Summer Reads

Ok, friends and colleagues! We are down to SINGLE DIGITS in our countdown to the end of another crazy school year!!  Six or seven days after today. Woo!!!

As always, I love to share my summer reading list. I usually feel like I have more brain power to spend on more challenging books in the summer. Sometimes, the school year is so crazy, I can’t read anything really intellectual. But summer is when I don’t wear out my brain all day so I have brain power left to read the “good stuff”.

I hope you find ways to  learn something new and challenge your brain while you have more brain power available to you without those pesky kids around all day!

You certainly don’t have to read the same books as I will but I hope you’re starting to compile your summer reading list too. And if we DO read the same book, I’d love to talk about it in the fall!

So here goes! Tracy’s summer reading 2018. Cue the summer jams!   

1. Barracoon  by Zora Neale Hurston. Yes, Zora has a new book out despite being dead for 60 years. But what a subject -- this book is the product of her extended interviews with the last survivor of the middle passage. Yes, in the 20th century, there was an 80-year old man who had been brought over from his native west Africa at the age of 19. He remembered Africa and the journey clearly and told Hurston all about it. Rumor has it that the dialect may be a challenge, but for Zora and the topic I’m willing to work through it. It has languished unpublished in legal confusion until now and I’m pretty psyched about what this WPA-era anthropologist can tell about the horrors of slavery.

2. The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea by Jack Davis.  The 2018 Pulitzer prize winner for history is all about THAT gulf -- the one we will all be visiting this summer with our sunscreen. I may have to get meta and read about the Gulf while sitting along the Gulf with my toes in the Gulf. It’s supposed to be a huge-scale environmental history cover everything from continental formations to vacations and Hollywood. I can’t wait!

3. Origin Story by David Christianson.  I also love Big History -- the idea that science and history go together to explain the history of everything from the Big Bang through globalization. Now comes a new one-volume book to explain it all. It brings out my inner adolescent who wants to know “what all these classes have to do with each other”. Origin Story should help me put it all together.

4. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond. Another Big History book to help me get my brain World-History-ready for next year! This is Jared Diamond of Guns, Germs, and Steel. He’s really interesting in his emphasis of the link between geography and history. This is not a new book, but I never got around to it.

5. Never Work Harder than Your Students by Robyn Jackson. I have been poking through this one for a couple of months, but it deserves a sit-down, focused-read. It’s brilliant about how to make teaching great (again?) and how to have your kids work harder than you do. She takes some unexpected paths to get there, but that’s what I like about it. Hint -- it’s a lot about relationships, but not just “getting along”. I have been finding this book powerfully spot on and could be a fabulous way to get your kids to work harder while you reduce your own exhaustion level.
6. Building Executive Function: The Missing Link to Student  Achievement by Nancy Sulla. I am fascinated by what I have been learning about executive functioning. Do your kids struggle to START their work? Do they not remember ANYTHING about last week or even yesterday? Do they lose everything? Do they struggle to get/stay focused? Do they struggle to solve a problem (math or real-life)? They’re not just lazy, slackers, or “low”. They might struggle with Executive Functioning. What is it and how can we help them build these skills?

Ok -- your turn! What’s on YOUR summer reading list? How can you enjoy your summer and learn new stuff? As always, I love to hear from you! EMail me at newmantr@pcsb.org and share your summer reading list!

-Tracy

HOT4Ham

Misconceptions  about Hamilton: An American Musical

1. It’s stuffy (Nope! It’s actually fun hip-hop!)
2. You have to see it (Nope! You can listen to the audio like the rest of us poor Floridians)
3. It’s not useful in a middle classroom (Nope! I think it can honestly teach benchmarks with higher-order thinking)

But seriously -- I don’t think I’ve geeked out this bad since New Kids on The Block.

I know, I know -- you haven’t seen it. NEITHER HAVE I (sigh). The only people who have seen it have lived in or visited NYC in the past year AND happened to have tons of cash to spend OR won a $10 ticket in a lottery.

I live in Florida. I’m a teacher, so I don’t have tons  of cash to spend.

So instead of seeing the biggest musical of this century so far -- I listen to it. Free on Amazon Prime Music. Free on Youtube. Or pay for the album, digitally or in the store. Whatevs.

I listen to it. And I watch clips on PBS.

But, if you teach 6th, 7th, or 8th grade in Pinellas -- NOW is the time to use Hamilton in your class! It hits benchmarks in ALL middle school classes this month (or next month).

And if you teach something else -- see if you can use it?

