Setting Sail for the New World

The official launch to our "Establishing a Colony" project-based learning (PBL) unit took place on Monday.  Since then, "colonists" (aka students) in each of the classes have been preparing for their journeys. They've declared their motives for colonization in the New World, have secured their respective sponsors and have drafted their colony compacts. I've had the pleasure of observing some outstanding examples of effective collaboration as colonists worked together to draft colony laws and elect (or in some cases appoint) governors/leaders. They're off to a great start. Colonists are now in the process of analyzing and evaluating geographical features along the east coast of the New World to determine the best possible location for their settlements. Their motives are clearly driving their thinking (so great to see this level of deep and meaningful thinking!).  

Interested in learning about their motives for colonization? They are as follows:

Colony V (Mrs. Valzania's homeroom colony - official name TBD) motive for colonization: ECONOMIC (to prosper as individuals and to increase the economic wealth of their British investor)

Colony B (Mrs. Bouffard's homeroom colony - official name TBD) motive for colonization: POLITICAL (to weaken Spain's military by establishing British military and naval outposts and claim new territory)

Colony C (Mrs. Cummings' homeroom colony - official name TBD) motive for colonization: SOCIAL and ECONOMIC (to seek adventure and explore new territories, own land and prosper, and to repay their investor with resources to trade back in England) 

Stay tuned for future updates as these self-proclaimed swashbucklers prepare to "break ground" and begin the construction of their colonies later this week!    

"Colonists" use Google Maps along with their hard data from prior research of the New World's east coast region as they analyze and evaluate the best possible location for their settlements. 

Inference Detectives

Curiosity is a powerful drive. It's this essential "school-fuel" that motivates students to learn or accomplish something new for the reward of simply having mastered it.  It's this same curiosity that becomes an essential component in developing successful readers. 

Research has shown that one of the most important strategies we can teach young readers is inferential thinking. Inference strategies are typically structured around missing information or confusing situations, so they naturally raise curiosity. Inferential thinking is critical to understanding text, particularly so as texts and topics become increasingly complex throughout a student's academic career (and perhaps life, in general). What starts as learning about basic inferences in text such as character thoughts and feelings, evolves into more complex inferences about the author's purpose or message. Strong inference-making skills allow for a deeper understanding of the text by grasping the subtle underlying meanings and associations in it. As such, it's important for students to be offered frequent opportunities to practice and transfer these skills to a variety of texts or topic. 

During one particular class, we used thoughtfully-structured mystery stories to help further develop this important strategy.  The quest was to figure out: What is actually happening in this story that the author isn't explicitly telling us?  How can I use text clues + my own schema (background knowledge) to determine what the author is trying to show or say?

Let's now cut-to-scene: Law & Order background music, lights off, flashlights in hand. FBI Director Valzania distributes confidential case files to her special agents, assigning them the task of using their inference-making skills to solve a series of mysteries. The room is brimming with curiosity and a strong motivation to collaborate with partners in drawing inferences about their cases. It's not often that we get a behind-the-scenes look at the FBI's investigative workings. Here's a special sneak peek.

ascd.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2018.
<http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/112027/chapters/Section-1@-Why-Inference¢.aspx>.

ascd.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2018.
<http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/112027/chapters/Section-1@-Why-Inference¢.aspx>.

literarydevices.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2018.
<https://literarydevices.net/inference/>.

Saving Jamestown

This week in social studies, students were able to participate in an "escape room" learning experience, using teamwork and critical thinking to solve a series of challenges related to our study of the Jamestown colony.  

THE "TOP SECRET" MISSION: Captain John Smith's men are dying of famine and disease. Smith knows that if he doesn't do anything, his entire crew will die and the colony will be a failure.  He decides to make peace with the local Powhatan tribal chief. As a peacemaking token, Smith has decided to offer some glass beads and jewelry to the tribe in exchange for food and medicine. Smith meets with the chief and is about to make an exchange of goods when he forgets the combination to the safe where the beads and jewels are stored. The chief believes that Smith is trying to trick him and has pointed his weapons at Smith and his crew. Smith needs our help getting the safe open before it's too late! 

"Special ops teams" were each handed a file containing a series of challenges related to our study of Jamestown, decoders and clues to crack the code of the safe that would help Captain Smith save the colony. Shout-outs to special ops teams StormRacer88 (from my homeroom class), WindJet101 (from Mrs. Bouffard's homeroom class) and JetNinja25 (from Mrs. Cummings' homeroom class) for being the first teams to help save the colony!

"Escape Room" learning experiences motivate and engage all students and can be used to introduce a new lesson or concept, or to reinforce and strengthen learning. The games provide a student-centered learning experience where students use critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication to problem-solve and own their learning, apply their understanding of new content or even discover it.  One of the best aspects of these games is that they provide students with many opportunities to fail forward.  Every unsuccessful attempt to solve a puzzle and decipher a code forces the player to try again. These young historians were determined to solve all of the puzzles within the allotted 35-minute timeframe. It was just as thrilling for me to observe as it was for students to participate - it was wonderful to see them supporting one another as learners and persevering through the more difficult aspects of the challenges. Well PlayED, kids!

Jamestown Escape Room activity resource offered by ThinkTank.