The Next Step Back In Time: Ancient Greece

Today we took our second step back in time.  We visited Ancient Greece.  Rachel and Rebecca used a great focus statement.  The statement is when the teacher-candidates say "Macaroni and cheese" the students reply with "Everyone freeze".  This was a focus statement that I haven't heard before and the students really liked it.  In the direct lesson for Ancient Greece the teacher-candidates taught a group of vocabulary words.  Some of the words were: continent, polytheism, mono theism, and democracy.  The teacher-candidates then gave the students a short break before they moved into the inquiry lesson.  Their inquiry lesson was to research different mythological gods of Ancient Greece.  The students were given clues and they need to use the inquiry process to match the clues they had, to the god that went with the clues.  This was a fun activity for the students and the students seemed to like it a lot.  For the teacher-candidates cooperative learning lesson they used the gods from the inquiry lesson to create a glogster as a group.  The students were broken into groups by the god they received in the inquiry lesson.  The groups worked together to create a digital posters using the webpage gloster.  This was a new tool for the students.  It was a great project for them and they truly enjoyed it.  The one thing I realized from their session is to always check your technology before you start your lesson. 

Working Together To Reach A Common Goal

Cooperative Instruction Lesson:

Group 1's ThingLink

The cooperative lesson plan focused on the student working in groups to create a ThingLink.  ThingLink is an online site that lets you create interactive posters on anything.  Using the information the students had already learned in the previous two lessons and extra resources, the students were to work in groups to create a ThingLink.  The ThingLink was to have 2 facts on geography, religion, culture, government and 2 places to visit. When the students were done creating their ThingLink they would present it to the rest of the class.

Reflection

 By the time I reached our cooperative learning lesson most students had to leave, so I only had 4 students left.  This helped me learn the importance of thinking on your feet.  The groups we had already put together were not going to work, so I had to change them on the fly.  We were also running out of time.  So of the thing s that I needed to change for this lesson are to teach ThingLink in more depth.  I did not spend enough time on explaining the use and designing aspects of ThingLink. I need to also make more of a point on how to work in groups.  When working in groups students need to understand the importance of working as a whole group.  Being respectful and understanding to each member of their group.  Also, I need to explain to the students that they would be graded not only on the ThingLink, but, on their group mechanics. 

To Inquire Is To Know

Inquiry Instruction Lesson:

The inquiry lesson plan focused on the students exploring the Great Wall of China.  The students were presented with this statement "People are conflicted about the Great Wall of China." There question was "Was the Great Wall of China a good invention?"  The students were then given resource to help them come to their conclusion.  There were articles and videos for the students to go through to collect information.  The resource were: Religion of Ancient China, Ancient China for Kids: The Great Wall of China, When, Why, and Who Built the Great Wall of China, Infographic about the Great Wall of China, What Makes the Great Wall of China so Extraordinary, and Deconstructing History-The Great Wall of China. When the students were done with their research they had to come to a conclusion based on the question they were given.  

Reflection
As we worked through the direct lesson I could feel myself becoming more relax in front of the class.  This lesson was to allowed students to explore the topic of the Great Wall of China individually.  In the inquiry lesson I need to ask what and how a historian collects their data.  Having the students consider themselves as historian will give them a more personal invitation to learning.  I also need to allow the students to elaborate on the topic.  By elaborating the students will start to make generalizations regarding Ancient China.  Lastly, we ran out of time and did not get to allow the students to report their findings and conclusions.  One of the most important parts of the inquiry process is reporting the findings and conclusions.  When everyone reports their finding, students get to see different strategies on coming to a conclusion.   

The Direct Way To Teach

Direct Instruction Lesson:


The direct lesson plan focused on the four parts of civilization: Geography, Religion, Culture, and Government. In geography we focused on where China is located, China natural barriers (the Pacific Ocean and Himalaya Mountains), and the Huang He/Yellow River.  We also focused on why the Huang He River was important to the Ancient Chinese people.  In religion we focused on Confucius and some of the main points of Confucius teachings.  In culture we focused on the Ancient Chinese family structure.  In government we focused on Shang and Qin Dynasties.   

Reflection
Being the first group to teach was a little intimidating.  Going in blind was confusing and scary.  But, I found that once I started talking the fear went away.  I'm not saying it was perfect, but it was a great learning experience.  In our direct lesson we need to work on pacing.  Our direct lesson went a little longer then we had original planned.  In a direct lesson the lesson should consist of facts and concepts and repetition.  We also needed to ask more direct review questions at the end of each sections. Other things I found I need to work on is the use of academic language and asking more than one student to answer a question.  By asking more than one students to answer a question you get a better understanding of who is processing the information.