And it can give you a great jumping-off point for higher order thinking.I like to abbrieviate Higher-Order Thinking as “HOT”. It’s  more fun that way.

I think everyone should get HOT4HAM!

Here are my FOUR favorite ideas of HOT4HAM (HOT= “Higher Order Thinking” for “Ham”, Hamilton)

1. If you’re teaching causes of the revolution...  Use “Farmer Refuted” but make sure you have the lyrics, either on paper or on the screen.
1. Teaching Idea: Have the kids listen, the first time, to “Samuel Seabury’s” side and then write a one-sentence summary of his (the Loyalists’ side). Then, have them listen  again, this time paying more attention to Hamilton’s (the Patriots’ side) and write a one-sentence summary of the Patriots’ side.
2. HOT Higher-Order Thinking: Have the kids connect other historical figures from class to the side in the song they would identify with (Seabury’s Loyalist and Hamilton’s Patriot)

Addresses benchmarks (US Hist) SS.8.A.3.2; SS.8.A.3.3; (Civics) SS.7.C.1.3)

2. If you’re teaching the American Revolution ... Use “Right Hand Man” (first two minutes) and use “Guns and Ships”. Again -- print or project the lyrics (especially because they are rapped so fast in this song). You might annotate the lyrics, too, to help with some of the tough vocab here.  

1. Teaching idea: Then, ask students to turn and talk about how the individuals in the songs (Washington, Hamilton, Lafayette) contributed to the American War effort.
2. HOT Higher Order Thinking: Specifically, ask them to tell us how those men helped America win the war.  Have them rap their answer for bonus points.

Addresses benchmarks (US Hist) SS.8.A.3.3; SS.8.A.3.4, SS.8.A.3.6

3. If you’re teaching the Early Republic ... Use “One Last Time” (which is available as an actual video -- with actors singing!! At a Washington Prize Award ceremony).  This number teaches Washington’s Farewell Address -- both the reasons behind establishing the two-term presidency and the actual words of the document itself.

1. Teaching idea: Ask students to read excerpts from Washington’s Farewell Address to determine a few of the main ideas.
2. HOT Higher Order Thinking: I would ask students to use historical cause and effect skills and to write a few sentences about what would be different in our country if Washington hadn’t self-limited the presidency to two terms.

Addresses benchmarks (US Hist) SS.8.A.3.12 (Civics - it’s a stretch, but maybe  SS.7.C.3.8)

4.  If you’re teaching the Constitutional Convention & Federalist Papers ... Use “Non-Stop” and choose the excerpts that best help (there’s some extraneous verses here). Then,

1. Teaching idea: Focus on the verse about the Constitutional Convention.  Have students examine Hamilton’s contributions to the Constitutional Convention. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/duel/sfeature/hamiltonusconstituion.html
2. HOT Higher Order Thinking: Have students pull out two or three ways (from the song or the PBS Article that PROVE that Hamilton was a Federalist.
3. Teaching Idea: Focus on the verse about the Federalist papers. Have students discuss why Hamilton may have been motivated to write 51 essays about the Constitution.
4. HOT Higher Order Thinking: Have students explain how the quote below connects to the Federalists :

Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint.

-Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 15

Addresses Benchmarks: US Hist SS.8.A.3.10, SS.8.A.3.11. Civics SS.7.A.1.8

You don’t have to use Hamilton: An American Musical in your class. But you do have to use HOT (Higher-Order Thinking) -- and use them frequently.

If you’ve seen Hamilton: An American Musical -- tell me. Wait, don’t tell me. I’ll be too jealous.

I encourage you to catch a listen to Hamilton (links to audio above). Can you use Hamilton to teach middle school Civics or US History -- or something else? How can you use it to have kids practice higher order thinking skills(HOTs)? As always, I love to hear from you (especially if you have an extra plane ticket AND an extra Broadway ticket) :D Email me (about the HOT, not actually about your ticket) newmantr@pcsb.org

-Tracy

Top Ten Resources for Brushing Up on US History

I know that many of you who are changing content areas to US History are feeling a little anxious and would like to prepare for your upcoming year during this painfully-short summer. In order to help you prepare for your upcoming content change, we have put together a Top Ten Resources for Brushing Up On US History for those of you who may not have taught US  in a long time, have never taught it, or who would just like some more content resources.

