Category:

Social Studies

Historical Photos: Pull Back The Veil of Time

by Miguel Guhlin September 16, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

Wish you had access to image repositories that feature pictures from history? Finding image repositories that you can use with minimal restrictions can be tough. Each picture can tell a story, or you can use it to illustrate a unique tale.

If you find yourself seeking images that capture the past, explore these collections. They provide insights into the lives of Americans and space long obscured. Student storytellers may find these image sources helpful for historical and scientific purposes. Let’s take a look.

Image Source #1: Getty Images

Getty Images offers open access to over thirty thousand images. These images seek to elevate Black history and storytelling. Their Black History and Culture Collection (BHCC) provides free, non-commercial access to images. These images are historical, cultural, and provide insight into the African/Black Diaspora. They date as far back as present-day to the 19th century.

The first African American to explore the Arctic regions, explorer Matthew A. Henson (1866-1955) . He explored the Arctic on seven expeditions. He did so with Robert Peary from the 1890s until their final expedition in 1908-1909. It was during their final expedition when they reached the North Pole. Henson was (Photo by Bettmann/Getty Images)

The goal is to make these seldom seen images available for use to various groups, such as:

Educators and academics
Researchers
Content creators

You can watch a short video (4 mins) about the collection online at:

Access the collection online at Getty Images.

Image Source #2: Astronomical Photographic Plates

As scientists’ eyes turn to the heavens, thanks to James Webb Space Telescope, a 2012 research team has been working. Their focus has been on digitizing images from 1893 to 1998. They have been recording them with details such as:

Date
Section of sky
Location of images when taken

The researchers have developed software that relies on artificial intelligence. The AI removes errors on photographic plates. These errors come from scratches or dust. With errors removed, scientists can compare the images with each other. This provides access to 4.5 billion measurements of celestial light.

View the astronomical photographic plates via APPLAUSE– the Archives of Photographic Plates for Astronomical USE.

Image Source #3: NWT Archives

The Canadian Department of Education, Culture and Employment shares thirteen thousand photographs. The photographs, taken by Bern Will Brown, show northern life.

These photos provide insights into people’s lives in the Northwest Territories. Since they have no access restrictions, use them to tell a story as part of digital storytelling.

Image Source #4: BYU Library

The BYU Library offers a digital collection of historical photos. Some of their collections include a variety of 19th-century sources that include:

Over one thousand landscape images of the Western United States
Images of California, including Yosemite National Park and earthquake images
Native American Wars of North America, 1865-1890
And much more

When viewing a photo in the collection, you will have access to key data about the photographer and more.

Image Source #5: CURIOSity Digital Collections

This Harvard University collection features beautiful images, both in color and black-and-white. Some of the digital collections include:

Slavery, Abolition, Emancipation, and Freedom
Early Photography of Japan
Women Working, 1800-1930
Expeditions and Discoveries

There are many engaging images, including this Dutch sea atlas. Note the margins, replete with motion illustrations:

Learn More About Primary Sources

Wish you knew more about primary sources that you might use in your digital stories? Watch this short video that explains the difference between primary and secondary sources.

The Gale Family Library identifies some of the weaknesses of primary sources. Those include:

People, place, date, and the name of the photographer are often not identified
Bias or perspective of the photographer
Photographs are black-and-white or have faded colors

The Gale Family Library offers great questions to consider when looking at a photo. See all those questions online. A few to reflect on include:

What do you know about the photo?
What is happening in the photo?
What does the photo say to you?
What questions do you have after viewing the photo?

Now, with those questions in mind, let’s review these fresh sources of images.

Additional Resources

Looking for more images that pull back the veil on history, or take you beyond space and time? Explore this list of online historical photo databases.

Feature Image Source

Fourteen snapshots of women and men in the American west, Harvard Curiosity Collection.

September 16, 2022 0 comment

Five Resources for Indigenous Peoples and Native American Heritage

by Miguel Guhlin April 18, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

Looking for free lessons and activities for your students? Let’s explore five sources of content– including lessons, books, Google Earth, and podcasts. You can adapt these resources for several purposes. The focus of the resources is on Indigenous peoples and Native American Heritage. Rediscovering our history and exploring native perspectives can provide powerful insights. One place to start learning is the National Museum of the American Indian.

Note: In writing this, I realize how ignorant I am in spite of my efforts. I invite those of you who know more to share what amazing resources may be missing in the comments. Let’s learn together.

#1: Indigenous Peoples Day Lessons and Activities

Indigenous Peoples Day includes a rich collection of lessons. You can use the content here for Native American Heritage Month (month of November).

TechLearning.com offers a list of lessons and activities; here are two that caught my eye from their list:

a) Celebrating Indigenous Languages. Use Google Earth to explore how indigenous languages are being kept alive. When you visit the website, you will find a digital homage to at-risk languages. On the website, they share:

Indigenous communities around the globe are working to preserve and revitalize their languages. They teach them to future generations and share them with non-Indigenous speakers. You will find indigenous traditional greetings, favorite sayings and meaningful songs.

b) Indigenous Peoples’ Day Resources. This website offers lessons, books, and films. The goal is to share what happened when Christopher Columbus invaded indigenous lands. Lessons focus on:

Critical analysis of the textbook version of Columbus’ discovery
Role-playing a trial of Columbus’ genocide of the Tainos people in the late 15th century
Analysis of President Andrew Jackson’s speeches relevant to the Trail of Tears

Current events are also included, such as the Dakota Access Pipeline. These lessons offer a powerful counterpoint to dominant cultural perspectives. They serve as a great way to engage students in problem-based learning (PBL). What’s more, students can develop critical thinking skills as they analyze past policies.

