They came, they saw, and hopefully, they were not conquered!

The start of class on Thursday was priceless. They entered class to an arrangement of desks that were in a semi circle. The desks themselves looked the same, but the configuration was something that was new to the students. They examined the set up and took their seats, but they did so with a sense of understanding one truth that seemed to hit many of them simultaneously:

Things are different now.

We started the unit on Growth in America. Students took their seats and declared their choices. In making their choice to option one or option two, students began to understand that they were bound by their choices. This allowed them to begin the process of harnessing their energies in working towards one goal: Understanding how America “grew up” in this time period.

In thinking globally about it, much of this unit resonates with our students. This journey of scholarship has caused many of them to “grow up” so that it would make sense that students would sense parallel experiences in how America has grown up, also. Contained within this unit is a story of growth, pain, discomfort, triumph tempered with a sense of unknown, as well as the notion that all answers are met with more questions. One mountain scaled is met by another mountain in wait. While this would be a good way to describe America at the outset of the Civil War, I would also think that such a classification could encompass many, if not all, of the students on 7-1 and their voyage into American History. There is much in this unit to speak to our students.

Long term growth can only be accomplished with small term advancements. Bearing this in mind, all students should focus on the comprehension of the items presented in chapter 11. Option 1 students will have their note taking guides and Check Your Progress Questions due on Thursday with their Chapter 11 Exam on Friday. Option 2 students have their first DBQ due on Monday, 5/4. Their focus should be on completing the reading in chapter 11 and complete engagement in the process of drafting as often as possible.

We eagerly anticipate how students will meet yet another challenge, another mountain to be climbed.

Happy Hunting!
Mr. Kannan

The Choice Awaiting All 7-1 Emerging Scholars

With the completion of the teaching assignments, students will have to make a choice this week. Our upcoming unit on Growth in America that centers chapters 11- 13 will force students to have to decide the method in which they wish to address it. One method is based out of the textbook while the other is based out of primary sources. In the attempt to provide full disclosure and attempt to illuminate the choices of our students, I shall use this week’s blog entry to clarify. Much of this decision will be based on the central question that has to be put to all students: What do you love? Both methods of covering the unit will compel students to deliver high quality work in both process and product. However, the question of what students want lies firmly embedded in the rock of love. That is to say, does a particular student love history? If a student cannot commit to the love of history, perhaps the complementary question should be, does a particular student love their grade? The posing of such questions should prompt a strong discussion, within which the answer lies.

Option one is rooted in textbook analysis. Students will be assigned a chapter a week, and will be asked to identify critical points in each section through a reciprocal reading format. They will be responsible for completing the Check Your Progress Questions that are present at the end of each section. The method of assessing each particular section will vary from a standard exam, to the composition of a “Top 10 List,” and Outcome Sentences. The mode of instruction will range from student collaboration to direct instruction via lecture and will happen only about twice a week. Yet, the challenge here is being able to pace oneself in their work while addressing elevated topics from the textbook. Due to this level of inherent challenge, the methods of assessment and form of instruction have been designed to integrate such difficulty. This translates to students being highly responsible for completing work on their own recognizance within class and outside of it. If students are comfortable with the direct approach of the textbook and prefer a pattern of consistency in the work expectations, then this approach might be quite seductive. This is because the student has the textbook as their primary guide and, after a year of its company, there might be a certain comfort in continuing this trend. There is little risk featured in this option. Students are responsible for budgeting their time appropriately on their own and ensuring that they can meet articulated deadlines. In addition to this, students will be able to sustain their grade through voyaging through fairly familiar terrain, albeit with new content. For the student who seeks a secure method to covering the material and ensuring a certain level of control combined with a minimal risk approach towards grade maintenance, this option might prove quite enticing.

