As students return to school they will be aware of the recent clash in Charlottesville, VA between white nationalists protesting the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and counter protesters. They also will know of the responses to the event by President Donald Trump, and additional statements and reactions to the president’s words by the business community.
History teachers have a particular opportunity and challenge to address the question in their classes whether removal of the Confederate monuments is an act of rewriting history, as President Trump has claimed.
As James Grossman, the executive director of the American Historical Association said in a recent article in The New York Times, Mr. Trump’s comments failed to recognize the difference between history and memory, which is always shifting.
When you alter monuments, “you’re not changing history,” he said. “You’re changing how we remember history.”
You and your students can address questions about competing versions of history and the role of historical monuments with resources from Annenberg Learner.
The unit on Reconstruction from A Biography of America features an annotated Thomas Nast political cartoon dated 1868 in the feature “Image as History.” Discuss questions about point of view and the effectiveness of cartoons for social commentary using the unit’s Questions to Ponder. Learn from Professor Donald Miller in the video how the seeds of today’s tensions were planted during the Reconstruction period.
Recent events are but one example of encapsulating history within works of art, which has taken place over millennia. The video “History and Memory,” from Art Through Time: A Global View, explores the connections between art, history and memory. As art history professor, Lisa Saltzman put it, “If one thinks about the relationship between art and history and memory, when we depict…..human figures, events, in some sense we are creating the visual as a site of memory.”
As educators continue to navigate this landscape inside and outside of the classroom, we invite you to use this blog post as a starting point. The additional posts below provide resource links and guidance as we revisit engaging students in discussions about race and controversial issues more broadly.
“Exit Slip: Discussing Race in the Classroom”
“Should schools allow discussions of controversial issues? (Part I)”
“How can schools prepare for discussions of controversial issues? (Part II)”
Image Copyright: nata7777 / 123RF Stock Photo
We The People: American Citizens, Forever Learners
In recognition of Constitution Day on September 17th, use the following resources to explore the theme “Citizenship and the American Dream” with your students. See how this idea emerges from social studies to science to the arts.
History/Social Studies
On Constitution Day (September 17), we celebrate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787. The important Bill of Rights, ratified a few years later, comprised the first ten amendments to the Constitution. It guaranteed personal liberties including free speech and the right to trial by jury, while limiting the government’s ability to restrict our rights. Find resources for teaching the Constitution and Bill of Rights in elementary through high school classrooms on our blog.
Literature and Language Arts
Literature serves as a starting point for discussions about social justice, community, and citizenship, as well as for empowering students to take action for change.
Use poetry to teach about the human condition. Help young people celebrate, value, and advocate for diversity by going beyond the tolerance and appreciation rhetoric. See educator Virginia Loh-Hagan’s blog post for resources and activities.
In Teaching Multicultural Literature: A Workshop for Middle Grades, learn techniques to engage students in critical discussions of race, class, and social justice. Activities center around works by Julia Alvarez, Langston Hughes, Joseph Bruchac, and many more.
See how elementary students blend literature with their own experiences of immigration. Watch Maria Ruiz-Blanco use discussions of the novel “My Name is Maria Isabel” as part of a year-long conversation on immigration with her students in Teaching Reading 3-5, classroom program 10, “Fostering Book Discussions.”
Mathematics
Elections are an integral part of our rights and responsibilities in the United States, and polls give us insights into where we stand on issues. Learn how polls are created and how the results are used to make inferences about the voting population in Against All Odds: Inside Statistics, unit 17.
Science
For many, the American Dream is finding a way to turn passions, such as the science of baking and the science of animal welfare, into a career. Learn about the chemistry of baking with pastry chef Joanne Chang and her team at Flour Bakery in Boston, MA in this clip from Chemistry: Challenges and Solutions. See the full program in unit 10, “Acids and Bases- The Voyage of the Proton.”
Dr. Temple Grandin became an advocate for autism and for animal welfare, making changes to meat processing systems in the American cattle industry. In Neuroscience & the Classroom, she shares her success story. Born with autism, Dr. Grandin explains how her brain functions, and how her strengths have led her to a successful career as a professor of animal science at Colorado State University.
Arts and World Languages
The U.S. is often described as a mosaic of languages, cultures, and perspectives, which adds to the richness of American communities.
The Teaching Foreign Languages Workshop, session 8, “Engaging with Communities,” shows foreign language teachers tapping into the Hispanic and other cultures in their classrooms, schools, and communities to expose their students to languages and the great variety of American culture.
To be an American is to be at once part of a larger culture, and at the same time maintain an individual identity. Art Through Time explores the individual’s status in society in the theme “Portraits.” Featured artworks include Andy Warhol’s screen print of designer Diane von Furstenberg, Kehinde Wiley’s powerful portraits of African-American young men, and more.
7 Resources to Bring the Solar Eclipse Into Your Classroom
On Monday, August 21, North America will be able to see a solar eclipse! States within the eclipse’s path of totality will see the sun completely covered by the moon, making the sun’s corona visible. This is the first solar eclipse in 38 years, and the next one won’t be for quite a while. Seize the opportunity to experience and discuss this once-in-a-life time phenomenon in the classroom with some of our resources:
- Why can we only see one side of the moon? Is it a difference between revolution versus rotation? What is the difference between a solar and a lunar eclipse? Get answers to all these questions and more with Earth & Space Science, session 7, “A Closer Look: Moon Motions.”
