This is what Democracy looks like!

Good morning colleagues! It is a BEA-utiful Saturday morning in Colorado Springs! It is already 63 degrees out, so I'm just itching to go for a walk or hike. It's surprising that I even wanted to get out of bed after a very long day yesterday! But to tell the whole story, I have to go back to last Friday, April 20th.

I'd gone out to eat with friends as we were celebrating someone's birthday. While sitting at BJ's, eating a gluten-free pizookie and watching the Cubs just utterly destroy the Rockies, a friend received a text message - her district will be closed on April 27th for the Colorado educator rally. Recently I've been quite politically active, but this bit of news just flew over my head. I'm embarrassed that I didn't know about this rally as things are happening in the Colorado Legislature that will AFFECT ME as an educator. So as my friend fills us in on the march, and another friend and I look at each other and say, "You in? I'm in."

Monday morning rolls around, and I put in for a personal day on April 27th. I'm even lucky enough that my preferred sub picks up the job quickly! A colleague comes into my classroom to ask if I'm going to the rally on Friday and I smile and say yes. After that conversation, word about the rally spreads among the teachers in my school, and the "situation" begins to escalate. We get an e-mail later in the day asking for teachers to let admin know if they will be gone on Friday. I, of course, told admin that I will be gone and that I have a sub already lined up. The response I received back was not that nice, but I know also stemmed from frustration. It was evident that teachers were talking and were putting in for subs, and not all of the sub positions were getting picked up.

Then, on Tuesday, we get an e-mail from our superintendent. It was not well received. In fact, in an act of situational irony, the e-mail had the exact opposite effect and teachers started taking the day off in droves. It was all that anyone could talk about, and the teachers that I spoke to were irate. Luckily, the next day, the superintendent decided to change the school day to a professional development day for teachers. Across all schools, it would have been "all hands on deck." I heard that there would be classes held in the auditoriums and gyms because there weren't enough teachers, counselors, or administration left to cover. It would have been a waste of a day if there was school.

So yesterday morning my husband and I were able to sleep in (so luxurious!), run some errands, then pick up a friend to drive to Denver. We took the light rail from the south edge to downtown, then walked along 16th Street Mall to Civic Center Park. It was powerful to be on the train and see more and more teachers in red pile on. As we walked along 16th Street, there were teachers in red everywhere!

 The march, from Civic Center Park to the Capitol Hill, started at 1:00 pm. The march was short (too short) but was powerful. We shut down a busy street, but as we marched, many people in cars honked in support! We were near the front, so we ended up on the hill. As we looked back, people kept streaming towards the hill. It was pretty exciting! But around 1:30/1:45, the police reopened the busy street and cut the group of teachers in two. At 2:00, when the rally began, it was evident that the sound system was not up to par for the number of teachers in attendance. It was hard to hear. I found out later that Governor Hickenlooper spoke, but I have no idea when he spoke. I looked back down the hill after 10-15 minutes, and teachers started leaving. It was disappointing that the rally turned out that way, but it was still a powerful experience. As people left, we did move our way forward. We were near the front for the last 20 or so minutes, so we heard some great speakers, saw some hilarious signs, and chanted, clapped, and yelled with the remaining educators!

So why did I march and rally yesterday?

• Colorado schools are currently underfunded by $822 million and $2,700 below the national average in per pupil funding. Right now, Colorado's economy is #1 in the nation. Why is there such a disparity?
• Initiative 93: Great Schools Thriving Communities is a bill that will raise $1.6 billion annually in support of public education, while 92% of taxpayers will not see an increase in their taxes.
• SB 18-200's legislative intent is to improve PERA’s (our pension fund) funded status and lower its overall risk. It will phase-in a 3% increase from the current 8 percent to 11 percent of pay, starting in July 2018. As currently written, the bill would change the retirement eligibility age for all members who are age 46 or younger (i.e., me) as of January 1, 2020, by adding one year to full-service retirement eligibility for every four years less than age 46, not to exceed 65 years of age. At 34 years old, I would have to add three more years to my full-service retirement eligibility. 

Fascinating chart from @axios shows how inflation-adjusted public teacher salaries have gone down in the great majority of states. pic.twitter.com/h1vF8Q9I77

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) April 3, 2018

Right now, my husband and I are okay. We are living a comfortable life and have enough left over each month to put into savings and retirement (outside of PERA). BUT, the reason that we live a comfortable life is because of two things. 1) We were lucky enough to "win" a house through a HUD program called Good Neighbor Next Door. We were one of the last people to get a house, through this program, in Colorado Springs. We have a low mortgage rate and much more house than we could ever fill. We have been able to improve the property over the last seven years, and now, because of the housing boom along the Front Range, we will be able to walk away with a large amount of money when we sell. But we can't sell because we wouldn't be able to buy another house in town. The market is so hot that houses are selling, sight unseen, in less than 72 hours. We are really, REALLY lucky that we own a house. 2) We've made the conscious decision to not have children. We would be struggling if we did have children. 

Even though we lead this comfortable life, it could easily change by not having our salaries grow each year with the massive rise in the cost of living. It could easily change by our rise in rates for health coverage. It could easily change by having to contribute more to PERA each year, but have a chance that it will run out by the time I retire. 

As I saw on many signs yesterday, you can't put students first if you put teachers last. Thanks for reading... I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Summer breeze... makes me feel fine!

Welcome colleagues! Well, it has been QUITE a year! I cannot believe that I survived and that the year actually went by quicker than I thought. Though I had many ups and downs, this was easily the best year of teaching I've ever had. I'm starting to feel like I understand HOW to teach. Ironic considering I'm not teaching history next year...

Since it is the end of the year, I wanted to reflect on my #oneword2017 challenge and also talk about my summer goals.

