Learning During Covid 19

Earlier this week Justin King, Our PE and Health teacher, shared via his mom the journals his great grandfather kept during the influenza. This lead to the idea to try and collaborate on some lessons we will use with the 4th and 5th graders in Google Classroom. I am very excited at the possibilities.

I will post the information we create with the students on this blog. Holly King gave me permission to use and share the journal entries. If you try some of thee ideas please come back and share your experiences.

First lesson going out next week:

Believe in the Power of Your Own Story:  Connect Your Story to America’s Story

Earlier this year I met author, Chris Latray.  The author of a book called the
“One-Sentence Journal”.  I was captivated. I loved the simplicity and vowed to try it. 
I didn’t. Like many powerful ideas it held on to me. When school was closed because
of the Coronavirus/Covid 19 Crisis.  I again thought of the “One-Sentence Journal”.

Mr King recently shared his great grandfather’s journals with me.  Earl Henson wrote
about what he did, what he saw.  He wrote about what he experienced during the
Influenza pandemic of 1918.

How do you keep a journal?

Ideas:

Memorable moments
Thoughts and reflections
Activities
A pet
A conversation
Something funny

“Each night, I write one sentence (well, actually, usually it’s three or
four sentences, but by calling it a “one sentence journal” I keep my
expectations realistic) about what happened that day to me, the Big Man,
and the girls.”  Gretchen Rubin
https://gretchenrubin.com/2007/08/why-i-started-k/

I was reading “Create Your Own Primary Source” by Mrs Reader Pants.  Several lines
stood out to me that I want you to think about:
Primary Sources help us witness history through the eyes of people who experienced it.
I know it seems impossible, but your experiences, thoughts, and daily life

right now could be incredibly valuable to people in the future.

This may sound surprising, but you are living through an historical event!

Help those future people understand what daily life was like for someone your age
living in this time.

(Create Your Own Primary Source  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Google-Classroom-Activity-Create-a-Primary-Source-5343870)

“My hope is that, years from now, when I’m trying to remember what life was
like at this point, I can look back at my one-sentence journal.” Gretchen Rubin

Library Challenge:

For the next two weeks keep a daily one sentence journal and
submit it to Mr King and myself in google classroom. 
Don’t turn in until we request it. It’s ok to keep a paper and pencil
draft of your one-sentence journal entries.

This is the example of a one-sentence entry. I created this on google slides.

Published! My Lesson is On the Web

How do you spell excitement?  My lesson is now part of the Montana Historical Society website.  It is "kinda" scarey.  Will people like it?  Will they use it?  Is it to much?

I love research.  Martha took  my massive amount of information and helped me sculpt it into a richer piece.  Martha thank you.  The graphic artist did an amazing job!

Here is the link http://mhs.mt.gov/education/educators.asp

This page is under "Outreach & Interpretation"

Montana has adopted the "Common Core Standards".  Part of those standards involve using primary sources in the classroom.  I love the timing.  One of my favorite pieces is the "Scavenger Hunt".  This is an easy piece to do in the classroom to give kids a taste of thinking like a historian.  Then if you are interested you can go deeper.

"Girl from the Gulches:  The Story of Mary Ronan"   http://mhs.mt.gov/pub/press/girl.asp is an awesome mentor text to connect to articles from "The Montana Post".  Montana's first newspaper, it was published in Virginia City, Montana.  It tells the story of a mining boom town.

I hope you check it out.  Every state has digitized some of their historic newspapers.  You can take my lesson and give it a regional spin reflecting the history from your state.  Let me know what you think.