Descriptive Writing Support #withSchoolAi #EdChat #ELA

One of the things that was always tough for me was to get students to expand their descriptive writing skills. High school writers were content to call think big or pretty and leave it at that. Getting them to see the beauty of word choice and what it can mean to a story can be a tough task. I have employed lots of different tactics over the years, but one of the last lessons on descriptive writing utilized SchoolAI to help students practice the idea of using imagery to get the reader to "see" what they were writing. With the launch of SchoolAI 2.0, I have updated the Imagery Workshop Space to create something I think is pretty awesome. 

There is a story from an episode of "Tales from the Darkside" that tells the story of a scary monster called The Grither that hates to have its name repeated and will come for anyone that dares to speak it. I took this episode and created a prose version of the story and shared it with students. There were descriptions in the story, but ones that could be elevated by another writer. The goal was to have students read the story, identify descriptive language, rewrite a portion providing more detail, and revising that piece of writing to make it stronger. The way to see if the writing was helping the reader to "see" their scene was to use the Image Generator PowerUp to create what they wrote! 

The Image Generator PowerUp allows the student to see what they wrote and make changes based on what they wished was in the image that they were not clear about on the first draft. Getting students to see their descriptive writing is a great way to help them connect their writing and imagery. Here is what was created based on my first draft,  

The Grither first attempt

After seeing this image, I was prompted to make an edits to my description to get it closer to what I want readers to see. 

Revised Grither description 

You can notice the difference in the images. It is not drastic, but enough that it was closer aligned to what I envisioned when writing the description. 

This Space can be launched in class and the teacher can use the teacher dashboard to observe all of the student inputs and how they are enhancing their descriptive writing skills. The students can save the images and connect them with their description and add that to their portfolio to show their growth. 

I think this is an awesome way to support students who are working on descriptive writing. Students can share their images with others, see how they are similar and different and take full ownership of their writing process. 

If you want to check out this Space, you can find it here and launch it with your students. If you want to learn more about SchoolAI supporting you and your students, consider joining the SchoolAI Community by becoming a SchoolAI Champion! 

Citations in the world of AI #EngChat #EdChat

I encountered a great question about citing things students finding using AI resources. If students were using a Space in SchoolAI and they were given information they wanted to use in an essay, how might they go about citing that? Well, the folks at MLA and APA are one step ahead and have provided examples on how to do that. I was able to take that work and build a Space that will help students with their citation questions that you can use with your students. 

What is nice about this Space is that it will not only properly format their citations, it will provide help with in-text citation as well. In-text citation was one of my big focus points when I taught writing to my grade nine and ten students. I really drilled it home because I always viewed proper citation as a mechanical function that should be completed and checked during proofreading. I was probably a little too hard on it, but I feel like it payed off for students. 

I once had a former student visit the classroom during their Fall break and they told me their professor told them that they were the only one in the entire lecture hall sized class to have accurate in-text citations and they wanted to make sure to tell me. It made my entire week. It was even better because they came in and told me while I had my Freshmen with me, so they got to hear the story as well. 

Citation can be a tedious part of any writing process, but it is much easier than it has ever been. There are plenty of programs out there that will create citations for you and and you no longer have to worry about having too many spaces or not enough spaces in the citation. You do not have to worry about the punctuation in the citation. I remember being marked down for these thinks in high school. With the advent of AI, how the heck to you cite ChatGPT? I remember when we asked the same question about wikipedia and other websites. Well, MLA and APA do not let their writing community down. There are guidelines on how to cite chat conversations with AI. There are even guidelines on citing memes! 

To help cut through the noise, I built a Space that will help users with their citations. It is built to help with citing AI specifically, but I also built in examples and pdfs from MLA and APA to help with all citations types and to even provide examples to showcase what they user should have. I have also built the Space to NOT write essays for students, but help them insert in-text citation as needed. 

If you want to explore the Space, give it a look over and see how it might help you or your students. 

