Timelines!

I have been asked by the district supervisor to facilitate the next district PLC for World History teachers.  My task is to demonstrate a couple of strategies, have participants share a few strategies and allow venting. As I start to wrap my mind around this and begin to prepare, I don’t know what strategies to share.  I think I presented my best stuff at the district in-service at the beginning of the school year.  I think I’ll do a hands-on timelines.  And then I’m stuck?  I need another strategy to present?  Any ideas, blogging community?

Process for hands-on timeline:

• In advance, the teacher must prepare pieces for a time line puzzle.   To prepare the pieces for a timeline, use events/dates you’ve already discussed in class.  One piece should have a date and word/clue and the other piece could have a definition, fact or fill in the blank.  An example of what I’m talking about is at the bottom of this post.
• As you can see from the example below, there are TWO different ways to approach this exercise.  Fill in the blanks or matching clues.  I prefer to use fill in the blank statements because of time constraints.  Usually, my fill in the blanks are MUCH shorter.  The “fill in the blanks” version allows the students to copy everything exactly as is onto the timeline.  On the matching clues, I make them summarize it in 5 words or less before placing it onto the timeline.
• I make my pieces in Word, in table format.  I try to make all of the pieces the same size.
• I cut the pieces apart and put them in an envelope, zip lock bag or pocket–whatever is handy.
• During class, I give each group a pocket with the cut up pieces.  They work together to match dates and events.  They must place all of the pieces in chronological order.
• When students finish matching and ordering pieces, they create a paper timeline using the pieces given.

A picture of my students matching timeline pieces.

Possible issues with this activity:

• Students may have a hard time summarizing the event in 5 words or less.   That is why I like the “fill in the blanks” version.  Yes, I know it is less challenging, but in my experience this exercise will cost  more class time when students summarize.

• Using BCE/CE or BC/AD, whatever you want to call it, on the same timeline.  My students REALLY struggled with this. . . in high school.  We were making timelines of the 3 religions.  I had them do the Judaism timeline first.  A week later, I gave them the timeline for Christianity. I told them to use a different color for Christianity on the same line as Judaism.  Some students found difficult to decide where to put in the dates for Christianity.  They were confused.  One student asked, “So,  4 BCE goes where?”  I was like ” What do you mean?”  She says, “I don’t know where to put it, I’m confused.  Did it come after 1 CE?”  After helping several people, I realized:  Students didn’t understand the concept of time (numbers) increasing after 1 CE and (numbers) decreasing as it approached 1 CE.

• Students have never made a time line before.  They have only answered questions about the time line.  This was shocking to me!  Because they had never made a timeline before, they didn’t know WHERE to place events. I asked if they had made timelines in middle school.  One student said “Miss Teacha, maybe you should go to the middle school to teach the students.”  I laughed and said, “So you saying I’m not good enough for high school?”  “Naw, I’m just saying, then high school students would have learned how to do this stuff.”  I am bothered by the fact that kids only answer questions about the timelines.  Since students have never made them, they do not FULLY understand how they work.

Example of the timeline chart that I cut up into pieces for the puzzle part

I love teaching!

We had PD today. . .

1. I LOVE DINAH ZIKE!!!  I love PD.  She facilitated our district wide departmental PD today.  OMG, Becky!!!  I am in love.  It was awesome.  Everything I couldn’t figure out in the book, she cleared up today.   And she was so interesting, funny, just delightful.    Today reminded me of  my passion for teaching,  Social Sciences and PD.  I just need to remember moderation. . . everything must be done in moderation!  Ah, I love what I do!
2. I facilitated 2 breakout sessions at our PD today.  I demonstrated foldables  (grading & use), learning stations, graffiti and songwriting.  We had a lot of fun .  . .however, it was difficult to cram all of that stuff into ONE session.  EXTREMELY difficult.  But a lot of teachers thanked me as they left and told me, I’d done a good job (*sigh* validation  that I’m a good teacher.. . I needed that.  Sometimes, you wonder, ya know.)  The trip part was that one of the professors from the local university sat in on my workshop.  I didn’t know who she was or why she was there until she introduced herself.  Apparently, I impressed her.  She took my information and told me she’d be contacting me.  Cool. Hunh?  Especially, if she really does.  In our conversation, she said she’d been bouncing around from session to session to see what teachers were doing/learning.  It helps on their end.   After she arriving to my session, she stayed until the end of the hour.   I wonder if I will get to tell her what I really thought of the teacher prep program there AND what they can do to create better teachers.
3. One thing I realized, I  move too fast when giving direct instruction.  I need to “slow my roll.”  LOL.  I knew that sometimes moved quickly with my students.  Facilitating this class really brought out how fast I move.  A few of the teachers, were like “uhm, can you wait a moment before you move on.”  Some suggested I should of brought handouts of everything I was saying.  HELLOOOO!!! We are in the electronic age.  This year I’m going to include some elements of power teaching . . . maybe that will help me slow down and pause periodically to determine comprehension.
4. Co-Teacher talked with AP after the PD and from what I can tell, we might be repeating our training and my workshop together at a faculty meeting.  Should be interesting.  The staff at My School does NOT like faculty meetings  . . .and PD, “uh-oh.”  We are headed for “danga“.