I am intentionally not putting overly-academic sources on this list. This is your summer, and I assume that many of you would like to study in a more enjoyable way. Please, research what you can in a manageable, pleasant way. Don’t over-do it. J

Here are some (10!) of our favorite resources for learning, reviewing, or teaching US History:

1.      Your Colleagues: The first and best resource are the current US History teachers in your school. Please find your current US History teacher colleague and ask him or her what her or his favorite resource is, for either teaching or just for content knowledge. Buy him or her a fruity, cool beverage and hang out, talking US History.

2.      Your TCI Textbook: Borrow a student US History textbook and flip through it at your leisure. In July, you should be able to start with a new subscription to TCI US History (Through Industrialism).

3.      Crash Course US History: The brilliant author and internet super-star (and my secret boyfriend) John Green Has a Youtube Channel called “Crash Course US History”.  This consists of well-researched, historically current, 10-minute videos, each on a topic in US History, narrated by John Green. These aren’t really for kids. He talks too fast, too academically, and occasionally uses an NSFW word or description. It’s great for you-the-teacher to brush up on topics on which you may be rusty. Or watch the whole thing, through episode 25. They’re short and you could watch them on your phone while hanging out this summer.

4.      America, the Story of US: This History Channel  “America: The Story of US” mini-series from 2010 has it all – great visuals, celebrity commentators, the comprehensive story of our nation. Watch the ones related to our course (which is from 1500-1877). Many schools have copes of the DVDs, or you can buy an episode at a time from Apple or Amazon.

5.      Student Novels: It’s easier to Learn US History from a teen novel than from an academic work. Try these favorites. They're more for you-the-teacher than for your students. 

• Copper Sun Was often read with 8^th graders. Not appropriate for 6^th graders. Still, really powerful novel of slavery
• Lyddie Novel of early industrialization at Lowel textile mills
•  Nightjohn Novel of slavery. Easy read for 6^th graders, but may be too violent.
•  Behind Rebel Lines: A girl dresses as a boy to enlist in the Civil War
• Come Juneteenth: About when slaves are freed with the Emancipation Proclamation. 
• New Found Land:  Lewis and Clark’s voyage, told from multiple perspectives in free verse poetry.

6.      Movies: Again, NOT for your students. But Glory is one of the BEST historical movies ever, and probably THE best for our time period (other than Matthew Broderick’s bad accent). Please don’t show this to your students. But stream it online this summer and feel inspired to remember the 54^th Massachusetts!  

a.      Honorable Mention: Last of the Mohicans, Amistad, 12 Years a Slave.

7.      Lies My Teacher Told Me: The great author James Lowen has helped us get past the fairytale versions of US History that many of us learned in school so we can teach kids about the messy, complicated world in which we live. Lies My Teacher Told Me is a wonderful book to examine US History. When I searched the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative I found one digital version, six paper versions, and two audio CD versions of this book.

a.      Honorable Mention: “Study Up” Quick Study

8.      Favorite US History Websites:

• a.      Gilder Lehrman https://www.gilderlehrman.org/
• b.      Archiving Early America http://www.earlyamerica.com/
• c.      Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/
• d.      National Archives https://www.archives.gov/
• e.      US History.org http://www.ushistory.org/
• f.       Colonial Williamsburg http://www.history.org/
• g.      Exploring Florida http://fcit.usf.edu/FLORIDA/DEFAULT.HTM
• h.      100 Milestone Documents in US History https://www.ourdocuments.gov/

9.      Mission US Video Games: Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, these games are AWESOME. Admittedly, I like them ALMOST as much as the kids do. Mission: US is super-fun. And great for learning.

10.   Hamilton: Seriously. Hamilton the Musical is a great way to brush up on early American History. How can you NOT get excited about US History when you’re listening to Alexander Hamilton do an epic rap battle with Thomas Jefferson about the national debt? Playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda based his musical on the respected biography by Ron Chernow.  Listen on Youtube or check out the annotations on Lyrics Genius about each song.

There are a million wonderful resources for teaching middle school US History. Brush up on your knowledge of US in whatever way you can make enjoyable – musicals, YouTube videos, movies, video games, books, or whatever.

Don’t forget that we, your district SS department are helping you tackle this change in a few other ways:

◦        Several days of PD this summer for anyone interested and available  (6/13, 7/18, 7/26)

◦        We also have a team of current 6^th and 8^th grade teachers working hard this summer to help make adaptations for you.

◦        DWT will full of US History content, resources, and planning!

◦        We have a team revising our MFA field trip for the two-year US History focus.

We know that change is hard! Don’t forget to share with us cool resources we have missed or problems that arise!

Happy History-ing!