#oneword2017: I blogged back in January about my New Year's resolutions. One of my #sunchat blogging collaborators mentioned that maybe my word should be self-care. I took that idea and RAN with it! Ever since taking on self-care as my mantra, the past six months have felt magnificent. And it really was little ways that I started taking care of myself which made a big difference. I bought a new Fitbit and have been working out consistently. I made a switch to a low FODMAP diet which has helped with a lot of my health issues (and dropped my "healthy" weight down three pounds). I uploaded my photography to our TV's Chromecast, so our TV is like a photo gallery. I've read 24 books this year, got caught up with Game of Thrones, and am obsessed with The Handmaid's Tale. I've spent quality time with friends this year, visited my sister in Pennsylvania twice, and missed the last two days of school for my nephew's graduation. My self-care goal has changed my mindset for the better!

Part of my self-care regimen for this summer is preparing for my new job. I know that people have messaged me, inquiring about what my new job entails. I will be a part-time broadcasting teacher and part-time technology specialist. As the broadcasting teacher, I am responsible for teaching students to use digital equipment to become engaging storytellers. The select seventh and eighth-grade students are responsible for putting together "Skyview News" once a week. I have BIG shoes to fill, and I am nervous and overwhelmed (but of course excited). I feel like I'm back to my first year of teaching where I was one step ahead of the students, but that's not a bad thing! As the technology specialist, I ensure that desktops, Chromebooks, and iPads in the building are available and ready for the teachers. As far as I know, I will also be responsible for building curriculum and training for the staff (and potentially district staff) so that our school continues to move forward.

Other goals for the summer?

• I'm presenting for the first time at a Google Summit! I'm presenting on visual essays, which I talked about a couple of weeks ago. I need to put that presentation together... and practice! I despise public speaking, but I have to get over it, right?
• Take more pictures. Duh. And submit my photos to the Iowa State Fair. They're printed... I just need to MAIL THEM.

• Build a Google Sheets course as part of the POWER Zone Innovators curriculum. Still figuring out what to teach, but it's always good to get my name out there!
• Continue to build my educator digital portfolio. If I want my students to see the purpose of their own portfolio, it is only fitting to have an example.
• Hopefully, take a vacation in July. Maybe Mexico? 

Thanks for all of the support over this last school year - it's hard to believe that I've been blogging for almost a year! Enjoy your summer, and I'll see you in a couple months... or maybe sooner if I'm feeling inspired :)

And because it's part of my self-care regimen, enjoy this summer playlist... on me!

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

You gave students choice... and it bombed...

  

...now what? It's time for a reflection.

My co-worker and I just finished our cross-curricular project, and boy has it been a unit! We were quite euphoric with how it turned out, and were glad that the project was more of a success than we anticipated. One thing is nagging at the back of my brain - how did giving students choice work? Was THAT successful?

To answer that question, I am going to jump into "story time" and travel back to last summer. Right before the school year began, I attended a GAFE (Google Apps for Education) conference here in Colorado Springs. I was pushed by many of the attendees and presenters (in a good way) to update and elevate my curriculum this current school year. The big "buzz word" was choice: giving students a choice in your classroom. And I believe it, and I believe in it, so I tried to provide my students with choice (to give them a voice). It was a complete and utter failure.

Sometimes I wonder why teachers and teacher bloggers don't talk more about their failures, and, when giving advice, don't always talk about what might go wrong. I feel like I had a preconceived and naive belief about how choice and flexibility would transform my classroom. I would liken this to all the feels that teachers get when watching Robin Williams' speech in A Dead Poet's Society.

That was going to be my classroom this year... I was wrong. What I failed to take into account, and what I was never pushed to question, was who the students were that I had coming into my classroom. My students had eight years of traditional schooling. Often times, in my own opinion, I did not see rigor and high expectations in their previous classes. Students, in the past, did not have the option to make their own choices and did not have the capacity and maturity to make wise decisions on their own. This led to a very rough beginning to the school year (no Robin Williams moments here!) and a lot of reflection about what best meets my students' needs.

So... I gave my students choice... and it bombed. What are the next steps?

Number one: don't give up! So it didn't work this time. Why didn't it work? Figure that out, then don't do that again. It is okay to fail, but do not punish your students if the failure is one you.

Number two: figure out what your students need. Many options or open flexibility can be overwhelming if it has never been an option before. I know that when I start my next school year, I need to survey the students about their previous schooling. This will then drive HOW I teach in my classroom. I can decide how much choice I offer from the start.

Number three: start small to large. Start by giving your students two or three possibilities (not unlimited), then expand from there. I run a more project-based class so I can start with open selection when it comes to a type of project (Slides, Explain Everything, iMovie), then over time, students can have a choice when it comes to topics and content. Ideally, by the end of the year, the students have complete discretion in the classroom to display their voice.

Number four: take your time. If you realize that students still don't have the maturity to have choice, then do not give them that option. Make sure they are ready to move to the next step. Do not set up your students to fail.

As I said at the beginning, now that I've done this big project at the end of the year, was giving choice beneficial?

Yes! 

It was due to my failures at the beginning of the year and reflecting upon WHY there was failure. It was also dependent on me slowly adding in more choice as the year went on. I also feel like we gave students good options when it came to historical figures and project presentation options for this unit. 

Was it perfectly successful? No, not quite. Both my colleague and I learned a lot doing this project for the first time and have discussed changes that we will make. We still saw students choose the easy options, and I still need to figure out why they didn't want to push themselves. 

But I can see how choice works in my classroom and am excited to see it work even better next year. Keep the faith! Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Moving away from mindless

Hello, colleagues!

I read an excellent blog post from Bill Ferriter. It really made me think about my curriculum; what is worthwhile and what is mindless. 