MLA and APA Citation Space

Bringing Poetry to Life! #MakerEd #AdobeEduCreative

One of the things that I have been excited about is the fact that you can bring so many things to life using Adobe Express. My design students have been having a blast using Animate from Audio and the Animation feature on images to make them fade in, zoom out, bounce around, spin, etc. The options to create movement has really engaged those students who are not as excited with static image creation. 

Another teacher in the middle school started a literary journal elective class this trimester and students will be in charge of putting together the submissions from the student body. I thought it would be a nice project for students to create visual representations of poems they love and submit it to The Shield. Here is a brief overview of the lesson. 

1. Students will select 4 poems that are short enough to fit into the poster space available. 

2. Students will create four posters. Two posters will be static images and two posters will be animated in some way. Audio can be added as well. 

3. Students will submit all four posters to Seesaw. 

4. Students will choose one of their static posters to be submitted to The Shield. 

I thought this would be a nice assignment for students who wanted to express some creativity, but are not quite ready to showcase their own poetry. Here are two examples I created for the students. 

For the video, I needed to use audio from Pixabay for the rain and birds and then I had to combine them in Garageband because Express does not let you stack audio or it does, but I couldn't figure it out. If you know how, let me know in the comments! This was a fun project for me and I know the students will love it when they dive in. If you have any thoughts or comments, leave them below!

Hugs and High Fives, 

The Nerdy Teacher

Enhancing ELA Skills with Adobe Express #AdobeEduCreative @RebeccaLouHare

I want to share some exciting ways you can incorporate Adobe Express into your English Language Arts (ELA) classroom. This user-friendly digital tool offers a wealth of creative possibilities to engage middle and high school students, while also aligning with the ELA Common Core Standards. So, let's dive in and explore three practical examples of lessons that will engage your students.

1. Visual Storytelling with Adobe Express

With Adobe Express, your students can become master storytellers by creating captivating visual narratives. Start by having them select a thought-provoking image or photograph and then craft a short story around it. They can use the app's features to enhance the image, add text, and apply filters to evoke emotions. By integrating descriptive language and literary techniques, such as character development, setting, and plot, students will not only develop their narrative writing skills (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.3), but also engage in critical thinking and analysis (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.1). Using the stock images found in Express can help cut down on the searching on the web for photos that are exactly what the students need. This can be done as a long form assignment or a class starter. 

2. Literary Analysis Infographics

Incorporating visual representations into literary analysis can deepen students' understanding and enable them to showcase their insights in a creative way. Ask your students to select a significant literary work, such as a novel or play, and have them identify key themes, symbols, and character arcs. Using Adobe Express, they can create visually appealing infographics that present their analysis, incorporating images, text boxes, and charts. This activity not only addresses the ELA Common Core Standards for writing informative/explanatory texts (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2), but also encourages students to engage with complex texts (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1) and demonstrate their comprehension through multiple modes (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.7). There are so many examples of infographics that you can share with students that can help guide their creation. Here is one example that you can share with your students. 

3. Digital Book Reviews

Encourage your students to embrace their inner bookworms by creating captivating digital book reviews using Adobe Express. After reading a novel, short story, or poem, students can craft multimedia reviews that combine their written reflections with visual elements. They can include book covers, relevant images, and even audio or video clips to enhance their reviews. This activity addresses multiple ELA Common Core Standards, such as writing arguments to support claims (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1), presenting information effectively (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.4), and integrating multimedia components into presentations (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.5). They can even create a website that would hold multiple items they create over the course of the year. It could act as a reading portfolio where they share what they have read and what they recommend. As a teacher, you can check the website throughout the year to see what their reading and other students can check the websites for book suggestions. 

By integrating Adobe Express into your ELA classroom, you'll not only tap into your students' creativity but also provide them with practical opportunities to develop and apply essential English language arts skills. Remember to adapt these lesson ideas to suit your students' grade level and interests, and don't be afraid to explore other possibilities that Adobe Express has to offer. There are so many other ways to incorporate Adobe Express in the classroom. Check out the #AdobeEduCreative tag on Twitter and Instagram to see some great examples and use it to tag your work when you share it. 

