Lesson+Comments

This is the page to comment about each others lesson plans. Please leave feedback under each persons name. Let me know if you would like to do this another way. I think it may be the easiest way to go about things. Thanks!!!

Arielle Book As a history teacher, I think your lesson is great. Students will be able to relate to the topic of fluctuating gas prices. I like the variety of activities that you have used including watching a video, creating graphs, conducting research, and problem solving. I think it will be very engaging for students. Have you thought about including a learning at home piece where students would be required to talk to a parent, neighbor, friend etc. outside of school to see how gas prices have affected them over the last few years? - Jodi Mitts

Arielle, I really liked the idea of incorporating the effect of globalization and how it can effect things like vacations and everyday life. You are using this lesson for 7th grade which is great, but this is actually perfect for my macro-economics class; in fact, I may use it! :-) All kids love to go on vacations, so showing them how events in the Middle East can affect their vacations through gas prices makes this an authentic assessment by relating it to their lives. I never saw that gas buddy website before; that is a really neat site! Great job creating a lesson that not only promotes higher level thinking, but also is fun and interesting! -Mike

Arielle, Your lesson is a wonderful example of bringing current events into your classroom. You mentioned students would track events and if/how that affected gas prices. I was wondering where you live. I live in SC near the beach, so gas prices for us rise as summer time rolls around. Your students could also track gas prices in different areas of the country (maybe where they have relatives they could interview, etc.) The math that is also incorporated into your lesson is authentic and will have lifelong skills. Great job! -Jenelle

Anthony Caferella

Jenelle Crocker I just finished my unit on immigration with my 8th grade students. They created enhanced podcasts describing the reasons for leaving their country, their journey to America, their arrival at Ellis Island, and the challenges of urban living. What a great idea to tie in the winter holidays and celebrations of immigrants. I am sure your students will find this fascinating and relatable. I look forward to reading about your other lesson plans. I would love to try this with my students next school year! - Jodi Mitts

I love how your using the holiday time to do this lesson. Connecting the holidays with material the students must learn anyway is a great idea. we are lucky as SS teachers to be able to relate most of what we teach to what is going on in the world. I often like to talk about holidays around the world and more specfically in the areas we learn about in 7th grade. The brochures are great because it gives students a good way to actually present their work. Love this lesson!- Arielle

Jennelle I really enjoyed your lesson plan, it is amazing how many things we take forgranted as being American when everythings has its roots somewhere else. Student sshould love htis project since you allowed so much individual choice and creativity. And you have back up palns in place just in case. Good Job. Eric

Hi Jenelle - I loved the idea of using technology such as Microsoft Publisher to create travel brochures. Creating brochures like this really fosters students' creativity. When I taught 7th grade, we use to do a geography project where students created travel brochures for each state to learn the geography of the United States. I really liked the fact that you provided the students with a list of sites to visit; not only does this make it easier for both you and the students, but it will also save the time and energy of looking at useless websites. Using a rubric provides the students with a map of the own and will help ensure their success with the project. Great job with the lesson! - Mike

​ Michael Cintorino I really liked your lesson! The best part is allowing each student to look into the problems using the pamphlets. Students really get to see the issues and how they were solved, or not solved. Some of these problems even exist today in some way and students can really relate to some of them.-Arielle

I like the idea of having students research how problems were solved in the past and then relating those problems and solution to today. What a relevant topic! - Jodi Mitts

GREAT LESSON PLAN! Since I am on the verge of teaching the Industrial Revolution, this was an exciting lesson to read. The four topics will bring focus to the main ideas of the Industrial Revolution. I think I will use those "headings" for teaching this topic with my students after Christmas break. I know you teach high school, but I was wondering if the 'draw straws' approach works better for older students. I have a few students who shut down if they get a topic or group members they don't work well with. Just wondering if high schoolers are better at more diverse collaboration. We have similar products (brochures/pamphlets), so that part of your lesson should benefit your students. You complimented my use of Publisher, but that was YOUR idea. So thank you! :) -Jenelle

