Mission Possible: Motivating the Middle School Student to ThriveMelissa Dugan Julie JanikPeggy Veltri

Slides for this session can be found on the AMLE2015 app

The following session will focus on instructional strategies which will

enhance the implementation of Common Core standards. These sessions will give you strategies for differentiating lessons

and keeping curricular content intact.

Mission Possible

About Us...Melissa Dugan: Dean of Students; 8th Gr. Social Studies and

Language Arts teacher 23 years as an educator

Peggy Veltri: 5th Gr. Social Studies; 6th & 7th Gr. English teacher13 years as an educator

Julie Janik: 6th & 7th Gr. Social Studies; MS Theater22 years as an educator

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Making the Flipped Classroom Work for Middle School Social

Studies Students

By Melissa J. Dugan

Mission Possible Why implement the flipped classroom? Flipping the classroom will help you to create an active classroom and enhance learning for your students.

•1- Edwards (2015) defined active learning as the process of having students engage in some activity that forces them to reflect upon ideas and how they use those ideas.

Mission Possible Why implement the flipped classroom?2- Flipping the classroom has a positive impact on student learning.

Classroom time now consists of:• the use of small group work• discussions• PBL’s • simulations

Mission PossibleFlipping the classroom:

• Considered to be some of the best practices in teaching as it follows Bloom’s revised taxonomy.

• Students complete lower levels of cognitive work at home (remembering).

• The focus is on higher levels of learning in class (analyzing, evaluating, creating).

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• Worried About Creating Differentiated Lessons and Still implementing Common Core?

• Flipping the classroom is your answer! Delivery changes; not content.

• Students take notes at home and learn at their own pace.

• Students have the option of reviewing the video/lecture as many times as needed.

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PRIOR TO FLIP TEACHING, THE CLASSROOM WAS PASSIVE: Lecture based:• Students take guided notes in class• Homework= answer questions at the end of each

section

• Removing this part as the homework and replacing it with basic content material ensures that:

–all learners understand higher level material in class

–eliminates the pressure felt by students to copy homework

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❖ Small group discussions of 3-5 w/ teacher support is just one way to engage students and enhance learning.

❖ Lee, Waxman, Wu, Michko, and Lin (2011) found that students working together in small groups proved to be more effective than students working independently.  

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•Research shows that long lasting learning occurs when the brain is in a state of fun.

• Keeping students active in their learning through activities that involve them gathering information, thinking, discussing, and problem solving are proven methods which allow significant gains in learning.

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• What are the challenges with Flip teaching?

• Time to create videos The idea of flipping the classroom is to take notes at a basic level for 2-3 nights a week

– Videos are 7-10 minutes

– Add in note taking for a total of 15-20 minutes

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There are ways in which teachers can work with their principals to ensure all their students have the ability to watch the lessons prior to class.

One possibility may include arranging computer time for those students who need it before school starts/during a study hall/after school.

Finding meaningful enrichment activities during class time is key to flipping the classroom.

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• What do you do in class if you are not lecturing?

A typical class might look like this:• Quick walk around the room while quickly

checking notes.• Student led discussion occurs.• Activity/group work/ simulation/ online

activity/ video clip.• Quiz might follow the next day.

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• IDEAS for the Active ClassroomLive polls in class: www.polleverywhere.com Interactive games:1- http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/games/

2- http://playinghistory.org/

3- http://www.filmstory.org/

4-http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/index.htm?

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IDEAS for the Classroom continued5- http://www.mission-us.org/

Activities: 1- http://c-spanclassroomdeliberations.org/activities/

2-http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/edufun/book/welcome.html#book

Mission PossibleOnline virtual museums:1-

https://www.graphite.org/blog/online-museums-you-can-explore-for-free?utm_source=2014_06_23_Graphite_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly

2- https://www.amrevmuseum.org/ (American Revolution)

3- Audio and visual tours of the world : http://www.audioviator.com/en/

Maps: 1- Animated Atlas: http://animatedatlas.com/ 2- Overlap Maps: http://overlapmaps.com/

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1- Create a debate: http://www.createdebate.com/

2- Historically based songs and raps: https://www.flocabulary.com/

3- Current world news with quizzes: http://www.isidewith.com/

4- Candidates: http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/

5- The History engine: http://historyengine.richmond.edu/pages/home

6- Taxes and how they work: https://www.whitehouse.gov/2014-taxreceipt

7- Resources: http://resourcesforhistoryteachers.wikispaces.com/

8- Time search with timelines: http://www.timesearch.info/timesearch/

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What did the real experts have to say? Did you enjoy the method of flip teaching?