Hugs and High Fives, 

The Nerdy Teacher

Student Podcasting with @Soundtrap #MakerEd #PBL #ELA

6th grade students had the opportunity to create their own short podcast episode to share their thoughts on a book they think other should read. These book talks are around 2 minutes long and allowed students to create some intro music using Soundtrap tools. You can find the Podcast, Stevens 6th Grade Ideas, on Spotify. 

The students set up their Soundtrap account, chose a book they liked from this year and had to record two versions of their Book Talk. The first version was an off the cuff take. They just needed to talk about the book and cover a few common points. The second version required the students to create a script to guide their Book Talk. Once they had both recorded, they were able to choose which one sounded better to them. From there, they created some intro and outro music and let their teacher know they were done. Stevens listened to the podcast episodes and uploaded each one to Anchor which pushes the podcast to Spotify. The lesson took three 70 minute blocks to complete. The first block was a short assignment with Soundtrap that had students create a ringtone so they could get used to the program before embarking on their podcasting adventure. 

Here are a few of the book talks you can listen to from my page, but I encourage you to head over to Spotify and listen to many of them and share them with your students if they are looking for new books to read. 

 

   

   

   

 

Thanks for listening and sharing. The students are very excited to share their thoughts with the world. 

Hugs and High Fives, 

Nick

Minecraft and Literature #MakerEd #PBL

 I wanted to share a fun project that I created for my students when I had to be out of class for a couple of days. My middle school design students were working on a Design Thinking project, but could not work on it because the world was with me on my computer. I needed something for them to do that would have them think and create. It came to me quickly and I think it is going to turn out wonderfully. 

I gave students links to "The Raven" and "A Tell-Tale Heart". I like Poe and these were chosen for that reason and that they are both very short. I wanted students to be able to listen/read them in class. I used the YouTube videos of Christopher Lee reading them and you can find them both below. 

 

After reading/listening to these two pieces, students have to choose a scene from each that stood out to them and design a version of it in Minecraft. Students would start with a paper design and then move to Minecraft Education Edition to fully flesh out their design. They would post their design and multiple images of their completed build in SeeSaw with explanations of why they chose the scene and how they built it. Here is the example I created for the students to see what I was looking for from them. 

My sketch is very rough, but it conveyed the idea I had. 

I really thought I did a good job showcasing the eye here. 

The full scene from afar. 

If you want to see my SeeSaw post, you can check it out here. 

These students are very gifted builders and I can't wait to see what they can create using Minecraft Education Edition. I think this is a great way to allow students to demonstrate understanding and meaning of texts in a way that is comfortable to them. Imagine students building entire towns or homes of characters and explaining their symbolic value in the story. Themes, motifs, symbols, characterization, and much more could be discussed in depth through their creations. I think there is so much here worth exploring and I would love to hear how other ELA teachers are using Minecraft to connect their students to the reading. Tweet or tag me @TheNerdyTeacher and we can connect!

Interactive Fiction Webinar - Python Coding in ELA #EngChat

Thanks to everyone that made it to the webinar yesterday. I was able to take the recording and add it to YouTube. You can watch it below. Feel free to share it with your students and with others around the internet. Here are the links to the resources used.

Trinket.io

Raspberry Pi Tutorial

My game with advanced elements

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out and we can connect.

Virtual Hugs and High Fives,

NP

Beyond the Poster Board - New Book Available Today #PBL #ELA

I am so excited to announce that my newest book is available on Amazon right now!

Beyond the Poster Board: Project Based Learning in the English Language Arts Classroom is a book is all about the different ways that an ELA teacher can integrate Project Based Learning into their classroom. Having students glue or draw things on a blank poster board is not real Project Based Learning. That's not to say I have not assigned this type of work to my students. I did and I have learned to go beyond it. 

