Recreating History Using Spatial Skills

Finding waypoints.

A couple of years ago, the Obama's ConnectEd initiative provided schools with the opportunity to have free access to the online GIS mapping tool ArcGis.  I jumped on the opportunity not realizing that the learning curve would be a steep one for me. However, the project-based learning possibilities involving problem solving, data analysis, and technology integration encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone. 

Fortunately, it was not a journey I had to take without guidance. Vanderbilt professors, Janey Camp and Steve Baskauf (also a USN alumni dad), generously provided their time and expertise so our 5th graders could dip their toes in GIS mapping. Janey and Steve's passion in this field was inspiring. Their collaboration was instrumental in helping me design a project that would be engaging, yet developmentally age appropriate for 5th graders. The objective of the project was to develop a core set of skills to get students thinking of maps they could design in the future.     

Recreating primary source image with iPad.

Recording changes in the landscape. 

I also wanted the project to be connected in some way to history. In comes collaborator number three, Jenny Winston, USN archivist. Jenny pieced together a collection of images 

Analyzing primary source.

from the USN archives taken on Vanderbilt's Magnolia Lawn from the 1930's to the 1990's. Students, in groups of three to four, spent time in class analyzing the different images using the thinking routine, See, Think, Wonder. Students were told they would take a walk over to Magnolia Lawn to determine the original spot their image was taken and recreate it. Using the iPad, students marked up distinct landmarks on the digital images. It was no surprise that all of the students identified the trees as targeted landmarks. 

  

                  Using Explain Everything app to mark up primary source.

Our next step was for students to learn how to collect data by locating waypoints (latitude and longitude) using GPS devices and to record their observations on field notes. So, off we went across the street to Magnolia Lawn with GPS devices, iPads and clipboards in hand. At first, following the multiple steps required to use the GPS devices brought on a few challenges.  After reading their reflections, what they considered to be a focal point, the trees, in reality became somewhat of an obstacle. Here are some of the student reflections noting the different ways the landscape of Magnolia Lawn & the USN Edgehill entrance have changed over the years: 

Maya: "The tree in my picture was much more decayed and broken down. There was more foliage, so it was hard to identify the location of the photographer."
Eva:  "So much has changed on Magnolia Lawn. Things like trees, bushes, and things that might have otherwise been keys to finding the spot where the picture was taken are no longer there."

Townsend: "There were bike racks along the grass at USN. There are a lot more trees today than in 1950. The doors of the school are brown today, not white.  A lot of the trees in my photo are not there, so it was very hard to find the right place to take the photo."

Lindsey: "I was looking for a crack in the road, but since the road had been fixed, the crack was not there. I was looking for a tree split in half at the bottom with ivy all over it, but the tree was not there. I had a lot of fun doing this project, and I think that you should do it next year. I had fun trying to find the spot and the angle of the picture. Also, it was a little bit of a challenge because a lot of the characteristics that were there in the 1980’s were not there when I recreated the picture. It was like a puzzle, and I had fun finding the pieces."

Philip: "One of the human characteristics that was in my photo and is not around anymore is the white paint on the front of USN. A physical characteristic that is not around today is the extremely heavy foliage of the trees in one of the photos. We ran into many look alike trees, and other things that were confusing, such as which building to choose, as they all had columns. I think we worked very well together, seeing as we found all three photographs. We had a good time in the process, all cooperating together and checking the others' views of where the photograph might be taken from, and often agreeing with each other."

Myla: "There are no longer ridges on the stone wall as seen in the primary source, now it's now just a flat stone wall. We had a hard time finding the exact waypoint of the 1942 photo because there were trees blocking the building, so we couldn't see where we needed to stand. Finding the 1992 image location was challenging because now there is a tree that is blocking the direct view of the building. We found a tree that was in the primary source, but now it is much bigger."

Found the flowering dogwood tree, still standing.
Used PicCollage app to create before/after shots.

                           

                               Street between Magnolia Lawn and USN
                             made this picture tricky to recreate.

After collecting the data, students created maps with location pins, before/after photo images, and text explaining some of the changes. When mapping their latitude and longitude points, some groups quickly realized the importance of accurately recording waypoints. A pinpoint on the map in Alabama or Antarctica was a sure sign something was off!

Final student ArcGis map project.

Judging from the student reflections, everyone contributed towards the common goal using their unique talents for the good of the entire group and had fun in the process! 

