Lesson and VIDEO 5/6/13 WPHS

http://youtu.be/b61V_iILrpc 

5/6/13
Global I
9th grade WPHS
 
Topic: Gunpowder Empires

Standards:

NYS Standards:

1.       Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

2.       Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.

3.       Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live - local, national, and global - including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth's surface.

4.       Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the United States and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms.

5.       Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

Writing Standards 

( ) 1. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.

( ) 2. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons and evidence.

( ) 3. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.

( ) 4. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationship between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.

Reading Standards

( ) 2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

( ) 3. Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.

( ) 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social or economic aspects of history/social studies.

( ) 5. Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis.

Objective: Students will be able to evaluate the comparative elements of teh " Gun Powder" Empires of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires.

Class Opener/ Warm up: Students will take out their previous nights homework (from Friday 5/3) and then begin the Multiple Choice questions. After that they will look at tonight's assignment. 

Direct Instruction: After completion of the MC Questions, we will go over the PERSIAN charts they received for homework about the three different gun powder empires. The essays which were handed back last week were also discussed after the MC questions because of the lack of attention to analysis and evidence which resulted in the grades the students received. After this, we went into the powerpoint on gunpowder empires. 

Student Practice/Application: Filling out the remaining/empty charts on the PERSIAN charts about the Safavid, Mughal and Ottoman Empires.

Summary/Closure: Review about Fall of Byzantine Empire, spread of Dar Al Islam, Mongol conquest starting with Genghis Khan, Impact of the trade routes and gunpowder technology spreading West throughout the Golden Age of Islam.

Formative Assessment: Thesis statement at the bottom of the PERSIAN chart, along with the completed chart.

Homework: "The Mighty Muslim Empires: One hot spot at a time" graphic organizer

Adaptations/Extensions/Technology: printed notes available to students who require them or asked for them, 5th/lunch/after school extra help and the use of the power point/smart board as well as the song of the day "Istanbul not Constantinople" 

Publications

https://w.taskstream.com/ts/martone1/MavericksEducationJournal.html/ujzgzl00ufz_zizqzmzizizc

Volume 1, pages 85-86.

Why Education? Why History?

Romans, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my cause, and be silent that you may hear. For the past decade I have been able to inundate myself with the knowledge and worldly experience that any educator would dream of. I have studied in foreign nations, traveled across the U.S and Canada and have experienced many diverse cultures along the way. Growing up in and around the greatest city in the world I have been able to keep an open mind as well as an open mouth. My thirst for history is almost as big as my appetite for delicious cuisine. Living in the digital age has caused me to saturate my information through all forms of media. I intend to use those media within a classroom setting to teach. In the 21st century, the interaction between teacher and student requires that we find different ways to communicate. In my experience, I have learned that today’s students are engaged by using all of their senses and leveraging the new media technologies that defines their generation. My plan is to make history relevant and accessible in a classroom.

In a history or social studies classroom, traditional teachers often fail to utilize all the media opportunities that are available to them to review, rehash, and inscribe history. As a joint degree in history and mass communications, I hope to bring a fresh perspective to help understand why history is portrayed the way it is. By analyzing different pieces of history, I could use text; video, pictures and hands-on work which could help the spectrum of learners as well as help me grow as an instructor and historian.

The first medium of voice and language gave us stories which were passed down through generations. Eventually humankind decided to write down these stories, which birthed the print medium. Gutenberg’s press ushered in the modern world and a few hundred years later, the first photographs were shot. After the turn of the 20th century, the invention of radio brought all kinds of information directly to the listener’s ears. News was transmitted as soon as it could be spewed over the airwaves and the technology of the future was at hand. The 1950s brought television; the 70s and 80s satellite television revolutionized the world. Live television let information flow at a rate with which humankind could barely keep up. Using radio clips students would be able to hear the voices of the people who they read about in their text books. Maps and overheads, hands-on cartography helps people understand why borders and rivers are important to nations and empires both past and present. Ever since I could remember, I have been in environments that allowed me to use visual, hands-on, and auditory ways of learning and experiencing all kinds of educational disciplines. Finally, the internet has turned into the ‘information super highway’ and allows access to millions of other people with different ideas, which are converted through print and video and audio wrapped up in one.

