Category: Uncategorized
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Whose Independence (Updated and digital!)
Last year I decided it was high time to use other sources in addition to the Declaration of Independence to explore what the Declaration has meant to different people at different periods of time. I juxtaposed “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” and the Declaration of Sentiments against the Declaration of Independence,…
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Distance Learning Resources Part 1
If your school is like mine, you are either preparing for or already are involved in distance learning for your students.
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Review: Museum of the American Revolution
The Museum of the American Revolution obviously had many different types of clientele in mind when they designed their exhibits. There is something for the Revolutionary War expert and novice, for the young and the young at heart. I highly recommend spending your day in this very special place. Here’s why.
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App Review: Goose Chase
There’s nothing more fun than a field trip. Or a scavenger hunt. Or a scavenger hunt-field trip! Each year we take our 5th-grade students to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to view their Ancient Egypt exhibit. The idea behind the visit is to pique their interest in order to motivate them to…
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Focusing Middle School Research Papers: The Lens Question
Each year my colleagues and I embark upon an historical research journey with our students that we inevitably tweak for the following class. Students are asked to write a 5-page research paper about a topic from the North American continent between the years of 1600 and 1776. Easy, right? This year, the focus of our…
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Reading Primary Sources: Middle School
If we truly want to make our classrooms a place where history is something to “do,” like students “do math” and “do science,” then we have to take note of what the teachers in other disciplines are doing and use those methods, such as observation and interpretation of fact. Cue primary sources.
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Spotting Fake News
To open the year, our department began with defining and giving students tools to identify “fake news.” Fake news is defined as stories that appear to be true and appear to be from an official news site, but are untrue or have very little truth to them (Cnn10.com). It is especially true in today’s world…
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Reflection for Assessment & Growth
As a reflective practitioner, I see so much value in the way thinking about my teaching can help me improve. I leave myself post-its in my planner so that when I come back to units the following year, I know what I want to change, I keep a notebook for writing down ideas that I…
