Lesson: Sketchnoting The Cold War & An Introduction To Audience Awareness

Recently I was overjoyed to share with my students a mutual affection for sketchnotes and Soviet era art and propaganda. I should preface this post by sharing that once upon a time, I felt the wrath of a a handful teachers growing frustrated with my unorthodox style of note taking... 

I'm not claiming that kids like me were persecuted for busting-out the multi-colored pens to take notes, draw pictures and charts, and jazz-up an extra few sheets of wide-rule filler-paper. We were just misunderstood... And, what we once referred to as doodling in our notebooks has now found legitimacy in today's classroom: Awesome Possum! 

A student's sketchnote of Churchill's "Iron Curtain Speech".

I like to read speeches aloud--they are meant to be savored by the ear. I really like coupling this delivery method with the processing that sketchnotes afford. Think about it: the act of slowing down to incorporate both words and images helps students to personalize the lesson and make the take-away a very unique experience for every learner in the classroom. 

The materials for this lesson came from the unit "Cold War Culture" via Stanford History Education Group's Reading Like a Historian series. I will dedicate a future post to singing their praises--the resources are spectacular.

Above, we used an excerpt from Churchill's speech. The full text is available online--just register for a free account on the Stanford History Education Group's site. The readings come with accompanying guides, too. I incorporated the questions from the guides and used them to supplement class discussion. 

I especially liked the way that the questions prepared by SHEG focused upon audience-awareness. This is a sophisticated step for students to make--the jump from "What is Churchill saying?" to "Why is he saying it this way?" or "Why is Churchill addressing an American audience in the first place?"

The benefit of introducing a sophisticated notion such as audience awareness in tandem with a seemingly juvenile technique as sketchnoting is that the student drawn images can help to articulate this difficult concept--that the substance of a speech is only part of the equation... It's the audience's ability to receive that message that is telling.

A thoughtful illustration can bring that concept to light in a way that a developing writers' voice is still sounding-out.

To complete the analysis, I created a Google Doc note taking sheet... Because sketchnoting all four primary sources would be just too much of a good thing.

The sheet above is appropriate for individual efforts and collaborative endeavors, as with all GAFE resources. If you plan to have your students work in cooperative learning groups, dividing the readings is a must:
-Documents A & B suggest that the Soviets are primarily responsible for starting the Cold War
-Documents C & D suggest that the US shoulders the burden for starting the Cold War


Hope you check out both sketchnotes & Stanford History Education Group's resources!

-Jennifer Sylves Lanas

Note:
In hindsight, my doodles were not taboo in every single subject when I was in school. I recall making a cartoon series in high school starring my AP Bio teacher as a studio wrestler our entire class named "The (protein) Inhibitor, and his collection of side-kicks from the lab--including a cameo appearance by the fabled Three Little Pigs... And who could forget the comics I drew and posted in the Saint Vincent College Philosophy Tutor's office--Philososaurus Rex...

Lesson: Be kind to those students who color outside the lines.
You might end up reading their blog one day...

Tech Tips: Embed Google Drawings for Instant Updates to Websites & Assignments

We begin each class with a warm-up activity--students write discussion board posts, reflections, or submit questions. Our learning management system, Canvas, makes it pretty easy to set-up...

But what happens if you need to make a quick change? Do you really need to update the assignment for every class?

No... And that is one of the big advantages of using and embedding Google Drawings in your online assignments and websites.

Google Drawings can be used to combine images and text in a variety of ways. In the example above, our students used primary sources--a Cold War propaganda poster (left) and a "Duck and Cover" photograph from the 1950s (right) to write a discussion board post about "The Red Scare".

Designing engaging graphics in Google Drawings is easy--think of it as the "best-of" Paint and PowerPoint with the best image and clip art database on planet Earth. I like to create a basic template with which to work and then "make a copy". This way, I can replicate ideas and plug-in new question prompts and images. 

See previous posts tagged GAFE to see examples: the PEEL paragraphs on writing about primary sources is an great starting point. I used one template to make a half dozen unique writing prompts, and posting a "view only" template enables students to take the idea and customize it with their own visual.

To help you to get started, I've posted a few how-to tutorials below. Using Google Drawings and the publishing tool is a true time-saver that enables revisions to be made and updated with no effort at all.

Check out this quick video on publishing a Google Drawing and embedding it on a discussion board or website.

Check out this video showing you how changes are automatically updated once a Google Drawing is embedded. No matter how many times you paste the code on a number of sites and assignments, you will never have to update the post. Any revision made to the Google Drawing is automatically recorded.

Think about all of the times that you "finish" a document, only to revise it thirteen times after "you're already done"... Okay--maybe that is my own personal OCD, but I can't be alone here!

At any rate, this makes it that much easier to make changes in one place and have the updates materialize everywhere. Now that's how we rapidly prototype in style!

