English so I don't have to do things correctly." Once they knew I was taking points off for not writing correct complete sentences, they magically started doing it correctly.

#3: T. A. G.

I love using acronyms for the classroom. Especially when it's short and easy to remember. TAG is --great because it gets kids writing MORE than just the basic "it happened on 7-4-76"

T: Turn the question into a statement

A: Answer the question. (sentence one)

G: Give more detail. (sentence two)

This is automatically a two sentence response, but it's more than just having the kids respond with two sentences. It forces them to give more detail. TAG requires students to go back into the text and find something else to say about the topic.

I would be lying if I said the students cheered when I told them TAG had to be used to answer questions, but 100% of the time, their answers are better. So I like it and we use it!

#4: Poetry is where it's at!

If there's one thing about incorporating ELA strategies that I love, its using various forms of poetry for students to express their understanding of a topic. We use acrostic poems in our "bell work," haikus to summarize a topics, "I AM" poems to understand perspective, and this year I hope to add "Blackout Poetry" because it is awesome!

#5: Step up your vocabulary game!

Still having kids just match up vocabulary words on quizzes and tests. That's JV ball right there. Let's step it up a notch. Try some of these strategies, which still require that kids know the vocabulary, but apply the word to the correct context.

As you start trying to add more writing into your social studies classroom, give these 5 things a try. As always with everything on my blog, if you need any copies of anything or want to talk ideas don't hesitate to contact me @JillWebs on Twitter.

Want more writing ideas? This post is a shorter version of a previous post with more examples found here.

Mrs. Weber and the Four-Letter "F" Word

Hands-down, without a doubt, this is my favorite time of year.

I just LOVE "back to school" time!

The sight of pencils, notebooks, and glue lining the aisles of the grocery store.

Filling out my brand new "school-year" calendar for the top of my desk...with brand new pens.

The smell of the school as I walk into the doors for the first time in months. You know, that freshly waxed smell.

Heaven!

It's this time of year that I like to take a chance to introduce myself to the parents (and any students who may read this) and give them a little heads up about me, my classroom, and any points of emphasis I'm going to focus on this year.

I teach social studies at Cheney Middle School. 7th and 8th graders are some of my favorite people on the earth and I honestly say, that Mondays don't bother me! Sometimes I get so excited for things coming up the next day, that I can't sleep at night. I am active on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook...Follow me @JillWebs

Many times, I am the first time students encounter someone who specialized in Social Studies. This means that things may be a little different that what kids are used to. In my classroom...

• There is no textbook to lug around.  We use one periodically, but rarely.  I keep a class set in the room.
• Very few, if any, multiple choice questions.  A lot more writing. Tests will be very different from anything your student has probably tackled before...especially in a social studies classroom.
• Worksheets are used for data collection, applying something learned in class, and assessment.  A lot of collaboration with peers and team work.  
• More projects.  Technology integrated into the subject. Projects are completed at school. No "parent assembly" needed...that is unless your child has an awesome idea and chooses to involve your help at home :) 
• Every day vocabulary such as primary sources, contextualize, corroborate, bias, artifacts, inference.
• Questions that don't have one right answer.  Having to defend their answers with evidence.
• Learning to "Think like historians."
• And very little homework. If any. 

This is a lot to take in for kids coming into my room...and for parents as well. Don't worry...I will train your child in the ways of historical thinking, they will receive advice from past students, and will have many opportunities to have their great work shared throughout the state, country, and world through Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!

The Four Letter "F" Word.

Will NOT be allowed in my classroom.

Will NOT be allowed to be used to describe my class.

Will NOT be used to explain how the day went, once mom or dad ask at home. 

Don't worry...we're "G" rated around here. I'm not talking about anything inappropriate. I'm talking about the word FINE.

Ugh! I HATE that word. It literally is the laziest thing you could possibly say in response to "How was _____?" 

Fine. 

Not good. Not bad. Fine. 

Yuck!

All 7th and 8th graders will be told on day one that this word is NOT allowed in my room as a response to anything. Find a word, any word that is better than that. Provide some evidence to your answer... Always. 

For example...if you ask your teen "How was your day today?" Don't let them get away with saying "Fine." Make them give you a REAL answer with examples to back it up.  

And if they try to sneak it past you...let me know! 

I'll handle it.

Wanna GREAT Year? Start Here!

I am no expert. So who am I to try to offer tips or tricks or any kind of advice to have a great school year?

I will be starting my 12th year of teaching and I have been all over on the "how much do you love your job" spectrum.  I have had the burning excitement for teaching that those first few years bring on.  I have looked at the school year and my growing family and fought back tears thinking "I can't both be a good parent and a good teacher," I have to find a way out. I have felt the spark of passion ignite from the idea for one project, and seen that grow continually into a passion for teaching over the last three years.

My 9th year teaching was the best ever.  Until my 10th year, it was amazing.  I thought "surely 11 won't be as good as 10...it can't be."  It was. 11 was simply awesome.

So...here are some of the things that have helped me have not just one great school year, but three in a row (and I have high expectations year 12 as well.)  ***Authors Note...these are all things I have tried doing in my classroom in the last 3 years, but I am still a work in progress and looking to improve in each of these areas every year.***

#1 Reflect on the last few years (or weeks or months...) and reflect HONESTLY.  

Seriously. If you're not willing to take a good hard, HONEST look at your classroom and your teaching, then don't even bother with this one.  Ask yourself some easy questions to get started... What did you like teaching last year? What didn't you like? Why? If you were a student in your own classroom would you be excited to come to your class? What do the students actually think? Can you find out? Are you willing to listen to what they have to say?

These are not always easy questions to answer...but they are a necessity if you are looking at improving your classroom and having a better year (or week, or month, quarter, or semester) than you did before.

