It's Called Multitasking

Anecdote #1: Actual conversation I had with my husband this week.

Husband: Honey, what are you working on over there?

Me: Nothing. Why?

Husband: Because you are on your phone with one hand and your tablet with the other. It looks like you’re working hard.

Me: Nope. My tablet is slow, so I like to shop on my phone while my tablet is loading

Husband: You need two devices at the same time?  

Me: I guess? Is that weird?

Husband: I think you have a problem.

Anecdote #2: Actual conversation I had with my six year old this week.

Me: Sweetie, stop talking! I can’t concentrate on doing your hair while you’re talking about the Odd Squad TV show and acting it out.

My daughter: (with newly learned sassiness) MOM! It’s called multitasking. And I can DO it!

*Disclaimer. I have no idea where my first grader learned this.

Seriously, y’all. We may have a multitasking problem in my house. (ummm... It MIGHT be me. Just sayin'.).

I thought I was doing my daughter’s hair, only to discover that I was actually part of an audience-participation show on an imaginary TV show that I haven’t really paid attention to.

I thought I was doing online shopping, only to discover that I was really browsing social media at the same time.

Part of that comes from being a teacher. We’re supposed to teach lessons while we monitor behavior while we informally assess the learning while we mentor while we notice the signs of health issues, bullying, mental health, and more.....

Teachers HAVE to be multitaskers. It’s in our job descriptions.

Sometimes, multitasking is a bad thing. Texting while driving (or while teaching or while out to dinner or while in a meeting)  -- is not a good choice.

Taking attendance while checking homework while managing behavior all at once -- IS a good choice!

If we step back a little from our day-to-day into our “big picture”, we can see other ways that multitasking can be beneficial.

We think we were hired to teach “history” or “civics” or “economics”. But really we are tasked with multitasking -- teaching historical thinking skills, geography skills, reading, logic, primary sources, study skills, thesis writing, civic engagement, cooperation, speaking and listening skills and more.

We are the SOCIAL sciences. We teach SOCIAL-related skills of communicating, listening, thinking.

Our benchmarks include content as well as those skills. Some skills are explicitly listed. Some are parts of other skills or are necessary to master certian benchmarks.

I encourage you to think of yourself as a multitasker when you plan your lessons. Ask yourself what skills you are teaching WITH your content and be intentional about the teaching of those skills as well as that content.

When you multitask your skills in with your content, you’ll find that your students are better prepared for tests -- and for life.

How do you multitask your teaching of skills with your content? How do you plan for your multitasking in this area? As always, I love to hear from you! Email me newmantr@pcsb.org

Simone Biles and Growth

Have you been watching the Olympics? If you follow gymnastics outside of the Olympics you already knew what a rockstar she was. But the rest of us who only watch gymnastics during the Olympics have just learned this: Simone Biles is incredible.

At 19 years old, she is already the most decorated gymnast in US history.  She is also the first American gymnast ever to win the grand slam of all-around titles: U.S. National Championships, World Championships, World Cup (American Cup), and Olympics. Yesterday, she won her 4th gold medal, the first time a gymnast has won 4 gold medals in over thirty years. She is being called “arguably the best female gymnast in the world”.

She’s amazing. She is tiny, she’s strong, and she makes everything look easy. Seriously, y’all. She makes being an Olympian look easy.

But how did she get there? She didn’t come from a family of Olympians (actually she came from a non-traditional family) She didn’t start training while she was in diapers (actually she didn’t even see a gym until she was 6 on a field trip). She didn’t even have the most experienced coach!

Now, I know, I know. Simone Biles has an incredible natural talent. This is indisputable.

But she has something else. You can call it grit. You can call it perseverance or determinism. This kid -- a public-school kid who was raised by her grandparents who didn’t start or even try gymnastics until after the age of most Olympians -- worked her butt off. She went from “new” to “ok” to “decent” to “great” to “most decorated gymnast in US history”.

She didn’t get there overnight. And she didn’t get there because everything came easy to her.

