This weekend I have been thinking a lot about how we as educators are teaching the history of protest in the United States, from the Boston Tea Party to the Women's March yesterday. Teaching in elementary schools for so long has taught me the value of visuals. Written primary sources are great, but they are … Continue reading Teaching Protest -#BLOG365 Day 134 #sschat #edchat
Informal Learning
Museum Monday: Bottle Digging and Using Collections in the Classroom #sschat #museumed-#BLOG365 Day 130
This weekend I finally decided on a place for my grandmother's bottle collection. For two years the bottles have been packed away and I have been waiting to finish remodeling or find the perfect piece of furniture to display them (having my 3 cats in the back of my mind too!). Saturday we picked up … Continue reading Museum Monday: Bottle Digging and Using Collections in the Classroom #sschat #museumed-#BLOG365 Day 130
#whereissasha Our Exam Crazed System – #BLOG365 Day 124
No surprise I am anti-exams. Exams don't give us a clear picture of student understanding. They don't prepare students for 21st century careers. They cause anxiety for our students. They encourage low level thinking and regurgitation. They don't encourage collaboration or creativity. Last night #whereissasha blew up on social media. The teacher in me knew … Continue reading #whereissasha Our Exam Crazed System – #BLOG365 Day 124
Museum Monday: Salesman Samples- #BLOG365 Day 122 #sschat #objectbasedlearning
One of my favorite units at the museum school was a unit called "Everything Changes." The interdisciplinary unit covered changes over time. During this unit we often had the students create object timelines: a telephone through time, children's games over time, etc. Years and objects were combined to create visual timelines of how everyday objects … Continue reading Museum Monday: Salesman Samples- #BLOG365 Day 122 #sschat #objectbasedlearning
Museum Monday: Ephemera in the Classroom -#BLOG365 Day 117 #sschat #objectbasedlearning
I have been on an ephemera kick lately. I guess that happens when you are a teacher at heart and always on the lookout for teaching tools. Or maybe it is because my house is filling up with furniture and I have to start looking for smaller items to satisfy my antiquing addiction. Truthfully, I … Continue reading Museum Monday: Ephemera in the Classroom -#BLOG365 Day 117 #sschat #objectbasedlearning
When Objects Tell the Full Story Together-#BLOG365 Day 112
When I read this article the other day, For the First Time, All 5,000 Objects Found Inside King Tut's Tomb Will Be Displayed Together, it made me wish I was back in the classroom with my sixth graders teaching world history. My students loved our unit on Ancient Egypt and they loved investigating Egyptian objects. A … Continue reading When Objects Tell the Full Story Together-#BLOG365 Day 112
Museum Monday: What’s the Story #BLOG365 Day 110
What better gift for this object-based learning devotee? This was one of my favorite holiday gifts. A shoe. I have no idea how old it is, no idea where it came from, who owned it or what it's story is. If I was using this object in my classroom I would ask my students to investigate … Continue reading Museum Monday: What’s the Story #BLOG365 Day 110
Museum Monday: Student Curators -#BLOG365 Day 106
I've written a lot about student-created exhibitions on my blog. One of the most challenging components of a student-created exhibition is the process of writing labels. It's challenging for museum curators too. Getting the gist of an object or exhibition theme into 50-100 words is difficult. In a school setting label writing integrates literacy and critical … Continue reading Museum Monday: Student Curators -#BLOG365 Day 106
Museum Monday: What Would the Founders Drive?- #BLOG365 Day 97
No surprise I follow Colonial Williamsburg on social media. Last January Colonial Williamsburg posted a blog post entitled What Would the Founders...Drive? and then did a follow-up post in May. Historical interpreters in Colonial Williamsburg were asked to make a conjecture about what types of cars the founders may have driven and why. The posts … Continue reading Museum Monday: What Would the Founders Drive?- #BLOG365 Day 97
Questions Create Learning-#BLOG365 Day 93
My dear friend Christy Howard is on the #BLOG365 adventure with me and also doing Museum Monday posts. I have been bad about checking out the posts from my fellow bloggers lately, but today I headed over to her page to gain some writing inspiration. This week her Museum Monday post was about William the … Continue reading Questions Create Learning-#BLOG365 Day 93
Jill Cross 