This extraordinary opportunity is a gift to teachers – allowing them to better communicate and teach through media which speak to today’s student. The opportunity to teach history with today’s media tools is unprecedented and exciting. It demonstrates how people are able to take different disciplines and blend them to better help students look back, share, and enjoy. What I would bring to this experience is a passion for humankind and a deep understanding of mass communication. It’s that little thing inside of us that makes us smile at positive evolution on our planet: that drive, that passion to help people understand who we are, where we come from, and how we can mold our own future together with our own hands is an important reason for this choice in education. With the help of modern technology, history can come alive from different directions and send someone back to that time. To have a young person, a student experience something for the first time, to learn the reason why he or she lives in a certain area can open their eyes. It can help them learn, open up and explore their passions. The question of what will be taken away from this experience would be that I hope to live long enough to never stop learning.

As a historian, I look behind me into the past especially in things that I enjoy like medicine, arts, entertainment, sports, and other areas which all use history as a marker for their place in time. But part of what makes me a unique historian is that I am also able to look forward. With this new methodology, it might even be considered that history is being made through the collection of ideas between student and teacher.

Unit Plan--Post Classical Civilizations (500-1500 CE)

Mark Kaphan

EDUC 709

Unit Plan

Post Classical Civilizations (500-1500ce)

I. The main thread that ties the Post Classical world has to be the way trade helped bring different ideas and objects throughout the known regions at this time. Without trade and the different cultures intermingling, these things would have never taken place. The unit plan encompasses the Byzantine Empire, Dar Al Islam (Islamic World), Feudal Europe and China during the Sui/Tang/Song periods which all fall under the years of 500-1500ce. Prior to this was the discussion of the Greek and Roman city states during the ‘Classical Civilizations’ along with the Han Dynasty in China. After this unit, the rise of African kingdoms, empires and city states will be taught, then the Mesoamerican empires during the Post Classical time period. In high schools across New York State, Global I classes are learning about different regions of the world in all different ways some either thematically or chronologically from Neolithic ear until the age of Enlightenment and Absolutism.  In White Plain High School in White Plains, NY, one particular Global I class has learned all about these four particular regions in the unit, ‘Post Classical Civilizations 500-1500ce.’ Usually these students are in their freshman year of high school, with a background in world history from 6^th grade and a combined 7^th and 8^th grade in American history.  Different students learn different ways so the type of language used in lessons has to be taken into consideration. In the honors section of Global I for instance, there is more difficult language and wording in a lot of the quizzes, tests and material, but the content still stays the same. During this unit we have given the students rigorous assignment which reflect the New York State standards for Social Studies but also the NCSS standards, being able to hit all ‘10’ points during lessons. The skills students bring into this class will help them take different sources and artifacts and analyze and evaluate them. They need to know how to identify and interpret maps and different diagrams, as well as illustrate the content through a variety of ways which are explained further in the unit plan. These seven lessons I have chosen from the Post Classical civilization unit talk about the Byzantine and Islamic world, about feudal Europe and the Sui/Tang/Song dynasties of China and finally a review lesson. Every day the NYS standards of Social Studies are covered. Standard One covers history of the United States and New York. This is talked about during our ‘Question of the Day’ which ties local history and examples with the topic of the day/lesson and is expressed in the student response.  Standard Two focuses on World History, so obviously the topic in a Global studies class falls under this standard. Three consists of Geography; where the region is located and how it affects the people who live there. Four covers Economics, so when we discuss political, cultural and economic developments of the particular regions this too is touched upon. Finally, Standard Five talks about civics, citizenship, and government which like Standard four, are covered daily when we incorporate the full scope of the individual regions, empires and civilizations because we adhere to the local customs, laws and societies within these regions and the people who inhabit them. I think the overall effectiveness of this unit hit the standards on a daily basis, by covering the material in different forms and fashions (lecture, graphic organizers, thesis writing, and collaborative work)  

II. Some of the assessments including multiply choice questions, a quiz, thesis statements along with the graphic organizers, a unit test, and a DQB essay rubric. These are some of the assessments that the students in the class will see during any particular topic and unit.  Almost every day some form of assessment will accompany the lesson along with the reading and note taking the student’s experience (Thesis on bottom of graphic organizer). During any particular lesson, as the instructor, I engage the students in both verbal and written responses and questioning to gain feedback to retention of knowledge and to assess myself to see how effective the lesson was going. I have to always keep myself aware if my audience loses interest in the lesson and go back to recapture them. Some of these assessments are quizzes and unit tests based on the information out of the text book, handouts, power points, projects and other assignments. The common theme of trade, cultural diffusion helped guide the political, economic and cultural aspects we touched upon on a daily basis.