You can also find author interviews and booklists via the Colorin Colorado website.

native american history — Screenshot by author

#2: Teaching for Change

As a native Panamanian and American of Swedish descent, I undertook a quick inventory. The inventory wasn’t of my possessions, but rather, my history and cultural roots. Even though I grew up in Central America, I know very little about its history. Many children who grow up in the United States should learn the history of Central America. They also may be curious, as I am, about their heritage.

Teaching Central America offers this point:

More than four million Central Americans live in the United States today. The lack of school resources on Central American heritage make its history invisible. Central America is too-often portrayed as a strip of land on a map connecting North and South America. There is a scarcity of literature in the school libraries.

To address the dearth of resources on history and literature, you can find more online now. Teachers can find “free downloadable lessons, bios, poetry, and prose.” You can test your knowledge of Central America with a short quiz (I scored 1 correct out of 5).

Did You Know?
Microsoft has an Indigenous theme for its Edge browser. You can find Google Chrome browser themes that have a Native American look to them appear online.

The website offers a few free books for students, including:

Wilfredo: Un Nino de El Salvador (45 pages, free)
Beauty and Eco-Relationships in the Natural World of Central America
Leaving Home: Socratic Dialogue with Art
Geography is History: Locate the Countries of Central America
Rediscovering America

Although these are for elementary level students, there are others for older students. This site offers some fantastic content.

#3: University of Connecticut

Need to deepen your knowledge of African American/Black and Puerto Rican/Latino history? Consider the resources the University of Connecticut offers as one source. Their online curriculum offers an African American/Black and Puerto Rican/Latino studies course. The content has five units featuring:

Early Beginnings
Blood and Beauty
Sweat
Resistance
Where Are We Now

Each unit is replete with readings, primary sources, historical fiction, films, and activities. The historiographies cover quite a bit of ground, including web and journal articles. You will find quotes like this one from Jayline Hernandez Gomez:

“Although I come from an uneducated family background, my parents are not the ones who failed to educate me,” Hernandez Gomez read during a three-minute public comment. “My history classes failed me.” (Source)

With websites like this one, you get a sense of the scope of what’s left to learn about history. One drawback to the site is that it relies on published books, so you may find yourself paying out of pocket.

#4: A Google Slides Template

Check out this Native American Heritage focused, Google Slides template. Developed by Google for Education, it offers a wide variety of slides and activities. For example, you will find links to make a copy of Google Slides templates for:

Native American Heritage Month Activity (requires Google account)
World Kindness Day Compliment Chain

These two templates are simple and meant for children to use. Students customize the compliment chain:

In addition, Google Arts and Culture has released a massive Indigenous Americas collection. Some of the things you will find in it include:

And there’s much more– like sixty-five years of Navajo history through music.

#5: The Clio

The Clio makes it easy to explore history. Among the walking and virtual tours, you will find a focus on Native American History. For example, you can find walking tours for the Crow, the Nez Perce War of 1877, and the Native American Museum. There are others, of course.

Having grown up reading Donald Clayton Porter’s historical fiction, which had an interesting take on early colonial conflict with First Nations, I found Clio’s content enlightening. The site provides some real history to explore in pictures, audio, and video.

Additional Resources

If you’re like me, you love to read and listen to others. Allow me to share a few sources of both.

No doubt, you’ve read your share of “white Indian” stories. That is, children adopted or stolen from American settlers, then raised by Indigenous peoples. One of the books in my school library included Conrad Richter’s “The Light in the Forest.” I still remember my negative reaction, but curiosity spurred me on. Since then, I found many better stories.

Learn more about the We Are Water Protectors

You may find this collection of kid-friendly books better fare than those two authors. It’s important to keep in mind that…

Only 1% of the children’s books published in the U.S. in 2016 featured Indigenous characters, and even fewer (1/4 of the 1% = 8 books total) were written by Indigenous authors. (source)

Explore more titles via Strong Nations, an indigenous book publisher and seller. Debbie Reese shares more books of interest. You may gain a deeper appreciation for cultures lost and at-risk, as well as why they became so.

Finally, listen to these three podcasts for children:

Intended for younger children, they have a common goal of celebrating indigenous stories. Educators may also find this Kidlit These Days episode of interest, Episode 13: An Indigenous Peoples’ History.

Deepen Your Awareness of History

Don’t be afraid to explore and deepen your knowledge. There’s so much to learn and share about Indigenous peoples and Native Americans. Why not start with this collection of children’s books?

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author

April 18, 2022 0 comment

Content Areas Educational Trends English Language Arts ESL/ELL Good Teaching Math Science Social Studies Special Needs

Templates and Ideas for Making Differentiated Choice Boards

by Dr. Bruce Ellis March 29, 2022

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

There’s a country song by Barbara Mandrell that says, “I was country when country wasn’t cool.” In the same sense, you may have been using choice boards way before they became trendy. It seems that “choice board” has now joined the list of educational buzzwords. You may know them by another name such as playlists, menu boards, pathways, tic-tac-toe, or learning menus.

Why Use Choice Boards

Regardless of what you call them, choice boards offer many benefits based on sound pedagogy. In fact, Dr. Robert J. Marzano, author of “The Highly Engaged Classroom,” provides some research-based tips on student engagement, several of which directly relate to the positive impact of choice. Allowing students to choose how they want to demonstrate their learning can increase student buy-in and recall because students are more interested in their learning. Choice boards also provide the teacher with an organized way to differentiate, even beyond what you may realize is possible. Yes, the teacher may be thinking of specific students when they identify types of activities for a choice board. But teachers also may find that some students shine more than expected and choose activities differently than anticipated, showing interests and gifts the teacher wasn’t aware of previously.

