Lesson Plan - My Three Artifacts

Podcast #212 - Washington's Big Decision Lesson Plan from Mount Vernon

Many people think of George Washington as a general or a president but he was also a very innovative farmer. During my week at Mount Vernon this summer as a participant in the 2010 Gilder Lehrman Summer Seminar I spent time studying Washington's actions as a farmer. He did some amazing things on his farms and was on the cutting edge of technology for his time. Today on a visit to Mount Vernon you can visit a reconstruction of the 16 sided round barn he built and designed to thresh grain.


One of Washington's most important decisions as a farmer came in 1765 when he decided to shift the from growing tobacco to wheat. He was one of the first to do this on a large scale in Virginia. He made this decision for several reasons and it ultimately allowed him to make a profit at a time when those who stayed with tobacco eventually fell further in debt.


During the seminar I created a lesson plan to help students analyze why Washington made this decision. The lesson is created primarily for a middle school or junior high history class and can be conducted in one 45 minute period. Students will also be using a couple of primary resources from George Washington. The podcast describes the lesson plan and this blog post includes a full description and materials in PDF format.

This blog entry also includes a short video shoot at Mount Vernon with Daniel Purkey, Lead Interpreter for Historic Trades at Mount Vernon, describing the reasons for Washington's decision.


Link to a full text description of the Washington Decision lesson plan (PDF file)


Link to the student graphic organizer used in the lesson along with a copy of a completed teacher version (PDF file)

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Direct link to Podcast #212 - Washington's Big Decision Lesson Plan

Video Chat with Author Pat Hughes

Today my 8th grade American history classes in Liberty, Missouri participated in a live video chat with Pat Hughes, author of Guerrilla Season. Guerrilla Season is a book with a focus on Clay County (the county in which we live) in the years just before the Civil War. We used G-mail video chat - free - to visit with Pat from her home in Philadelphia.

I also used a Flip cam to record the conversation for students who missed it and wanted to watch it. Pat spoke with us from her sun room and then took us upstairs to show us her office and shared some of the resources she uses to write books about Civil War era Missouri.

Pretty amazing that this all took place today with no technical glitches at all and we were able to have a great conversation with an author 1,200 miles away! Why aren't classrooms doing more of this?

Podcast #208 - Ask the Experts Donner Party Project

Hello. I am a big fan of the American Experience series from PBS and WGBH. This series has produced some of the most fascinating and engaging historical documentaries I have ever seen. One episode that I have used repeatedly in my class over the years is "The Donner Party" by Ric Burns. This documentary is both haunting and descriptive in telling the tale of this group's fateful journey west.

For the past several years I have had my students participate in a debate after finishing the video. The debate is centered on the role of Lansford Hastings - the person who told the Donner Party to take the shortcut that cost them valuable time on the attempt to reach California. The Donner Party becomes trapped in the mountains and some resort to cannibalism. The class is divided into two groups and debates whether the blame should be placed upon Hastings or the Donner Party themselves. While watching the film students have been recording events and information which could be used to defend both sides of the debate.

Two years ago I started recording the debate in audio format. I then contacted several Donner Party experts - authors and writers who have experience with the Donner Party - and asked if they could critique the debate and provide feedback for my students. I sent the audio file as an attachment with the e-mail. This was very successful and my students loved the feedback.

This year we used a Flip camera to record the debate in video format and I then posted it to YouTube. I contacted a variety of Donner Party experts through web searches and found five individuals who were willing to take the time to comment on the student debates. I then gathered the responses from all the experts and created a handout for my students. I am always amazed at the amount of detail these experts provide.





The technology used in this project is pretty simple - posting a video on YouTube and then sending an e-mail but the ability to find experts in the field and then have them comment directly to students is extremely powerful.

Special thanks to my experts who were willing to share their time and respond to my students :

Dr. Julie M. Schablitsky, Archaeologist with University of Oregon

Daniel James Brown, author of The Indifferent Stars Above : The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride

Kristin Johnson - Historian for Donner Party Archaeology Project and author of The Donner Party Blog

Chelsea Walerscheid - Truckee Lake Historical Society

Katie Holley - Truckee Lake Historical Society


To learn more about this project please listen to the podcast. I have also included the links to the student debates and included one video as a portion of this blog post. I am also posting the feeback from the experts as a PDF if you would like to see the comments the experts returned to my class.