When students come into the classroom the objectives are states clearly on the board, sometimes in the handouts as well. The format for these topics are as followed. First, students will be identifying the different geographies of the regions, will be analyzing and evaluating different cultural, economic, and political developments on the areas being talked about. When the information is processed through Power Points, graphic organizers, self-generated work from students, they will be able to illustrate and eventually be assessed on the material learned. Along with content objectives which were just discussed, some of the language objectives would be to Read and look at information for each civilization needed to fill out a maps as well as a graphic organizer page for notes (and the text book accompanies the lessons/handouts). The students would have to be able to break up into small groups to go around the room to look at artifacts that will accompany their readings and notes depending on the specific assignments. Usually collected at the end of most classes, a good reflection is when the class has an open forum to reinforce the content objective and any questions about homework and future assignments take up the last few minutes.  

III. During instructional learning, I try to find how students can understand the knowledge by meaningful Questions of the Day. This line of questioning causes them to think about themselves and how they would feel or act with relation to the topic being learned. I also take notice to students who might struggle or excel greatly with material I’m providing. When it comes to struggling students, maybe it’s a physical ability to overcome a language barrier or sometimes just lack of focus. A lot of my students who have language barriers sometimes will get printed or guided notes to help them along with the power points. Available to all my students is 5^th period, lunch and after school extra help. When we do group work, we arrange the desks and room in a way fitting for the lesson. During a review game this year, (Lesson 2/21) we had the room split in two for the gender feud review game. When using artifacts and comparing and contrasting different groups or regions we sometimes break the class up into groups more than four to help regionalize the different groups and have students concentrate on specific themes. Then we come together and they generate the work in presentation form, on the board, on posters, etc. For extra challenge in  this class we would offer during a quiz or unit test, more than the required number of thesis statements, or on a  DBQ to include all the documents instead of the required ‘half plus one.’  During lessons, I try to hit upon all different learning styles. Not only do I have graphic organizers for writing and reading but hands on artifacts, self-generated projects and work, and also skits, plays, raps/songs, and prayers are different ways students can display the information depending on the lessons. Students, who excel in the Regents Global class, might receive reading and writing assignments that would be on the honors level. Their level of acceleration will also be taken into consideration when it comes time for assessments. They might find their rubric for DBQs will be more detailed such as the ones for an honors or AP class. The content would stay the same but the scrutiny of the grading and work given to them will be able to maintain a higher degree of difficulty.

IV. The effectiveness of this unit is clearly illustrated in the student produced work in the appendices. These students would have to clearly state thesis depending what was being evaluated or analyzed. One of the students has a PERSIAN chart which is the first assignment for new topics because it accompanies a handout as well as text book pages and outlines the entire topic/theme. The acrostic PERSIAN, outlines political, economic, religion, social, intellectual arts, near geography aspects of the topic. This is the foundation of the lessons and is the starting point for student generated work. The standards were covered because we use the PERSIAN chart and reference back to that continually during future lessons under the same topic. When we assigned the DBQ essays, they contain rubrics so students are able to have guidelines for their assignments. (see Appendices)  They can assess themselves before they even had the assignment and that causes them to self-reflect and gives them skills to be able to own the assignment and raise the accountability level of the lesson. When it came to collection of assignments, students as well as parents are privy to grades via an online service provided by the district. Teachers enter assignments and people at home can keep an eye on progression which allows teachers to clearly show their grade book as well as a digital record of every assignment that is handed in. When meeting with the individual students who donated their work to my assignment, I asked them different questions about the topics, about the work, how effective it was when it came time for the test, and the majority of them said it wasn’t too difficult. One particular student said sometimes the language affected him so it took him a little longer on words he did not know. Another student who is currently in the process of getting educational support through a CSE mentioned to me that she feels rushed at times and gets anxiety from some of the material, but that is not limited to just my class-it’s across all her subjects. I also met with Mr. Davis about this student’s needs in class and we have made arrangements to have her sit in certain locations which are better for her to concentrate, she attends lunch and after school help with me or Mr. Davis and she also comes to us when we have long term assignments for any one on one help that she might need. (This is obviously open to any and ALL students). Even later on in the week I talked to one of the students about how all of his classes are doing just to get a grasp on the amount of work he is taking home and it turned out that just Global and Math were giving him the most amount of outside work to do, so he didn’t feel overwhelmed but knew that the closer to June it got the more work he thought he was going to receive.