How to Differentiate with Choice Boards

To increase retention, many teachers using choice boards will have students select multiple activities to complete instead of just choosing a single activity. A few ways to ramp up the learning process when students select multiple activities is to differentiate with choice boards in one of the following ways.

Color code by degree of difficulty.

In this scenario, the teacher has identified a variety of activities that give students the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of their learning. Along with this, they have identified which activities may be easier or harder than others. For example, out of ten activities, there may be three designated as easy, four designated medium difficulty, and three designated as hard. Students are then directed to choose one from each group to complete. Having students choose activities from each degree of difficulty ensures that they are engaged at various levels.

Assign points to activities.

In this scenario, each activity is assigned a points value, and students are tasked with choosing and completing enough activities to earn a certain number of points. The points can be based on difficulty level or how much time the activity may take. Students can complete activities that exceed the goal point total but should not subceed it. Some students will tackle the assignment by trying to accomplish the exact goal point total, while others will choose activities that they enjoy most, even if it means that they exceed the total points required.

Differentiate by learning goals with interventions.

In this scenario, you have some students who may have IEPs that afford them accommodations that the majority of students don’t have. Great! Identify some activities that take that into account by creating a separate choice board for them. It doesn’t have to be as extensive, but it can be more attuned to their needs while maintaining high expectations. Incorporating intervention strategies within the choices can help some students feel more confident tackling learning objectives.

Differentiate by learning goals with upperventions.

Likewise, you may have students who have been identified as gifted learners. For these students, consider offering upperventions– strategies that are incorporated and designed to meet the specific needs of talented and gifted students. Edutopia shares a variety of upperventions that you can consider when trying to meet the needs of gifted students.

Templates for Choice Boards

If you are looking for a Google Slide or PowerPoint template to create your choice board, consider checking out Slides Mania’s website. Here are a few specific templates to help you make your choice boards look great. These are ready-to-use, and you will just need to tweak the slide deck some in addition to adding activities. When you are done, you will have a digital choice board that your students can access online. They may need to Save a Copy to their Drive and edit their own copy if their work is in a digital format.

Choice Board Resources

Anyone can use a search engine to look for choice boards. The dilemma is that you may have to wade through pages of results to find ones that are meaningful. To help you cut to the chase, here are some resources that you can explore (or tweak) to find choice boards that you can use in your classroom.

Choice Boards for Elementary Learners – Lori Gracey shares specific choice boards for elementary learners and more resources and blog posts to help you move forward in creating and using choice boards.

Interactive Summer Resources for Students with Diverse Learning Needs – Dufferin-Peel Catholic School’s Special Education and Learning Services has put together this extensive 46-page PDF of choice boards to support students with special needs.

Algebra 1 Tic-Tac-Toe Boards – Algebra teachers in Judson ISD used these four choice boards during the spring of 2020 to engage their math students online.

Earth Day Choice Board – If you engage your students on Earth Day, you will be ready for this year with this simple choice board. Since it is a Google Slide, you can click on File, Make a Copy, and then add the copy to your Google Drive to edit as needed. Earth Day this year is on Friday, April 22.

Rethink Choice Boards- Free Templates for All Grades – Beth Davidson of Elkhart Community Schools in Elkhart, Indiana, has curated a variety of choice board templates and samples, including progressive choice boards, homework choice boards, tic-tac-toe choice boards, staggered choice boards, and early finisher choice boards.

Progressive Choice Boards: Provide Choice Without Overwhelming – Matt Miller provides clear information (along with samples) on making your choice boards more appealing to students who may struggle with the freedom that typically comes with using choice boards.

How to See Quick Examples

If you are just trying to find examples quickly and aren’t so worried about having the examples in an editable format, you can Google search for choice boards and click on the images results tab. This will give you a much quicker and cleaner view of what may be available. Many times, just seeing examples will be enough for you to recreate them with your own spin on the activities. Or it may give you new ideas on how to make a particular choice board look more appealing. If you are trying to remove search results from sites behind a paywall, just include “-site:” and the name of the site you want to exclude from your results. You’ll notice in the search query provided here that examples from teacherspayteachers.com have been excluded.

Share Your Favorite Choice Board Resources

What are your go-to choice board resources? Leave us a comment to share it with others. Or do you have a template that you’ve made that works well with your content and grade level? Share a link to it in the comments below so that others can recognize you for your work!

Interested in becoming a choice board pro? TCEA is offering a self-paced online course worth 12 CPEs for just $29! Interested? Register before April 1 to secure the $29 registration rate.

March 29, 2022 0 comment

Content Areas Content Creation English Language Arts Good Teaching Math Science Social Studies STEM/STEAM

Virtual Reality with Panoform Is Easy, Engaging, and Fun for Everyone

by Dr. Bruce Ellis March 22, 2022

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

What is Panoform?

Panoform combines real-life drawings with immersive VR (virtual reality) experiences. It’s a revolutionary tool that is still making great experiences for students, and it is a game-changer in classrooms. Panoform allows students to download and print a grid from the website, sketch on the grid, and upload a picture of their grid drawing to the website. Then, they can have a VR experience of their sketches in a virtual reality headset, on their phone/tablet, and even on the computer. For example, it’s a simple and easy way to diagram an organism and use VR tools in the classroom. Did I mention that it’s free? And– no ads!

How Does Panoform Work?

The Panoform system requires a pen and paper, colored markers, and a grid. Panoform is a tool that students can use in their classrooms in their learning process. Using crayons, pencils, and markers, students can create a world and upload it to a website. Students can also cut out pictures and lay them on their paper grid. Once done writing or illustrating with the grid, students take a picture of it. Before uploading to the website, students need to make sure that they crop out anything outside the grid image. Once uploaded, Panoform will wrap the grid into a VR cube– one in which the viewer is placed inside the cube and can look around at the four walls, ceiling, and floor. Items drawn or written on the grid will appear accordingly in the virtual room.

