Observed on October 15th – 5th period – 10th grade African American History
Because I would like to get certified in Social Studies along with English, I have been spending a few periods a week with two 10th grade African American History classes. The students in the history classes that I observe are also in my 10th grade English classes, so I know all of the students and they feel comfortable around me. The students have been working on an ongoing project for the National History Day for which they have to write a large research paper which will then be turned into some sort of project.
Today, the teacher collected all of the work the students have done so far so that she could review it and give them feedback. She passed out large, yellow envelopes to each student so that they could put all of their papers inside to keep things organized and from getting lost. This seemed like a method used in response to past disorganization or confusion, but the beginning of today’s class was very structured and clearly directed so that all of the students could pass their work in.
I think there was a bit of ceremony involved too. The students had been doing research online, in books, visiting archives, and interviewing people for a month and a half, and they should feel proud of the work they have done. By putting all of their work in a bright yellow envelope and then into a box specifically for their class, it is a visual representation of all the time they have put into it so far.
This only took about 10 minutes, and then the teacher passed out a newspaper article on the book and TV series Roots, which the students recently started watching. As the students read the article, which discussed claims that Alex Haley plagiarized and made up many parts of his novel, the teacher wrote several category headings on the board: Correct, Not Correct, and Examples of Resistance. She then asked the students to share their reactions to the article. She let many students share their ideas and did not try to steer the conversation, however she did ask a few open-ended questions to further the discussion, like “should we still watch Roots?”
Even though this is a history class, and different news articles and documents should be a large component, this teacher seems to be very effective at incorporating outside sources that really correspond to what the students are doing in class. From observing this class and past classes, she also brings in articles from many points of view to teach students to develop critical reading skills. She attempts to connect past and present events through different readings to show the relationships throughout history.
After discussing the article, she had the students look back at their notes from Roots and then go up to the board and write down examples from the series that could fit under each category. Again, with the Correct and Not Correct labels, she was getting the students to think critically about the information that was being presented to them, and to question how different aspects of history are represented. This activity also allowed the students to get out of their chairs and walk around the room, talking with their classmates, as they wrote their ideas on the board. The teacher then started a discussion about the comments written on the board and asked students to talk about why they wrote about particular moments in the series. This went on until the end of the period.
One thing that I have noticed during this class, and others, is that the teacher is very effective at incorporating different types of activities into her classes. On this day, she had the students read something silently, discuss with one another, make connections between the reading and other class work, walk around the room responding to questions, and discuss their ideas as a class. The students never appeared to be bored or confused, they were always working on each activity and never spent too long talking about one topic. And although these students behave differently than students in other schools, and are often more intrinsically motivated, they always seemed to be engaged in the activities because the material was interesting. The teacher was also always excited and passionate about the information she was presenting, which can influence the students’ attitudes about it.
Sitting in on the classes following this one have also been very interesting for me to observe because of the way the teacher approaches history and social studies classes. After completing Roots, the class has moved on to watching The Patriot and is working on making movie trailers for the film. On the day I was in class, they had just begun to watch parts of the film, and the teacher prefaced the movie by saying that they have already looked at several portrayals of African Americans in media and now they will judge the representation in The Patriot. She made her opinion of the movie clear, and many students shared this view, expressing their distaste, but she made sure to emphasize the point that “we don’t have proof yet” of whether the movie is accurate or not. The classes are framed in a way that the teacher provides factual information from a variety of sources and wants the students to develop their own thoughts and opinions about what they see and read in the media. She is helping them to develop the skills they need to look at things critically, which is essential for a social studies class, and any high school class really.
Other classes observed:
November 7th – 11th grade – Physics – 6th period
October 28th – 7th grade – Biology/Life Sciences – 5th period
October 1st – 9th grade – World History – 1st period
September 30th – 11th grade – AP English Language - 2nd period
Because I would like to get certified in Social Studies along with English, I have been spending a few periods a week with two 10th grade African American History classes. The students in the history classes that I observe are also in my 10th grade English classes, so I know all of the students and they feel comfortable around me. The students have been working on an ongoing project for the National History Day for which they have to write a large research paper which will then be turned into some sort of project.
Today, the teacher collected all of the work the students have done so far so that she could review it and give them feedback. She passed out large, yellow envelopes to each student so that they could put all of their papers inside to keep things organized and from getting lost. This seemed like a method used in response to past disorganization or confusion, but the beginning of today’s class was very structured and clearly directed so that all of the students could pass their work in.
I think there was a bit of ceremony involved too. The students had been doing research online, in books, visiting archives, and interviewing people for a month and a half, and they should feel proud of the work they have done. By putting all of their work in a bright yellow envelope and then into a box specifically for their class, it is a visual representation of all the time they have put into it so far.
This only took about 10 minutes, and then the teacher passed out a newspaper article on the book and TV series Roots, which the students recently started watching. As the students read the article, which discussed claims that Alex Haley plagiarized and made up many parts of his novel, the teacher wrote several category headings on the board: Correct, Not Correct, and Examples of Resistance. She then asked the students to share their reactions to the article. She let many students share their ideas and did not try to steer the conversation, however she did ask a few open-ended questions to further the discussion, like “should we still watch Roots?”
Even though this is a history class, and different news articles and documents should be a large component, this teacher seems to be very effective at incorporating outside sources that really correspond to what the students are doing in class. From observing this class and past classes, she also brings in articles from many points of view to teach students to develop critical reading skills. She attempts to connect past and present events through different readings to show the relationships throughout history.
After discussing the article, she had the students look back at their notes from Roots and then go up to the board and write down examples from the series that could fit under each category. Again, with the Correct and Not Correct labels, she was getting the students to think critically about the information that was being presented to them, and to question how different aspects of history are represented. This activity also allowed the students to get out of their chairs and walk around the room, talking with their classmates, as they wrote their ideas on the board. The teacher then started a discussion about the comments written on the board and asked students to talk about why they wrote about particular moments in the series. This went on until the end of the period.
One thing that I have noticed during this class, and others, is that the teacher is very effective at incorporating different types of activities into her classes. On this day, she had the students read something silently, discuss with one another, make connections between the reading and other class work, walk around the room responding to questions, and discuss their ideas as a class. The students never appeared to be bored or confused, they were always working on each activity and never spent too long talking about one topic. And although these students behave differently than students in other schools, and are often more intrinsically motivated, they always seemed to be engaged in the activities because the material was interesting. The teacher was also always excited and passionate about the information she was presenting, which can influence the students’ attitudes about it.
Sitting in on the classes following this one have also been very interesting for me to observe because of the way the teacher approaches history and social studies classes. After completing Roots, the class has moved on to watching The Patriot and is working on making movie trailers for the film. On the day I was in class, they had just begun to watch parts of the film, and the teacher prefaced the movie by saying that they have already looked at several portrayals of African Americans in media and now they will judge the representation in The Patriot. She made her opinion of the movie clear, and many students shared this view, expressing their distaste, but she made sure to emphasize the point that “we don’t have proof yet” of whether the movie is accurate or not. The classes are framed in a way that the teacher provides factual information from a variety of sources and wants the students to develop their own thoughts and opinions about what they see and read in the media. She is helping them to develop the skills they need to look at things critically, which is essential for a social studies class, and any high school class really.
Other classes observed:
November 7th – 11th grade – Physics – 6th period
October 28th – 7th grade – Biology/Life Sciences – 5th period
October 1st – 9th grade – World History – 1st period
September 30th – 11th grade – AP English Language - 2nd period