- Will you be within the solar eclipse’s umbra or penumbra? This will determine if you will see total eclipse or a partial eclipse – Science in Focus: Shedding Light explains more about how light travels and how it effects shadows.
- Mathematics Illuminated talks about Thales, a mathematician who correctly predicted a solar eclipse in 585 B.C. Not bad!
- American Passages details how the Ghost Dance religion began, following a Paiute man’s vision shortly after a solar eclipse in 1889. Read his story in unit one, “Native Voices.”
- Solar eclipses have provided scientists with some of their greatest discoveries, including a famous observation made during a solar eclipse in 1919. Learn about that observation in Physics for the 21st Century, section 6, “The Theory of General Relativity.”
- Helium, the noble gas that helps balloons float, was discovered in 1868 by two astronomers during a solar eclipse. Learn more about the origins of other elements with our interactive The Periodic Table.
- Inquiring minds may want to know: how exactly did the astronomers find Helium during a solar eclipse? Spectroscopes! Read more about the method in Chemistry: Challenges and Solutions, unit 3, “Atoms and Light – Exploring Atomic and Electronic Structure.”
Reflecting on the School Year
[Updated from May 27, 2016] Summer is the perfect time to pause and look back at the school year. How did it go? What challenges did you face? What improvements can you make for next year? Is there anything new you would like to try with your students next year and how can you prepare this summer? The following resources offer guidance with your reflections.
What is your teacher metaphor? As a teacher, are you more of a conductor or an air traffic controller? Have you ever tried to define your teaching? The Metaphorically Speaking interactive in The Next Move workshop spurs you to think of a metaphor to describe your teaching to others, and also to help you develop a focus. Read what other teachers have used as metaphors for their own teaching. Share your own metaphor and how this metaphor influences or guides your teaching in the comments section!
Did you struggle with keeping your students’ attention or motivating them? Neuroscience & the Classroom shows how brain research can inform instructional practices. Learn to effectively manage a variety of learning styles and attention spans. Use the course’s search function to find the topics you want to explore.
Connecting With the Arts, program 8, “Reflecting on Our Practice,” provides strategies for solo and group reflection to improve curriculum and refine lesson plans.
How can you encourage literacy in the home? How can you better support your English language learners? How can you work on comprehension skills? Teaching Reading Workshop, K-2, offers reflection worksheets for each session. Glean ideas from these reflection sheets, and adapt them to other subject areas and grade levels.
Consider creating informal professional learning communities over the summer or build your case to develop them during the next school year. Critical Issues in School Reform, videos on innovation in professional collaboration, outline group reflection activities (like the Tuning Protocol and the Consultancy) that examine student work and classroom instruction.
Do you want to feel more confident presenting and leading discussions on political and constitutional topics with your students? Watch former judges, political pundits, journalists, and others use the Socratic seminar to discuss and analyze ethical issues in our series Ethics in America and Ethics in America II.
How can you develop students’ literacy skills in the subject you teach? Reading and writing are no longer the sole responsibility of the English classroom, but a critical part of how students explore and understand complex concepts across all disciplines. Using the resource Reading & Writing in the Disciplines, examine general disciplinary literacy strategies and practices and then focus more deeply on your own discipline. You will gain insight into how to support your students’ literacy skills while meeting content goals.
Image copyright: ljupco / 123RF Stock Photo
Games for Change and Annenberg Invite LAUSD Teachers To Apply for Special Game Design Program (DUE JULY 1!)
For: Middle school and high school teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District and affiliated charter schools
What: Run a course in your school that combines civic engagement with game design
When: Teachers will complete 2-day professional development workshop August 24-25, and the program runs during the 2017-18 school year
How: Apply now for the chance to receive PD and participate in this exciting program
Ever wanted to learn how to teach game design? Apply now to teach your students how to make games about real-world social issues! Twenty LAUSD teachers will be selected to receive professional development training on August 24 and 25 to run a game design course in their classrooms during the 2017–2018 school year, as part of the Games for Change Student Challenge. Teachers will learn how to implement the Mouse game design curriculum, and empower their students to use the design process to create games about real-world issues affecting their communities. Teachers will be trained in August or September, and courses launch in schools in September 2017. Participating students will be encouraged to submit their final games to the Student Challenge competition in April 2018.
Apply via our teacher application form by June 1st July 1, 2017 (Extended!): http://bit.ly/LAteacherapplication
CONTACT: gamesforchange@learner.org
About the National G4C Student Challenge:
The G4C Student Challenge is a digital game design competition that invites middle and high school students to create original games about real-world issues impacting their communities. The 2016-2017 program is currently being run in NYC, Dallas, and Pittsburgh public schools. Challenge winners win prizes such as paid internships and mentorships. An awards ceremony and exhibition of student games will be hosted in each city.
Student learning and teacher PD is supported by online resources, in-person mentorship by professional game designers, game jams and workshops. Through the Challenge’s hands-on game design program, students develop 21st-century skills such as systems thinking and inquiry-based learning by both designing games and engaging in civic problem solving. Teachers learn to use game design as a teaching tool, and communities benefit from students’ active engagement in local issues.
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