“Yes, I enjoy the flip teaching method. I was able to take notes at my own pace without worrying if I was behind or ahead. It took off the stress in class while writing notes and allowed me to actually understand what I was writing while writing it.”

“Yes, instead of spending our time taking notes in class we used it to discuss and I gained a lot from that process.”

“I love flip teaching. It allows me to learn and take notes on my own pace.”

“I love using flip teach. I got to re-watch the lessons in the comfort of my room. I learned a lot more than I would in a classroom because it wasn’t as boring.”

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Did you feel that this method helped you to be successful in the class?

“Yes, it did help me to be successful because I was able to understand the lesson on my time. It was also nice to have the source of notes be portable and virtual because I could access it anytime instead of having to wait until I had to go back to school.”

“Yes, because before a test or a quiz I could go back and watch the video again to refresh my memory.”

“Yes, because of taking notes at home and not instantly going into a discussion, we were able to formulate questions we had, and also take some time and think about the topic at home as well.”

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Do you believe that the activities completed in class helped you to understand the material you heard the night before?

“Yes, because it was a way to keep the information engrained in my head. Instead of memorizing I understood the lesson.”

“Yes, because when you do the activities in class after learning the material the night before it reinforces what you’ve learned in your memory.”

“Yes, when we talked about the material in class through activities, it cleared up whatever was not clear from the last night’s lessons.”

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Would you like to see more flip teaching in your other classes?

“Yes, I think this method would be beneficial in other classes because it is much more efficient than trying to compensate and try to make a universal pace for everyone in class. It’s much more efficient to learn at your own pace, so applying this method to other classes would allow that, therefore making each class efficient.”

“Yes, this method of teaching seems to be a very positive change to the basic system of classwork and homework.”

“Yes, I really like this method of teaching because instead of using class time to take notes, we can use it to talk about them, discuss, watch relevant clips, or do fun activities.”

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NEGATIVE COMMENTS ABOUT FLIP TEACHING:

“I don’t exactly prefer flip teaching over traditional ‘in class lectures’ because I feel like it would be more beneficial to discuss the topic as a class immediately after we are taught the material because in-class discussions allow time for questions right after a topic is introduced and discussion could take place. I’d also like to see or do more of an opinionated thing or activity in class.”

“Flip teaching did not really help me because it went way too fast and I could never pause it.”

“Sometimes during group work people would answer questions quickly and I had no idea what they were talking about.”

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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MOVIES TO BRING INTO THE CLASSROOM:

Use clips from the movies….maybe 10-15 minute clips at a time.

Bring History to life through riveting reenactments:• The History Channel’s American the Story of Us

• The History Channel’s The Men Who Built America

• The History Channel’s The World Wars

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• Read Flip your classroom by Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams

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http://www.screencast.com/users/misdugz/folders/Camtasia%20Studio/media/b9849495-7e35-412c-85fd-1faf7b91362c

Camstudio software $299.00Yearly public access through the screencast $99.00

Mission PossibleReferences

Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2012). Flip your classroom reach every student in every class every day. Eugene, Or. International Society for Technology in Education.

Edwards, S. (2015). Active learning in the middle grades. Middle School Journal, 26-32.

Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Estrada, V., and Freeman, A. (2014). The NMC Horizon Report:2014 k-12 edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

Lee, Y., Waxman, H., Wu, J., Michko, G., & Lin, G. (2011). Revisit the effects of teaching and learning with technology. Educational Technology & Society, 16(1), 133-140.

 

Mission Possible: Student-created Digital Projects for 21st Century Skill Development

By: Peggy Veltri

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Why move to student-created digital products?• Checks all the boxes for 21st Century Skills

– Collaboration– Creativity– Communication– Critical Thinking

• Gives early experience in skills they’ll use during their academic & professional careers

• Provides a means of authentic assessment

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Remember: The person doing the talking is doing the one doing the learning.

Get the kids talking and doing!

• 5 Tools that let students do the talking...

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Criteria for selection:• Free or low cost• User-friendly...no significant PD needed• Student-centered: Differentiation comes

naturally

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iBooks Author• Available on Mac computers• FREE• User friendly… intuitive…online

help and tutorials available• Easy to customize or just use existing

templates• Lets kids produce authentic products

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How iBooks Author works for me...

• Students create research report as usual• Collect photos that support the main

ideas; put in an easy-to-access file• Select a template• Determine “chapters” and start flowing

text onto pages

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How iBooks Author works for me… (cont.)

• Have fun with widgets–Photo galleries–Videos–Quizzes–Interactive graphics

Student authors are making critical judgements every step of the way!