With this tool, students can easily create VR worlds without any programming knowledge, and they can use the VR environment to express their creative talents. They can use their imagination to design! Teachers can also use the VR world to enhance learning experiences. Additionally, the virtual environment is accessible to anyone with an Internet-connected device. All you need is content to put on each of the four virtual “walls.”

Is it Safe for Sharing Student Work?

No student work is stored (or uploaded) to the Panoform cloud. The tool pulls the image from the device but does not store it in their servers, making it super safe for students. Because the work is not uploaded and stored on Panoform’s servers, the viewer will need to have a copy of the image to pull into Panoform. When you want to share content with students or have them share their work with you or others, you’ll need to curate the images in a shared drive or post/link them on your class website. Students can then download them to their devices and upload them into their viewer. They can also store images on their devices to upload directly.

Using Google Slides with a Panoform Grid

You can print out a grid to draw or write on it. But you can also use Google Slides for your layout!

Open a new Google Slide.
Go to File, Page Setup, and then set the dimensions to 10 inches across by five inches high. This will make sure the slide deck is the same layout and size as the Panoform grid.
Now you just need to upload one of the grid images as the slide background. Having the grid background allows you to see where items should be.
Add clipart, text boxes, icons, and more just like you would when creating a presentation.
When done, be sure to delete the grid background (unless you don’t mind it being seen).
Save the slide as an image by clicking on File, Download, and then choosing JPG Image.

You can now use this file to upload to Panoform for your VR world. Instead of creating your own Google Slide for Panoform, feel free to use this template to jumpstart the fun.

Trying Out Virtual Reality

Here are a few images you can download to your device to use for exploring Panoform to get an idea of how it can be used.

Right-click on the image and choose Save Image As.
Save the image to your device.
When you are ready to upload to Panoform, go to https://tool.panoform.com. Click on the Choose an Image button to upload the image.

You can now drag the image around by using your mouse or clicking on the VR headset icon (lower right corner) to transfer the image to be used on a phone.

Though these are simple examples, think of concepts or content that could be divided into four parts (because there are four walls in the virtual cube). Each wall could be completely different or show a process being studied.

What concepts will you reinforce with Panoform? Will it be vocabulary (word, definition, used in a sentence, and illustration), world countries (country name, capitol, location on map, and major facts), the steps in solving Algebraic equations, or a summary of Macbeth (Title/author, setting with image, protagonist name with sketch of person, and themes)? Whatever you teach, Panoform can be an interesting way for students to summarize and demonstrate their learning.

March 22, 2022 2 comments

English Language Arts Libraries Social Studies

Six Popular Biography Series Featuring Women Heroes

by Peggy Reimers March 15, 2022

written by Peggy Reimers

When I was teaching, biographies were limited to encyclopedias or to a rainbow-colored covered book called “Biography Today.” (Yes, I am that old.) It was published once a year, and I located it in the school library. It said right on the cover, “Profiles of People of Interests to Young Readers.” But today, I visited my local library and searched the internet. WOW. The selection of biographies available today is astonishing. I am amazed and thrilled at what I found. Check out these six series that will have you celebrating Women’s History Month (WHM) every day of the year.

1. Ordinary People Change the World

Author Brad Meltzer and illustrator Christopher Eliopoulos were determined to create biographies highlighting American heroes. Brad’s motto is, “It’s a time in America where we need goodness, kindness, and Kermit the Frog lessons.” In this series of picture books and graphic novels for K-2 students, each biography includes influences, timelines, and photos. And each hero exhibits a trait that makes them a role model for the reader. Check out supplemental resources on their website. Here are some titles specific to WMH:

Marie Curie
Malala Yousafzai
Billie Jean King
Oprah Winfrey
Frida Kahlo
Anne Frank
Sonia Sotomayor
Harriet Tubman
Sacagawea
Harriet Tubman
Jane Goodall
Helen Keller
Lucille Ball
Rosa Parks
Amelia Earhart

2. Who HQ

This series of illustrated biographies written by multiple authors is packed with history, culture, and illustrations on each page. Appropriate for grades 3-7, each biography offers timelines to include personal life and world events. Check out the educator section on this website. The selection for female biographies is extensive, and here is just a small sampling:

Georgia O’Keefe
Celia Cruz
Selena
Coretta Scott King
Venus and Serena Williams
Princess Diana
Lucille Ball
Jacqueline Kennedy
Hillary Clinton
Julia Child
Rachel Carson
Dolly Parton
Abigail Adams
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Frida Kahlo
Michelle Obama
Maria Tallchief
Annie Oakley

3. Little Feminist Board Book Sets

If you’re looking for something to highlight women heroes to younger learners, these durable books are perfect for infants to age two. These board books, written by Emily Kleinman and illustrated by Lydia Ortiz, feature colorful portraits of women. And each woman has made a historical impact on the world. Here is a list of the sets offered, and each set comes with four books:

Little Feminist
Little Feminist Activists
Little Feminist Pioneers
Little Feminist Artists
Little Feminist Leaders

4. She Persisted

These picture and chapter books, written by Chelsea Clinton and illustrated by Alexandra Boiger, are great for students in grades K-3. Each picture book tells the story of more than 10 women who never took no for an answer. These women always, inevitably, and without fail, persisted. Chelsea and Alexandra invited other authors and illustrators to write a series of chapter books about women who spoke up and defied the odds. You can join the monthly book club for an author video and Q&A and get the downloadable guide here.

