Six-Star Socratic Seminars

Our savvy historians spent the week exploring a collection of primary source documents related to Washington's private and public life, with the goal of not only thinking through these documents for contextual understanding but to also analyze and extract information to make informed conclusions and judgments.

Through a series of primary source artifact stations (newspaper articles, letters, will and testament), students were able to investigate the motives behind the artifacts, giving students a sense of place, chronology and empathy with regard to the decisions that were made during a time when important precedents were being set for our nation - precedents that paved the way for the stability, equality and fairness that would develop under the new democratic republic. Learners were notably intrigued by Washington's evolving views on slavery, starting with his inheritance of enslaved people at age eleven and eventually promising their freedom upon his death. During their investigation, it was clear that they were gaining a true understanding of the weight of responsibility Washington felt in shaping the new nation and his desire to leave behind a legacy that exemplified character, humility and unwavering love and hope for our country. 

Students also explored Washington's farewell address, analyzing specific excerpts to help better understand the advice that Washington was offering to help move the nation forward. Their in-depth analysis was used to help them prepare for their first official Socratic seminar. Through these seminars, students shared and explored thoughts and ideas that extended their thinking beyond the document, bringing relevance and meaning to our lives today. I was both surprised and fascinated by the insightful connections that learners were making during their discussions, particularly the connections they were making between our nation's past, present and future. Washington would have been in awe.

Fabulous Figurative Language Fun

Alliteration, hyperboles, similes, metaphors, idioms, personification, onomatopoeia, proverbs, adages - the fun is neverending!

Over the last couple of weeks, learners have been developing and applying their understanding of a selection of figurative language techniques through a variety of interactive learning experiences, such as:

• Mr. Bleeker's alliteration ice cream flavors
• Hyperbole rap music
• Making "Idiom-ade and Hyperbole-tea"
• Onomatopoeia Pictionary
• Simile/Metaphor Flip Flop
• Personification Spot It and Steal It
• Fortune Cookie Proverbs
• Proverbs & Adages SCOOT

These activities were not only a fun way for students to develop and apply their understanding of several different types of figurative language, but more importantly, WHY figurative language is used and how it can make stories, poems, brands, headlines and advertisements more appealing to readers or consumers, enabling them to construct deeper meaning from their reading or create a more memorable consumer experience. We'll continue to apply our knowledge and understanding of these types of figurative language techniques during our upcoming Poetry Palooza! 

Shown below are some of our learners playing Onomatopoeia Pictionary. This game was a huge hit (lots of moans and groans when it was time to transition out of it - always a good sign).

The Problem With Representation

Sign a treaty that establishes independence from Great Britain. Check. 

Americans are now free to form their new nation. What comes next?  Creating a government that protects the freedoms and liberties of its people, of course. I mean, after all those years of living under the tyranny of King George III, what else could be more important?  

Questions for learners:

• What actions are necessary in order to start a new government?
• What would be the role of the leaders of the new nation?
• What would one of the major concerns be in preserving the new government and nation?

Lest we forget, Americans had just fought the British and King George III for many years. They were scared to give power to any one person. They definitely didn’t want another king and they certainly didn’t want a strong, new leader who might tax them heavily like the last one.

Let's see... Let's not elect a president, let's give all of the power to each individual state and very little power to the national government. That should do the trick. With that, the Articles of Confederation were drafted and ratified. The state of being free from the control or power of another was surely a welcome change for American citizens. That is, until the smaller states, like Delaware, Rhode Island and Georgia, realized that the system of representation was flawed.

To effectively demonstrate the early problems with strict proportional representation, our learners took part in a simulation titled "Last Tower Standing". Learners were assigned to groups comprised of 8, 6, 4, 2 or 1 persons, depending on the size of the population in the state that they were representing. For example, Virginia was the group of 8 learners representing the most populous state at the time, and Delaware was the solitary student, representing the least populous state. Each person received 3 wooden blocks and $20 (like dollars, only because I did not have the different types of currency each state was producing). Each of the groups were tasked with building the largest and most stable tower using the blocks provided and that they had to work together with members of their state to achieve this (I'm sure you can see where this is going). Most saw this as a competition. Delaware was obviously the first to finish while Virginia was carrying out an elaborate design plan, desperate to win the challenge given their abundance of blocks. It didn't take long for Delaware and Georgia to declare the challenge unfair (phew - things were off to a good start). Students were then asked to propose solutions to the problems that some of the states were facing, but any and all proposals had to receive a 4/5 majority vote in order to pass. Delaware and Georgia proposed several solutions, all of which garnered very little, if any, support. Why would Virginia or Massachusetts want to sacrifice their resources in order to let another state win the challenge? Virginia even wanted more access to blocks and asked if they could purchase more blocks with their funds to ensure their win. How could these problems be solved? It was a lengthy discussion, but learners eventually realized that they weren't exactly behaving like the "UNITED" states they had so confidently called themselves. There were obvious problems with the current government structure. It was broken and it needed to be fixed. Oh, and throw all of those angry farmers who felt they were being treated unfairly into the equation (Shays' Rebellion) and you have a recipe for a British takeover. There was no way Americans were going to let THAT happen. Not after everything they had been through. So, what could happen if Americans actually stood together? It's what's coming up next as we march to Pennsylvania's Constitutional Convention to rewrite our nation's frame of government; where we will form a nation through compromise. 

Left: Virginia (5C), Middle: New Jersey (5C), Right: Delaware (5V)

Left: Delaware (5B), Middle: Massachusetts (5B), Right: Georgia (5B)

The World Turned Upside Down

Who would have figured that a young, scrappy and hungry ('Hamilton' - I couldn't resist) army could defeat the most well-trained and disciplined army in the world? With the help of their French allies, General Washington's army achieves a victory in Yorktown; a pivotal moment in the Revolution... BRITAIN SURRENDERS! Independence from Great Britain is now closer than ever. As patriots (aka students) worked toward negotiating a peace agreement with Great Britain, there was certainly cause for celebration. What better way to rejoice than holding a tea party, of course! These soon-to-be Americans celebrated jubilantly, sipping tea as one does (notice the pinkies), and discussed their terms for the peace treaty. See you in Paris in 1783 with quills in hand!