Applied Vocabulary: A Couple Strategies

This wasn't a planned blog post, but today I created a tweet that showed an activity my Juniors did in class that required them to apply some vocabulary knowledge. I had some requests for the activity. I figured I could write a quick post about it AND throw in one I did a few weeks ago with my World History Sophomores that I was very pleased with.

Because teaching vocabulary is so important. And not always exciting. Copy the definition. Draw a picture. Blah.

BUT I love good activities for vocabulary that help kids either understand the concept in CONTEXT of our historical time period OR that "spice it up" a little.

So here ya go. Two simple, but effective vocabulary strategies that I have used in January.

Picture Matching Vocabulary: The activity I posted on Twitter today. This was done at the beginning of our Great Depression unit (days 1-2).

1.  Day 1 is not super exciting. I prep the kids with this unit, explaining that there is some heavy vocab. So we start with a simple KIM Vocab worksheet. (Yep. Worksheet. Sometimes they're necessary for basic knowledge level assignments). This is really to help set up the activity for day 2. There are 16 terms, difficult words. They fill out the simple worksheet during class. I allow them to work with teams, it's really relaxed type of day, but they're busy. 
2. I make sure they know that the worksheet needs to be done tomorrow for our vocab competition. 
3. Day 2: I created a slide presentation with pictures/images that represent each word. I give each image a number 1-16. Sometimes I prefer to make things in slides, even if I'm going to print. Easier to manipulate the images. 
4. Print off the pictures and tape them up to the wall (I did this in the hallway so there was more room to move around.) 
5. Students each get a 1/2 sheet of paper with the terms only and a space next to it. Their task is to wonder around looking at the images and attempt to match the term with the correct one. They may use their vocab sheets from Day 1, but this is INDIVIDUAL and a competition. The student with the most correct gets a prize. 

RESULTS: 

• Kids find this hard (for the most part). They're not just regurgitating what they did the day before. They're studying HARD their own copied definitions and illustrations and attempting to figure out how they connect to each image. 
• Often times I have to remind them during the activity, that it is supposed to be challenging. It is supposed to make them think and APPLY what they learned yesterday.
• I have always had at least one student get them all right. Most kids are impressed with themselves and how many they were able to figure out, even though it is hard. 
• I try to make the prizes "worth it." A cool pen or a package of microwave popcorn. Cheap prizes that kids get excited about. 

Want that lesson? Click HERE >>> Great Depression Vocab Matching

Frequently Asked Question: What do I grade with this? Answer: Nothing. Of course the kids don't know that. :) 

Image Introduction Activity: This was done as the very first activity of the year. Our World History scope and sequence has us starting with Renaissance. There is a little need for comparison to Middle Ages to Renaissance. I used this as a way to get students talking about differences before giving them ANY content knowledge. 

1. I found 8 examples of Renaissance art, architecture, and science. I found 8 examples of Middle Age art, architecture, and science. I attempted to find similar images creating "buddy images". (Last Supper Renaissance and Last Supper Mid Ages). 
2. I taped them up around the room next to their "buddy image" 
3. Students were given a simple record form that aske them the station # they were at and what the similarities and differences were between the two pictures. 
4. Kids paired up, walked around, analyzed images and had conversations. 

How is this vocabulary? 

Because these kids, through just simple conversations, were already USING the vocabulary I was going to be teaching them in our Renaissance unit...and they didn't even know it! They were pointing out characteristics of Renaissance art (realism, perspective, light and shade). They were applying knowledge they didn't even know they had! I love it! 

Plus this made a simple activity that I could refer back to when I was explaining in more detail some of the changes that occurred during the Renaissance. 

Want those pictures? Click HERE >>> Renaissance Image Introduction

Cool right!?!

Both of these activities require students to DO things. Requires them to apply information and think at a higher level. Both of these are engaging and I rarely have to redirect someone back on task. (Though, it does happen. There are no perfect teachers). Both of these allow me to sit back and watch them learn...I facilitate the learning, I don't just tell them what they need to know. 

Don't be afraid to allow kids to try things on their own. Will they fail? Sure, sometimes. But they will also have moments of success. They may just surprise more than themselves with how much they're capable of.