"Inane tasks are the norm rather than the exception to the rule in the lives of students. It’s reading truncated excerpts of obscure non-fiction works and answering multiple choice question after multiple choice question. It’s solving questions 14-33 on page 86 of the textbook and showing your work. It’s making YET another PowerPoint for YET another class — and then delivering YET another five minute presentation to your peers on some topic that you are going to forget before the end of the month. Worse yet, inspiring tasks are like white rhinoceroses: Oddities that are rarely seen, long remembered, and hunted by darn near everyone."

I have to say - no one is complete at perfecting their curriculum. No one "has it down" and no one is doing it right all the time. Every teacher knows that at some point, there will be mindless tasks in the classroom. But as Bill said it, it should be an exception instead of the norm. 

credit: LOC

So this morning I was thinking about how I can change mindless tasks in American history into something greater. 

• While learning about the federal government of the US, instead of just learning about the differences between a Presidential Proclamation and an Executive Order, have the students read and analyze two important documents: Presidential Proclamation No. 2537 and Executive Order 13769. Have students watch interviews with those interred in Japanese-American internment camps during World War II and with green card holders who were turned away at the airport in 2017. Then have students blog, create a Twitter thread, or design a Snapchat Discover story about how the federal government impacts an "everyday" American citizen.
• Instead of making students memorize the fifty US states and capitals, have the students pick five states they have never visited. Students then use Yelp and TripAdvisor to see what they can do if they visit the capital. Students then design five interactive Google Maps with the five places they would visit in that city with information, reviews, and photographs.
• When studying American Indians, instead of mapping the geographic cultures and doing a Venn Diagram on the similarities and differences, talk to students about how the Plains tribes would use every part of the buffalo in their lives. Talk about how each part was used, and if you have a local museum (like the Pioneers Museum), bring in artifacts for demonstration purposes. Then have students keep track of everything that they throw away for a week. Give students the opportunity to brainstorm and work together to repurpose the waste into something they could use in their daily life, or how they could remove that waste completely from their lives.

In the end, I think the goal of teaching is to interest and motivate our students. This does not happen every day, and it does not happen all the time. I deal with 110 beings every day, plus myself, and we have emotions and home lives that sometimes get in the way. However, if we can move them away from the mindless more often than not, then I think we're doing all right.

Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Thinking outside the box

Good morning colleagues!

My class is currently one week deep into a cross-curricular American Civil War project with Language Arts. The students have done some overarching research on important historical figures during the war, found the characteristic that this person best exemplifies, and have started designing their "improvement hour" project.

Yesterday I had the students fill out a Google Form about how they are doing on their project, and any stumbles that they had. I used the data results to guide the students needing to be spoken with immediately, which students I could meet with that day, and which students I could meet with the next day. It allowed me to prioritize my conference order.

One student had this answer, and it made me pause.

Important #middleschool words: "It was just hard to think about things like most of the time your teachers make ideas then you have to 1/2

— Rachel Jeffrey (@historicalipad) April 14, 2017

whatever they say but this time you are making ideas with your brain,well I don't know it is just hard to think like this I guess." 2/2

— Rachel Jeffrey (@historicalipad) April 14, 2017

Though what she said is both encouraging and discouraging, I am happy for a few things. I am glad that I saved a project like this for the fourth quarter. Though my classroom style is not typical, my school is quite traditional. It took a lot of breaking down walls and barriers this year to get my kids ready. A project like this would have bombed in the first quarter. I am happy that I am doing this project at all. Those that read my blog often know that I am not having the best year. I refused to let myself get in the way of me having my students do something that benefits their present and future. I am glad that I am giving my students something with many choices. They are getting to decide what they do and how they do it. I had a quick spark of inspiration last week and also added that the students combine their project with something they are passionate about. I have seen more "buy-in" as the project as gone on.

Love how this turned out! #edchat #classroom #middleschool pic.twitter.com/ZGFUbbnJdZ

— Rachel Jeffrey (@historicalipad) August 1, 2016

I am happy that I have this on my wall. I never pointed it out to students, but I've been pointing it out a lot this past week (especially the "this is too hard"). I said to one student, "I know you never look at it." He said, "Actually, I've looked at it a lot." Boom! I consider that a win :)

I think where I'm going with all of this is that this project has been reassuring. I am glad that I decided to elevate the Civil War unit. It is a challenge, but it is pushing my students outside the box and is forcing them to think in ways that they might not have thought before. This is authentic 21st-century learning that demonstrates the relevance of history while preparing them for the future. This has been the most creative, innovative unit that I've created, and I am proud of my students, my teammate, and myself.

Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

#currently

Greetings colleagues!

I was browsing Feedly when I stumbled across a post from Katie, a 7th grade English teacher, talking about what you are currently listening to, eating, etc. I thought this would make for an interesting post!

Reading: The Girl who Came Home: I'm only about a third of the way through this, but it's an interesting concept. There are two plotlines intertwined. The first part is a flashback to 1912 as a young Irish woman, Maggie, travels on the Titanic to the United States. She is joining family there and is planning on starting a better life. The second plot line deals with her great-granddaughter Grace in the "present-day" of 1982. I don't regularly read many non-fiction history texts during the school year as I deal with history every day. It is, however, a nice change of pace to read historical fiction that is well-written.

Watching: I just finished both Big Little Lies and got caught up on Game of Thrones, so I'm in a post-tv watching funk! I need to get caught up on season nine of Doctor Who before season ten starts in a few weeks!

Eating: It's 9:45 am Mountain time, so I just ate my "go-to" breakfast: southwestern eggs, rice, Cholula, mustard, avocado, and a little bit of cheese. It's my go-to breakfast because I can make it quickly, it's filling, and it tastes good (at least to my tastebuds).