Picture Books:

She Persisted
She Persisted in Science
She Persisted Around the World
She Persisted in Sports

Chapter books:

Harriet Tubman
Claudette Colvin
Sally Ride
Virginia Apgar
Nellie Bly
Sonia Sotomayor
Florence Griffith JOyner
Ruby Bridges
Clara Lemlich
Maragret Chase Smith
Maria Tallchief
Coretta Scott King
Wangari Maathai
Oprah Winfrey
Helen Keller

5. Little People, Big Dreams

These biographies, by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara and various illustrators, are for younger readers in grades K-3. And they each have adorable illustrations for readers to enjoy. Each life is told as a story with facts and a photo section at the back of the book. There are more than 100 titles! A selection geared to WMH includes:

Kamala Harris
Yoko Ono
Iris Apfel
Aretha Franklin
Mary Shelley
Amanda Gorman
Ella Fitzgerald

6. You Should Meet

This nonfiction biography series was written by Laurie Calkhoven and various other authors. It focuses on inspirational people who have achieved amazing success in their field. These paperbacks are Ready-to-Read Level Three books for first grade and up. Female titles include:

Misty Copeland
Mae Jemison
Katherine Johnson
Roberta Gibb
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Shirley Chisholm
Yayoi Kusama

For more books with a STEM focus, check out this blog. Or for more WMH books, click here.

Featured image: designed by TCEA staff

March 15, 2022 0 comment

Content Areas Social Studies

Teaching with Primary Sources

by Miguel Guhlin March 3, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

I recently read Dr. James Loewen’s book, “Lies My Teacher Told Me.” With this book, I saw my illusions of history crumble. During my high school history classes, I loved the stories Brother Blake and Brother Sobel at Central Catholic High told. Unlike others in class, I made straight 100s on pop quizzes and tests. And like many Americans, I never gave those stories another thought.

History’s truths weren’t reflected in what I learned in history class, though.

I discovered these when reading works like Clint Smith’s “How the Word is Passed” and Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s “An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States.”

Teaching History Today

Now, in the midst of talks of banning books and tensions surrounding what can be taught and can not be taught, it’s not an easy time to be a history teacher. How do you teach the truth about history and meet the state standards using secondary sources that may or may not be factual? With this question in mind, I asked a regional education specialist as we sat at an Exhibit Hall table during TCEA 2022 Convention and Exposition. I’ve changed her name to keep her anonymous, and I will refer to her as Kristin.

Recommendations for Teaching History

“What’s the best approach, Kristin?” I asked.

“Want to teach history? You have to realize it’s a lot of ground to cover,” she said. “And teachers are legally required to teach the TEKS.”

“But are the textbooks even accurate? In these times, how can history teachers ensure they’re aren’t teaching stories that fall short of the truth?” I countered. Textbooks fall into secondary sources that retell and interpret events.

“Teaching out of a textbook…robs the students not only of critical-thinking skills, but also of the richness of history, and the other voices that are there,” says history teacher, Liz Ramos. (source)

Kristin recommends:

Focusing on a specific period, relying on the TEKS to guide you, and using tools like these:
- Lead4ward
- TEKS Resource
Encouraging cooperative learning and classroom discussions
Defining key vocabulary
Taking a hard look at the “raw materials of history”– primary sources

“The way to teach history is with primary sources,” Kristin said.

This makes sense, doesn’t it? Focus on primary sources and get students to discuss their perceptions and perspectives. It reminds me of how another teacher of mine taught religion class– never share your own opinion, only invite students to interrogate the information available.

Primary sources are the raw materials of history. They are original documents, objects, and artifacts that were created during the period of time being studied. They differ from secondary sources. Secondary sources are accounts that retell, analyze, or interpret events. Usually, these appear after the events and period of history being studied. (Adapted from source)

Approaching History with Primary Sources

But what’s the best way of approaching the oceans of human history?

A challenge I imagine one might have is uncovering how to best teach history using primary sources. Textbooks align with the curriculum but primary sources present an unvarnished version of what happened. Students plug that into their brains, discuss with peers, then draw conclusions. There’s real value for educators in becoming curators of quality primary sources.

“The truth of the matter is education is political,” says Tinisha Shaw. She suggests that each teacher create curated lists of materials they’ve vetted, “primary sources and secondary sources that hit particular themes [to be] discuss[ed].”

Dr. James Loewen suggests (source as cited) questions to apply to secondary sources:

When was the secondary source created?
Who created it, included or omitted from the account? Are they treated as heroes or villains?
Why was it created? What were their ideological needs and social purposes?
What was/is the intended audience? How does the account change if it includes powerful people or institutions? What do other sources say?
How could the story differ if a different group had told it? How is the story received? Forgotten or remembered? Accurate account or less than accurate?

This is a lot of questions and perspectives to juggle. It’s the perfect situation to rely on two powerful high-effect strategies. Those include the Jigsaw Method in the context of a Problem-Solving Teaching lesson.

With all this in mind, the teacher’s role becomes one of “orchestrator.” The teacher organizes the sources and then has a process– a process that involves students comparing perspectives. Here are three approaches you can take to teaching with primary resources.

Image Source: Matt Doran, Historiography for the Secondary Social Studies Classroom

Approach #1: Historiography

This approach involves understanding changing interpretations of past events. In this case, students can follow a step-by-step guide to creating a historiography. Those steps may involve:

Identifying a Topic. Students can create a concept map to explore past events and how others have interpreted them. You can use concept mapping tools like CMAP Tools that make it easy to embed links, and links can go directly to primary sources.
Creating a bibliography. This can include book reviews, books, article anthologies, videos, and periodicals.
Assessing Perspectives. Map out the perspectives presented. Be sensitive to how authors represent events and determine and identify bias.
Crafting a historiography. Create a chronological timeline, tracing changes over time, and identifying perspectives. Make a note of each topic and how interpretations have changed over time. (Adapted from source.)