Small Changes = Big Impacts

One of the huge advantages to a "Four Block" schedule and teaching an entire year's worth of material in a semester is the second semester. I get to start over and try new things, tackle those sticky-notes of changes I stuck all over my unit notebooks.

Over Christmas break I had a list full of big ideas.

And then I crumbled it up and tossed it into the trash.

Reality check. I spent more time at school the first semester than I had in 13 years. My first year teaching. Makes since, since I'm basically a first year teacher in her 14th year with new content and age level. BUT this time around I have so much more going on outside of school. That time at the school, while necessary and valuable to the classroom, was a sacrifice somewhere else.

So I need to slow down. Give myself grace. And time.

I have time to tackle those big ideas. Over the summer.

Now I can change my focus. To the little things. Little changes that, in turn, have made a big impact on the start of this semester. What are those little changes?

I'm glad you asked.

1. Bell Work
I always used bell work at the middle school level. It took about a week to get the 7th and 8th graders trained to come in and get started with the intro task. When I moved to high school, I figured I wouldn't need it. We'd have our "good things" talk and move right into the lesson of the day. Turns out, the structure of starting class with a simple expectation everyday is good for Sophomores and Juniors too.

2. Phones in the wall pockets. 
Ok...so I wrote a blog post before the first day of school about self-regulation and how it is important to allow kids to develop this skill. (read that post here) While I still believe that we need to teach kids the skills of self-regulation, I decided to use this semester as a little experiment. You see, for the most part my Juniors would put their phones away or upside down when I asked, but when it comes to self-regulation these kids THINK THEY'VE GOT IT. They think they are on task and working. They think the phones aren't a distraction. For the most part, they're wrong. They just don't realize how often and long they spend on the phone during a class period. Causing lessons and projects to take longer than necessary, and I don't have that kind of time. Plus...I didn't want to have to start class everyday with... "Ok, let's put your phones away or upside down and take your ear-buds out." And thanks to my bell work class starts with them beginning on their own (for the most part...some need a little nudge). For the record. I haven't given up on the idea of using phones to teach kids self-regulation. For now, starting the semester, this is working.

3. Note Prep
I don't lecture a ton, but I still do some. I make it a point to keep my lectures at 20 minutes or less. If it goes over that time, I want it to be due to a great conversation and awesome questions from the audience, not because I have to pause and wait for them to write things down. I got frustrated with my classes last semester. Even though we practiced note-taking skills and I repeatedly told them they didn't need to write everything down. They still did. Every word. Ugh! Made things take twice as long. So this semester I changed it up. On a day I have a lecture, I try to set the bell work as note prep time. I place my slide show in Google Classroom and let the kids have 10-15 minutes to prep. This allows for them to get a head start...or copy it all down if they feel like they need to. While I lecture and discuss the information they can either add to, highlight, or just close the notebook and listen. This allows me to get the material covered at a reasonable pace, they ask better questions, and if they miss anything, they always have the presentation available in Google Classroom.

4. Scaffolding and Expectations
High school kids are quicker and smarter than middle school. But they still need guidance. They need clear expectations and they need to know the process for thinking historically. It was pretty easy to just assume, last semester, that these kids can get it because they are older and wiser. This time around I'm taking the time early in the semester to teach HOW to analyze documents, how to recognize perspective, and how to place it all in the context of the time period. As we finish up our first unit this week, I feel like this group of kids are already more critical thinkers with primary and secondary sources.  Just because they are turning 17 this year, doesn't mean they're too old for "I do - we do - you do" type of activities. I will be writing a blog post on how I use scaffolding at the HS level to teach historical thinking skills. So be watching for that!

Sometimes you don't have to do big things to make a big difference. Try something small.

The Continuous Acrostic

Good morning to you all. School sleep schedule has my internal clock waking up by 5:00 AM. This morning I forced myself to stay in bed until 5:45. Now I've got a pot of coffee brewing and I decided to start your week off with a quick strategy that I have fallen in love with.

The Continuous Acrostic Poem.

I don't know if that's the actual name or if I just made it up. I know from my elementary school days that an Acrostic poem is where you come up with a word for each letter of the "primary word". I always remember doing them with my name in elementary schoool. J I L L = Jolly Intelligent Lovable Loud.