Listening: As I'm blogging, I'm listening to my movie score soundtrack. Whenever I do anything school related, I cannot listen to anything with words. I'm too observant to not pay attention to my surroundings, so it either has to be silent where I am working, or the only sound is music with no words!

Loving: I recently bought a Charge 2 Fitbit, and I am LOVING it! I had a Fitbit in the past, but it was part of the recall because many people (including myself) were burned by the material. So I switched to a Garmin Vivofit. I've had it for the last three years, so I wanted something new and flashy! It is more interactive, plus the Fitbit community is pretty impressive. I have many friends here and family back home that have them, so we're in constant competition with each other. I enjoy the continuous heart rate monitor, the silent reminders (including a move reminder every hour), and that I can start different types of workouts (hikes, yoga, treadmill, weights).

Planning: One thing that I'm planning right now is getting my master's degree. I am still in the early stages, but I know I want my masters in educational/instructional technology. It just makes sense based on where I am in my career, where my focus has been the last couple of years, and where I see myself headed in the future.

Waiting: I am currently waiting on May 25th. This is not because it is my last day of school, but it's because it is the day my nephew is graduating from high school! My school district believes in family first, so I was hesitant to ask to be absent for the last two days of school. That is usually a big "no no" in school districts, but I was pleasantly surprised that my principal was supportive of my absence. I am quite excited to head back to Iowa and see my family, and celebrate with them for four days!

So there you go - you just got a little insight into my #currently moments! Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Designing an Interactive Google Map

Good morning colleagues! I was not planning on blogging today, but I wanted to share about my awesome Spring break while ALSO demonstrating how to create an interactive Google Map!

In Drive, create a new map

Title your map, then add a layer and title

In your locations layer, click the pin, search for your location, and add to map

You can change the color and icon of your location.

In locations, add a second location. You can add an image and text description of your location.

Click on the "directions" icon. This will add a new layer where you can search from point A to B.

Change your map sharing directions so that everyone can see it!

And of course, here is my map of my break. Enjoy!

I hope that you could see a way to use these maps in your classroom, and I hope this was helpful in walking you through how to create one. Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Creating digital stories

Hello, colleagues!

I have not had a great week. In fact, turning 33 hasn't been pleasant so far. We've had a rough week of testing, and I found out that I was not accepted to the Google Innovator Academy. Whenever I have a crisis of conscience, I like to reflect on myself, my curriculum, in this case, my application, and my future in education. It's hard not to be bummed even though I knew it was a long shot. It was my first attempt, and I don't think I presented how innovative I am as a teacher. One thing that became apparent to me is that I have to put myself out there. I have good ideas, but I need to present them. I can no longer let my introversion get in the way of my big and bright future. So with that, I am going to share a unit that I just finished with my students: creating digital stories.

What is a digital story? To me, a digital story is a story made digital. Seems simple enough, right? I'm not a Language Arts teacher, but I want to my students create historical stories. I want them to be creative but historically accurate. I don't want my students to retell history but instead present something in a new and different way. I'm not letting my students create stories over whatever they want, but they do have a choice in what they create.

So here is a quick and dirty version of creating digital stories in your American history classroom. 
1. Have the students choose a topic. In my class, they picked from a list of Colorado historical and modern topics. Students chose their top nine, and literally, everyone was able to get one of their top choices.

Ss being introed to CO history topics. Love hearing, on a Monday, "There are so many cool topics to choose from!" #sschat #edchat

— Rachel Jeffrey (@historicalipad) February 27, 2017

2. Have the students briefly research the subject (5Ws) in order to find three characters (real people) involved in their topic.
3. After researching further, have the students pick one person that they will investigate. This individual will be the students' narrator (does not matter if male or female).
4. Have the students find an abstract idea that best fits with their person. It could be a "good" or "bad" abstract idea; in the end, they are using this open-ended concept to create an essential question that guides their story.

5. Have the students design a plot line that tells a STORY, not the personal history of this person. I told the students that their story could take place over no more than five years.
6. Have the students design their script. The script is the expanded version of the plot line entirely written out in first-person. The idea is that the student embodies their character as the narrator.
7. Have the students research to find images that they will use in their digital story. Students were required to find a new image every ten seconds. A minimum of eight of their images had to be found from Library of Congress, the Denver Public Library, or our local Pikes Peak Library District.

8. Have the students upload their images to iMovie in which they will recite their script over the images as a narration.

These are some of my favorite projects over the years...

This is a solid project that my students have done for six years. They really enjoy diving into Colorado history, they love having choice, and they enjoy designing iMovies. But a word of caution...

I just spent the last six hours retooling a SOLID project I've done for five years. How do Ts teach the same thing over and over every year?

— Rachel Jeffrey (@historicalipad) February 26, 2017

Thanks for reading. Because of Spring break (for two weeks!), my next blog will be on April 8th! I'll see you then :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

A day in the life...

Good morning colleagues! As part of my #sunchatbloggers group, we were tasked with creating this week's blog about a day in the life of an educator. I actually voted for this topic because I thought it would be interesting to look at my day versus another teacher somewhere else in the United States!

My day usually starts at 5:00 am. I am a morning person, but I am slow to wake-up. The first thing I do is get on my phone (SHOCKING, I know) and read through the news. I have a Google Pixel XL that has Google Now accessible when I swipe right. I've curated my "interest feed" there, so I am getting the latest political, tech, and local news. Then I go to Twitter and Palabre (my RSS feed app) and read updates there. Then I get up and get ready for my day.