Approach #2: Four Question Method (4QM)

In the 4QM, students work to engage in four acts:

Narration
Interpretation
Explanation
Judgment

Each act comes with a question:

Narration- What happened?
Interpretation – What were they thinking?
Explanation – Why then and there?
Judgment – What do we think about that?

This approach enables students to process key information. Students make connections. They link what they are studying and their own thoughts on what’s happened. Explore the Four Question Method (4QM) online on the authors’ website.

Approach #3: Curating a Collection

Create and curate a collection of trusted primary courses with students. Know about the APART method (watch video)? It’s an approach that involves looking at:

A – Author

P – Prior knowledge

A – Audience

R – Reason/purpose

T – The message

Another approach you could choose to use is the OPVL technique (watch video) and the OPVL site:

O – Origin

P – Purpose

V – Value

L – Limitation

Where Can I Find Primary Sources?

Now that you have some ways of analyzing historical documents, what primary sources are available? Ample resources exist for teaching with primary sources, and you can find a list in this Wakelet collection.

View Wakelet Collection – https://tinyurl.com/yd2rmoak

Teaching history with primary sources works. It works because it focuses on what happened, who did what, and why. And, more importantly, it challenges students to think in a critical manner about how interpretations of history have changed to fit the needs of the powerful. How have you used or will you use primary sources in your history class?

March 3, 2022 2 comments

Announcements/Important Dates Content Areas Culturally Responsive Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Social Studies

10 Helpful Resources for Women’s History Month

by Peggy Reimers March 1, 2022

written by Peggy Reimers

March is the month to celebrate National Women’s History. The month is dedicated to the accomplishments and achievements of women across the U.S. and the world. Let’s celebrate women everywhere!

Resources for Women’s History Month

#1- National Today

The National Today website has a quick rundown of Women’s History Month. Included you will find the history, timeline, FAQs, importance, and how to observe the month.

#2- History.com

This site has a timeline of women’s history milestones and four photo galleries divided into women leaders and women in sports, art, and science. They also have a documentary vault with 17 women of history biographies. Caroline Kennedy and Christa McAuliffe are two of the selections.

#3- National Women’s History Museum

This website is jam-packed with resources. The two standouts for me are digital classroom resources where you can find lesson plans, biographies, posters, primary sources, and more. You can easily search by topic, theme, or resource type. The other outstanding resource they offer is their library of 170+ biographies. These biographies range from historical pioneers to contemporary newsmakers that impact the world.

*Digital Classroom Resources Screenshot from National Women’s History Museum*

#4- The National Women’s History Alliance

Formerly, the National Women’s History Project, the National Women’s History Alliance is a leader in promoting Women’s History. It is committed to the goals of education, empowerment, equality, and inclusion. The gems on this website include the theme for 2022 and an extensive quiz library (with answers.) and plenty of resources.

#5- 30 Empowering Quotes

Success.com lists 30 wonderful quotes through the generations. Betty White, Mindy Kaling, and Lucille Ball are included. Here is a small sampling of my favorites:

“If you were born with the weakness to fall, you were born with the strength to rise.” –Rupi Kaur

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s the power of using your voice.” –Michelle Obama

“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” –Frida Kahlo

“The challenge is not to be perfect… it’s to be whole.” –Jane Fonda

Quote created in Google Slides by author

#6- “A Voice That Carries”

I was so excited to be able to attend the TCEA 2022 keynote and hear Brett Culp speak. He is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and founder of the nonprofit, The Rising Heroes Project. During the keynote, Brett shared his newest documentary, “A Voice That Carries.” The documentary explains how dads play an important role in the development of their daughter’s self-esteem, body image, and confidence. You can watch his film on Tubi. If you are a father, celebrate WHM by watching this film and maybe even trying one of the challenges with your daughter(s).

#7- 125 Influential Women

If you are looking for a list of influential women, check out this resource. 125 women listed with their life dates and one sentence with “known for” information. The list is divided into the following categories:

Influential actresses and entertainers.
Famous female authors
Influential women pioneers in medicine, science and math
Famous female politicians
Influential activists
Famous women in sports
Influential women in business

#8- American Women Quarter (AWQ) Program

From 2022 through 2025, the U.S. Mint will issue five quarters per year honoring a diverse group of women whose achievements have shaped our nation’s history. 2022 will see the release of quarters honoring Maya Angelou, Dr. Sally Ride, Wilma Mankiller, Nina Otero-Warren, and Anna May Wong. Check your change as the Maya Angelou quarter has already been released! You can read about the quarters here and watch a great 11-minute video explanation by the U.S. Mint. One extra tidbit is the presentation includes designs that were also under consideration but were not chosen. If you are looking for something quicker, check out the two-minute news clip by CBS 2 News. You can also follow the quarters on Twitter with #herquarter.

#9- Augmented Reality Experience

Grab a dollar bill and use the NotableWoman augmented reality app, available in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, to replace George Washington’s portrait with 100 historic American women. You will discover the accomplishments of activists, artists, scientists, business leaders, writers, and civic leaders. After the magic happens, tap their name at the top for a brief summary.

#10- Quizzes

Several teachers have created and shared their WHM quizzes through several different educational platforms. Quizizz, BrainPOP, Kahoot and Gimkit have scads to choose from.

For even more resources, check out 18 Women’s History Month Activities or this TCEA blog post.

Featured image: Created by TCEA staff.

March 1, 2022 2 comments

Android Chromebooks Coding/Computer Science Educational Research iOS Tips and Tricks Science Social Studies STEM/STEAM

Build Coding Self-Efficacy with CoSpaces EDU

by Miguel Guhlin February 26, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

There are many benefits to encouraging students to build and create in 3D and craft code or script. But with so many options available, what is one solution you can focus your students on? Luckily there are augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) tools available to encourage 3D, coding, and collaboration. Before exploring some AR/VR tools, let’s look at some benefits.

