EdLab

Classroom 2.0: Paul Revere- Ultimate Citizen

Post by Classroom 2.0 participant Emily.

Currently working on the details of the "Paul Revere - Ultimate Citizen" [working title] project launch. On May 18th, I'll be bringing 50 - 5th graders to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to check out their "New Americas Wing," specifically the Paul Revere collection. This includes a print of his "Boston Massacre" cartoon etching, many of his silversmith items including the Liberty Bowl, and the Copley portrait of the legend himself. Students will mill around and check out the goods to get an idea of how he used his talents to foster the development of a New Nation. After spending a few class periods researching Revere, students will then think about ways they can use their talents/interests to make their community a better place. (e.g. If you like talking about politics in current events, you could volunteer for a local campaign by holding signs at a polling location.)

In addition to pulling this project together, I'm planning an EdLab inspired close to the poetry unit that I'm currently. This will also occur while the students are at the MFA. Throughout the unit, students have learned about figurative language through the use of many visual artists (e.g. onomatopoeia + Roy Lichtenstein). They have also used artwork by Andy Warhol, Marc Chagall, and Katsushika Hokusai as inspiration for their original poems. The students have expressed how much they enjoy learning about an artist, learning about a type of poetry, then merging the two while using a work of art as inspiration. When reflecting on the latest poetry project [Marc Chagall + similes & metaphors], one student shared the following, "I really liked being given the freedom to interpret the painting how I wanted to... there wasn't one right way - I didn't have to do it exactly how the teacher expected it to be done - I was able to just, well, be creative. And I liked that!" What an awesome metacognitive moment for an 11-year-old to have!

While at the museums, they will be given missions to create on-the-spot poems inspired by works of art in assigned rooms. The rooms were chosen to match poetry styles. For example, modern art will go along with the use of onomatopoeia; Asian art will inspire haikus; Impressionist works will serve as a starting point for a stanza poem with rhyme scheme. The poems will be created in 20 minutes or less. Chaperones will videotape the students reading the poems in front of the work of art. We'll do something with the data afterward, but I haven't thought that far [suggestions welcomed].

Feeling a little overwhelmed with all the details that need to come together in the next two weeks, but I'm also not really willing to let go of any of my ideas. We'll see if anything falls off the draft board as time winds down...

Classroom 2.0: Revolutionary War in DC

Post by Sean, Classroom 2.0 participant.

  

Last summer during the EdLab workshop, I was inspired to create a mission based on the lesser-known Civil War monuments of Washington, DC (General Winifred Scott, for example). I received a set of 12 trading cards from the National Parks Service that I laminated and planned on allowing my students choose a card and present information about their assigned memorial during our Civil War unit. Once I realized that the pace of the curriculum meant that we weren't going to be covering the Civil War in class, I slightly modified the mission to reflect Revolutionary-era figures rather than the Civil War.

The mission: Why are monuments and memorials built after revolutionary-era figures in Washington, DC?

My eighth-grade students were divided into groups of two, provided with a list of questions they needed to answer, and given one of three rubrics for this mission: one for a digital presentation (prezi, powerpoint, wix, etc.); one for a video presentation (iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, etc); and one "create your own" where students were given a list of other resources they could use (comic creator, blabberize, etc.) to present their information.

Usually I allow students two weeks to complete and present their projects, but since this was my first attempt at mission-based learning, and the students needed time to become acquainted with new software, I gave them three. Halfway through, they were to check in and discuss how their progress was going, what difficulties they were having, and how either I or other students could assist.

When the day came where students were expected to present, I ran into two problems: the first, more obvious one, is that some students didn't complete the mission at all. This was due to issues ranging from a lack of transportation to assigned areas, to technological incapabilities, to simple laziness. The second problem, which was less expected, was that students who chose to create websites didn't have the visually stunning pages I envisioned. To combat this issue for next year, I would dedicate an entire day to physically inspecting their progress rather than having student-centered discussions about it.

In spite of these minor issues, the students who completed the mission showed the creativity that is often lacking in schools. They had fun with the assignment, were engaged in their own learning and the process, and, they got to show off their skill (and, very often, humor) to the class. It was a fantastic experience for me and an even better one for my students. I have included the video above that gives a great example of two girls using the Adams Building of the Library of Congress to give a brief report on President John Adams.