School here starts at 7:45, but we are expected to be in the building by 7:20. I try to get to school between 7:00 and 7:20 because I like to read and respond to e-mails before school begins. I am also pretty lucky because 8th grade has morning plan. That allows me to eat breakfast and drink coffee during first hour while grading or setting up my room. I outline my curriculum in advance, so I am not "planning" for my day unless I come up with a brand new idea that I want to use.

That is my typical schedule, but on this day, I didn't get a plan because I had other things that I needed to do. Our district was having staff development the next day with various types of training. One of the instructors asked if I would put together a "passion project" presentation for a "speed dating" activity. I spent my plan time putting together a presentation on my most recent obsession: Boomerang for Gmail.

We actually have two plans, but, usually, the second hour is taken up by meetings. I had an IEP meeting that was also a transition meeting for the student going to high school next year. This conference lasted until right before my third-hour class.

In class, I taught students how to find primary source images for their digital stories. I spent my day walking students through Library of Congress, local libraries, and Creative Commons images. I literally spent my whole day talking "at" the students while they searched for pictures. It was a process, but the students learned a lot (and will hopefully think twice before stealing images from Google Images).

I've blogged about self-care quite a bit this year, and part of my self-care regimen is leaving school at school. I've been good this year about spending only an hour after-school working. It has taken me much longer to grade and get work back to the students (still trying to figure out real-time feedback in an efficient manner), but my stress levels have gone way down.

Another way to help my anxiety is by going to the gym or yoga studio right after my hour of after-school work. I've been pretty focused on going to the gym two days a week and the yoga studio four days a week. For the first time, I was able to do a difficult pose (camel position). I could tell my dedication to self-care is paying off!

The last two ways that I relieve stress after a long day of school is an hour of tv and a half hour of reading before bed (at 9 - I am a morning person, remember?). One of my favorite shows, Underground, just came back. If you are remotely interested in American history, it is a fantastic show, and the first episode was INSANE and unexpected! I haven't read any interesting books lately, but reading on my Kindle Paperwhite before bed has helped me read 14 of my 52 book goal for the year!

I finally feel like, after eleven years of teaching, that I am starting to figure out how to have a good day, both at school and home. Thanks for reading about my day as an educator. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Elevate.

Hello, colleagues!

I'm going to share an idea that I had this week that I'm pretty excited about. Every spring, eighth grade American history teachers partner with their Language Arts teammate to do a Civil War research paper. We've done this for the past eight years that I have taught here, and it's a unit that just doesn't excite me. I don't hate the project, but I am not a fan of the content or the fact that the students create a research paper. Civil War technology is not compelling; I cannot get excited about it in any capacity (and it includes photography, and I LOVE photography). I also don't want to grade 110 research essays after I've already had the students write three analytical essays throughout the year.

Every year I want to elevate the project. I'm not trying to make it better, but am more focused on creating something that works for my students and for myself. The lightbulb went off this week when I was thinking about my Google Innovator project. I decided that I wanted to do a "trial run" with this unit. If I do or do not become a Google Innovator, I believe in character education and want to continue to elevate my content.

So my plan is to have the students research a person from the American Civil War.

They will investigate the person and find a characteristic best demonstrated by this individual.

I then want the students to take this personality feature and try to emulate it in some sort of genius hour project. My thought is that it will lead to community building, whether in the classroom, in the school, or in the community of Colorado Springs. For example, say they choose Clara Barton who was a nurse. They pick the characteristic of selflessness. They emulate Clara Barton's selflessness by performing random acts of kindness for a stranger for a week. I'm still thinking this all through, but I want them to address my unit essential question: How can we emulate the best of the past? I'm also thinking about finding primary documents for them to access through Actively Learn, and they will continue with flipped learning.

This would only, however, take up my portion of the unit. So for my Language Arts counterpart, I was inspired by a colleague who sent me a Pinterest pin about a wax museum project. I asked my colleague if she would be interested in having the students research these people (together; we have a shared wall) then present their wax figure in her class. She just ate it up!

I tried to create an eclectic bunch of people to study because I'm hoping through this project that the students emulate the best of the past and also see themselves in history. I'm not sure if I could ask for anything more.

Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Self-Care: that's what friends are for...

Greetings colleagues!

Yesterday morning it was 15°F in Colorado Springs. On frosty mornings, we have indoor morning duty. I was standing in the gym watching students converse with each other, and it reminded me of my own friendships growing up. My friendships as a kid were the most important connections I had with other people. My friends were my life. As we grow older, those friendships end, new friendships form and new types of friends emerge. Adult life can be so complicated!

I've realized, over the past few years, how important my adult friendships still are. I have a family that I treasure and a husband that I love, but I value my friends in such a way that they are my family away from "home" (i.e. Iowa). After reading a rather interesting article about friendships, a professor of communication in Ohio said that the three expectations of friendships are "somebody to talk to, someone to depend on, and someone to enjoy." I feel like my current group of friends fit this bill quite well.

Part of my self-care regimen has been spending more time with friends. Most of my friends are teachers, so we spend quite a bit of time decompressing from school. But we have really opened up as a group over the last couple of years, and we share close, personal secrets with each other. It is so nice to have people that I can go to for advice and support, and it is nice to be wanted to give my own input and encouragement.

So in honor of my lovely, fabulous, and marvelous girlfriends, here is an all-female playlist! 

Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Taking risks

Happy Saturday, colleagues! I am going to start today's blog post with a story.

I have to finally admit something scandalous (in the teaching world): I am an introvert. I always wondered what was wrong with me, but when I started taking personality tests over the last couple of years, I finally found the diagnosis: introversion. I am excellent at faking it, at pretending to be extroverted. I struggle with starting conversations with people, but I have a friendly Midwestern face, so people often start talking to me. I smile when I'm uncomfortable, so again, it's a conversation starter. For some time when teaching, my introversion has been met with hostility, rumors, and frustration. I don't like being the center of attention, I'm somewhat shy, and I keep my personal life private. Human nature is to be social and connected. Apparently not sharing much about myself means I'm a cold person. So I struggled with collegial relationships. And I struggled.