I have spent over 15 years in the classroom and have tried many different approaches to instruction and Project Based Learning is the one that has had the most positive impact on the students in my room. While this book is geared toward English Language Arts because that is where I tested all of the these ideas out, it can be applied to any content area. 

The book is filled with examples of how to each type of Project Based Learning approach was used in the classroom and how you can use it as well. I also broke down what students and teachers are doing in each instance of PBL to make sure it is clear what the expectations are for everyone in the classroom. 

I am really excited about this book because I think this can really help many teachers who are looking for a way to improve engagement and change things up in the classroom. If you have any questions, please let me know and I will happily answer them. 

The Pressure of Failing #PBLChat #EdChat

One of the things I have learned over the years with project based learning is that some students are willing to take a risk and try something new to demonstrate their understanding of a topic and others will play it safe and stick to tools and resources they are comfortable using. There were many factors that contribute to playing it safe or taking a risk, but in school, being graded has a large influence on these decisions. Since removing grades from my new elective, Innovation and Design, I'm starting to see how much an impact grades were having on trying new things.

Students have been working to create prototypes of objects from the story, "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury. A student was very frustrated over the amount of time it has taken him to craft some type of cover for a Sphero so it could drive around easily and look like a mouse from the story. Time and time again, the student has failed, but gets back to the design and tries again. At the start of class I asked the students why they are willing to keep trying over and over again and they simply said because it wasn't going to hurt their grade if they tried something and it didn't work. They still have a deadline, but they can try crazy ideas that might work without fear of getting bad grades.

Giving students a space to try and fail without punishment is so important for students. They are given the opportunity to push themselves, explore new concepts, and see what they are capable of at the end of the day. A 6th grade student spent five 75-minute class periods figuring out how to use Vectr.com to design 2D images for the laser cutter to create a windows that could stay opened. After 5 or 6 failed prototypes, she was able to get the right size for everything she needed and then decided to add acrylic windows. Here is a shot of her work.

Kalie expressed some frustration that it took her 5 class periods to design something and cut it on the laser cutter in one day, but I told her she spent those days learning how to do something and then she did it. That's exactly what school is supposed to be about. As a 6th grader, she is now able to design to use the laser cutter and then set up the machine and cut on her own. This was all driven by her want to design the windows from the story. She was not chasing a grade and probably would not have chosen to learn an entire new program if there was a grade at the end of the project. This is the example, along with many of the other projects in the class so far, that shows me the extended value of Project Based Learning and a grade free environment. 

My new class still needs some fine-tuning, but I am confident the basic structure of PBL and no grades is going to create some amazing opportunities for student learning moving forward. 

If you are interested in connecting about bringing PBL, Design Thinking, and more to your school, please feel free to reach out to me at OneNerdyTeacher@gmail.com.

No Grades and The World Did Not End #MakerEd

I started a new class this year in the middle school. It is a design and innovation class that is supposed to help students explore problem solving and critical thinking skills. One of the things that I wanted to really explore was a class free of grades. I was nervous about how this might look because I have never done this before and I was scared about how students and parents would react, but I was surprised to find that the world did not end.

We have completed two projects in the class and are starting our third project this week. The main reason I wanted to avoid grades was because they can be a hinderance to students who are afraid of trying something new or risky because it could hurt their grade. Even though I assured kids no grades would be coming, some were still very hesitant to "go for it" on the first project. Using Design Thinking to create a home for a friend in Minecraft was something I hoped would ease students into the process of designing and building with a sense of freedom. Some students pushed themselves and others took the path of least resistance. I was worried that these students would always just do what they had to and try to get by with minimal effort. I decided to use the 2nd project to really push those students on their design and builds.

Students were asked to design a shoe using 4 pieces of newspaper, 1 foot of duct tape, and 1 foot of yarn. Once it was designed, they needed to create an ad for their creation. Some students really went for it and created some amazing, functional footwear, while others settled on a slip on shoe for their first design. I could have let it go, but I really wanted to push them to think bigger. I let those groups have a chance to redesign their entire shoe with new supplies if they wanted. I told them to just go for it because they are not getting a grade on this project or for the class overall. Every single one of them chose to go at it again instead of just sitting and "being done". It was awesome.