Professional Development Meme 2009

I’ve been tagged twice to complete the following meme.   So I guess I better hop to it.

Directions

Summer can be a great time for professional development. It is an opportunity to learn more about a topic, read a particular work or the works of a particular author, beef up an existing unit of instruction, advance one’s technical skills, work on that advanced degree or certification, pick up a new hobby, and finish many of the other items on our ever-growing To Do Lists. Let’s make Summer 2009 a time when we actually get to accomplish a few of those things and enjoy the thrill of marking them off our lists.

The Rules

NOTE: You do NOT have to wait to be tagged to participate in this meme.

1. Pick 1-3 professional development goals and commit to achieving them this summer.
2. For the purposes of this activity the end of summer will be Labor Day (09/07/09).
3. Post the above directions along with your 1-3 goals on your blog.
4. Title your post Professional Development Meme 2009 and link back/trackback to http://clifmims.com/blog/archives/2447.
5. Use the following tag/ keyword/ category on your post: pdmeme09.
6. Tag 5-8 others to participate in the meme.
7. Achieve your goals and “develop professionally.”
8. Commit to sharing your results on your blog during early or mid-September

My summer  PD goals:

1. Attend AP World History training in Houston.
2. Attend FHAO training
3. Get a foldable book and read it.
4. Purchasing Graphic Organizer book by Jim Burke & reading it.

I wish I had more time to attend PD this summer (I actually had planned to attend a tech workshop), but after summer school I’ll be wiped.  It would be unreasonable to do more.  Next summer, I’m hoping that I can attend another workshop by Marcia Tate or a Dinah Zike workshop.

First PD of the Summer

Yesterday, we had a professional development for the Freshman Academies.  The only problem with it was that my butt was sore at the end of the day–sitting for that long drives me insane.  The PD seemed to focus on motivating students.  Of course, I needed it.  He referred to some things that AVID promotes (I thought of you David) and suggested we implement those practices into our classrooms.  Here is what I learned an will use: T

• Teaching responsibility by asking, “Well, what are you going to do about it?” or “What are you plans for fixing this?”  In the past, when a student does not do something, my response has always been:  “okay” or “mmmhmmm.”  I haven’t asked them to take responsibility for the situation or offer solutions.  The callused part of me expects it to happen and just has an “oh, well” perspective.  Teaching responsibility means students can’t continue to be victims of everything around them.  No more, “it’s not my fault”.  Instead, “how can you fix it?”
• Give “Bravo” notes for GREAT answers and sharing in class.  Students hold on to these notes and turn them in at the end of the term for extra points on their final grade.  I LOVE this idea!  What a way to get students actively involved in classroom.  I better order this stamp, soooon!!!!
• Random Acts of Kindness–require students to perform them and write about them.  This will definitely satisfy the the citizenship portion of my curriculum.
• Remind students that they were “born for a purpose” and need the education I’m providing to find and fulfill their destiny.  Reminds me of a statement that Oprah always makes, “luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”
• SLANT–Sit Up, Lean Forward, Ask Questions, Nod, Try
• I love the Pyramid of Success but I haven’t quite figured out how I’m going to use it.

I have 2 teachers on my team that have been teaching for an eternity.  Needless to say, I’m concerned about the team that I’m on.  I worry that I won’t bond with them.  They are good but challenging teachers (toward the students-i’ve heard through rumors).  I don’t want to prejudge, but it is so hard not to.

On another front, we are supposed to create common assessments and lesson plans across the teams (3 teams at my school).  There are only 2 World History teachers and 1 Geography teacher.  The other world WH teacher seems a bit laid back . . . and I don’t want to do all the work.  When there is sharing (giving and taking of resources), I love working collaboratively.  However, I don’t know how this will work out b/c in the past, she has taken an not reciprocated.  Today, when she called to share ideas for the lesson plans we have create by Friday, she says, “I like the idea of a project based lessons with music and infusion of African American history.”  My contribuition:  I rambled off a page of notes on activities for the first week including vocabulary words and concepts.    I’m optimistic, she’s been doing this a while and I’m hoping she can give me a lot.

The thing is:  I’m eager to get to work!  And we desperately need to put in sometime over the summer to be unified as a team.  When we departed on yesterday,  I don’t get the feeling that we will.  I will continue to push. . . I sent an email to AP today about it.

*sigh*  When am I going to fit rest in?