Friday, October 7, 2011
History and Writing
Today we spent a lot of time working on creating a Writing Lesson using history content. I was excited about this because one of my personal goals this year was to include more writing along with my U.S. History instruction. Today's activity was challenging because even though we all teach the same standards we teach at different paces, so it was hard to coordinate a common timing that we would be teaching the same writing strategy, and history content at the same time. I think that we found a common ground and created a fun lesson to use as a post assessment for the European Explorers Unit.
Monday, October 3, 2011
"Head Smashed In"
On the Week of 9-24-11, I was able to share something that my class thought was really exciting! During our lesson on the Plains Indians I was able to use some of the information presented to us by Dr. William Bauer during our very first AHF session.
The kids loved learning about "Head Smashed In", and the best part was that our discussion helped us reach our learning goal: "We will explain how climate and natural resources impact culture."
I was even able to locate a short video clip online that was filmed at "Head Smashed In", and the students were able to see the land, and how the Native Americans were able to use the geography of the area to hunt buffalo.
The kids loved learning about "Head Smashed In", and the best part was that our discussion helped us reach our learning goal: "We will explain how climate and natural resources impact culture."
I was even able to locate a short video clip online that was filmed at "Head Smashed In", and the students were able to see the land, and how the Native Americans were able to use the geography of the area to hunt buffalo.
The First Week of School
Hello Foundations Colleagues,
During the first week of school, I had already used some resources from our time together.
First of all, I used one of the teacher created lessons from Carrillo to introduce my class to S.P.E.C. I am really excited to use SPEC this year as a way to get my students writing about history and the lesson created by Jennifer, Cris, and Laura was the perfect way to introduce my kiddos to viewing history through their "SPEC-tacles"
Another thing that I wanted to make sure that I covered during the first week of school was our first "Class Motto". To start the year I chose one of the Power Words from Dr. Denenberg's book. The quote was "I do what I do because I think it is the right thing to do" from Jimmy Carter. I choose this quote because it ties perfectly into our school's "Dolphin Way". The "Dolphin Way" is doing the right thing, even when no one is looking.
Creating a class motto was a great way to introduce the students to an American Hero, who has good character, and has worked to make the world a better place.
I look forward to using more resources from our AHF time as the year moves on.
During the first week of school, I had already used some resources from our time together.
First of all, I used one of the teacher created lessons from Carrillo to introduce my class to S.P.E.C. I am really excited to use SPEC this year as a way to get my students writing about history and the lesson created by Jennifer, Cris, and Laura was the perfect way to introduce my kiddos to viewing history through their "SPEC-tacles"
Another thing that I wanted to make sure that I covered during the first week of school was our first "Class Motto". To start the year I chose one of the Power Words from Dr. Denenberg's book. The quote was "I do what I do because I think it is the right thing to do" from Jimmy Carter. I choose this quote because it ties perfectly into our school's "Dolphin Way". The "Dolphin Way" is doing the right thing, even when no one is looking.
Creating a class motto was a great way to introduce the students to an American Hero, who has good character, and has worked to make the world a better place.
I look forward to using more resources from our AHF time as the year moves on.
Heroes (Day 4 and 5)
Although I did miss two days of the Summer Institute, I am so glad that I was able to attend the session given by Dennis Denenberg. When I received the agenda for the institute I was immediately excited to see that we would hear from a former teacher who had written a book about American Heroes, and I was not disappointed. Dr. Denenberg was, in my opinion, easily the most interesting and inspirational presenter that I have heard from throughout the AHF-grant. His presentation was engaging, he gave us great historical information, told relevant stories, and we got a book to take home!
Throughout my teaching I have not spent much time looking at specific heroes in American History, and I usually just focus on the "Big Ideas", but now I realize that it is much more powerful to not only look at "Big Ideas", but also focus on some of the specific "Heroes" that have shaped our nation. I will definately use his book as a reference throughout the year, and take some of his ideas back to my class.
Some things that I am definately planning to do are to have a "class moto", and to create American Hero bathroom passes.
Throughout my teaching I have not spent much time looking at specific heroes in American History, and I usually just focus on the "Big Ideas", but now I realize that it is much more powerful to not only look at "Big Ideas", but also focus on some of the specific "Heroes" that have shaped our nation. I will definately use his book as a reference throughout the year, and take some of his ideas back to my class.
Some things that I am definately planning to do are to have a "class moto", and to create American Hero bathroom passes.
Summer Institute Day #3
Well, day 3 was actually my first day at the Summer Institute, and I was very excited about the information being covered. The American Revolution, in my opinion, is the most exciting part of the year, but last year I was a little disappointed in my ability to pass on my excitement about the subjects to my students.
Some of the toughest parts of the American Revolution to get the students excited about are all of the causes of the American Revolution. Today we learned some specific ways to look at these events from both the American and British perspectives. I especially liked the way our presenter spoke about Colonists as some-what paranoid or as conspiracy theorists. I think it is important to for all of our students to know that most Colonists would not have gone to war over taxes alone. However in my past teaching I may have lead my students to believe that taxes were the driving force. In the future I hope to do a better job of presenting both sides, and helping my students to understand what was going through the minds of the Colonists, as they saw the King make all of these new rules, and "acts".
Some of the toughest parts of the American Revolution to get the students excited about are all of the causes of the American Revolution. Today we learned some specific ways to look at these events from both the American and British perspectives. I especially liked the way our presenter spoke about Colonists as some-what paranoid or as conspiracy theorists. I think it is important to for all of our students to know that most Colonists would not have gone to war over taxes alone. However in my past teaching I may have lead my students to believe that taxes were the driving force. In the future I hope to do a better job of presenting both sides, and helping my students to understand what was going through the minds of the Colonists, as they saw the King make all of these new rules, and "acts".
New BLOG!
Hello Fellow AHF Teachers,
Do to some technical difficulties this is my new AHF blog. I will be posting updates from this summer's institute and things that I am doing in the classroom here instead of my old BLOG. I hope you enjoy reading.
Adam Klimas
LCM
5th Grade
Do to some technical difficulties this is my new AHF blog. I will be posting updates from this summer's institute and things that I am doing in the classroom here instead of my old BLOG. I hope you enjoy reading.
Adam Klimas
LCM
5th Grade
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