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Publishing with iBooks Author• Publish to the iTunes store

–Need an Apple ID–Consider Student Privacy–Can get complicated if students play with formatting too much

• Publish to iPad– Easy peasy… two clicks– Downside: Not sharable beyond that iPad

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Benefits of iBooks Author • Helps students who struggle with

organization• Breaks down info into manageable bites• Leads students to determine what

matters most...IN SHORT… Further Develops Critical Thinking Skills

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Glogster• Students create web-based

digital posters• Annual subscriptions

–$95/yr. (1 teacher & up to 125 students)–$39/yr. (1 teacher & up to 30 students)–$390/yr. (up to 10 teachers & 250 students)

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Glogster•User friendly; lots of bells and whistles

•Use Glogster graphics, original photos, internet images, videos, etc.

•Create whole-class presentations for easy sharing

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Glogster Student Samples

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Green Screen by Do Ink• $2.99 in App Store• Simple to use (green fabric or

paper will do the trick)• Record from iPad or phone• Save to iMovie for additional

editing or share to Dropbox, Google Drive, YouTube, etc.

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• Students will...–Complete research as they would for a

research paper or short project–Create a short script of THE MOST

IMPORTANT info–Look for the nouns and find pictures to

support them –Record video in front of green cloth or paper–Combine video with relevant photos to

support what is being said

Green Screen by Do Ink

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Check out this student work!

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Students research and write a narrative about an important family event, often tied to a time in American or world history. ● Research through family interviews and additional

historical research (ex: Great Depression; Ellis Island)● Draft and revise their family story● Collect additional images from family sources and the

internet● Record narration using GarageBand, iMovie, their phone

or a recording booth● Create movie by marrying photos with audio● Collaborate with older students who have experience with

the project● Share via iBook, in-school movie premiere, YouTube

channel

iMovie : Bring Writing to Life with Digital Storytelling

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Finished Product: iMovie and iBook

Check out this Student Sample!

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Replace or extend dry research papers with student “voices” using iMovies

● Interview “experts”● Synthesize

information to create new understanding

● Write and create for a “real” audience

Start thru 1:30; 8:24 through end

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iMovie : Making Connections in Social StudiesFollowing our study of Ancient Greece, 5th grade social studies students will:

● Travel across campus in search of connections between Ancient Greece and modern-day Elgin

● Take photos and videos as they go● Create a storyboard that sets the

plan for their movie● Collect additional images from the

internet● Write a script to support their story● Record narration and add images to

support it.

Small projects like this take

little time, build skills and

solidify understanding.

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Sock Puppet Videos● Lip-synced animated videos● Designed for iPhone and

iPad● Free for up to 30 seconds of

recording; 99¢ for longer recording times

● Kids love them!

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Sock Puppet Videos Classroom Uses

● Explain a science concept● Summarize an idea or

process in any subject● Explain the significance of

an event or historical figure

● Review a book

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Sock Puppet Videos

● Start with a plan for the information you want to share

● Import pictures from online sources or from your camera roll

● Select props (if needed)● Draft a script to cover key information ● Create a quick storyboard to arrange

photos in an order that supports your script● Select characters and voice type● Open the app and tap photos as you

change the background in your project● Start recording, tapping each puppet when

it’s their turn to speak!

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How it works:● Basic accounts are FREE and

allow for up to 100 students per teacher ($35/yr. for more bells and whistles and full screen view)

● Teachers can use it to present info to students

● Students can use it to share their learning with others

● Combine with other technology to create interactive products

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Great for…● Maps● Plot Diagrams ● Timelines● Science Processes (water cycle, chemical reactions, etc.)

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Thinglink How to…

1. Invite students to join your class

2. Have students select a photo that is rich with details relating to a concept or idea

3. Open Thinglink, import photo and begin tagging it with:a. Textb. Other photosc. Videosd. Websites

4. Share by copying and pasting link or share within social media/Google

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When considering adding technology-based tools to your students’ learning activities, think SAMR

SA

RM

Move students up along a continuum from ENHANCEMENT to TRANSFORMATION

SAMR model developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura

Closing Advice…Point students in the right directions with some good tools and get out of their way!

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Music and Movement in the Middle School Social Studies Classroom

by Julie Janik

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Purpose of Music and Movement in the Classroom

Increases attention,

energy, and memory

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“Students who are required to stand or move around during a lesson have less physical fatigue and therefore, concentrate more efficiently on the concepts or tasks at hand.”

“In addition, active, movement-oriented lessons are fun for the students” ( Erlauer 46).