Teaching truth... I have NEVER seen a student excited about a worksheet. Ever. Don't be blinded by the fact that you love your subject and you would like to do the activities, lessons, and assignments you hand out. This is why you gotta ask the kids! They'll be honest, and have some good ideas if you're willing to listen!

#2 Student engagement impacts everything in the classroom.

If you want to have a better school year it starts here. If student's aren't engaged in what they are learning, they're not really learning.  They're looking for anything that's going to capture their attention; a cell phone, classmate, fidget spinner, or anything that is more interesting that the lesson you have going.  Classroom management, building relationships, assessment, and pretty much anything else with school can be improved by students being actively engaged in your class.

I have been actively working to increase student engagement the last three years. They notice. My 7th and 8th graders know they're going to get to do fun, different, and challenging things in social studies. But even I have days that need improvement. My rule of thumb... if I'm bored, so are the students, those are the days I need to improve. I am challenging myself to BRING IT each and every day.

Teaching truth... students sitting on exercise balls instead of chairs working on a worksheet are still just working on a worksheet. It's not actively engaged in class.

#3 Start Simple...Your class can be more engaging with a few simple changes!

If engaging your students in class seems like a daunting task, start small.  Start with these simple tricks.

• Start with you! If you are PUMPED for the lesson, they will be more likely to want to know why. Not feeling it? They don't care, so you better bring it anyway! 
• Sticky Notes: Take that worksheet and instead of passing it out (and making copies) ask the question aloud, have students write their answer and initials on a sticky note and put it on the board under "#1" - - Or take those question on the worksheet and write each one on a different piece of construction paper. Students travel around with sticky notes answering the questions.

• Get them up and moving!  Have students mix around the room, shout out a pairing task "someone with the same color of eyes," students pair up...ask the question, they discuss the answer and move on and repeat!
• Jigsaw and discussion. Try a Gallery Walk with the question on a worksheet...each team gets one question, a piece of poster board, and 15 minutes to answer the question and create the poster. Hang posters around the room...students move from poster to poster. Speed dating is another great one!
• Try a mini puzzle or challenge to start the day.  I love to use this one with my 8th graders to start our discussion on the Preamble to the Constitution. They LOVE trying to figure it out :) 

• Stations... I use various stations many times throughout the year. Especially when I have a lot of content to present and I'm low on time.  I set up 5-6 different stations and have kids move through them. I always try to have the stations be interactive with a game or white board to write on or sorting to try to figure out...and then throw in a couple reading stations. 
• White boards and markers. KIDS LOVE THEM. I don't know what it is about using an Expo marker on a dry-erase board, but kids go nuts over it. I love to review a previous days' information by passing out one board and marker to each team of students and having them rotate the writing responsibilities. Ask question...think/write time...countdown (with actions...get into it!) and BOOM. Answers up! So much fun!

Teaching Truth...Many of these activities are actually LESS WORK for you than going down to the office to make copies and grading worksheets!

Worksheet Challenge...try going ONE WEEK without giving your students a worksheet. See the difference, I promise your students will!

#4 Add Technology

I have talked before about the importance of adding technology into your classroom. If you won't start to integrate tech into your class, you are doing your kids a disservice. They WILL BE USING IT (and many already are) on a daily basis. Their jobs will depend on it. 

I am currently in love the the possibilities that QR codes can bring into the classroom. Scavenger hunts, gallery walks, student/peer feedback, etc... can be achieved with the use of a QR code. My kids can expect to see these many times throughout this school year. 

Teaching truth...if you're just taking scanned copies of your worksheets and having students complete them online, it's still just a boring worksheet, and the addition of the technology does very little.

#4 Don't be afraid to let your middle school (and high school) students cut, paste, and color!

Bust out the construction paper, colored pencils, crayons, and glue! As much as I am a proponent for using technology, I'm also a proponent for letting kids touch, make, and get sticky.  My 7th graders will create an interactive notebook that I call our H.I.T. Books. (Historians in Training).  These books are used throughout the year to collect and analyze historical evidence. Students have complete freedom with creating the pages of the book and even assess themselves on the rubric (I don't ever collect and grade it!) 

Teaching truth...your room will be messier. 

#5 Collaborate, Share, and Show off!

Some of my BEST stuff has come from other teachers who are not in my same building, city, or state! Find teachers who are doing cool things and sharing their stuff...and follow everything they do. This includes teachers of other subject areas and grade levels too.  Maybe something a 3rd grade teacher does in his/her classroom can be easily adapted to fit your MS classroom. Got a HS teacher friend who does cool stuff? Modify it slightly and you can work that in your classroom...(Shout out to Mr. Shutte, @coachshutte and Mr. Warsnak, @thewarsnak for giving me some Buzzworthy ideas for my classroom) 

Once you're done stealing and modifying what other teachers do, it's time to give it back. Share what's going on in your room. What worked well? How did your week of no worksheets go? What failed? Seriously every teacher is doing something awesome...have some confidence and share what you're doing!

Lastly...but possibly most importantly. Show off the cool things your students do! I once took a picture of a student who showed me a cool search trick on Google, and again for another student who showed me a less-messy way to eat a cupcake. Seriously. Kids want to know when they do something well...share it! 

Teaching truth...Kids LOVE it when you ask their permission to share their work, and their parents love it even more. Shoot an email or call home and ask if it's OK to share something that Johnny did in class!

Once again, I will say that I am a work in progress. I have days that aren't great and units that need major improvement. I don't always have every kids hooked and engaged in class.  These are just a few of the things that I am focused on because I know that it works. As I look to improve each and every day, I know that each year will keep getting better and better!

Happy School Year!