Library of Congress, Hits it Out of the Ballpark!

My week at the Library of Congress Summer Institute for Civil Rights has been one of the best weeks of professional development I've experienced. I will not lie, it was extremely intense! I am certain I used up every ounce of brain juice. The analysis of primary sources was a total hook for an organic engagement of inquiry, collaboration and reflection.

Using the Project Zero thinking routines as a framework, each analysis activity had us actively invested in the process in so many different ways.

I was fortunate that I was familiar with the routines and had attended a Project Zero Casie conference all about thinking routines just 3 months before attending the Institute. Visible thinking strategies provide a framework to prompt students to be deep thinkers and synthesize new knowledge. The visible thinking, most importantly, shows the process of thinking not just a final answer. The book provides a menu of critical thinking activities that work with just about any learning opportunity. It's a wonderful way to keep the learning low-risk and open-ended. Visible thinking strategies also dovetailed perfectly with the analysis of primary sources. Some of the routines we used while analyzing primary sources were Headlines (great for synthesis) and Circle of ViewPoints (powerful way to tackle perspectives). 

Map Group Activity Ending with a Creation of a Headline

Another automatic go-to are the Library of Congress primary source analysis tools which scaffold the inquiry process for just about any possible primary source. There is also a web version available.

One of the perks to attending the Institute was the after hours tour of the Jefferson Building's Reading Room. We had total VIP access! I wish I could have bottled up the excitement as we entered the Reading Room, total giddiness. It reminded me of just a few months ago when I was at the Washington Memorial with eighty 8th grade students, and we ran into Usher doing a soundcheck for an Earth Day concert. 

     

We also had the incredible fortune to hear a panel made up of Rosa Parks' dear friends from the Rosa Parks Institute in Detroit: Elaine Steele, Lila Cabbil, Anita Peek, Dr. Roberta McLeod, Ella McCall-Haygen and other friends June Jeffries and Joe Madison. They shared with us Parks' courage and how she valued relationships. The ladies then hung out with us for part of the week. It was a truly surreal experience. 

Ella McCall-Haygen, me & Dr. Roberta McLeod

Panel of Rosa Parks' Friends

One of my favorite parts of the institute was the opportunity to tour the Library of Congress exhibit The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom. We were partnered up and were assigned to an exhibit case. We were then asked to select something that we connected with in the case and later present it to the group. We had questions to guide us in the process. It was jigsaw at its best! I'm totally stealing this idea next time we take our students to a museum.

Some of my major primary source takeaways I plan on using to ignite inquiry are:

• Focus on the voices behind the movement. I plan on highlighting Bayard Rustin, an openly gay man, that was the mastermind behind the March on Washington but is rarely noted.

• Include raw, unfiltered primary sources throughout the year as much as possible. Coming across a Daisy Bates letter regarding the poor treatments of black students at Central High, specifically mentioning Minniejean (visits our school every year during our Civil Rights unit), I consider hitting the jackpot! There is a goldmine of sources available.

• When teaching about the Civil Rights unit, I plan to include primary sources from slavery, Revolutionary War, to current events to represent the long and still much present struggle of social justice.
• During my Native American unit, I will fold in powerful Indian boarding school primary sources . I'm thrilled that there is actually a "Nashville" connection too. Adding this slice of history makes a connection later on in the year with the Civil Rights unit's focus on school segregation and civil rights violations. 

I walked away from the Summer Institute with a better idea on how to maximize the access/usage of the Library of Congress digital sources. The experience has totally transformed me, and I cannot wait to implement new ideas with my students. I've walked away a better teacher with an arsenal of best practice pedagogy and a passion for learning with primary sources. During the Institute, I was in the company of other educators that share my passion for learning and history! I have a feeling some of those friendships will continue inspiring me beyond our time together in Washington D.C.

Learn Like a Pirate!

I absolutely love summer! It gives me time to reflect, learn and act. Over the summer, I always fit in workshops/conferences and reading my highly anticipated stack of books. I learned via Twitter that @PaulSolarz has a wealth of knowledge which he generously shares. I was so excited when I heard he had written a book, no more 140 character limit! Paul Solarz's book Learn Like a Pirate pushed me to think about the way I run my classroom, taught me a few tricks, and now I am committed to create some change.

