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Propaganda, Racism, & Japanese Internment
Recently I was speaking to a former student about her US II History class at her new school. She told me about her year and about the topics she and her classmates covered in class but then mentioned that she was upset about a recent reading. She had read about Japanese internment during World War…
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The Power of Place: Philadelphia
On April 21 I had the privilege of taking 24 eager young historians to Philadelphia for an historical day trip. I am a believer in the “power of place”– experiencing history in the classroom can be fun and interesting, but experiencing history where it happened is magical. By being where our founders, invisible…
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Empowering Students
Wow! What a whirlwind of a week. After the mass-shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018, several students approached my colleagues and me about how to take on the issue of gun violence in schools and on the streets. They wanted to walk out of school…
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Flipgrid & a Martin Luther King, Jr. Lesson
A few weeks ago, thanks to the Twitter universe, I stumbled upon an educational tool called “Flipgrid” (@flipgrid – sidenote, their team looks like a hoot based upon their Twitter cover photo.) Flipgrid’s website touts their product as: “Flipgrid is where your students go to share ideas and learn together. It’s where students amplify and…
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Lesson Plan: Gender Fluidity in Colonial History
In keeping with my philosophy to make sure all students feel included in American history class, I tweeted Katherine Ott (@amhistcurator)for inspiration. I wanted to know how to include my students who are part of the LGBTQA+ spectrum in the story, and since #LGBThistory as part of the story in the Colonial Era isn’t…
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Teaching 5th Graders How to Write a Thesis Statement
Today I had my very first experience teaching 5th-grade students how to write a thesis statement. I am a veteran middle school teacher to 7th and 8th-grade students, so the addition of teaching 5th-grade world history this year has been a blessing and a challenge. Our 5th-grade students write a 5 paragraph research paper…
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My Top Nine Teacher Must-Haves
I am just finishing up my spring break and I have a wealth of ideas to bring back to my classroom based on my trip to Colonial Williamsburg in March. However, besides traveling I spent a fair amount of time in Target and as I traipsed the aisles I thought about how my classroom is…
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Invisible Founders
American history is, and should be treated as everyone’s history. Very often in my class, I remind students that we give more than enough air-time to who we call “rich white guys,” the men who are the face of America’s founding. While these men such as Jefferson, Hamilton, and Washington were absolutely imperative in the…
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Women of Washington’s Era
“Remember the ladies” is perhaps one of the most famous lines by a woman of the Revolutionary Era. Abagail Adams pleaded with her husband John that women be included in some way in the new government. Abigail’s station in life afforded her the privilege of being able to express her desire for rights as other…
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Invisible Founders Part 3: Hercules & Assessment
It has been quite a week in my history class and I have so much to share. The students in my class worked on completing their study of Hercules and the book A Birthday Cake for George Washington. The final piece of the unit was to study the real Hercules. I wanted students to find…