I could see that students have started to become more comfortable in trying new things and are not letting the idea of grade impact their choices. The next project students are going to design elements from Ray Bradbury's short story "There Will Come Soft Rains". I think I have built the capacity to try the tough things and learn without the fear of failing grades. 

Coding Text-Based Gaming in ELA #NCTEChat

I am always looking for different ways to engage students in ELA classrooms. As a gamer, I've been looking for a fun way to engage student gamers in the classroom and I think I have found a very fun way to do that.

One of the oldest types of computer games were text based Role Playing Games (RPGs). You would be given test based descriptions of what was happening and you would have to type what you wanted to do next. You could travel from one place to another by typing in "go west" or some other direction. You could pick things up and use them as needed as long as you typed the instructions. I thought that creating a text-based RPG would be a great lesson for students for a few reasons;

• Story-telling - Students need to work on telling stories. Creating a narrative around a game they are creating is a fun way to practice their writing skills. Building a plot, creating a protagonist and antagonist, and working on their descriptive writing are skills that writing for a game can help enhance.
• Proofreading - Proofreading code to make sure everything is where it needs to be to run properly is crucial. These proofreading skills need to constantly be practiced. The importance of punctuation in coding is the same as the importance of punctuation in standard writing.
• Interactive - Writing a game and being able to play it and share it with friends to play is a more interactive way to write. Any errors in writing that are found while playing can be shared and debugged later. 
• Differentiated - Writing the code for this game can become a very complex game or a very simple game depending on the person writing the code. This allows all different skill level writers the chance to explore story-telling through code in ways that meet their skill set. 
• It's different - Sometimes, it is good to do a bit of writing that is different than just sitting and writing. This offers a nice way to change the pace of the classroom writing students are used to doing. 

The more that you have your students doing this, the more benefits you will find. Below are the steps I took to laying out the lesson. 

Note: You do not have to know how to code to do this lesson. Do not let the code scare you away. 

Day 1:

I introduced the Raspberry Pi RPG tutorial program to the students. This link is shared on Google Classroom so all students can access it. The program is very nice because it does not ask students to understand the bits of code that are provided, it only asks students to fill in some blanks and recopy what is already given to them. The tutorial is really helpful because it allows the students to work ahead if they are quicker in understanding what needs to be done. The tutorials takes students to an online code program called Trinket. You can have students create a free account so they can save their code and come back to it later. 

As a class, we work together to add one room to the program. By the end of one class period, the students should have added one room to their game. They are asked to try and add another room before the next class meeting. 

Day 2: 

For the second class meeting, we will have students learn to add an item to pick up as part of their game and we will add a monster. The tutorial walks the students through all of this and makes it easy for them to copy and paste in the Trinket website. 

For the next class meeting, I ask that the students have an item and a monster added to their game and 5 total rooms. 

Day 3:

For the third class meeting, we will focus on how you can win your game. After finishing their game, we discuss the different types of stories that you could tell with this type of computer game. Mystery, adventure, space adventure, spooky, etc are all possibilities. The students are asked to start brainstorming a story that they would be able to create a maze-based game around. 

Day 4:

Students are asked to start mapping out their maze that will fit in the narrative of their story. By drawing out their maze room by room, it will make it easier to code. I drew out my map to help me and it made the overall design much easier to code. 

Days 5-7:

Students should be coding their game around the narrative they have created. This is where they can have fun and create the game they really want. By Day 7, they should have something that can be tested with other students in the room. 

Days 8 and 9:

Final proofreading and debugging should take place and the games should be ready to share with the class. Trinket allows users to share links to their games so others can remix them and try them out. Posting those links in a Google Doc or in Google Classroom would be helpful. 

Depending on your students, this can be done more quickly or you can spread it out over time. Since the tutorial is self-paced, this could be something you have students work on a little bit each day. 

