Mrs. Slaviero's Blog

Today my Student Historians started to create a One-Pager. One-Pagers are new to me, but English Language Arts teachers have been using them for some time. These graphic organizers promote deep learning and creativity, and is a meaningful way to have students show what they know. The focus of our One-Pager is Thomas Paine's "Common Sense". Students translated six quotes yesterday, rewrote them into 21st Century language, and discussed these tricky meanings together as a class. These primary source quotes are now at the heart of the One-Pager. My Historians needed to select one of the quotes and bring it to life in their project. A template isn't necessary for One-Pagers but I believe at this point in the year my students need the structure a template provides. I found out that most of my students (like me!) had never created One-Pagers before. I searched and searched last night for a One-Pager template that was free and easily accessible, but had no luck.  I ...

I've been utilizing blackout poetry as a means of assessing knowledge for a few years now  because it's one of the best ways to assess deep understanding of a topic. Yesterday's classwork was no exception. I've never used music from the hit musical "Hamilton" in my classroom before. I've wanted to but planning lessons seemed daunting because, frankly, many of the songs aren't student-friendly. I located a friendly version and decided to take the plunge--I'm so glad I did! We listened to and annotated the song two days ago and then wrote our poems yesterday. We are studying the New Nation and the seeds of discord surrounding Hamilton and Jefferson. The song "Cabinet Battle #1" tells the story of the negotiations into paying off state debts in the Northern states, creating the National Bank, and the creation of Washington DC (exciting, right?) I've never particularly cared for teaching this time period but I do now, thanks t...

Two quotes are the basis for this reflection. The first is from someone I had the honor of hearing speak this past spring. Sir Ken Robinson is an author and education and creativity expert. The second is from William Plomer, a 20th Century writer and poet. Both quotes relate to the heart of my educational philosophy and the never-ending journey to make my classroom a place where creativity is an integral part of the process of thinking like a Historian. I came across a post yesterday that linked these ideas beautifully. "How to Use GarageBand in the Reading Classroom" by Monica Burns has some terrific ideas on how to use this music app in Language Arts classes. I believe that they can successfully be used in Social Studies classes, as well. The second tip was special and I can't wait to add it to the project-based learning my Student Historians will undertake this year! Ms. Burns suggests students compose a music piece that evokes a particular em...