He's Back!

It's time to return... back to work, back to blogging, but in a new home.

Some things have changed.  New job, back to the work of history, still trying to make it awesome.  New challenges like standards-based grading, more students, new standards, and higher expectations are part of my new job.  But some of my ideas came with me.  I'm working to update my XP System to incorporate a gigantic game of Risk.  I even found a game board online that I turned into a giant, magnetic board that is now fabulously mounted on my wall.  That picture is to come, but here's the entire map:

I combined it with my XP System so that kids can rank up and take command in the field against the other classes I teach each day.  The battle is preparing to rage as each class is set on destroying the others through their effort, hard work, participation, and positive choices.  Take a look at how it works:

Stay tuned for more updates.  It's good to be back!

My Lawmaking Project

Understanding the political process is vital to becoming a well-rounded citizen, but it is so darn hard to explain to middle schoolers.

So instead we are acting it out.  The following post is about my lawmaking project, which takes place over a few weeks in between other activities and assignments.  I think it is a good way to explain how to make a law, but also engage students in a civil and meaningful discussion.

The first thing I had to do when I began to plan this assignment was find a way to make it relevant to kids.  Major political issues present a couple of problems; they are either too complex or too controversial.  Instead, I decided to stay local and focus on school issues.  Fortunately our school handbook works well as "compiled statutes."  I simply codified the handbook and update it each year.  I won't lie, that took some time, but once it is done, it's done.

Students spend the first day searching the statutes for something they want to change, repeal, or ideally add.  Students then use a simple Google Form to get their ideas down on paper.  You can check out what it looks like below:

 This all compiles into a spreadsheet that I grade more on completion than on accuracy.  After all, this is pretty new to my 7th graders.  They use their information to create a working bill using this template.  Here's a quick look at it:

Then students begin to replace the red text with their own.  Here's an example of that:

This takes a couple of days, but then the fun part comes in.  Student bills are numbered and assigned to committees.  These committees discuss all bills on a given topic (dress code, behavior, cell phones, etc.)  Bills are either passed or "die" in committee.  Majority rules.  Students fill out a committee report as they discuss each bill.  This again is completion as it is a messy but fun process.  Students tend to be much more conservative than you think.  Very few "silly" bills get passed, which shocks me every time.

I am fortunate enough to have two sections of 7th grade.  One acts as the House and the other acts as the Senate.  I let the student with the highest grade act as Speaker and President of the Senate, respectively.  Bills that pass committee are added to an agenda for a second reading on the floor.  The entire legislative body then debates the bill and takes action.  I use a Google Sheet to keep points for discussion.  

3 points for a motion to revise the bill that gets seconded and discussed

2 points for sharing an opinion or relevant information

1 point for simply agreeing/disagreeing, repeating information, or making procedural motions

0 points for something that does nothing to further discussion or does not make sense (I don't penalize them for trying)

-1 point or more for something out of line, inappropriate, distracting, etc. 

Students have to get at least 10 points to earn full credit for this part of the assignment.

Parliamentary procedure and rules of order are not 7th graders strong points, so I provide them with a handout to help them.  Procedure gets followed to some extent, but it is tough and I do my best to coax students to go about things the way they have to be done.  We revise the bills in the House and Senate and put them to final votes.  Those that pass will go to the other house to repeat the process.

At the end of the process, the governor or president (me) vetoes or signs laws.  The students of course want to override me immediately, which is always entertaining.  The assignment ends with some sort of reflective writing portion where students have to explain what they did and speculate as to the importance of the work as well as its difficulty.

I videotape the kids so they can watch themselves debate and argue.  It is quite amusing, especially later down the road.

It seems like a lot of work, but once it is done you can always work to improve it.  Students love the chance to speak and work on things that are authentic to them and you will be quite surprised with some of the ideas (Many good ones!) that they can develop from their perspective.  These types of assignments are can't miss for any social studies class!

WAR? What is it Good For?

I'm back after a long first basketball season and can finally start to put my focus solely back in the classroom.  I've been busy, and while things are going well in the classroom, I am finding myself once again looking to take that next step.  I believe myself to be a valuable member of our staff, but I am searching how to make a bigger impact and do more.  If I go to a recently created baseball term, I am looking to enhance my WAR.

WAR is a statistic.  In fact it is an all-encompassing statistic.  It stands for "wins above replacement," and essentially measures the value of a player by figuring their worth compared to the player or players that would replace him if he was to leave.  The higher the WAR, the more valuable you are to the team you play for.

I read up on new ideas, I participate in online learning communities, I went back to school.  All of those things added to my WAR, but stopping there is settling.  I need to do more.  I hope someday to do it as an administrator where my reach will stretch a bit further, but as a classroom teacher I need to figure out what is next.  How do I keep getting better?

I'm still not sure, but I'm coming up with ideas.  However the revelation hit me that if I simply improve everything I am doing slightly, my WAR would go up.  Managing my class a little bit better, coming in with a bit more positive of an attitude, or going that extra mile to enhance an assignment or lesson will not revolutionize my craft, but will refine it each time I make a choice.  Especially when I am at a point where it would easy to be complacent, I have to keep tweaking things so that I don't get weighed down with mediocrity.

And that is the essence of education.  Always learning, always getting a tiny bit better.  We celebrate these successes in our data, and we should celebrate them in the way we feel or the contributions we feel we can make to our team.  That energy inspires others to improve, and before you know it, their WAR's improve too!

And this is something we can all do when it comes to our jobs or our lives in general.  We can make small change after small change until things simply improve.  We don't have to always hit a homerun.  Those are nice when they come, but all the singles are what pay the bills.

To further the baseball cliches you can't get too far ahead, you have to keep your eye on the ball, and take them one at a time.  Those were totally unnecessary.

So how can you improve your WAR today?  Do it!