If you have any comments on this project please feel free to leave a comment on this blog post.

Period 2 Class Debate

Period 3 Class Debate

Period 4 Class Debate

Period 5 Class Debate

Period 7 Class Debate

Period 8 Class Debate


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Direct link to Podcast #208 - Ask the Experts Donner Party Project

2010 State of the Union Bingo Lesson Plan

Hello. President Obama will be giving his first State of the Union on Wednesday, January 27th. If you are looking for a great classroom activity for your students please check out the 2010 State of the Union Bingo lesson plan from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

This is a fun and engaging way to have your students watch the State of the Union. Check it out.

Link to 2010 State of the Union lesson plan from the National Constitution Center

Podcast #202 - Using History Alive! for Constitutional Convention Activity

Hello. Today's podcast is an update from Speaking of History Podcast #197 when I asked for suggestions on teaching the Constitutional Convention with each student representing a delegate in Philadelphia. I received some great suggestions - check out the comments from podcast #197 - and several of them pointed me in the same direction : the History Alive! United States History curriculum.

I remembered receiving a History Alive! curriculum kit a couple of years ago from a representative at a conference and am very excited about using it in my classroom in a couple of months when we cover the Constitutional Convention.

Another great idea came from Lance who suggested that my students try out the quiz from the National Constitution Center which matches you with one of the Founding Fathers based on your answers. Very cool and something I plan to do with my students during our Constitution unit.

Thanks for all the suggestions and e-mails. It is amazing that you can throw a question out there and so many people are willing to respond and contribute to the conversation. If you have any comments for this blog post - maybe you currently use the History Alive! curriculum - please leave a comment on this blog post.

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Direct link to Podcast #202 - Using History Alive! to Teach the Constitutional Convention

Podcast #196 - Visual Timeline Activity to Start the Year

Hello. Today I would like to describe an activity that I recently did with my 8th grade American history class and I think is a fun way to start off the school year. This past summer I attended a session at the Project Zero Classroom workshop at Harvard with Mary McFarland - a former NCSS President. She described some routines to use with students in terms of visual time lines. I really liked the idea and decided it would be a great way introduce the curriculum to my students the first full week of school.

The podcast gives an overview of the project and some tips if you would like to replicate this activity in your own classroom. I have also included the PowerPoint presentations (links below) I used to create my visuals for the activity - please use and modify to your needs. If you have any suggestions or ideas about activity please share them by posting a comment to this blog post. Thanks.

Link to Visual Timeline PowerPoint Presentation

Direct link to Podcast #196 - Visual Timeline Activity

Podcast #184 - Creating "Common Craft" Type Videos about Historical Terms for Class

Hello. This week we did a cool project in class - my students created short videos in the "Common Craft" style to describe a variety of historical terms and concepts we are currently studying. My students loved it and did a great job. I have included a couple of videos with this blog post below, the rest you can view at my You Tube channel.

I have included a couple of pictures of the set up we used to film the videos with a Flip camera. The podcast has more details on how we created the videos. If you have any questions or thoughts on this project please leave a comment on this blog post.

Thanks to Common Craft for the inspiration - we are all huge fans of your work!

Direct link to Podcast #184 - Creating "Common Craft" Type Videos about Historical Terms for Class

Podcast #183 - Using the Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine "American Spirit" in Class

Hello. Today's podcast is a suggested resource for anyone who teaches, or enjoys reading about, the American Revolution. For the past couple of years I have used articles from a magazine produced by the Daughters of the American Revolution - "American Spirit". The articles are well written and engaging. One of my favorite articles describes "Colonial Junk Food". I receive my own copy at home and a subscription can be ordered online for only $18 a year. Check out the podcast for some examples of the articles available and how we've used them in my 8th grade classroom.

If you have any comments, suggestions for other history magazines you use in class or ideas you would like to share please leave a comment on this blog. Thanks for listening.

Direct link to Podcast #183 - Using the Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine "American Spirit" in Class?

Podcast #181 - Teaching the Donner Party as a Debate

Hello. We recently finished one of my favorite units to cover in our 8th grade American History curriculum - Manifest Destiny and Western Expansion. As we study the Oregon Trail we discuss the fate of the Donner Party. The Donner Party captures the attention of my students and allows us to discuss a variety of topics. For years I have shown my students "The Donner Party" from PBS, part of The American Experience series. Several years ago I used the role of Lansford Hastings in the tragedy and have a debate to try and decide if he or the Donner Party are more to blame for the loss of life. My students then do a short debate, which this year we taped with a Flip video camera. Listen to the podcast to learn about how we use this resource in our classroom.

