Mrs. Slaviero's Blog

  I've always wanted to give my students the opportunity to learn about our National Parks and try podcasting with my students. Combining these two options has been proven successful, and the perfect antidote to end of the year motivational struggles. I researched and found a terrific podcasting resource from Spark Creativity . The author is has a Language Arts background, but so many of her resources, from blackout poetry, to one pagers, to hexagonal thinking, are very adaptable to our History curriculum. We began this unit on the last day of school before Winter Break but shelved it to create National History Day projects. A few Fridays ago it became evident we all needed a change. I decided from the next Friday forward we would bring back the National Parks podcast project to end our week. We started (again) by viewing a "See All of the National Parks in One Minute" clip. This built some excitement and curiosity for selecting a park. The next step was to think of a po...

  My Language Support Historians and I began our National History Day journey today. My first group was getting started when we went virtual, and this project was too daunting a task to do with all of us at home. My students have come so far this year, and this is a great way to challenge them to continue their growth. We did book tastings and each student selected a topic. I've streamlined the NHD project into two parts: a presentation to their class (to practice speaking skills) and a paper bag album (to not overwhelm with many choices, and to focus on the key points of the project, in a novel way). I'm also creating a model album, with a topic none of my students are studying: Rosie the Riveter. A model project will make expectations clear. Paper bag albums were something I made for an elective class years ago, the kids loved them because they are easy to complete and keep when finished. This will also be a good way for students to practice the art of writing (not typing) in...

What a week of learning! Language Support Student Historians continually surprise me with their "all in" attitude regarding learning! They never miss an opportunity to take advantage of learning something new. It is exciting and heartwarming. I am challenging all of us in Language Support-History by creating modified National History Day projects this quarter. It's going to be a fantastic learning experience for every one of us. I have absolutely no idea how things will progress but we are taking it one step at a time, together. Students learned about this year's theme, "Breaking Barriers in History" by constructing barriers with lego-style bricks. (None of the students had ever heard the word in English before.) We then created a word study of the word barrier, including examples of synonyms and antonyms. Word study completed, we began to search US History topics that might interest us, then took Cloze notes of the six examples of breaking ...

Student Historians recently presented their National History Day projects to our school community. Thanks to the support from our 6th and 7th Grade Social Studies teachers, 8th Grade students were able to successfully defend their theses to their peers. The 7th Graders can see what they will be asked to do next year and the 6th Graders can use these projects as a spring board for their student-centered projects they will complete within the next month. Each grade reflected on the event and related it to what they knew, as well. It was also a wonderful community-building activity. National History Day projects are so meaningful to me because they are, at heart, Genius Hour projects within the content area of History. I promised myself this year's focus would be on helping students hone their passions and I believe this was achieved. Middle Schoolers need to find who they are and what they're about. Delving into what's important to them will help on their journe...

Student Historians are working diligently on their National History Day projects. I have been meeting with student groups according to categories to remind them of the benefits of the  Symbaloo Webmix  created for them #rightsideofthewebmix and to give them individualized help.  We have a few groups creating a dramatic performance and I received some help from our Forensics teacher and compiled her tips as students were writing their scripts, along with a plot diagram for them to use. (I have always utilized graphic organizers with my students, they are incredibly helpful with project development by helping students work effectively and with a focus.) Each group needs to write a Process Paper--a graphic organizer from me should make that process run smoothly, as well. (I will post this document on my Twitter page,  the Webmix is only for web links.) Our school-wide presentations are January 23rd (my History classes) and January 24th (our other Histo...

Student Historians have been overcoming challenges related to their in-depth, student-centered National History Day projects while persevering and finding success as they wind up their research and continue their note taking. I have noted with interest how so many students (and teachers) lately seem to be focused on the finish line and completing these projects when, to me, the process, not necessarily the product,  is essential.  It's natural, I suppose, to want a project completed and "checked off" of a To Do list, but the true test for these Student Historians lies in the multitude of steps that must be taken to get to this end result. These steps should be celebrated and acknowledged. Rushing this process doesn't give students ample time to be mindful of the many components of the project or have the chance to reflect upon their work, step by step. Time can even demonstrate the worthiness of an assignment. We model this worthiness by continuing this work ...

Yesterday's National History Day work featured the power of support. Eighth Grade Student Historians were once again fortunate to have Ms. Bradfield, State Coordinator for Michigan History Day, join us, along with our Teacher Librarian Mrs. Chatel. I'm happy to say that Ms. Bradfield will be joining 8th Graders from Smith Middle School in two weeks. Students were able to ask Ms. Bradfield questions about topics, finding sources, and thesis development. They were also able to learn more from Mrs. Chatel about maximizing the benefits of Noodle Tools for research, digital note cards, and citations for their Annotated Bibliographies.  My expertise in assisting students with National History Day projects is strong. My reaching out to other experts, though, hopefully demonstrates to my students my firm belief in Synergy. This notion that we are stronger together when we work with and learn from others should be practiced and reflected upon often. I have worked alongs...