What Are the Benefits of AR/VR, and Coding?

In the workforce, there are several uses of AR/VR apps:

Providing information in real time
Facilitating training and mirroring real-life experiences
Enhance creativity in design and development

In addition to benefits for the workforce, some researchers suggest that AR/VR apps can assist with the following in the classroom:

Reduce cognitive overload
Assist students in developing higher-order thinking capabilities (source)
Potential to help autistic children in navigating academic and social situations (source)
Positively impact self-efficacy

There are several more applications but these reflect educational goals, don’t you agree?

Self-Efficacy and Coding

According to the Visible Learning MetaX database, self-efficacy is:

A sense of confidence or the set of self-perceptions that influence thought, actions, and emotional arousal. It accomplishes this since it enables people to make decisions. The decisions they make are about what course of action they intend to pursue.

Self-efficacy enjoys an effect size of d=0.65. Since the hinge point for one year’s academic growth is d=0.40, this makes self-efficacy worthy of consideration. This 2020 study connecting self-efficacy and coding found:

The results of the analysis of quantitative data indicated that the model developed for coding education had a positive effect on students’ programming self-efficacy and attitudes towards technology. Students expressed positive opinions about coding education.

Their positive opinions included students thinking that:

Coding education facilitates the teaching of many different subjects such as mathematics and science.
Reflected their self-perception that they can do many activities

Those activities include code and program writing, designing games and robots, and solving problems with their coding education. With these benefits in mind, it’s important to ask, “What digital tools might work well in K-12 education?”

Digital Tool: CoSpaces EDU

As you might imagine, there are a great variety of digital tools that are the answer to that question. The tools for AR/VR and coding vary from year to year, as the technology improves. One tool that you might consider boasts the following features.

3D Modeling

3D avatar and model creation
The ability construct 3D models that improve on solutions like Minecraft and others
Adding images, videos, sounds (including background music) to 3D models
Cross-platform capability (smartphone, tablet, desktop, Chromebook)

AR/VR Support

Move 3D creations into VR
Supports use of a VR headset
Allows for collaboration among students
Hologram interaction
Focus on creation, not consumption

Coding and Scripting

Block-based coding or programming like Scratch
Support for scripting languages that add interactions, events, and allow for game creation
Create simulations of physical phenomena that allow for visualization of abstract scientific concepts

CoSpaces EDU offers a few other features including MERGE Cube mode. You can also manage your class roster in it. Student management can interface with Clever, as well as Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

CoSpaces EDU Pricing

While CoSpaces EDU sounds great, how much does it cost? It enjoys a free tier with basic features, but the PRO Plan with five seats costs $74.99 per year. Each Pro Plan offers all features for a number of seats. You will have to decide if this best meets the needs of you and your students. Limited Pro Plans are also available for your consideration.

The CoSpaces EDU has an ambassador program, and you can see “getting started” resources. Also, explore their YouTube Channel. Give it a whirl!

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author, Cospaces

February 26, 2022 0 comment

Content Areas Social Studies

Five History Walks for Teaching Texas History

by Miguel Guhlin February 21, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

It’s easy to forget the true account of what happened to peoples of color in the past. Let’s explore five history walks that can put you in touch with what happened in Texas. Some involve visiting a place or space, while others include watching videos or studying art that depicts historical events.

Interrogating Historical Accounts

For many Texans, what you learned in history class is missing critical parts. You may know about the Three Hundred, those first settlers to Texas who came at Stephen F. Austin’s request. You may not know that their “livestock” and “workers” included black and indigenous enslaved people.

Amidst acts of history banning, a walk through gravestones and markers might not be such a bad idea. These may reconnect us with our past, helping us discover our own ignorance of what happened.

“People…want to sugarcoat and change the narrative,” Keaton says. “But if you can’t talk about something, can you ever heal from it?” Dr. George Keaton, Jr, Founder/Executive Director of Remembering Black Dallas. (source)

You may find that visiting physical spaces isn’t always necessary. You can indeed find out a lot about Texas online. But let’s explore a few options for virtual and in-person connections with history.

History Walk #1: Juneteenth

Commemorate Juneteenth, when enslaved people in Texas received notice of emancipation with a walk for freedom. This walk takes place in Galveston and features an app. Use the Android or iOS app to take the “Freedom Walk” challenge.

Some of the highlights include visiting the following:

Texas Seaport Museum
Absolute Equality Mural
Juneteenth Marker at the Osterman Building
The African American Beachfront
and more.

This may be the perfect perambulation to the TCEA Elementary Technology Conference in Galveston, Texas this June. Walk the steps, learn the history. Register now. Ready to begin the journey? Start here.

History Walk #2: Dallas Hidden History

A global pandemic has pushed some history walks online. While this virtual setting does change the experience, it also increases learners’ access. You can find a walking tour of Dallas’ hidden history online as a virtual presentation no matter where you are physically located. Find more information in this Texas Monthly article which shares the historical backstory of the walking tours.

History Walk #3: Texas Virtual Tours

The Let’s Texas website features a variety of virtual tours that will get you exploring. You will find mobile apps to discover Space Center Houston, tour the Texas State Aquarium, explore the Alamo via a virtual tour, and four more Texas-based locations.

History Walk #4: Missions

El Paso offers several historical walks. Two of these walks include Segundo Barrio Murals and San Elizario Walking Tour. But San Antonio and El Paso both provide access to missions.