Because It Is The Right Thing To Do, Right Now: #CSforAllStudents & #PDforAll Educators

The White House's #CSforAll initiative is a forward-thinking call to action. It extends across the aisle and can easily be championed by all political parties.

I'm especially fortified in making this claim, seeing the recent push to democratize the STEM field and to tear down the bro-culture of silicone valley's coding world. Whether it's featuring Lego kits with female scientists or Hollywood making a commitment to showcase STEM roles for actors and actresses from underrepresented minority groups, we are moving in the right direction. Couple this with grassroots efforts by groups like Black Girls Code and we have the inspiration for the next generation of problem solvers.

A snapshot with the ladies during Hour of Code. They made unbeatable versions of Flappybird & Star Wars games.

HFA students participated in Hour of Code in December. Witnessing exponential growth in only its third year, this global movement highlights access to CS initiatives. Schools need not have a mega lab to join in--just a willingness to try to code. Our students made games and even crafted binary code bracelets--mine being green and yellow, go SVC Bearcats!

Checking Out Game Design

Today I joined the sophomore Game Design students in Dr. Brandaõ's class. The students began the year modifying games, or creating mods. Already halfway through the course, their growth is impressive. I checked out the video games that they designed for the arcade-a-thon. Similar to the Mario of my youth, the game design students used Floors to create six level games that can be designed and played via the Floors app. There is even an option to design it on-paper, then snap a pic and upload your creation. Pretty groovy if you ask me!

CS for All Students - PD for All Teachers

Computational Thinking for Educators

(I sketched this note upon completing my Google class... As a child after a hard-fought victory on the softball diamond, I hopped on my bicycle and grabbed a celebratory ice cream cone.)

I'm serious about this initiative--as I believe that the White House and other vested stakeholders are. If we want it to happen, for real, we need to get more teachers on board. The best way to do this is to open up quality, free PD. 

For example, I took a free Google class over the summer--Computational Thinking for Educators. It was awesome: at its completion, I felt proud, knowledgeable, and empowered. I even designed my own CS project that can be used to track the frequency of word use across decades. This will be incredibly useful as we begin to study the rhetoric of the Civil Rights era.

Teachers will buy-in when they see the opportunities presented before them--the world that our students are entering is vastly different than the one that we stepped into upon graduating from high school. We need to equip our teens to meet these diverse challenges.

Looking Toward the Future

I'm proud to work at a school that prioritizes professional development. I'm optimistic that there are districts that feel the same way. Perhaps, while the house and congress wrangle over the dollars and cents behind making this CS for All initiative a reality, companies like Google, Microsoft, Intel, and others will continue to offer high quality PD. 

More than that--lets advocate that they open these PD sessions to educators and other stakeholders with a vested interest in our children's futures. That these corporations see that this is critical is a no-brainrd... But will they finance the PD for the teachers shaping and molding the next generation of innovators, that remains to be seen.

Final thoughts: as I listened-in on the #CSforAll teleconference earlier this week, I was delighted to hear the questions about adaptive technologies for the visually impaired and others living with disabilities. We need to be mindful that the progress that we make in STEM fields acknowledges the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities.  As our nation marked 25 years since the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we need to make strides to incorporate better design and accommodations for the disabled. Furthermore, we must ensure that individuals with disabilities make up the diverse workforce of highly sought-after careers in STEM fields.  

Equity and access is key.

#CSforALL students

#PDforALL teachers

Student Showcase: WWII Animoto Videos on Cultural Literacy YouTube Channel

We now have a YouTube playlist dedicated exclusively to our WWII Media and Makerspace projects in Cultural Literacy. Below is a sampling of some of the Awesome Possum Animoto videos that our sophomores produced.

African American Women in WWII - Lakin & Destiny

Dr. Seuss and WWII Political Cartoons - Destiny, Haylee & London

The Holocaust (music video set to "This is War" by 30 Seconds to Mars) - Amanda

D-Day Invasion - Leah & Derek

Pearl Harbor - Shauna & Marquise

WWII Lego Kits - Frank

Music Boosts Morale On the Battlefield & On the Homefront - Alex

What Are Victory Gardens? - Tyera

This would not have been possible without the generous resources available from the National WWII Museum's digital archives of primary and secondary sources. I cannot say enough good things...
I will need to begin a "spare change jar" dedicated to making a pilgrimage to the museum in New Orleans. If there's a will, there's a way!

In Search of Human Origins: How A Middle School Librarian Made Me Who I Am Today

If I were judged by "the person I was as a kid", I would likely not be a teacher... And had an adolescent version of me gazed into a crystal ball, she would be surprised to find her calling as an educator.

"A Tale of Two Jennys" 

- Above, reading Dr. Seuss stories to my Pound Puppies...