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“Music: Music can lower stress, boost learning when used 3 different ways:● as a carrier – using melody or beat to encode

content,● as arousal – to calm down or energize,● as a primer – to prepare specific pathways for

learning content, impacts the immune system, and is an energy source for the brain” (Sousa 1995).

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ATMOSPHERECreating interest with music and movement

1. “Gonna Fly Now” (Rocky)- Celebration musichttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFofqe26t-4

2. “Reveille”, “Taps”- unit of Civil War

3. “Roam”(B52s)- unit on Roman Civilization https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNwC0sp-uA4

4. “Pompeii”(Bastille)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F90Cw4l-8NY

5. Medieval, Renaissance, Andean music, etc.

-background music for various units of study

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WEB-BASED ACTIVITIES�1.

(www.flocabulary.com)

(teacher: $96, school: $1,600)

-Week in Rap-current events

https://www.flocabulary.com/topics/week-in-rap/

-“The Empires of Islam”- Islamic Empires

https://www.flocabulary.com/islamic-empires/

-“Hay! Nativos”- Mesoamerica

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�2. (www.youtube.com)

- “Istanbul not Constantinople” (4)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CryG-FLoFHI

- “Walk Like an Egyptian” (2) - “Down By the Riverside” (2) - “Mashed Potato Time” (1)

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�3.

(www.schooltube.com)

-“The Wives of Henry the VIII”h

ttp://www.schooltube.com/search/?term=horrible+histories+henry+the+viii

-“The Plague Song”

-“Queen Elizabeth I”

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4. (

www.youtube.com)

-“Sufferin’ Till Suffrage”

-“I’m Just a Bill”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFroMQlKiag

-“3 Ring Circus”

-“Shot Heard Round the World”

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ACTIVITIES (not necessarily web-based)

1. “Chicken Fat”- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFofqe26t-4

Compare/Contrast, current events to the 1960s

2. “Molasses to Rum” (1776) - Triangular Tradehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QhyX-_RPuI

3. “Preamble”- (Schoolhouse Rock) Constitution

4. “Battle of New Orleans” –(Johnny Horton)

War of 1812 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL7XS_8qgXM

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MOLASSES TO RUM

Rutledge:

Molasses to rum to slaves, oh what a beautiful waltz

You dance with us, we dance with you

Molasses and rum and slaves

Who sails the ships out of Boston

Ladened with bibles and rum?

Who drinks a toast to the Ivory Coast?

Hail Africa, the slavers have come

New England with bibles and rum

And its off with the rum and the bibles

Take on the slaves, clink, clink

Hail and farewell to the smell

Of the African coast

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Molasses to rum to slaves'Tisn't morals, 'tis money that saves

Shall we dance to the sound of the profitable poundIn molasses and rum and slaves

Who sails the ships out of GuineaLadened with bibles and slaves?

'Tis Boston can coast to the West Indies coastJamaica, we brung what ye craves

Antigua, Barbados, we brung bibles and slaves!

Molasses to rum to slavesWho sail the ships back to BostonLadened with gold, see it gleam

Whose fortunes are made in the triangle tradeHail slavery, the New England dream!

Mr. Adams, I give you a toast:Hail Boston! Hail Charleston!

Who stinketh the most?

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REFERENCESErlauer, Laura. (2003). The Brain-compatible classroom. Using what we know about learning to improve teaching. Alexandria, VA. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Print.

Ratey, John & Hagerman, Eric. (2008). Spark. The revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain. New York, NY. Little Brown and Company. Print.

Sousa, D. (1995). How the brain learns: More new insights for educators. A presentation on August 18, 1998, in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Web.

Common Core Standards Addressed• Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs,

videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts. (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7)

• Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes. (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.2)

• Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone. (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.2.E)

• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.4)

• Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently. (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.6)

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Questions?Melissa Dugan: Dean of Students; 8th Gr. Social Studies teacher

mdugan@elginacademy.org

Peggy Veltri: 5th Gr. Social Studies; 6th & 7th Gr. English teacherpveltri@elginacademy.org

Julie Janik: 6th & 7th Gr. Social Studies; MS Theaterjjanik@elginacademy.org

Or call: 847-695-0302 Mail: Elgin Academy 350 Park Street Elgin, IL 60120

About Elgin Academy…Elgin Academy is a PS-12 independent school located about 40 miles northwest of Chicago. We take learning personally, embrace an active approach to learning, and have recently celebrated our 175th anniversary.

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CEU Code:

KL-78

CEU CodeEarn Continuing Education Units (CEU) to maintain your teaching certification. Write down the CEU Code for every session you attend on the CEU card located in the back of the program book.