Link to my NHD Symbaloo Webmix  Symbaloo is one of the best technology resources I've found to assist my Student Historians and me on our National History Day journey this year.  I learned about Symbaloo at the MACUL (Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning) Conference this past March. I was intrigued by its ease of use and by the company's commitment to education. My first thought was to utilize this resource for National History Day. Over the summer I created a Symbaloo Webmix to simplify the NHD process. Developing the Webmix was a matter of breaking down the project components (thinking about possible topics of interest, understanding the theme, pre-searching, researching, writing the thesis question, learning about project types, seeing project examples, creating digital note cards, housing resources, developing an Annotated Bibliography, and learning about the contest) and creating tiles for each these web links.  The left side of th...

Students did experience "The Wall" today while working on their National History Day projects (see yesterday's post). One group finally overcame a challenge today and it was really exciting to witness. Two students have been interested in learning more about the Salem Witch Trials, but have been struggling with developing their thesis. (I studied this topic in depth in college--the trials were about economics, class struggle and sociology, not about "witchcraft" at all.) This year's theme is challenging, which added to their frustration. I guided, but mostly listened . Reminding these Historians that they have a powerful topic (which they do) gave them the encouragement to take the risk and try again. Walking them through developing a thesis that gave their audience more factual information was important. We also talked about how not "showing your hand", but creating curiosity about your topic, is key.  This team has been trying to ...

The Student Historians that competed at the Michigan History Day State Competition have so much to be proud of! They presented their projects and answered the judges' questions with detailed and knowledgeable responses.  The final results revealed that two of the three projects placed 3rd in the State of Michigan in their division and these students were alternates in case one of the top two entrants was unable to attend the National History Day Competition this June! (They found out today that the Finalists in their categories will all be attending and their projects are no longer needed this year.) Every one of my Student Historians has now capped off a fantastic year of learning and can look back on their experience with a great sense of accomplishment. Each and every one of my students created a persuasive and analytical project on a person in US History that was significant to them . I couldn't ask for anything more! My goal was to replicate a Genius Hour project ...

Student Historians demonstrated how five events from the early-to-mid 1800s proved the idea of Manifest Destiny, the justification Americans had for land acquisition "from sea to shining sea". They used Touch Cast to create news stories demonstrating their knowledge. My Student Teacher and I had never used it with a class before but I'm proud to say that she took a risk with this new technology and it was successful! Most of the students had never used it before, either, but all quickly learned how to navigate the site. One of the biggest tips learned was the importance of having a green screen to make the final project look more professional. We have 2 green screens in the building but Ms. Berger was resourceful and make a few more paper screens (which we will hang up and save for future projects).  Time management for the project was very good--the few groups that finished early were given the real-life task of creating a "dos and don'ts for Touch Cas...

Students have been using math in History this week and I'm eager to hear their reflections today. We have been studying the early years of the American Republic and I created an overarching unit to tie these events together. Using the theme of growth and change, each student began by reviewing 9 events/ideas and individually ranked them on a scale of +5 (positive change/growth) to -5 (negative change/growth). In group meetings, these historians were asked to average their findings and develop 2 justifications for their averages. The next step was to graph their findings. I gave them graph paper (the x-axis labeled "events 1-9", the y-axis labeled "rating") and the groups created their graphs. The final step was to create a Spark Video analyzing their data. They needed to more thoroughly explain the x-axis and y-axis (possible answers: the events show the growth and change of the country over time from Washington's Administration to the Missour...

We all have our strengths. I have learned long ago that science and math aren't strengths of mine but I've continued to challenge myself in areas of weakness in order to grow. My Business Calculus college course comes to mind--I've never been prouder of a sub-par grade before! (I also didn't need the class to graduate when I switched majors!) Another realization I've made over the years is that the need to provide opportunities and connections for my Historians that aren't necessarily in my realm of expertise is important. This might give students their "aha!" moment and help them see the impact social studies has on their lives. It's up to me to step out of my comfort zone and provide this. I implemented Genius Hour in an elective course two years ago and promised myself it would be put into practice in History this year (using the National History Day competition structure). While researching Genius Hour makerspaces and the engineering...

Tuesday was the Big Day--my Student Historians hosted a National History Day School Event! Students dressed professionally and displayed their Historical Exhibits, Documentaries, Websites, and Papers in the Media Center for our school community to experience. (There was one Dramatic Performance and this student performed in front of a small audience.) What a day we had! Special thanks to our Media Specialist, Mrs. Chatel, for all of her help with research and detailed explanations of how to complete our Annotated Bibliographies--we couldn't have done it without you! Mrs. Loch, a Media Specialist from two of our Middle Schools, came to help determine which projects would be eligible to enter into the Michigan History Day District contest. She previously taught Social Studies and had entered students into the contest. (Some were even selected for the National Contest!) She has been incredibly helpful this year and I'm grateful for her support! The Social Studies te...

My Student Historians are putting the finishing touches on their National History Day projects in preparation for Tuesday's presentations. The projects will be in the Media Center all day and other classes will be coming in to analyze their work. I wanted to find a Genius Hour activity for my History classes this year--NHD has turned out to be exactly what we needed. The students were working on research-based, open-ended questions. They were studying a topic that interested them and completed an intensive project, working within the parameters of a multitude of competition guidelines. They will also be achieving the third tenet of Genius Hour during our Presentation Day--sharing their finished work with the world (they are Middle Schoolers--their world consists of their peers).  I am excited for them and proud of all that they have accomplished! On to Tuesday!