Cue to five years ago as I am having the worst teaching year ever when I become a part of a group called TAH (Teaching American History). I've mentioned these people before. They helped me become the teacher that I am now. These people, these complete strangers, accepted me (for what little they knew of me), encouraged me to share bits and pieces about myself, and assured me that I am an influential and capable teacher (as many times as I needed to hear it). It was what I desired in my young career. I had new colleagues (from different schools) that supported me and helped guide me to my first presentation at a national conference at the age of 29.

I am so grateful for those people. They helped me make a mind shift, and every teacher knows when they've had one of those, and how it affected their career. Even so, I am still an introvert today (duh). I am better at making relationships (maturity goes a long way), and I am slowly sharing more about myself with others. It puts me in a vulnerable position, but it's necessary to evolve and develop as a teacher.

In order to evolve, I have to take steps outside my "normal" introverted personality. I did just that: I just applied to become a certified Google Innovator.

That is one scary screenshot. I did it. My application has been submitted. There is nothing more I can do but wait.

But even if I am selected, or rejected, I am proud of myself for taking that step outside of "normal." My little-introverted self is growing up and becoming the teacher that I said I would become when I interviewed at Skyview eight years ago.

So here goes... here is my application.

If someone were to direct a film about your life, what would it be called? (Maximum 5 words, 50 characters)
Just a small town girl

Transform: Share a specific example about how you are fostering a thriving innovative culture within your own classroom, school, or organization. (Maximum of 500 characters)
Five years ago, I was handed 150 iPads and said: “go!” Without training or guidance, I designed a digital curriculum for my US history classroom. I created flipped learning for students to learn basic content at home. In my classroom, students are using a project-based curriculum. Through researching essential questions, students are traveling in time, telling stories about Colorado’s past, and are creating digital content to share with the world. Through it all, I facilitate their learning.

Advocate: Link to a piece of content you've created that you think has inspired other educators.Show us a blog, a Hangout you've done, a poster or Infographic, a presentation resource, or something you're really proud of online that you'd love to share. Include your link here!
http://historicalipad.blogspot.com/ (of course I am sharing my blog - I am proud of the reflections I've had this last year!)

Grow: If you could become an expert in something that you aren't already good at, what would it be and why? (Maximum of 500 characters)
One thing that I would love to become an expert at is composing music. Listening to music is one way that I meditate each day, and I wish that I could create music to which I meditate. As a teacher, I love seeing students’ faces light up when they come into my room or when they enjoy a lesson that I am teaching. I wish that I could make random strangers’ faces light up when they listen to music that I’ve created.

Your Vision: Title
Using the Past to be Present

Your Vision: Brief Description: (Maximum of 250 characters)
Students are lacking desirable qualities such as empathy, perseverance, and drive. I would like to create a curriculum that uses historical figures to nurture these characteristics.

Your Vision: Solution (We’re looking for projects that are new and innovative. Please explain how your vision is suggesting a new-to-the-world solution or offers a fresh take on an existing solution. Maximum 500 characters)
I will design character developing curriculum in which students examine historical figures who embody these absent characteristics. Through exploring the past, developing digital stories, and undergoing experiential learning, students will develop these attributes. They will learn about the past through authentic characters' stories, which enables them to rewrite their future.


Vision Deck: Link to your public vision deck.

Vision Video: You have one minute to creatively explain your problem and your vision for tackling it! Please post a public YouTube link. Think of this as a visual and interactive complement to your Vision Deck. This is also an opportunity to let your passion shine along with your vision.

Imagine you are able to have coffee with one person (currently living) who would mentor you in support of your vision. Who would you pick and why? (Maximum of 500 characters)
I would have coffee with Ken Burns. He is incredible at telling stories that people didn’t know that they even wanted to learn! He could take this curriculum and elevate it. Students are incredibly visual, and a “Ken Burns style” video would capture their attention entirely. Mr. Burns also has a way with wording stories that challenge people to think while looking deep within themselves. That would be the whole point of this curriculum!

So there it is my friends - my application out for the world to see! Now I'm hoping for an early birthday present on March 13th!

Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

End of unit reflections

Hello, teachers! Sorry for the missing blog last week! I came down with a cold last Friday but felt the need to go photograph some beautiful frost in town that same day. I'm pretty sure I made myself sicker, so my mind was not ready for blogging last week :(

This morning I am reflecting on a unit that my classes completed on Friday. It was a four week unit over what I call the pre-Civil War era (1820s - 1859). For the first two weeks, students were put into large groups in which they "presented" a whole class lesson on a decade (purely giving content). For the last two weeks of the unit, the students worked individually in which they picked three events in one decade to dive "deeper" into. They used a tic-tac-toe board to pick the products that they wanted to create while also choosing the proficiency level that they wanted to demonstrate.

What worked: Most students enjoyed "teaching" for a whole class period (in a large group). They were nervous overall, but they shined in front of the class. This set them up for success in presenting in front of the whole class. I could tell that some students accessed their group presentation rubric as most students improved upon their eye contact and projection for their second presentation. I also liked that when students presented individually that they weren't required to show memorized content, but instead talked about what they created and how their events caused change (the essential question for the unit). This helped with their confidence and talking to their colleagues instead of just reading from the screen. I heard many students say that they enjoyed having a choice in their topic and product creation, and I felt having the tic-tac-toe board at this point in the year ensured the success as they were comfortable with choice (as opposed to the beginning of the year).