 I consider my classroom already to be student driven, but Paul's book has some practical suggestions that I can easily implement to iron out some of the bumps I run into.  Here are some changes I am creating in my classroom this year:

• Give Me Fives: What a wonderful way to empower students to step in and take the reins. I typically ask students to step forward to share with the class. By being the sole person to make these calls, I'm positive I am missing learning opportunities that everyone would benefit from, including me! I plan to introduce give me five at the beginning of school along with the rest of my rituals. I have a feeling it is going to be liberating and up the ante of our learning community.

• Post Daily Schedule: I tried this out a few times last year but was not consistent. I aim this year to stick with it. I feel this small change will help with my class activity transitions, which don't always run as smoothly as I wish. When I am in a workshop/conference, I too like to know the agenda.  I owe this piece to my students.

• Pulling Popsicle Sticks for Partnerships/Groupings: Grouping students is one area of my job, I don't enjoy.  I love the popsicle stick idea for grouping on the fly. As Paul states in his book, "Random partnerships help build strong student relationships amongst everyone in the room."

• Good versus Bossy Leadership: Students regularly collaborate in my classroom. Year after year, I run into a few students that hijack a group's efforts. The teacher-student discussion is a total balancing act, because I don't want to discourage the students from leading. Paul suggests in these instances to pull the student aside and ask them if their behavior is displaying good leadership skills or has crossed over into bossiness.  As teachers, we need to nudge the kids to lead with kindness by making them aware of their tone. I plan to front load the discussion when I present the collaborative group expectations, but will not miss out on the opportunity to provide feedback along the way!

• Student Reflection: The last couple of years I have gotten better by factoring in time for students to reflect on their learning. E-portfolios have been a great platform to record reflections. At times, I have overthought the process of guiding the students in this process. I have learned that you are better off by providing students with some guiding questions. Paul has great go-to questions to prompt deeper thinking during and after the learning process that I am totally stealing!

• Describe what happened or what you did during the lesson.
• To explain your learning experience provide: 

strengths and weaknesses

successes and setbacks 

hard and easy

• What did you learn due to the experience?
• What can you do to improve your learning? How will you extend your learning past what is expected?

There's much more in the book to check out including some active learning ideas, resources and 21st century skills. The book has QR codes that link up to Paul's website which is full of examples of student work, a great source for inspiration. Off to the next book in my reading stack, summer is near the end for me!

Historians as Work!

It's always exciting to plan and implement a new project, especially one packed with rich learning opportunities. Our school is turning 100 this year. So in honor of our centennial year, I designed an inquiry based project that would celebrate our school's history throughout the decades. My plan was to promote historical thinking as students analyzed primary sources and shared their findings in a digital story. What I did not expect was the high level of student engagement. Class periods seemed to be cut in half and students left class begging for more, a teacher's dream! I also got sucked in and was actively learning beside them as we uncovered the layers of our school's history.

The first step to creating the project was to identify the targeted skills I could integrate into the project such as:

- working in collaborative groups

- comparing/contrasting ideas

- analyzing primary sources

- inquiry & researching

- close reading, inferencing & summarizing

- sourcing & citations

- interviewing & presenting

Actually, the list of skills seemed to expand as the project evolved. For instance, I decided to weave in literary devices in order to prompt more descriptive writing.  The amount of technology skills embedded into this project was really off the charts too.

Building Background Knowledge

I invited colleagues to stop by our classroom to share stories about our school's inception. I felt this would give everyone a foundation of where and how it had all started. In the process, it ignited curiosity and a sense of excitement among the students.

   

The Time Capsule Hook

In order to kick off the project, I taught a mini-lesson on primary and secondary sources. I showed the students a clip of the 1795 time capsule that was recently found in Boston and another clip that revealed what was inside the capsule. I announced that we were about to embark on a similar mission to in order tell our school's story. They could not wait to start!

Creating an Archivist Mindset

Photographs:
To prepare my students to analyze photographs with a critical eye, I used a class activity I call Zooming In. Using my Smartboard, I revealed a photograph bit by bit, stopping to discuss: What do you wonder? What do you notice? What do you think? It was a great way to slow down the process of analyzing photographs. I would not reveal more of the photograph until all thoughts were exhausted. I was impressed by the questions and inferences students made. Students were surprised by how much information they could get from a single photograph.



Objects:
Prior to starting this project, I visited different antique shops around town to scout out unusual antique objects. Each group was assigned an object to analyze its design and purpose. Then, I brought out the modern day versions of the objects, so students could compare and contrast the objects.