PDF copy of the worksheet we use while watching the video "The Donner Party" from PBS and the American Experience

If you have any ideas or thoughts on teaching about The Donner Party please leave a comment on this blog. I would enjoy learning how other classes teach about this interesting historical event.






Direct link to Podcast #181 - Teaching the Donner Party as a Debate

2009 State of the Union Bingo Game

Although tonight's speech by President Obama is not officially a "State of the Union Address" it is being treated as such with delivery before a joint session of Congress. Eli Lesser of the National Constitution Center a couple of years ago came up with a great way to engage your students as they watch the State of the Union speech - BINGO! While your students watch the speech they mark off the topics that are mentioned by President Obama. I have not seen a 2009 version at the National Constitution Center site but I was able to find some 2009 cards at the Center for Global Development. You can also create your own cards.

If you don't hand the cards out to your students in advance of the speech you can also use it if you watch the speech later in class.

Thanks to Eli for the awesome idea and to the Center for Global Development for the 2009 cards. Check out Eli's blog : Civic Learning for ideas on teaching tonight's speech and other civics related lesson plans.

Check Out Historical Tweets - Historical Momments in 140 Characters or Less

I love it when technology and history meet. If you are like me - a history teacher who is a regular Twitter user - you need to check out this site - Historical Tweets. Some of these momments in history are a little over the top but this is a great site to browse for a couple of moments. It could also be used as an assignment starter for your students.

Screencast : Smithsonian's Interactive Star Spangled Banner

Hello. We recently researched the Star Spangled Banner as my class studying the War of 1812. I found an excellent site available from the Smithsonian and have previewed it in the following video created using Jing Pro.

One of the coolest things about the site with ability to learn more about the flag which inspired the lyrics to the National Anthem using an interactive tool to zoom in on parts of the historic flag. You can also learn how to submit a video of singing the National Anthem to win a trip to perform in Washington DC on Flag Day 2009.

Link to the Smithsonian's Interactive Site on the Star Spangled Banner

Podcast #163 - Using Google Video Chat to Visit the National Constitution Center

Some days you do an activity in the classroom that just works incredibly well and you walk away thinking "AWESOME". I had that experience today. Today my 8th grade history students in Liberty, Missouri were able to take a visual field trip to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and participate in a tour given by National Constitutional Center Education Director Eli Lesser. We used Google's new Video Chat feature - it was very easy to use and we had a quality picture. Eli used his laptop and a web cam to move around Signers Hall at the National Constitution Center. He told stories about the statues in the hall while showing my students specific details. He answered questions as they raised their hand in my class. It was incredible. I know this is not a ground breaking event - many classes participate in video conferences every day, but I found it amazing that all we needed to make a connection was a G-mail account, a web cam and one click. Very impressive. If this is possible with minimal effort, what else can be accomplished with this application? Wow.

I talk about today's experience in the podcast and I recorded the experience with my Flip camera from the back of the room. I have uploaded a 7 minute segment from the video experience to You Tube and have embedded it below.

I would like to thank Eli Lesser for taking time out of his day to participate in this activity with my students. I would encourage all history teachers to sign up for the National Constitution Center educator newsletter to stay informed about all upcoming activities and events.

If you have any comments or questions about the video conference please leave a comment to this blog entry. I would also love to hear about any experiences you have with connecting classes via Google Video Chat. Are you an 8th grade American history class that would like to participate in a project with us in Liberty, Missouri? If so please let me know - send an e-mail to speakingofhistory@gmail.com

Direct link to Podcast #163 - Using Google Video Chat to Visit the National Constitution Center - MP3 Audio File

Podcast #162 - Create A Word Cloud of the Constitution Using Wordle

Hello. Today's podcast is a quick one about using the application Wordle in your social studies class. Wordle is a web based application which allows you to create a word cloud from a sample of text. You can manipulate the colors, shape, font, etc. to make a really cool visual represenation of text.




Since we are studying the United States Constitution right now in class I create two "Wordles" composed of the text of the Constitution. I think they look pretty cool and my 8th graders thought they were awesome. Listen to the podcast to learn a little more about using Wordle in your social studies classroom.