Hey Jenelle -- Just to respond real quick about the kids working together; they have all been in the same class together since elementary school...graduating classes are roughly 35-50 kids, so they have all worked with one another. The only issues with grouping is my ELL students. I have to keep them together so the translater (I have 2-3 kids that speak almost no English, although they do understand it better than they speak it). There would be some kids that would get upset if they were in that group. I have also gone old school and picked teams before too. Thank you very much for the input...this is one of my favorite units! - Mike

Stephanie Best Hi Stephanie, the fact that you are showing your students examples prior to beginning the lesson is a great idea! Anytime you can model for students and show them what the final outcome is I really believe this sets them up for success! I like the idea of backward design and it reminds me of putting Legos together when I was a kid and always referring back to the picture on the front of the box to check and see if I was putting it together correctly. I also like the idea of having the students do a personal journal entry each day. Journaling is a great way to not only check for understanding, but keep an on the pacing of the students in a very student centered lesson. Great job with the lesson! - Mike

Stephanie, Your learning objectives are so powerful! Students often wonder why we study history - in order to not repeat. You are going to make them prove it! I didn't see any specific format required for their podcasts. Your examples will be great models, but as a learner, I would stress out not knowing if I were doing it "right". Would an optional outline be feasible to create? Journaling is a great tool (just as Michael said) to monitor their learning, fix misconceptions, etc. Great lesson! -Jenelle

What a relevant topic! Students always ask why we need to study history (since it is not on any standardized tests). It is important for students to see how history does repeat itself and we need to learn from our mistakes. I think this will be an enjoyable and informative topic for students. - Jodi Mitts

Jodi Mitts I like your lesson. I think it's great to allow students to chose which side of the Holocaust they want to write from. You are also allowing them to learn in a few different types of ways and this addresses all learners. Would you plan on sharing the podcasts with the rest of the class? Great lesson!-Arielle

Jodi, what a importatn lesson goal, teaching studnet sabout htis subject is extremely importatn and the Holocaust is a great way of doing it. I like how you really laid out all of the resources for the studnets to help them find the information they needwith the video and online sites to visit. Any possibility of exspanding this into a group project or making part of it collaborative or and part individual? Good job Eric

Hi Jodi, great job with this lesson, it looks extremely interesting. I really like the idea of looking at the Holocaust from multiple perspectives. Looking at the Holocaust from the perspective of a German citizen or Nazi can be difficult to do, but it should give great insight into why they were so successful in motivating their people into doing what they (Hitler and the party) wanted done, as awful as it was. Adding the photos really will make this project pop! The old cliché of a picture is worth a thousand words is said over and over again for a reason; it is true! Having the students write a first person narrative is also a great idea. Being able to personalize the events of the Holocaust should help students have a deeper understanding of the effects the Holocaust had on everyone at the time, whether they were responsible for it or just a victim. In the world of student-centered and collaborative work, there is still a place for projects to be done on an individual basis and I am very pleased to see that I am not the only one who has students complete big projects on their own any more. Although I do not have kids work on their own with projects much, it does assess //**their**// content skills much better. Great job with the lesson! -Mike

Eric Posthumus Hi Eric, this is a great idea for a group project. I do a huge final project with my seniors based on public policies, but this is on an individual basis. You said that you are having your students set up a blog, but with the information and photos, you could almost even do a Wiki like we are doing here. Students working on one Wiki site could have their own pages titled by public policy topic; although, you could really do the same thing on the blog too. I really like the idea of students visiting each other’s pages to comment on their topic; this way students know what everyone in the class is working on and will have a broader scope of what policies are out there, not just a narrow focus on their own topic. Nice job! -Mike

Eric, You are giving your students an authentic audience as they need to write a letter to a Congressman. This is a great motivational tool. I would do my best work, so that I could be proud of the product being sent to Washington, D.C. Also, having your students blogging will engage them in writing online and collaborating with their peers. Great job! - Jenelle

I think writing a persuasive letter is a great idea. Students today have so many opinions to share. However, many times their opinions are not supported with facts, examples, data, etc... I think this would give them a chance to not only voice their opinions, but also learn how to effectively support their ideas so that others will take them seriously. - Jodi Mitts