The First Step Back in Time: Ancient China

Today is the day, Mike and I got to teach our Ancient China lesson to the students.  It was a whirlwind of activities, but it was a great learning experience.  Within a hour and a half time period we taught three different lessons to a great group of students.  The hour and a half was broken into three parts: direct, inquiry, and cooperative.  Within those parts we explored Ancient China in many different ways. Being the first group to present I had no idea what to expect.  Overall we did a good job of being prepared with our materials, staying on topic, and keeping the students focused on the lesson.  Some of the things that went well in the lesson today were the fact that the three lessons were engaging and they flowed very well.  The topics built on each other which helped the students stay focused.  I think the four square game we made up for our direct lesson was very interesting.  The lesson was not perfect, but that's why we are here.  In the direct lesson we could have kept a faster pace, have students repeat key points, and ask review questions at the end of each grouping.  In the inquiry lesson we needed to ask what and how a historian collects their data, have students elaborate on the topics, and have students report their findings and conclusion to the class.  In the cooperative lesson we were running out of time.  We needed to teach ThingLink in more depth, make a point of how to work in groups, and we did not have time for an exit ticket.  Going first was a great learning experiences for me. Not knowing what to expect had me a little rattled, but it helped me be over prepared and kept me focused.  
 
Direct Instruction Lesson:


The direct lesson plan focused on the four parts of civilization: Geography, Religion, Culture, and Government. In geography we focused on where China is located, China natural barriers (the Pacific Ocean and Himalaya Mountains), and the Huang He/Yellow River.  We also focused on why the Huang He River was important to the Ancient Chinese people.  In religion we focused on Confucius and some of the main points of Confucius teachings.  In culture we focused on the Ancient Chinese family structure.  In government we focused on Shang and Qin Dynasties.   

Inquiry Instruction Lesson:

The inquiry lesson plan focused on the students exploring the Great Wall of China.  The students were presented with this statement "People are conflicted about the Great Wall of China." There question was "Was the Great Wall of China a good invention?"  The students were then given resource to help them come to their conclusion.  There were articles and videos for the students to go through to collect information.  The resource were: Religion of Ancient China, Ancient China for Kids: The Great Wall of China, When, Why, and Who Built the Great Wall of China, Infographic about the Great Wall of China, What Makes the Great Wall of China so Extraordinary, and Deconstructing History-The Great Wall of China. When the students were done with their research they had to come to a conclusion based on the question they were given.  

Cooperative Instruction Lesson:

Group 1's ThingLink

The cooperative lesson plan focused on the student working in groups to create a ThingLink.  ThingLink is an online site that lets you create interactive posters on anything.  Using the information the students had already learned in the previous two lessons and extra resources, the students were to work in groups to create a ThingLink.  The ThingLink was to have 2 facts on geography, religion, culture, government and 2 places to visit. When the students were done creating their ThingLink they would present it to the rest of the class.

The Start of it All

Today we met with our after-school group to introduce ourselves and get to know each other.  First, we had the students design their own name tags.  After we met all the students and the teacher candidates introduced themselves we had the students take a per-assessment on the three topic areas we will be teaching:  Ancient China, Ancient Rome, and Ancient Greece.  When the students were done with the assessment we played a game called Kahoot!  This was a quick game to assess the students basic social studies knowledge.  The students really liked this form of assessment because it was fun and there was no pressure on answering.  When the game was over we moved into each group giving a small overview of their topic. My group which is Ancient China talked about the Chinese New Year and in what year each student was born in.  Then, we moved onto making Chinese lanterns out of paper.  The second group was Ancient Greece.  They spoke about Greek mythology and Medusa.  The students they created a mask of Medusa.  The final group was Ancient Rome.  This group talked about the architecture of Rome and mosaic creations.  This group had the students create their own mosaic pieces.

Learning The Ropes

Today we met with Tiffany Davis the librarian for the Mount's Curriculum Materials Center.  The librarian spoke to us about all the resources that the curriculum library has for us to use.  Within the library they have both fiction and non-fiction books for juvenile(K-5) and young readers (6-12).  The library also has manipulative sets for varies activities and both student and teacher additions of text books.  She also discussed with us two databases to use when researching  articles, Education Research Complete (Ebsco) and ERIC (Ebsco). This was my first time in the curriculum library and having someone to explain the functions and tools of the library was a great feeling.  Know I do not feel as lost when it comes to finding materials.

Link to the Mount Saint Mary College Curriculum Materials Center

We then meet with our cooperating teacher for social studies.  At this point she told us that she only had one student signed up for the program, but was opening it up to younger grades.  She explained to us that we had the use of the computer lab and the iPads in her classroom. She expressed the need to use technology to reach the students in and interactive and engaging way.  With all the technology we have at our fingertips, we need to find ways to work it into our lessons. The cooperating teacher also spoke of her expectations of us as teacher candidates.  She expects us to be professional and prepared, she also asked us to test the technology before presenting to the students.  These are all qualities that all teachers should possess when they are conducting a lesson.