Option two possesses more risk but can deliver more of an upside for students who seek a future in history. Students who undertake this option will be responsible for reading the material, but then engage in composing an essay through a Document Based Question format, or DBQ. The DBQ is the basis for all historical based scholarship. Whether in 8th grade or in high school, the DBQ and a student’s ability to compose one effectively compose one will help differentiate talented students from scholars in history. One of the defining characteristics in Honors or Advanced History classes is based on a student’s writing ability, and in particular, writing DBQ’s. This option is a challenge, a risk, because students will use the textbook as a pure secondary source, and rely on their composition of each chapter DBQ from a set of Primary Sources of that time period. Students will have to considerably more reading and writing in this particular task, as they are reading both textbook and multiple primary sources and composing a DBQ essay for each chapter. The students who love history or possess a sense of love regarding scholarship should undertake this option. Add to this recipe of challenge that the student who undertakes this option must budget their time in order to read two sets of readings (Textbook secondary and Primary Source) and draft, perhaps multiple times, a DBQ essay, and one senses how different this option is from the first one. Students who select this option are doing so because their future in history or scholarship drives them past where others might see.

Both options are going to be difficult. Extra credit in Social Studies has disappeared, and as we enter our last phase of our journey of scholarship, this moment in our shared time will be the most arduous. This unit sets the stage for our final unit on The Civil War. The problem, our students might see, is one of choice, but it is also the source of great notions of liberation and personal responsibility.

We all await the choices of our students, our emerging scholars.

Mr. Kannan

What Lies Ahead After the Teaching Assignment

For this week’s blog, I have decided to print a copy of the letter that students will receive once the chapter 9 Teaching Assignments have reached their inevitable conclusion. Timelines for completion will be given to students at the time of receipt of this letter. I hope this letter will start the process of dialogue between parents and students to ensure that choice voiced is choice respected.

April _______, 2009

Dear Parents/ Guardians:
The purpose of this letter is to inform you of our upcoming unit on Growth in America. The focus of this unit is to analyze the development of Modern America from economic and social points of view. Some of the concepts addressed will be industrialization, immigration, social awareness, differing approaches to economic growth, Westward Expansion, as well as the growing divide between North and South with regards to the institution of slavery. The chapters covered in our textbook will be 11, 12, and 13. As with so much this year, change is a compelling concept. In past years, I have engaged in a series of direct instruction lectures designed to accomplish the comprehension of content in these chapters. However, this year I am proposing a different way to grasp the essential concepts that arise from these chapters. This differentiation will rest on the broad shoulders of our students who will choose which option best fits their particular talent sets.
There are two options for this course of study and students will have to choose one. These options are presented in more detail at the bottom of this document. One option is a textbook based, secondary source analysis, while the other is an American History primary source analysis. Intrinsic to both options is the reading and absorption of all sections in chapters 11, 12, and 13. There will be individualized tasks within each choice. The point values will be the same for all students, but the specific tasks will be different. For example, a student who chooses the textbook based secondary source analysis will have a different set of tasks to complete than the American History primary source student. Direct instruction will be conducted by groupings, so not all students will receive directed instruction each day. On the days when students are not engaged in direct instruction, they will have class time to work on their specific task at home. Underscoring this is that students will have to make efficient use of their time outside of class. Students will be asked to make a commitment to their choice on _____________________.
I have outlined the two choices to all students. The choice is going to be left to them. I encourage you, as parents/ guardians, to discuss which option is best suited for your particular student, your emerging scholar. While the problem here could be the choice, it could also be the source of liberation, as students can strive to find their academic voices through an appropriate choice. I stress to all students that their choices are for them, and them alone, and they should choose what they think is best for them. These tasks will be done individually, so collaboration with colleagues will not be an option for this unit. As with all choices, it is my hope that students make the right choice, for the right reasons.
The last point I would like to make here is one based on the notion of differentiation. Over the year, I believe that I have taken special strides to differentiate the content in American History in order to reach every student. However, I have always claimed that a large component of differentiation of content is contingent on student choice. When students choose to find their academic voice, choose to inject their passion and zeal into their work, and choose to display their heart within the paradigm of intellectual discourse, differentiation has been accomplished as content has gained more purpose. In this particular unit, groupings have been offered and within each designation, further differentiation is even more evident. Yet, students will have to choose which task is best suited for them. Every student will be granted equal access to all options. All students are entitled to a pasture within which their intellectual sojourn can take place.
If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me at school or at home (__________________________). In the final analysis, as we begin our mad dash towards the end of the year and the Final Assessment, it is the choices of our students, your emerging scholars, that will be able to demonstrate the best chance of success.