What didn't work: I liked the students taking on the class lesson piece, but I do not feel like I set up the students for success in their content presentations. This unit, more than any prior, made me realize how weak my students' research skills are. This could be a whole other blog topic - teaching students how to investigate on the internet. I don't feel like I train them well in this aspect, and to some extent, expect the students to come to eighth grade prepared with research skills. I know that this is wrong, and I know that my students don't know how to analyze and dive deeper online. Do I know how to teach the students to research on the internet? I'm not sure, but I feel like I need to scaffold their research better. Unfortunately, this means created focused research handouts for each topic. That is something I need to create over the summer if I want to do this unit again (and I know for sure that I do).

I need to, somehow, clean up my directions. I'm not clear if this was all on me, but my students were missing what they were supposed to DO for the second half of the unit. The students just wanted to regurgitate information, when I kept telling them to be persuasive; that they are trying to persuade someone to move to the historical location to ensure that the historical event happens (because, you know, they are time travelers). I know that when I go through their products that most of them will miss that mark.

One struggle (that I've dealt with in the past) is that the students want to make sure that they are doing the assignment "right," so they keep asking me how their product looks, they are checking in with me, and they are asking me questions. This prevented me from checking in with all of my students. I was also trying to get through their research handouts as they were working, but I could never find time. The missing feedback from me did not help the previous issue of my students repeating content instead of being persuasive.

And the BIGGEST problem with this unit is a student problem: time management. Even though I had checkpoints and due dates in place, they were not enough. The students put off their project until the last minute and then scrambled the night before presentations started. I told all of the students to be prepared to present on the first day, but in one class I had to go ask 19 students to present before I could find five students ready to go. I believe that next time I will have more stringent due dates and clearer time management strategies to ensure that their time management is on point. I heard many complaints that I gave too much homework, but it was evident that putting it off until the last minute meant that they had a lot of homework in one night! I wrote on the board how much time they had which effectively ended this complaint.

I had a frustrating week when it came to presentations, but in the end, I know that this was a solid first start to a new design for a unit. I am happy with what I created and am excited to "fix it" for next year!

Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

#selfcare

Good morning colleagues! A couple weeks ago, I posted my resolutions for the year. Carla, a fellow #sunchatblogger, commented on my struggles and burnout with my #oneword2017: self-care. I never would have come up with that term on my own, and I'd been toying with the idea. Then this week I went to Marzano training in Denver for supporting beginning teachers. Little did I know that Tina would bring up the importance of self-care for teachers, and then the idea was cemented.

Tina led some fantastic discussions with ideas for self-care. The one that stuck out the most to me was music. Music has always played a significant role in my life! I never really thought about the idea of music changing my mood, but it happens all of the time. My husband makes fun of me for having so many playlists, but they are all created around my moods and feelings.

All of these discussions made me decide that I needed to create even more precise playlists catered around "self-care"; playlists that will help change my mood when I am having a particularly bad or stressful day. So yesterday, on Inauguration Day, on a Friday, after a long week, I put together a happy playlist to share with you.

As I said in the description of the playlist, "In a bad mood? Give this playlist an hour!"

I think I want to continue with a post once a month (or every other month) with ideas for self-care for teachers. We all need to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves!

Thanks for reading and enjoy the music. I'll see you next week :) 

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

High Reliability Schools

Good afternoon colleagues!

This past week, a co-worker and I sat in a team meeting. While completing the activity that was given to us, we had a side conversation about what we were doing. Our instructional coach provided us with a flip chart of Bloom's Taxonomy verbs and inquiry starters for each level. We were told to create a question for the top three levels of Bloom's. My partner and I had no problem coming up with these statements, and in fact, I was inspired to use one of the questions that day in my class!

My teammate wondered out loud if we were doing this activity because our school is actively seeking the level two High Reliability endorsement from Marzano. I hadn't even thought of it, but once she said it, it made sense. Our school just passed level one, so it makes sense that we would be working towards level two.

This made me think about three things this week: 1) what does level two entail, 2) how can I ensure that my teaching practices support level two, and 3) what has Marzano's High Reliability levels done for our school.

1. Level Two: Effective Teaching in Every Classroom: Our school has a committee that is working towards this process. The committee hasn't been secretive per se, but I will admit that most of the staff have no idea what exactly is going on. I do believe this is on purpose as the point is to make these practices common place within the school instead of people putting on a "dog and pony show" when the Marzano peeps come to town. I am lucky that a good friend is on the committee, so she's told me a few things about what Marzano is looking for. I still had to, however, do some online digging for more information. I found a decent PDF from 2014 that helped detail what I was looking for.

I feel like our school is doing a fairly decent job with level two, but we definitely have some work cut out for us over the next few months.

2. How do my teaching practices support level two: It is interesting to look at the indicators and see that it does not fall much on me, the classroom teacher. Many of the indicators come from administration or instructional coaches. What falls on me is clearly communicating with my grade level administrator, my evaluator, and the instructional coach on when I feel as though I am not being supported in these ways. I do think my teaching practices will come more into play if we attempt level three as a school. 

3. How things have changed at school: Now that I have a better idea of level two, it has become apparent how things changed from when I started teaching at Skyview eight years ago. In the last couple of years, I have noticed that I could request to attend trainings, or even more recently, I asked to co-teach with my mentee, and was enthusiastically given a "yes" and a "how can I help." For teachers to grow, they have to be given ways to further develop their pedagogy and curriculum. I do believe that our weaknesses, as a school, appear when talking about sharing effective instructional practices and being provided with clear, ongoing evaluations. It will be interesting to see if these practices change over the coming months, knowing that they have to change to achieve level two. 

