Thinking

In my ELL History class, we are moving beyond building vocabulary to reading and answering analytical questions. They are currently studying the Han Empire and were asked a question about the Silk Road on page 105 from the Pearson/ Prentice Hall World History book by Elisabeth Gaynor Ellis and Anthony Elser (2007).

The question is: How do you think the knowledge Zheng gained helped establish the Silk Road?

Not one of the students could answer the question based on the information in the textbook. One part that confused them understandable is that Zheng is also spelled Zhang in the textbook –I don’t know if they fixed that in later version. But the biggest problem was that the answer is not explicit in the text and therefore they needed to think about it.

The book explains using a brief primary source and historical description that Zheng Qian, a Han diplomat, was sent by Emperor Wudi to “establish contact with peoples outsides the Han empire” (104). He went all the way to India and the Roman Empire for his research.  The textbook then explains what he learned in those faraway places helped establish the trade routes of the Silk Road.

So first I asked them what supplies do you need in a school. They answered balls, pens, pencils, paper, computers, uniforms, food, drinks, etc. I then asked, “If you had never been to this school before, how would you know where these items were?”  They answered, “You would have to ask people.”  Then I asked them, “How would you tell people outside the school where they were, if they had never been to the school?” They answered, “You would have to write it out for them or draw a map.”

So they very briefly drew a map of the school as if we were giving strangers instructions, like voyagers on the Silk Road needed if they planned on trading or buying goods.

So I explained that Zheng Quian had to go to different places and talk to different people from far away regions to find out what goods they sold and needed. But one student whose parent is a diplomat said, “That’s not a diplomat’s job. His job is relationships with other countries, like politics.”  So I explained that diplomats also negotiate economic issues and gave examples of economic treaties that are negotiated between governments. I also explained that there is crossover between political and economic issues, for example sanctions.

Also, a diplomat’s job is to provide reconnaissance (not as a spy but as an information gatherer) to offer a perspective to her government.  

That’s exactly what Zheng Quian did. He told the Emperor Wudi what he saw on his journey and that there were consumers for their products. In addition, he reported on possible imports for the empire.  This drastically impacted their economy as well as created a new, eventually powerful merchant class.

Did I plan to spend 45 minutes on one homework question? No, I didn’t.  Is this particular piece of information crucial to their life? No, it’s not. However, I wanted to demonstrate and cue them on how to think through a difficult question and apply a historical concept to their own life. I wanted them to think. And for 45 minutes, they did.

Assessing Fairly - Weighting Test Grades

One of the hardest aspects of teaching a course in the Humanities is grading, specifically essays and projects. No matter how many rubrics I create, there is still going to be some subjectivity.

Our school has been discussing weighting assessments based on a cumulative practice. Although the practice cannot cure issues of subjectivity, weighting as the semester progresses can make the final grade fairer. To be clear, this idea is not mine, however, I am currently implementing it.

In World Literature, there are only two tests during the semester and the final exam. The first test is worth 100 points, but the second test will be worth 150 points. Although the novels are different, the skills that I am assessing are the same. They have received repetitive instruction and practice, and thus their understanding should have increased since the beginning of the semester.

This is also true in ELL Ancient History. This course is geared for 9th graders or 10th and 11th graders who are completely new to studying in English. In addition to the language deficit, the students have to adjust to high school and the expectations. Therefore, their first major assessment is only out of 50 points, then 75, 100, 150, and so on.

I am not increasing the points value so drastically for every course. For example, in Middle East History, the first test is worth 75 points and the rest are worth 100 points. The semester exam is worth 20 percent of the grade. I am not increasing the numerical value for each test, because the material and methods vary so much from chapter to chapter. and the students are in 12th grade  However, the first test is worth less because even though they are seniors, they still need to get used to my style of teaching and testing.

Grading will never be a perfect science. However, I am always looking for ways to improve how I assess to better reflect student learning and achievement.

Teaching Students Study Skills

When I completed my teaching certification in 2001 and was hired by a school to teach history, I was excited to try out all that I learned from the amazing professors at my university. However, what I found is that although many of their techniques and philosophies could be employed successfully in the classroom, some basic skills still needed to be taught in a rudimentary, perhaps old-fashioned manner.

One of the skills most lacking is how to prepare for a test. Many students simply do not know how to study, and while my role is to engage them in the material, I also embrace teaching student study skills that they can use across the curriculum. This is especially true teaching ELL students.

During the first semester of the course, I model different ways to prepare for quizzes and tests. Second semester, I ask them to choose among the models I've demonstrated and use the one that works for them.

One skills that students needed to be taught is how to use both their notes and class and textbook to study. Even with all of the technology we employ, including posting lessons and notes online, often times the students don't remember or bother to look at them. Or if we are using many different types of resources, they don't know how to organize them to prepare for a test.

Here are two techniques I have used thus far in ELL History.