Thanking you in advance,
Mr. Kannan
P.S. Students will receive the calendar of events, a sequence that lists due dates of all specific assignments, once choices have been declared. Our journey begins with all students reading chapter 11, so if students wish to move at their own pace, they could begin here. In the words of the great coach, “Is this fun or what?!?”

Unit: Growth in America
Chapter 11- North and South Take Different Forms
Chapter 12- The Age of Reform
Chapter 13- Westward Expansion


Two Options:
1) Textbook Based Secondary Source Analysis
2) American History Primary Source Analysis

Requirements:
* All students will have to read all the sections from the texts and compose notes on said reading.
* Direct instruction will transpire each day with different groups. Grouping calendar will be distributed. Different deadlines for different groups, and each group will be responsible for meeting their specific deadlines.
* Each grouping will have to complete different tasks on chosen items.
Description of groupings:

1) Textbook Based Secondary Source Analysis
In this grouping, students will have to do the following:
• Read each section of each chapter
• Take notes on each section (to be submitted at the end of each unit)
• Complete the Check Your Progress Questions from each section (to be submitted at the end of each unit)
In addition to this, as each chapter is concluded a unique assessment will accompany completion:
Chapter 11- Multiple choice exam
Chapter 12- Top 10 List for Age of Reform
Chapter 13- Outcome Sentence Assessment on Westward Expansion

This is a very straight forward and direct method of analysis on chapters 11, 12, 13. For those who can follow the direction of the textbook and ideas presented, this will be a good option. The end of the chapter assessments will challenge students in understanding how to synthesize what is understood in the text which application in different arenas.



2) American History Primary Source Analysis
In this grouping, students will have to do the following:
• Read each section of each chapter
• Complete one set of Check Your Progress Questions from each chapter (to be submitted at the end of each unit)
• Read the Primary Source Documents on each topic
• Complete the questions for each Primary Source Document
In addition to this, as each chapter is concluded, students will be asked to compose an essay on a Document Based Question (DBQ) from each chapter. Document Based Questions, or DBQ’s, assess the ability of each student work’s comprehension of historical sources in multiple forms. These are writing prompts/ essays which ask students to analyze meaning, point of view/ biases, and historical evidence as students develop and support a thesis. (Taken from www.edteck.com/dbq/testing/dbq.htm)
This is a very strong option for the student who enjoys examining history in “real time.” The student who likes to make connections between history in the textbook with real life narratives would enjoy this option. The writing of the DBQ would be challenging and serve to provide the basis of “how to write in history.”



I do hope this starts the dialogue. The wordle above is composed of my narrative comments of teaching assignments delivered to classes thus far. My hope is that students can find their own assessments or their colleagues’. Best wishes for the chapter 9 exam on Friday.

All best and happy hunting and choosing.
Mr. Kannan

Living as a teacher, yet making choices as an emerging scholar

With our return from Spring Break, our teaching assignments will take flight. No doubt, students will have some interesting stories to tell about their foray in teaching a class, assigning and grading homework, assessing student performance and administering an exam. This should be unique, to say the least. However, the real interest will lie in what confronts students after the teaching assignment. In covering the topics addressed in chapters 11, 12, and 13, students will be faced with a choice. They will have to decide if they wish to approach the content within a standard textbook framework of through the composition of Document Based Questions. I think that both will be challenging, but students are going to have make a choice about whether they have a passion to explore their talents in history and writing. This will be where I think the more interesting aspect of our students’ choices will lie.

For now, let students be teachers. Let them experience the dizzying highs an painful lows of being an educator. Let them live at the hyphen, replete with its discomfort and anxiety. Once they are done with this, we will stand back allowing them to choose. In the next couple of weeks, blog entries will be focused on both options.


For now, though, happy hunting.

Mr. Kannan