You might also consider the El Paso Missions for study. It shares a few tales of the peoples of El Paso and subsequent history:

Missions of Texas History — *Image Source:* ***El Paso Area Missions***

Before the arrival of the Spanish, El Paso had been inhabited for thousands of years by hunting and gathering peoples. Around A.D. 400, native peoples of the area began living in pithouse villages and experimenting with crops. Through time they built larger and more complex villages and by A.D. 1200, they were living in pueblos, relying heavily on crops for food, and participating in trade with peoples across the American Southwest and northern Mexico.

Start your exploration with the denizens of El Paso Valley.

Continue it with Missions, twelve to twenty-four miles southeast of downtown El Paso.

You can also take virtual tours of the missions in San Antonio:

Check them out.

History Walk #5: Trail of Tears

Did you know that the Trail of Tears runs through Texas? Looking for ways to commemorate the forced removal of Cherokee from their homelands with your students? You can follow a virtual overview via Google Arts and Culture.

In 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson’s Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River. They migrated to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee people called this journey the “Trail of Tears,” because of its devastating effects. (source)

About sixty families of Cherokee ended up in Texas. They found themselves used as a buffer between American immigrants to Texas and Mexican Texas. The Cherokee War ended their stay in Texas. The Battle of Neches resulted in the death of thirteen tribes.

On July 16, 1839, more than 700 Texas Cherokees and allies from a dozen other Indian tribes made their final stand against a force of more than 900 Texas Rangers, Texas Army soldiers and Texas Militia volunteers. The Battle of the Neches was the largest conflict ever fought between Native Americans and Texans. The Cherokees were led by 83-year-old Chief Bowles, who had tried in vain to secure clear land title rights for his people in East Texas from both the Mexican and Texas governments. (source)

This battle took place twelve miles west of Tyler in Van Zandt County, where a Texas historical monument can be found. It is surrounded by a sacred circle, including meditation benches on compass points. Find the marker near Van at a rest area. It appears on the I-20 eastbound lanes and lies between exits 537 and 540.

But Wait, There’s More!

You can find several apps and websites that will enhance your history walks. Here are is a short list:

And, of course, you can watch livestream history through the Bullock Museum’s Texas History Tuesday series.

Feature Image Source

By Unknown author – Old_Ysleta_del_Sur_Pueblo,_c._1876, Public Domain, Link

February 21, 2022 2 comments

Announcements/Important Dates Content Areas English Language Arts Social Studies

Five Martin Luther King, Jr. Activities and Templates for the Classroom

by Miguel Guhlin January 12, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

Controversial, spiritual, and engaging, Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK, Jr.) continues to influence our lives and the world. How can you capture the scope of his legacy in a day or even a few short activities? Let’s take a look at five ed tech-friendly activities that are approachable and provide insights into King’s legacy. There are templates for each that you can adapt and improve to meet your needs. No permission required! And I’ll share a roundup of other TCEA blog articles so you can explore even more activities to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.

1) Dicebreakers Activity

Need a quick way to cultivate curiosity in your students? Dicebreakers offer one possibility. This dicebreaker makes it easy to get started exploring MLK, Jr.’s roots.

Get a copy of the Google Slides template for Dicebreaker – This dicebreaker activity has been updated with fresh content not reflected in image shown above.

2) Internet Treasure Hunt

Creating internet treasure hunts is so easy now! And Google even takes the pain out of finding “in the text” answers to questions. Treasure hunts make searching a specific set of resources the focus. That’s the difference between a treasure hunt and a scavenger hunt, which can have a pretty broad scope.

Treasure hunts go beyond fact-finding scavenger hunts to focus on developing student critical thinking.

“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.”
Source: Martin Luther King, Jr.

In this MLK, Jr. Internet Treasure Hunt, we’ll take a look at questions that exercise our thinking. Responding to these questions requires some background or foundational knowledge about MLK, Jr.

In Part 1, your students will use a jigsaw activity to build their background knowledge. You can read about this cooperative learning strategy in the introduction to the treasure hunt linked above.

In Part 2, students will develop their responses to questions in the treasure hunt. You will access educator curated resources arranged in Wakelet collections.

3) Digital Choice Board

“There is not one right trajectory of progress for all students,” says John Hattie. That’s why choice boards are great. They allow for multiple trajectories towards success. What’s more, they make thinking visible and student assessment easier.

“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Set up correctly, choice boards can offer students differentiated avenues towards success. What are some of those avenues toward success? We can include color-coding and giving students choice over learning tasks. What’s more, activities can include drawing or note-taking about their learning. These are some reasons why this activity ranks as my favorite.

Get a copy of the Google Slides choice board template

Check out this MLK, Jr. Digital Choice Board above. How would you improve it? Read more about digital choice boards.

Did You Know?
You can do a virtual tour of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s church, Ebenezer Baptist Church. Be sure to explore the link to see the virtual tour via @HistoryViewVr.

4) Word Cloud Analysis

Want students to analyze Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech? Drop it into a word cloud, but make it in the shape of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Students can both see how the words take shape and analyze their impact. They can choose to add emphasis to certain words in the text and then explain why they decided to emphasize them. Additionally, students can include this shape poem of MLK, Jr.’s bust in a podcast, short video clip, or classroom exhibit.

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Need some suggestions for word cloud creation? Consider using WordArt.com.

5) Vimboard

If you’re looking for a quick entry or exit ticket activity about Martin Luther King, Jr., you can use a tool like Vimboard. It will allow you to take a game-based approach and engage students in an activity that reveals MLK, Jr.

“We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Explore this Vimboard that focuses on “in the text” type questions. Intended for grades K-2, you can step up the level of the questions to match your students’ age or grade.

View Amy Smith’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Vimboard

Wait, There’s More!

Wish there were more activities and resources? You will want to read some of these TCEA blog articles:

It’s never too late to learn more about a great American visionary. And certainly never too late to emulate one.

January 12, 2022 0 comment

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