I love using poetry in social studies. It is a great way for students to make a deeper connection with the content as well as stretch their vocabulary. And when done in collaboration with your ELA teachers, kids can create some pretty awesome poetry. Two of my favorites that I've blogged about before are the Haiku and Blackout Poetry. Check those posts out, cool stuff.

Sometimes I don't want the activity to be a long project. Sometimes I just want it to be something quick and easy. That's where the continuous acrostic comes in. I give my students one of the main vocabulary words for our unit of study and they are required to write a poem that continues through the letters of the word. Instead of using one word (like elementary "JILL") or even stand alone statements, this challenges kids to write something continuously through the letters. It should all read as on long statement, or group of statements about the topic.

I LOVE this strategy because in order for the kids to be successful at it, they HAVE to include details and examples about the word that they have learned in class. Some students' poems read just like a paragraph, while others really dive into the creativity of the poetry and make a truly moving poem. I have used these in conjunction with a larger project, as an assignment at the end of a lesson, as a review activity, part of a choice board, and as a station rotation task. It can even be used to summarize an analysis of a primary source. So versatile!

Here are a few examples from my high school students this year. I have also done this in the past with middle school.

By: Keton

 

By: Nina

By: Sam

Enjoy! Have a great week :)

The Amazon Review of the New Deal

Ok...so it's been a little while since my last blog post. I've been a bit busy. But that doesn't mean that I haven't had ideas of posts ready to type. Time has been on the short side this last semester.

I want to start out the new year with an activity idea that I got from a conversation with one of the best in our state, T.J. Warsnak. Who in turn got the idea from talking with one of our former KS Teacher of the Year, Sam Neill. (See how the magic of a PLN works?)
Follow them on twitter @thewarsnak and @SJNeill13

The idea is to have students give an "Amazon Review" of a moment, event, or policy in history. I think the original idea was one for teachers to use to reflect on our school year. Give yourself a 5-Star Amazon Review, then give yourself a 1-Star. What did you do well? What do you need to do to improve? TJ thought this would work for content.

And it does.

The conversation was perfect timing. We were just about to start our unit on the Great Depression and I figured I could use this for having kids give BOTH a 5-Star and 1-Star review of FDR's New Deal Programs. After some sharing and emailing back and forth with TJ and @coachschutte (another teacher rockstar in my PLN) this is what I ended up giving to the students.

1. I created this Google Slide template to push to the kids in classroom giving each student his/her own copy. >>>CLICK HERE FOR TEMPLATE

2. At the suggestion of Derek Schutte, I included review examples of the Rumba, so kids could see how something could have both a 1-star and 5-star review. Plus both reviews were great to show students how specific examples and reasons for the review...which would, of course, be required in their assignment.

3. We talked about how reviews can be very helpful to potential buyers, but that not all reviews are helpful. The more specific details someone gives for the reason behind the star ranking the more "useful" the review is to the reader. Their task is to create a very helpful review.

4. This was done after we had completed a SHEG activity on the New Deal and looked at both positive and negative outcomes. (Find that lesson here)

5. Each student was required to create BOTH a 5-Star and 1-Star review. Explaining both the good things and not-so-good things about this program. They had to list specific details to support their reasoning from the evidence they studied in the SHEG activity and learned in class discussions, assignments, and lectures.

REFLECTION:

• Great activity! I love that it gets kids writing, but in a different format. So much of the time in school their writing assignments are more formal. This is more of a casual writing assignment that is relevant to kids in their everyday lives. They will, or have, written reviews online about a product or service. This assignment can give kids the chance to practice a different form of writing, but writing that still requires you to support your claim. 
• I love the flexibility of this. I can use this for programs, events, people...all kinds of topics that come up in social studies. 
• I also love that I can use this for non-history type things as well. Reflection for the students on themselves at the end of the semester...what they did well and what needed work. This could even be the end of the semester evaluation for me, the teacher. What did I do that would earn me a 5 star Amazon review? What would cause me to get a 1? Just a different spin on ways to provide feedback. 
• Finally, if you didn't pick up on it through the post, this activity was a combination of conversations and sharing ideas and feedback between teachers around our state. We don't work in the same building, but because of the connections made both online and at conferences we are able to collaborate on activities in the classroom. Surround yourself with those who make you better! 

Give it a try! Let me know how it goes!

And chat up that PLN...ideas are everywhere!