Engage the Maze....
A Teaching American History Newsletter from Dr. Christine Johnson
Hello fellow teachers! Welcome to the third installment of Engage the Maze.
Christine Johnson, EditorIdentify, Anaylze. Explain
As we look at the indicators/benchmarks and standards from the Ohio Department of Education, we see words used like: “identify,” “analyze,” and “explain.” These actions are often used to complete our standards tests. But they do not indicate that the assessment question form is the only way that students necessarily gain the greatest “understanding.” Simulation is a wonderful way to build understanding. That understanding may then manifest itself through more traditional ways such as an essay. But the actually understanding may be gained other ways.In Jean Allen’s “Reading History” she explores this understanding of understanding. (Chapter Three) This newsletter is named for the “maze” that she visualizes as Figure 4.1 on page 94). The vital job for us teachers is to provide students with skills in transferring what “understanding” they gain through any instructional activity so that they can show their knowledge in ways large standardized assessments recognize. One of the ways I have found this transference can happen easier is to make my instruction more transparent—that is, to let the students know what I am doing. For example: when you assign them an assessment essay question, have them look for the main idea. This verifies that they in fact know what a main idea is. You then can introduce an activity to support that main idea.
As you read the Allen book many of the activities she suggests can be easily augmented by real classroom simulations. For example, on page 40 she lists items for transferring student understanding. (It's the third bulleted item, "Choose character and ...write some dialogues.” Rather than write, do some dialogue—it keeps the class active.
A Culmination
Activity IdeaMy sister in Orrville Ohio sent me this description of a simulation activity she saw last week at a parent open house at her local middle school. It was called the “House of Wax”. All the 8th grade students were lined up in the halls and gym dressed as some person in history or science, wore "Push me" buttons and when you pushed they talked in the voice of that person. We heard Steven Hawkins, General McArthur, Joseph Priestley and a couple others. It sounds like a great way to team history and science teachers and provide a living time-line bridge understanding for students.
Web Recommendation!
My web recommendation this month is a site devoted to simulation through video games. http://www3.essdack.org/socialstudies/videogames.htm has a great overall link to research on learning through games and an easy link to U.S and world history games. These games are organized by eras.
Technology these days has advanced so that it can help us provide these experiences. Historical museums around the world have made images available from the Web. Now video collections afford us ready access to videos. Video
game simulations are being created by teachers to address different disciplines.Don't forget to check out my other teaching suggestions on the Teaching Resources page of this Web site!