-Below, celebrating the "catch of the day" along Ten Mile Creek in Amity, PA

This photo was taken when I was in first grade... Notice the frilly purple jacket, camouflage hat, and stringer of rainbow trout: An average childhood snapshot, growing up in Western Pennsylvania...

Teachers have the privilege of numbering their years upon this planet by their number of years in school--as students, as undergrads, as professionals... Each passing year, an opportunity to connect with yet another group of young minds. Impressionable youth, with malleable ideas and enthusiasm... Dreamers and doers, each writing their own drama of existence. And remember--to a teenager, the drama is oh so real.

As I am rereading Tony Wagner's MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED, I noticed something that I must have glossed over in my first read. Both Wagner and Dintersmith take a moment to thank a very special teacher--someone who made school a place where each student felt welcome, felt like they belonged, felt like they mattered.

For me, that could be so many people who have touched my life. However, I am thinking in particular of a librarian that took me under her wing when I was an awkward middle schooler.

Her name was Mrs.Hackett--and she saved my life.

Okay, that might be a bit dramatic. But I believe it with all sincerity. 

I just love this photo--I'm in fifth grade basking in college life with my oldest brother, on campus at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. My right arm is in my coat because I recently saw a painting of Napoleon and it just seemed like the most logical pose to strike.

Mrs. Hackett knew that my oldest brother was away at school, and I missed my hero and friend. My other brother (who would later join the ranks of hero/friend--but just not at this age... we still fought like close siblings tend to do) was in high school and was too busy learning to play the guitar to pay very much attention to me. 

Mrs. Hackett lured me to the library with the siren song of books--all the books that I could get my hands on. She even Interlibrary-Loaned a few books from college and university collections: I had a fascination with the Nova series In Search of Human Origins and I wanted to read everything that was published in English. If a hominid was involved, I was up for the challenge.

So, there I was--in sixth and seventh grade--carrying college texts on paleoanthropology, writing faux newspaper articles about epic discoveries in Olduvai Gorge by Don Johansen, and dreaming of working in the Institute of Human Origins in Berkley, CA. I rode that momentum through middle school. It carried me into high school and college--where I no longer envisioned myself a budding paleoanthropologist, but definitely had an affinity for biology.

It all began with Mrs. Hackett...

This is an awkward Middle School Math Counts team photo, taken in eighth grade. My friend Tina still looks exactly the same, by the way. Lucky lady.

It should be noted that Mrs. Hackett tricked me. Seriously, it was for my own good--here's the story:

As a sixth grader, wasting away in an end of the day study hall, a totally unproductive exercise in futility--it was nap time for exhausted girls going through growth spurts--I received a message to go to the library. That was the day that Mrs. Hackett introduced me to a new student who just moved to the US from Poland. I was appointed to be his chemistry tutor.

"But, I don't have chemistry--I don't know how to do this?" I said as I looked up from the table, sitting alongside the smiling newcomer, happy to have escaped his study hall, too.

"Well, I guess you will have to learn it in order to teach it..." Oh--she was crafty, the old girl! So, that's what I did...

My goodness, as a teacher, that's what I do. Isn't that what we all strive to do? To be the lead learners in our classrooms and beyond? To plant the seeds of imagination and creativity into fertile minds--so they may grow into curious, lifelong learners.

It took a few twists and turns for me to find the path that lead to obtaining my masters and teaching certificate... But when I did find myself right where I always belonged, I applied for a graduate work study position in the place where I felt most at home:

I was a "Book Fairy" in the Interlibrary Loan Department and it paid for my tuition. Aside from what I do today, it was the greatest job a ragamuffin like me could ever have.

Mrs. Hackett was definitely on to something...

Lesson: Students Take Over & Teach WWII History Using Digital Media & Maker-Ed

Students whom create and present media & makerspace projects before an audience are empowered with the creative confidence to make, build, and tell a story that goes far beyond the covers of a dusty history book.

We began with the expertly curated resources available on the National WWII Museum's website. It's loaded with a myriad of primary sources and easy to access and understand secondary sources. I do not have a lexile-level for their PDFs, but I will say that everyone in our learning community used these resources with relative ease, especially when chunking and conducting pair-share check ins.

Our Learning Goal: 

-To make something that would teach an audience, between the ages of 10-110, about WWII - It's was an ambitious, personalized approach that paid off in a big way. The agency the students developed in the making of this project took our classroom to a new level.

-Students browsed the digital archives and used the resources labeled "WWII at a Glance".

-The four topics branch out into mini lessons on more specific events--slices of time that give our students access to the past in a way that they have never been exposed to: to be living participants in WWII history.

Students were encouraged to use the WWII Museum's online collection. However, for special-focus topics, we accessed materials from other institutions, including the Holocaust Museum and the Smithsonian, both in Washington DC.

