August 31

New due dates, War of 1812 Contest and other stuff

1. Hey folks, I forgot that the original due date that I had given you for all of the finished Mayflower work (Parts 3 and 4 questions, vocab on the Google Doc, and blog below)  is Tuesday, Sept. 6th, not today, Wed. August 31st.  If you’re all done w/ the work, bonus for you.   If you want to get started on the school year’s homework, it’s already posted at my Fusion page (http://tinyurl.com/wick25). 

Link to Google Doc for Mayflower vocab: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ag_7cJC2L8hqdEo2UjAwTEdQWmNYVk8wdnNWeXFycUE&hl=en_US 

“1491” article link – https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=1HjvrLQOhFQ3VYPe80m8y33clvOIw6QRW7kz6Yej9tlLr4BsNIfKev_SEZ8zb&hl=en

Reading instructions for “1491” – https://docs.google.com/document/d/1skWnixOehpc9CNexTWUbsPfO29J9cPFZc4oarh_2s2k/edit?hl=en_US

2. There is an essay contest on the effects of the War of 1812 on Michigan sponsored by the Michigan Council for History Education.  $100 for 1st place and $50 for 2nd place.  Here’s the criteria:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dT6ZbnOQ15eCQW9HgUlQbavkwE2NB3FuQ-qe6UtrTMI/edit?hl=en_US

Best part is that it’s not due until early April and it’s only 1,000 max.  I will help anyone who wants to do this.  I’d like to see several entries from Groves entered in this contest. 

3. I’m thinking of starting a APUSH book club that might meet once a month or every 45 days, depending upon the school schedule.  This will be open to both students AND parents and will meet in the evening (say around 7 p.m.) and will last for about an hour where we’ll talk about the book.   And after Early APUSH is over, you will still be invited to come b/c we’ll move on into the stuff that we’ve covered as a class last year but read cool books about it.  It will be a good way for you to keep the history info fresh in your head and probably learn new stuff along the way.  There will be no extra credit for any of this.  It’s just to make ourselves smarter and to hang out and have a good time. 

 4. One of our first projects is for you to make a very short (less than five minute) mockumentary / advertisement for one of the original 13 colonies – the premise being that you are trying to encourge Europeans to come to your colony to emigrate and prosper.  This will include both classes 1st and 4th hours, so figure out who you want to work with, but don’t set your hopes on any particular colony.  You cannot shotty Pennsylvania or Massachusetts.  More details about the criteria to follow. 

5. Another essay contest – sponsored by the Bill of Rights Institute –

How does the Constitution establish and maintain a culture of liberty?

Similar specs for the essay in #2 (1000 words max) but you must submit it between Sept. 17 – Dec. 15, 2011.  Details for rules and regulations, click here: http://my.billofrightsinstitute.org/page.aspx?pid=1193  Prize money is much more substantial since it’s a national contest: $1,000, $500, and $250. 

Again, you will have my help with getting this done. 

6.  Google the term “flipping the classroom” and then tell me what you find in the comments section.  Do you think it’s do-able for our class?  Why or why not? 

Thanks.  Your feedback is always appreciated. 

Da Boss

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Posted August 31, 2011 by geoffwickersham in category Contests, FYI

3 thoughts on “New due dates, War of 1812 Contest and other stuff

  1. Cameron Crawford-Mook

    As I understand flipped classrooms, I actually was in a version of one in elementary and middle school. One website I saw talked about how the teacher roams around the room and helps students with things they’re struggling with at the moment when the students are “ready to learn”. I did enjoy that, and I there are several sprited discussions I got into with my teachers where I remember learning alot. However, I’ve also seen flipped classrooms done very poorly, where the students are expected to teach themselves everything, without ever getting any teacher help–I remember leaving these classes frustrated and not having learned anything.
    Another big issue I have with the flipped classroom is that it requires alot of work from the students outside of class–I’m certianly not opposed to work, but I tend to learn things better in class than I do outside of class, especially on weeks when its taking everything I have to keep my head above the water.
    I would be interested in trying the flipped classroom, but I do have some significant reservations. I feel that too often teachers see something new and shiny, and follow the trends, instead of actually effectively teaching

  2. Tharron Combs

    I think that the flipped classroom is a very efficient way of teaching because it utilizes video lectures so that students can begin to absorb the material outside of the classroom, and because it puts mastery of subject matter front and center for every individual student. The idea of the students getting help when they need it is interesting to me because it gives students more control over when they learn and the student can zero in on the topics that are giving them trouble.
    I think that this learning strategy might be helpful in our classroom from time to time, especially for review purposes in preparation for tests and quizzes, but I would worry that students wouldn’t know what they really needed help with, that they would call you for EVERY QUESTION without bothering to look back through notes or utilize other resources, and that they would try to use the teacher as a replacement for their own thought.

  3. Emily Kakos

    I don’t think flipped classrooms are that good of an idea. I’ve never experienced one, but from what I’ve read, they would be nothing but trouble. Students can barely pay attention to teachers in a normal classroom with teachers talking at them, and now this idea that students should do extra work or listen to lectures outside of class is not going to score any points with anyone. Not only will half the students not do this, it’s going to make teachers lazy. They aren’t going to actually teach anything; instead they will assume you already know it from the videos or whatever you supposedly did at home. Even if you did decide to do stuff outside of the classroom, i think it’s more effective for a living, breathing person to be up in front of a class teaching than a computer. I think it’s a good idea to use technology in the classroom and during class because now a days everything we do is computerized, but to make it so that students have to go home, and on top of all their homework, listen to more lectures about the next day’s assignments, their will fersure be a revolt. There simply isn’t enough time in the day if every teacher decided that instead of doing the jobs they get paid for, they are going to switch to the flipped classroom method. You’d have to start paying the computers or the students themselves because they are the ones that are doing the teaching. The actual teachers will have become nothing but glorified babysitters.

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