I am aware that this post has been rather tedious and cumbersome, but it was something that I actually reflected on this week. I am excited for the changes that I've seen recently, and do wonder if this has something to do with it. Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :) 

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

New Year's Resolutions

Greetings colleagues! Welcome back after what I hope was a restful and relaxing winter holiday!

This morning I received an e-mail from a colleague who was excited to share work from innovative teachers in the district while also linking an article about innovative teaching. It spurred my idea for today's blog post!

As I read articles like this, I am always reflective about how I can improve my teaching practices. I am a thoughtful teacher - it is one of my strengths as I have grown much as a teacher (while also a weakness; I take things too personally while being reflective). I see within my units ones that are more innovative than others, and that's due to the frustration of being an "island."

I have come to realize, after the last five years of "iPad teaching" that I cannot do it all. Even though I have a good idea of what I'm doing in my classroom, I still need training, support, and colleagues who are willing to be risk-takers with me. But after five years, I am still an island. And I believe that is part of what is stressing me out and burning me out of teaching.

Bloggers have been focused this last week with #oneword2017 blog posts. I am jealous that I don't have one of these posts because I a) cannot come up with a word for myself and b) am so stressed out and burned out that I haven't worked hard at coming up with a term for my 2017 goals. So I am going to blog about my New Year's resolutions that have absolutely nothing to do with school.

Goal #1: Read 35 books before the end of the year. For many, this may not seem like a lofty goal, but I have to be intentional about reading each night. There are times where I feel pressured about school and make a choice to grade instead of read. There is simply no reason for that. My job is teaching, but that is not the only thing to me. With that, I also vow to read whatever book I want - it does not have to be educational, it does not have to be historical - if I want to read some chick-lit, well, I am going to do just that!

Goal #2: Exercise three times a week. I already know that I will not do this EVERY week of the year. Sometimes there are just weeks where I should workout, but will find it difficult to make the time. I made a vow that my exercise does not have to be something I do not enjoy. I don't like running. I don't particularly like hiking. I do, however, enjoy swimming, yoga, walking in Palmer Park, and lifting weights. Exercise is about being intentional and supporting one's physical and mental health. If I am not at my best health-wise, then I cannot be my best as a teacher.

Goal #3: Be invested in photography. I take pictures. I actually take pretty good pictures. I bought a new camera last summer that helps me take awesome pictures. This year, I want to take more pictures. Sure, I sell my photography online. But I take pictures because I enjoy seeing the final results. I like studying new photographic techniques that allow me to take pictures like a pro. So I want to create a new set of photographs at least once a month.

I know that most of this blog was not school-related even though this is an educational blog. But I also know that I have interests, outside of school, that need to nurturing as much as my teaching practices.

If you made it to the end, thank you for reading! I'll plan on seeing you next week :) 

- Rachel
@historicalipad
My Teacherspayteachers website

Hello, colleagues! Sorry that time has gotten away from me, and it has been a few weeks - I meant to blog last week, but was not feeling well. I'm back to normal, and I'm back on my game! This week was a good week in the middle school world. I did a four-day lesson over the Constitution with some activities that I am excited to share with you.

As someone to teaches middle school American history, it is only fair that I present lessons with a neutral political discourse. My students do not need to know my political leanings, so I present both sides of the story. We are currently studying the Constitution, and in today's political climate, it is incredibly important for students to know what their rights are. They know that they have freedom of speech and the right to bear arms... and that's about it. I know that going through the Constitution bit by bit is incredibly annoying. What I did, instead, was utilize three different programs: Actively Learn, Socrative space race, and Adobe Spark Page.

I wanted the students to study the first three Articles of the Constitution, so I uploaded the Articles to Actively Learn with highlighted portions and questions built in (if you have an Actively Learn account, e-mail me at rbails@d49.org if you want a copy). It was my first time using Actively Learn, and I am now a fan. I've been asking myself why I haven't been using this earlier, especially considering other teachers have been touting how amazing it is. Using Actively Learn isn't any different than having the students read and answer questions, but it's just different. My students were incredibly engaged with the text and were focused during class. The students could not move on to the next question until they answered the previous question, and the students knew that the answer to the question was right above the question. I felt like Actively Learn is a great tool when it comes to primary documents or readings that may be difficult to understand or digest.

I'm not a teacher that needs silence in my classroom, but during Actively Learn, you could hear a pin drop.

The next part of the lesson was to have the students do a "space race" on Socrative. I have done these in the past, and have found that they are better than Kahoot. I would not say the students are more or less excited or engaged, but Socrative forces the students to get the answers correct instead of racing to respond to the question the quickest. I gave the students describing statements about the twenty-seven Amendments of the Constitution, and they had to figure out which Amendment was being described. Again, not a new or super interesting lesson, but the students were figuring out what the Constitution says. The students were engaged with the text and filled out a handout in Notability as they quizzed through Socrative.

The last part of the lesson was to have the students design a Spark Page (my example) about what IS in the Constitution. They took their learning from the previous two lessons and developed a "website" that is visual and compelling. I feel like the students are walking away from this week knowing more about the Constitution than they ever knew previously.

To culminate the Constitution lesson, next week, the students will be accessing the DBQ Project's document-based question "How did the Constitution guard against tyranny?" I have done this DBQ the past three years, and it is one of the toughest DBQs for the students to comprehend. It will be interesting to see if the students better grasp the essential question because of greater prior knowledge.

I have struggled with the Constitution unit every year that I have taught at Skyview. It just never turns out quite like I want. I feel like what I created this year was strong, and I will keep most of the lessons for next year. I think the students comprehended the ideas that I wanted, and I know that they were engaged with the ideas. I'm not sure I could ask more of teenagers learning about an 18th-century primary document.

Thanks for reading! I'll see you next week :) 

- Rachel
@historicalipad
My Teacherspayteachers website