I apologize immediately for being behind on updating my blog for our class. The end of the semester unfortunately monopolized by time and the blog has been neglected the last two weeks.
I have been very impressed with how this week has gone. Students have jumped right in to the history of Utah and have been very hard workers. Good job everyone and let's keep up the great attitudes and participation!
This week I have been introducing students to how we study history as a historian. This has been a process that we have worked on through a couple of activities.
Monday, 1/13:
Agenda- We went over the procedures and policies of the classroom. Students all received a syllabus as well as a "disclosure document" to bring home and get signed. Signatures need to be back by Friday, 1/17 (tomorrow).
Tuesday, 1/14:
Agenda- We began by taking Classroom Routines Quiz over what we talked about on Monday. We then jumped right into our activity called "The Lunchroom Fight". In this activity, students volunteered to read character bios and report what they saw happen during a fight in the lunchroom. Stories conflicted each other as to who started the fight and who was involved. As we became detectives and tried to solve the "case," students had to analyze how everyone could have different stories if none of them are just plain lying.
To help further our discussion, students worked on a worksheet with a partner to answer three questions about how stories could be different. We then compare this activity to what it is like to study history, or events in the past.
HW- Finish worksheet if not done.
Wednesday, 1/15
Agenda- Refresh our discussion about the Lunchroom Fight and its connection with studying history. We then began our next activity called, "Snapshot Autobiography". Students made a pamphlet with different stories from their life.
Thursday, 1/16
Agenda-Students finished making their Snapshot Pamphlets today.
HW- Finish pamphlets if not done. Interview someone about one of the stories that you wrote about in your pamphlet. Bring both your pamphlet and interview with you to class tomorrow.
Friday, 1/17
Agenda- We will be finishing our discussion about what it is like to be a historian and what actions we need to take when we are looking at an event in history.
DUE- Disclosure Document signatures, pamphlet, interview.