The first is to create a chart and take the terms that the students learned from two sections and contextualize them (not just define) using their textbook and what we covered in class. The last column is a place for them to ask clarifying questions.

Using Google Docs, after they have completed most of the review sheet, I can then get them feedback as to what they are still missing. For example, if they didn't include anything about pyramids, I would write, "Remember the pyramid game that we played? What were the lessons that we learned from that?"

For the test that will be given next week, I've created a chart for them to fill out that compares empires.

In summary, while we can't learn the information for them, we can teach them how to study so that they can succeed to the best of their abilities.

Not Just Red Tape: Bureaucracy

As an adult, the word bureaucracy makes most people shudder with some painful memory of trying to accomplish a task that involves waiting in line and being transferred from department to department, filling out form after form, until your goal is accomplished or isn't, and you just give up.

Interestingly enough, bureaucracy does not typically have negative connotations for students, because lucky them, they've never had to encounter the dysfunction and inconvenience the word provokes in their parents and teachers.

However, even though the word doesn't bring up negative images, it also isn't necessary an obvious concept to students.

When studying Ancient Egypt, bureaucracy is introduced as a concept to explain how Pharaoh's ruled ancient Egypt.  I teach the concept in three parts:

1. Students interview someone they know about their experience in a bureaucracy.
2. Students embark on mission to obtain cookies for the class. They have to get signatures from all of the necessary administrators (viziers) and assistants (scribes) at the school, culminating in a trip to the cafeteria to get their cookies.
3. After reflecting on the activity, students have to think about their own personal interaction or potential interaction with a bureaucracy and report back to the class.

This lesson takes quite a bit of set up. I sent an email to all of staff that I needed to participate with the complete lesson plan. I followed up with a Google Calendar invitation and a reminder. Even so, one person wasn't available to sign the form, and the students almost didn't get their cookies.

They were pretty shocked when the Vizier of the Cafeteria said no, but it was a great tool for debriefing. We also talked about why the connotation int he textbook is positive, but often times it's viewed negatively.

"Well, Ms. Marcus," one student said. "If you are expecting cookies and don't get them, you aren't going to be happy."

Exactly.

Then I taught themperhaps not a historical lesson, but a useful one.

"If something doesn't work out, you should be persistent," I said.

 They plead their case again to the Vizier of the Cafeteria and in the end he gave them their cookies.

In case you were wondering, they were chocolate flavored. They disappeared before you could say the word....

Click here for the assignment. If you would like a copy of the lesson plan (I used it for a formal observation. It went very well!), email me (sharnamarcus at gmail) or on Twitter @mssmarcus.

Help Wanted in Mesopotamia

As I wrote in a previous post, connecting students to ancient history can be challenging. When first teaching about how city states and empires functioned comparatively to hunter gatherer communities in ancient civilizations, the notion of job specialization can be a tricky concept to teach, perhaps because it is too obvious in some ways.

However, job specialization is critical to understanding ancient history as the emphasis of pedagogy in the field has evolved to a more popular approach to studying ancient cultures, not emphasizing every battle but rather the evaluating the lives of the ordinary people who lived during the time period.

To accomplish this, I used a lesson plan from "The History of Our History" website produced by the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute.  Titled Jobs in Ancient Mesopotamia, I created a job application from a Microsoft Word template. Students applied for the positions in writing and presented to the class why they would be the best candidate.

One of the best parts of this lesson was increasing the students' vocabulary. Many of the job specializations featured words they had never heard before. For example, they had never heard the word "confectioner," although clearly they had all eaten candy at some point! As you can imagine, there was a lot of competition for this job.

This lesson was for my ELL class, and it worked really well. To increase the level for a standard or honors level course, I would introduce students to primary sources about the job specializations and ask them to compare them to current sources about those same jobs today.  

Connecting with Early Humans

One of the most difficult aspects of teaching history is helping students connect to people who lived so long ago. This is acutely true of prehistory, when what we know comes only from archaeology and anthropology.

When teaching prehistory, I use a web site hosted by the Science Museum of Minnesota based on archaeological finds from Çatalhöyük. However, as I repeatedly emphasize with newer teachers and will reiterate on this blog over and over, most students cannot achieve learning outcomes by just browsing a web site or even reflecting on it. Also, given that the one of the goals of history is to build vocabulary, students need direction on how to scaffold the information.

Feel free to use this worksheet that I developed to help students make the most of the website. 

Using the BBC to teach Ancient Egypt

A website that almost always come through with great materials is the BBC.  The network features interactive and informative games that captivate students' interests.

The two most recent that I have used are games that allow students to build a pyramid and mummify someone. I have students work on this games as a class to build team work and ensure that everyone is understanding the material and on task.

After these two games, my students will never forget that one shouldn't build a pyramid too close to a river (flooding) and that ancient Egyptian embalmers removed the brain from the.....

I don't want to spoil it for you. Play the game!