Three Wise Teachers, and Seven Wise Resources: Part One
What is Facing History?
Facing History places a priority on educating students on subjects that deal heavily in racism, prejudice, and antisemitism. Facing History believes that educating students on these subjects will create a "more humane and informed citizenry". These lessons are essential not only to inform students of our world's history of oppression as well as to potentially act as a preventative measure. Facing History offers educator resources (lesson plans, library with ebooks, activity and classroom engagement strategies) as well as professional development opportunities (workshops, courses, seminars, webinars...).
What Is It Good For?
Facing History has a large database of lessons, units, books, and feature collections stored in each 'topic'— time period or overarching theme. The units, lessons, books, and feature collections are well thought out and engaging. The website also has a large database of teaching strategies that you can incorporate in nearly any classroom, subject, or lesson.
What Would A Typical Class Using 'Facing History' Look Like?
A few of my favorite teaching strategies -
- Agree/Disagree: Set up a class in which you discuss debate worthy topics with your students, and set up four sides of the room. 'Strongly agree', 'agree', 'disagree', and 'strongly disagree' should each be posted in a different corner. Speak a statement to the class (for example, 'the death penalty shouldn't be permitted for any reason.') and tell students to go to the corner of the room which best represents their stance on the issue. In some classrooms, you can have a "fence" in the middle of the room, for students who are unsure of how they feel. Each student (or a few students from each section) can share why they are there.
- 3-2-1 Prompt: 3 takeaways, 2 questions, 1 thing you enjoyed. These can be either exit tickets, presentation/movie note-taking cards, or peer reviewing cards.
- Alphabet brainstorm: When first introduced to a broad topic overview, students can be in groups or pairs as they attempt to name one thing that has to do with the broad topic for each letter. A good introductory activity, potentially.
- Annotating: a great way for students to read interactively, as well as incentive to read the text closely rather than passively.
- Assigning roles for group work: roles such as facilitator, recorder, text miners, etc. can be assigned to each person within a group to encourage individual effort as well as collaboration. This can be used when talking about any assigned reading.
- Big paper discussion: a few large papers (posters, big sticky notes) can have a question or discussion topic assigned to it, and each student can go around the room and write their own ideas, thoughts, questions, or illustrate anything they feel appropriate for the question or topic.
How Can I/Would I Like To Use It?
I decided to incorporate the 'big paper discussion' teaching strategy into my unit, for a lesson plan involving the discussion of a few questions. Here is my description, as written in my unit planner:
"Class discussion on big stickies. This conversation will take place on big sticky notes, using different colored markers, smaller sticky notes, etcetera. Students can write questions, thoughts, feelings. (These three questions will be asked in a round format). When we switch, the groups will move stations. At the next question, they can not only write their own thoughts or questions, but also add onto other questions or thoughts that are already on the big sticky. Question 1 - what other factors might come into play when a president might be impeached, politically? Question 2 - what is at stake when a president who shouldn’t be impeached is impeached? Question 3 - What is at stake if a president who should be impeached isn’t impeached?"
“Our Collection.” Facing History and Ourselves, www.facinghistory.org/resource-library.
#Instruction #EDU223 #WiseTeacher
Part 2, 3, 4, and 5
Laney,
ReplyDeleteYou’re site is really interesting. You’re the only who who did yours in more of a list than a narrative. I like it it cuts to the point. I also like the points that you’re pushing when it comes to the debates in your classroom. It’s evident that you’re setting up part 2 of standard 3.
The thing I’d like to hear more about is your sources. I felt that you left it a little brief and went on about how you’d use it in your class.
Awesome work!
-Griffin Graves
Laney,
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you set up your blog post. It was super easy to read because it was so organized. Every other post I read has been much different but I think yours is best for my reading style.
I LOVED that you included all of the teaching strategies. I could really see myself using the agree/disagree strategy in my own classroom. I think this could also teach students to discuss differences in a positive way.
What a great job Laney!