Direct link to Podcast #162 - Create A Word Cloud of the Constitution Using Wordle - MP3 Audio File

State of the Union Bingo Lesson Plan

Here is a great lesson plan that you can incorporate into your classroom when teaching about the State of Union address by President Bush. It comes from Eli Lesser - Director of Teacher Education and Civic Outreach for the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Eli mentioned this over the summer when I attended a workshop at the National Constitution Center and I was thinking of it this morning just as it came across my e-mail.

You can download a PDF of the lesson plan and Bingo board so your students can play along. Great also to adapt to other events.

Thanks Eli!

Podcast #120 - Teaching the Declaration of Independence as a Break Up Letter

Hello. Today's podcast describes one of the activities I use in class to teach about the Declaration of Independence. Students often don't really understand the purpose of the document and this activity usually helps. I act as if I have found a note on the floor of my class the day before after school and then I read it to the class. It is a break up letter and at the end the students are stunned to learn that it is from "the American Colonies". I have included the text of the letter that I use below and the podcast has a recording of what happens when I read the letter in class and the discussion that follows. The podcast also has some hints and suggestions if you would like to replicate this activity in your classroom. I'm sure someone out there does something similar but I have not been able to find it anywhere else. I really enjoy this activity and my students have fun with it as well.

Direct link to Podcast #120 - Teaching the Declaration of Independence as a Break Up Letter - MP3 File - 16:57 Minutes

If you have any comments or questions please leave a comment on the blog or send me an e-mail at speakingofhistory@gmail.com

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Text of the letter that I read to my class this year:

I'm not sure how to start this letter but I feel we need to talk. I've been thinking about us a lot lately. Things used to be so great - it was like we were M.F.E.O. I mean everyone said it was perfect. I really thought we would be together forever but then things changed.

I feel like you started to take me for granted. You just started to do whatever you wanted and never even asked me about anything or how I felt.

I've been thinking about this for a while and I don't want to hurt you but I think it is time we broke up. I mean it's just not going to work. I need some time by myself to see what it is like on my own. I'm sorry things didn't work out but I do think YOU are the one to blame. Sorry but "US" is over.

The American Colonies

UPDATED - OCTOBER 30, 2008 - I took video of this activity using the Flip video camera and have added the video to show how the activity works in class.

Podcast #118 - Ideas for Constitution Day - September 17th

Hello. On September 17th schools across America will celebrate the birthday of our Constitution. According to law, each school in the country that receives federal money of any kind, is required to do some type of activity related to the Constitution.

Last year we created a short video with students and staff reading portions of the preamble. We show it on our building cable channel during student announcements on Constitution Day. We posted it on Teacher Tube and in the past year it has been viewed over 12,000 times. This year I am working on video with a slightly different theme and hope to have it completed for viewing on Monday.



Looking for ideas or lesson plans to use at your school on September 17th? In this podcast I share my favorite resources for Constitution Day ideas. We would love to hear about your plans for Constitution Day - leave a comment on this blog entry and include a Constitution link of your own.

Direct link to Podcast #118 - Ideas for Constitution Day - September 17th - MP3 Format - 11:27 Minutes

Podcast #118 Show Notes:

- National Constitution Center - Constitution Day Lesson Plan and Resource Database

- Interactive Constitution Online - National Constitution Center

- National Archives Constitution Day - Teaching with Resources

- National Archives Constitution Game - 12 paper clips and a die

- National Archives Constitution Questions / Answers and Quick Facts

- Interactive Christy painting from National Endowment for the Humanities

Podcast #117 - First Weeks of School - Peanut Butter and Jelly Archaeology, Student Learning Styles Quiz and More

Hello. In today's podcast I will discuss some of the things we do at the start of the year in class. Over the years we have done various things to create a tone and set expectations for the upcoming year. We don't jump right in to the first unit, but rather do a variety of activites to set up the year.

In the podcast I will explain how we complete a student information sheet, take a learning styles inventory quiz and perform an archaeological dig on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Direct link to Podcast #117 - First Weeks of School - Peanut Butter and Jelly Archeology, Student Learning Styles Quiz and More - MP3 Format - 21:40 Minutes

Podcast #117 Show Notes:

Lost on the Moon Activity - builds team work in groups with students

Student Learning Styles Inventory with suggestions on learning styles study skills

Peanut Butter and Jelly Archaeology instructions from National Paek Service