V. When I look back at the assignments, the topics, the lessons, I think I am happy with the way I presented the material and the way the students engaged the topic. Yes, I did come into this unit after it started but I took the examples and material from when I started until the unit test which I generated with Mr. Davis. I found that the type of lessons we did not only nurtured a foundation for the unit and regions being covered but it will help them when they move on to Global II next year as sophomores, some even moving up to Global II Advanced Placement, also taught by Mr. Davis. During the application of lessons, certain days you need to make adjustments. Weather, snow days, super storms, all come into play. For instance, every few Wednesdays at WPHS there are Early Dismissal days. The periods are shorted by a few minutes and the material is expedited. To alleviate any pressure and stress that this would cause an instructor as well as a student, I don’t water down the material but possibly split it up between two periods and make the lesson longer. This way students who feel rushed have ample time to catch up and those who are on the other end of the spectrum and finish rather quickly will have the opportunity to start the following lesson’s work. The use of technology in the classroom with smart board, power points and graphic organizers actually make the work come alive. The students are able to see films, pictures, and other artifacts to help understand the topics.  When students were given different assignment, sometimes the language that is used for the honors class can hinder the production of a student with a lower vocabulary bank. So some modifications I have made were providing extra work banks, going over certain terms and words they might see on finals and other assessments. If I were to revise the unit I might incorporate more visuals and possible film about the spread of these cultures along trade routes that were common to these Afro-Eurasian regions. I think the thing I took away from this experience the most is the fact that I created the lesson with my master teacher, we discussed different modifications for different groups and students as well as tweaked any lessons that we felt went not so good, but kept things in that we felt were extremely important when talking about the objectives and lessons.  The DBQ essays, the thesis and other writing assessments cause students to bring a part of them into the lesson besides just giving us back the information. We continue to use these writing assessments to visually see where they are excelling and falling behind but to also assesses ourselves on how we are presenting the material.   As the lessons continue, we will bring more and more essay writing into them. Besides the daily thesis questions that we pose, the next few units we will also have comparison, change over time, and thematic essays to complete.

VI. Enclosed are examples of different student submitted assignments and I tried to align them with the lessons I used as examples. During the unit, I was able to keep track of student’s progression through different thesis assignments at the end of the graphic organizers, with the daily multiple choice questions as well as DBQ essay and unit test. I am able to visually see the progression of the students.  One of the students which allowed me to use their work has driven their grades up in this class tremendously. He has not only attended extra help sessions during his lunch period but also has stayed after school for review sessions. I used three different students who have all different abilities in their academic subjects. As a whole I think the class, as well as the student did well on their assessments even with adversity that some of them have with a language barrier. As individuals, the three I chose presented the material in manners enclosed in the appendix ranging from written assignments to quizzes and unit plan. Gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status will come into play when dealing with the abilities of different students-any good educator knows this, but it’s our job to facilitate a learning environment where all those biases are left at the door. Another one of the students who I used work for has undergone different testing and in the process of a CSE to acquire proper educational support for the rest of her educational career.  This student has shown a digression between the third and fourth marking periods this year but she continues to make strides to show improvement. The goals of the unit are laid out previously when we talked about the continuities of trade throughout the Post Classical world. As previously stated, the daily objectives of this unit continue the theme of trade and development of political, cultural and economic aspects of the post classical civilizations. The unit test, the DBQ essay are summations of the different assignments and topics. Upon completion of this unit, the students definitely showed progression in their ability to retain the knowledge of the Post Classical world. When it comes time for review for the final on June 7^th, these students will have this material at their disposal as well as the knowledge that me and Mr. Davis can give to them. Since there is no Regents exam in the 9^th grade we can primarily focus on the in house final which was generated by the Global Studies teachers as well as History Department chairperson.