And she didn’t get there because someone looked at her six-year-old-self and said “there’s an Olympian”.

She got there because she had a growth mindset.

Students’ mindsets -- how they perceived their abilities -- are powerful factors. They might be one of the MOST powerful factors in a student’s success.

Students who believed that their intelligence could be developed (growth mindset) were a whole lot more successful in school (and in other areas, like gymnastics, for example) than those who believed that their intelligence was fixed (fixed mindset).A LOT more successful.

Did you catch that? Kids who believe their intelligence can INCREASE are WAY more successful than kids who believe their intelligence is “stuck”. Even more successful than “smart” kids who know they’re smart!

Guess what? Teachers who believe that their students’ intelligence is fixed (“She’s one of my smart kids” or “He shouldn’t even be in this class”) find that their students are LESS successful than those of teachers who believe that their kids intelligence can be grown (“She worked hard to get there” or “He improved a lot from then to now”)

Simone Biles has a growth mindset. She didn’t just assume that she could get “this far”. She believed that she could improve more. And improve even more on top of that. Her coach believed that she could improve. Her coach believed that Simone could improve even more and more.

Now, this isn’t just about effort. Growth mindset is about believing that intelligence is not a fixed thing. That a person’s intelligence can grow and expand -- in kids’ minds and in their teachers’ minds.

I challenge you to examine your beliefs in mindset. Do you believe that your --and your students’-- intelligence is FIXED? Or is it elastic and flexible? Can people -- and students -- get smarter?

If you believe yes (and I challenge you to at least consider it), check out these awesome resources  about Growth Mindset for teachers http://www.edutopia.org/article/growth-mindset-resources

Maybe the next Simone Biles is in your class. Or the next Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton!), John Hanke, or Simone Manuel. Someone getting smarter and more skilled all the time.

As always, I love to hear from you! Email me at newmantr@pcsb.org

Eric The Eel

I am not much of a sports fan, but I do love the Olympics. It’s something about all the countries coming together for sport and not for more somber matters. I love the opening ceremonies, the pomp of the parade of nations, fascinating back stories, and the surprising fun of learning about new sports (Understand the rules of steeplechase, anyone?) and lesser-known countries (Do you know where Kirabati is?). I must have watched the Jamaican bobsled movie a hundred times when I was a kid.

So, when I read about Eric the Eel, it hit all my Olympic buttons. In the late 90s, the Olympic committees decided to bring the spirit of the Olympics to more developing nations and allowed competitors from those nations to enter, without having passed qualifying rounds. 

In 2000, Eric Moussambani, from Equatorial Guinea, had only started swimming 8 months before -- on weekends in a river. He had never been in a pool at all until a month or two before the Olympics -- and had never been in an Olympic-sized swimming pool until his actual race. During his heat, the other two Wild Card swimmers were disqualified and so Eric swam alone -- dog-paddling and floundering and stalling out in the huge pool. Spectators cheered him along to the finish -- which he completed at more than double the time of the previous heat. Despite his long time, he was incredibly proud of his finishing his first 100-meter race.

He became an Olympic celebrity for his perseverance and character. And then, he learned even more and became the swim coach of Equatorial Guinea.

Eric the Eel got to compete in the Olympics despite most people thinking he couldn’t -- because he had high expectations for himself. Despite his lack of preparation, he busted his behind and not only competed in the Olympics, but learned the sport even better to become a coach!

I hope you have high expectations for your students this year, regardless of their preparation or lack of preparation. I hope you believe in your students and cheer them on, even when you’re not sure they will even complete the task, let alone excel in it. I hope you don’t give up on even the longest long-shot. I hope that you have some Eric the Eels in your classes -- and that you treat all struggling students like Eric. Maybe they haven’t gotten there -- YET -- but they will.

And I hope those kids take what they learn from you and use it to help others down the line.

Have a great first day of school!

Tracy Newman

Reading-in-Social Studies Coach

newmantr@pcsb.org

http://thoughtfulsocialstudies.blogspot.com

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!