Mrs. Slaviero's Blog

My students and I benefit from using technology in the classroom and it's evident that we are all becoming more comfortable and proficient with it. There are times, though, where this risk-taking doesn't pan out and I have the opportunity to model how I handle failing (this time--there will be others, I'm sure!). I wanted to introduce a new unit of study using primary source maps and prompts in History using an app that would allow me to link the class' ideas on one screen. (The app shall remain nameless, I don't believe the app is at fault, rather user error on my part!) I had read up on the app but felt like we could figure it out as we went along and that's usually a successful strategy. The students in my first class downloaded the app and we all tried to link together. One student showed us how to find a QR code and I thought we were on our way. I gave myself a limit of 7 minutes to attempt this new technology--if we couldn't get it downloaded...

Student Historians took part in an online discussion yesterday on Schoology. Students were asked to take a stand and defend whether they would've been a Federalist or a Democratic-Republican if they had lived in America in the late 1700s. I really like online discussions and will utilize them more often. We started the discussion in class but students could complete their participation on their own time. Our students are usually busy but the week before the end of the semester and a modified exam week is especially time-crunched for them. (One of my girls put her head down on her desk before class began today! It was a good reminder to me to be especially empathetic in the next few days!) I believe this assignment flexibility was appreciated and student participation was high.  Online discussions give students practice in Digital Citizenship. I monitored the discussions and they did a wonderful job of staying on-task and were very professional and respectful. Knowing how t...

Student Historians will download this word cloud into OneNote and use it as a comprehension activity during a video clip tomorrow. I've done this once before this year--these clouds take a bit of time to create but is well worth my work. Students will be asked to assign a different color to Jefferson and Hamilton and highlight the terms in the cloud according to whether it was a belief of Hamilton or Jefferson (not necessarily which man stated the term). I will need to show the clip twice but it's under 3 minutes, therefore not overwhelming for my students to view again. They can complete the activity during the first viewing and check their work during the second viewing. This activity will provide solid formative assessment data and I will clearly know whether or not my students understand the very different views of these two men.

Student Historians worked with Popplet for the first time today. The app creates concept maps that can include text and images. Concepts, called Popples, can also be color-coded. The app seems fairly easy to use--I created one about the 3 levels and 3 branches of government while my students were creating theirs (I did add a few pictures later, though, and that took longer to do). I was realizing that searching for pictures of people like our current Supreme Court members, for example, was a very worthwhile activity. Students (and adults, for that matter) need to know who our country's leaders are. The lite version is free and lets you create one map at a time. The map can be downloaded but it then becomes a PDF or JPEG and can't be edited. My Effective Teens are also working on a Genius Hour Popplet and we managed to get around this "one map" issue by moving the second map to another part of the screen. :) My first impressions of Popplet are very good. I've b...

Student trailers have been completed and the results are impressive.  I've realized I really like trailers because they are an excellent vehicle to challenge students to pull out essential facts and details in subject matter. Students really had to stay focused on the rubric and had to be concise, yet persuasive. (Trailers are kind of like Tweets--you have strict guidelines to stay within.) I was also proud to see the grit and determination in my students when they became frustrated by the limits the iMovie trailer put on them. Student teams found ways to add information into pictures or slides, for example. Overcoming obstacles is an essential life skill that needs to be practiced! Here are two examples of student work. Enjoy!

Student Historians began a project-based assessment today--an iMovie trailer supporting ratification of the Constitution. Groups are to take on the perspective of the Federalists in 1787 and create a persuasive video supporting our Constitution. (I decided to have all students focus on the Federalists because their arguments would have detailed explanations of the Constitution--they will refute the Anti-Federalist arguments against ratification, as well.) The groups are excited and so am I--I've never used iMovie in class before. The project is in a Schoology folder and is primarily paperless (I do have a paper rough draft storyboard for each group, though).  I can't wait to see how my students interact with this app. I'm sure their final projects would make our Founding Fathers proud!

We have spent a few days this week focusing on modern history and the sacrifices our men and women in uniform have made for all of us. I found a story this summer about a military tradition I'd never heard of and wanted to share it with my class:  America's White Table , by Margot Theis-Raven, is a story of the Fallen Comrade Table. The tradition was started to honor all Missing In Action and Prisoners of War during the Vietnam War. An empty table is set for those who will never return and the items on the table symbolize the sacrifice of those who are missing. The Social Studies teachers at Boulan and I decided it would be powerful to replicate this table during the week surrounding Veterans Day and it was met with great reverence and respect by the students. Some classes read the book at the table and others completed a See-Think-Wonder Visible Thinking routine at the table. All students were moved by the display and felt gratitude for these soldiers. Eight...