The most critical part was guiding students to tell the story of how this event or movement might be historically significant. It's tempting, as a teacher, to want to step in... Ample feedback from peers helped to reinforce the message that the WWII Media & Makerspace project was an opportunity for students to "take over and teach". I took notes on the feedback that students received, and passed them along so groups could get started on the next iteration.

The use of templates and agile resources that get students to reflect upon the process of storyboarding and pacing their research and curated content... This is an area that I would like to improve upon in my next iteration. I realized at this phase that I did not establish a set guide or a few options for students to use for this phase of the project. 

My fear was that if I did, it would feel overly scripted--as a worksheet. However, I think that students would have benefitted from seeing the thinking process made visible via agile resources that make us slow down and take pause to reflect and take purposeful action.

I love exercising student voice and choice. The students were free to select their groups, topics, and learning object that they would create. The majority elected to use digital media to make Animoto videos. A handful opted for a more maker-centered approach and crafted memory boxes, scrapbooks, and mobiles. One student even used Tinker CAD to design 3-D printed WWII style propaganda empowering modern women.

It's amazing to see what our students come up with when we get out of the way and equip them with the agency to take over and teach.

Catholic School Remixed: An Innovative Approach That's Making A Difference

This is my first year teaching at a parochial school. The differences between teaching in a public school vs an Independent Catholic school are numerous--but at the end of the day, it still comes down to solid pedagogy and compassionate teachers doing whatever it takes to place their students' learning at the head of the class... I just have a feeling that it will be a lot easier to score a tuna fish sandwich on Fridays this year.

First Impressions:

Catholic Schools Week kicked off with a fascinating discussion on the Catholic educational tradition in the US. Father Tom captivated our students' attention when he chronicled the settlement and history of California with the missions spanning the state's majestic coast. He continued to tell tales of settlements among French speaking peoples in the parishes of Louisiana and the founding of the first diocese in Baltimore.

Our students were genuinely intrigued when he spoke of the Sisters of Providence and their order consisting entirely of African American women--the pivotal link to a broader theme: Catholic Schools are not just for Catholic students... But rather are for all students.

This is the point where Father Tom broke from his "spoken from the heart" portion of his homily and hit us with data... The type of numbers that made everyone sit up and listen.

Parochial Schools: Improved Outcomes For Urban Youth

In his article published in September, 2015, Andy Smarick cites, "Catholic schools have an unusual ability to help underserved kids succeed. Newer research suggests that longstanding urban Catholic schools foster social capital outside their walls, helping decrease crime and other societal ills."

Smarick details a host of innovations that parochial schools leverage in order to help "an overwhelmingly low income, minority student body, underscor[ing] the Catholic Church's centuries-long commitment to the disadvantaged." One program that he cites is the establishment of Christo Rey schools that have students enlisting in the workforce one day per week.

Our school, Holy Family Academy is built upon a similar model--all of our high school students are employed by corporate partners across the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. This innovative corporate work study internship program provides our young people with many opportunities for growth. Our students develop valuable skills at the workplace, gain the additional support of having supervisors and adult mentors, and in most instances the CWSP pays almost the entirety of our school tuition. 

Our students reap the benefits of a world class private school education and have experiences few, if any teen could boast... And this is for families of any means.

To accomplish this bold mission, we are working toward expanding our flipped learning opportunities, so that our students may have learning opportunities that are portable, on-demand. Additionally, we work very hard to establish the connection between school and careers. 

Our school is only two years old...It's a start-up for all intents and purposes. But it is one that we are all betting on.

When breaking the news that I was leaving my position at another school to take a role at HFA, I joked with my friends citing that this was like getting a call from Sergey Brinn and Larry Page: 

"Hi, Lanas--stop by the garage and check out this cool thing we're working on... We think you would like it. We're gonna call it Google."

That was almost six months ago. It's good to know that very little has changed in that span of time. Sure... The learning curve for me has been steep--and now that I'm back to blogging that would make an excellent post... But I step into the parking lot at the end of the day with a renewed sense of urgency in my vocation as a teacher and mentor.

A lot of that was put into words today... Funny that they weren't mine. Those syllables belonged entirely to Father Tom, whom I dedicate this post, my first ever on Catholic Schools Week. Cheers!

Check out Andy Smarick's piece "Catholic Schools Are Back" (Yes, it gets a little political at the end... "the next administration, etc." I will not inject politics into this blog... this just happens to be a really sound article from a publication with political leanings... Next time, I'll throw-in an article from Huff-Post to balance out the National Review.)

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/424409/catholic-schools-are-back

Forthcoming update to the post: running the numbers on Catholic Schools vs Public Schools, via the US Dept of Education

- graduation rates 

Catholic > Public

- median salaries for graduates

Catholic > Public

-socioeconomic data on Vatholic vs Public