 

Our school is very fortunate to have their own school archivist on staff, Jenny Winston. So, I took full advantage of her expertise and passion for primary sources. First, she and I worked closely brainstorming ways we could use the primary sources from our school's collection. After kicking around a few ideas, we decided on the concept of building decade boxes from the 1920s to the 1970s. She selected an assortment of primary sources, with 5th graders in mind, such as photographs, letters, newspapers, textiles, graduation rings, and yearbooks. She also scanned some of the sources from each decade and shared the Google Drive decade folders. So, the students had access to the digitized primary sources. They also had access to our school's virtual, interactive timeline and digital archives website which holds a larger collection than what could be found in their digital folders.

Decades GDrive folders with digital primary sources

On her first visit to our class, Jenny, brought a few interesting primary sources for the students to check out. She went over how to appropriately handle the sources in order to preserve them, by laying them flat to examine and turning the pages gently at the edge, all while wearing gloves. Honestly, there was something about the idea of students wearing white gloves as they handled the primary sources that transformed their mindset from a typical 5th grade student to a passionate archivist on a mission. It was like the white gloves came with investigative superpowers!

Let the Investigations Begin!

Students worked in groups of 3-4. They selected a decade of interest from 1920'-1970's and were provided a rubric. Each decade's inquiry was anchored with the same essential question, In what ways has USN preserved its traditions and evolved throughout the decade? Students were also provided with suggested focal areas of investigation (academics, sports, club/social, and facilities) but were encouraged to modify them as needed.  The project was easily differentiated based on the complexity of the primary source selection from different texts to photographs. Each primary source naturally provided the students with a breadcrumb trail to another source. Students were totally immersed in the challenge of piecing the puzzle together. One student made the connection of how he felt like Sherlock Holmes as he investigated. It was quite a scene to see their excitement as they connected the dots of their discoveries.

Analyzing Primary Sources

Technology Playing a Part

Technology only enhanced the process of investigating and reporting their findings. Students used the web to access secondary sources to answer questions that came up in their investigations like What is kitten ball? and How do you dance the jitterbug? They quickly discovered that taking pictures of primary sources allowed them to use the iPad as a magnifying glass, so they could zoom in and out on an image. Onsite reporting was a snap with a mobile device. Students used their iPads to take photos of the school and to interview faculty members. Our athletic campus is not located on our school's campus; not problem for my students, they cleverly realized they could use GoogleEarth to obtain street and ariel views. We used Book Creator to produce the digital stories. Students were encouraged to "smash" apps, and they did not hesitate to do it using PicCollage, Explain Everything and iMovie apps. Each student produced their own pages and later the group's pages were merged into one book.

                                                       

                                                               Book Creator Cover

It's Showtime!

Presentations were practiced in class and students were reminded not to read to the audience, but to aim at presenting the big ideas of their decade. They were also required to present dressed in attire representative of their decade. It was entertaining to hear a 5th graders interpretation on their decade such as how teachers never smiled in the 20s.

Changes for the Next Time Around...

It is wonderful when the outcome exceeds the expectations, and that's exactly what happened with this project.  The experience heightened my awareness that the level of student engagement and problem solving mindset increases significantly when primary sources are in the mix. This experience has motivated me to find ways for primary sources to be at the core of my instruction, promoting critical thinking and problem solving throughout the entire learning process. As I reflect, there are just a few items I would consider changing. In addition to the essential question, I provided students with supporting questions. A few students were paralyzed when they could not find answers to the supporting questions, even though they were told they did not have to answer all of them. While a few other students felt like they were done researching once the supporting questions were answered. I meant the supporting questions to be jumping off point not a means to the end. Next time, I would instead provide them with general questions that scaffolds the process of making observations & interpretations with the primary sources.

I feel we also underestimated the use of the digital primary source collection website. Initially, we felt the students would be overwhelmed by the amount of sources. However, once they figured out how to browse with tags, it was smooth sailing. Using the website would eliminate the need to share the decades GDrive folders. Groups collected and sourced their research on a shared GDoc. I might instead consider using Padlet next year.  I would also start off the project with each group researching the main historical events of their decade, before giving them access to the primary sources.

Lastly, I would consider a class trip to the Tennessee State Library of Archives next year prior to starting the research. This would add another level of authenticity to the entire experience.

While we will only be celebrating a centennial year once, I have a feeling this project will be experienced for many years to come!