Here is the game I created. It is far more complex than the ones that students are working on, but I thought I would really have a go at it. [Update: I added a search feature that can allow players to search rooms for extra treasure that is randomly pulled from a list, but there are rooms rigged with traps, so a search of a room with a trap will cause death unless you have found an amulet to protect you. There is so much more I can add and tweak. I'm becoming a little obsessed with it.]

The game is still a work in progress, but if you want to take a look underneath the hood of this code, follow this link.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me on Twitter or leave a comment below. I have some very excited students working on this lesson and some of them have told me they have over 10 rooms after only a couple of days. I can't wait to see what they come up with and share them out with the community.  

Tinkering in the ELA Classroom #EdChat #EngChat

Makerspaces are a great place to allow students and teachers to tinker with projects, but they are not the only place. There needs to be an element of tinkering allowed in every class if we want students to feel comfortable trying new things and seeing what happens. Tinkering can have a great place in the ELA classroom if teachers allow students the time to do it.

Back in my earlier teaching years, I was very strict with my deadlines with students. Assignments were due when I said they were due and no excuses would be accepted. It takes years in the classroom to fully understand that life happens for students and not everything is going to be done on the set, and sometimes arbitrary, deadline. The students submitted their work, I graded it, and we moved on to the next lesson. It is how I was taught and how it just "worked" in our ELA classrooms. However, the minute I started to allow students to tinker with their papers, I was getting amazing work and my students were becoming stronger writers more quickly than ever before.

The notion of tinkering is play around with something to see how it works, to make it work if it is broken, or just see what is possible with an idea. Too many classrooms still expect one and done essay writing and that mentality does not allow for students to try different approaches to ideas. While teachers may allow for rough drafts, they do not really allow for experimental thinking on ideas. Students just go through the motion to produce the paper they are sure the teacher wants. I used to ask students to take positions that were contrary to class discussion, but then I would not give them the time to flesh out what those ideas might be. Not only did I not give them the time, I did not model how to even do it. How could I expect them to do something I had not even demonstrated in class?

There needs to be time and space given to students to tinker with their writing. Allow them the opportunity to come up with an off the wall thesis and see what they can do with it. Let them explore different narrative devices in their story. Let them go out and write the craziest short story written in the second person that has ever been written. Give them the time to explore the written language and see what they can do with it. You will find that they realize many of the writing conventions you tell students to avoid are worth avoiding. Learn by doing is not a new idea. I'm not re-inventing the wheel by encouraging teachers to give students time to write. However, viewing this part of the writing education as tinkering might be what works with your students.

Teaching writing was always my weakness as a teacher. It was always a personal goal to make my writing instruction better. It took me a while to understand that it was not about doing more, it was about giving my students more time to explore what writing looks like to them. By allowing students to tinker with their writing as part of the process without being worried about grades, I started to see growth in my students. That, of course, is the whole point of writing. 

ELA + PBL + Makerspace = Awesomeness!

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to cover a 7th grade English class for the week and I was allowed to do any mini unit I wanted. I decided I would dive into symbolism using one of my favorite short stories, "The Yellow Wallpaper". It is a wonderful gothic story that symbolizes the oppression of women in society in the early 1900s. It is a short enough story that it can be read or listened to in a single class period and the next couple of days can be used to dive into the details that make it a powerful story.

As a class, we read the story, discussed theme, and annotated looking for symbolism. All of the traditional aspects of an English Language Arts class was there, but instead of a multiple choice test at the end, students used time in the Makerspace and at home to create something to share with the class. These artifacts are tangible representations of their understanding of the material. As a teacher, that is what I'm looking for in any unit I present to students. Here are some of the student examples that have been submitted.

Here is a bed designed by a student, cut out of baltic birch on the laser cutter, and the student used their sewing skills to create the mattress, blanket, and the pillows. 

A perfectly measured house cut out of baltic birch and assembled using hot glue. The little "Life" character is the lady from the story. 

The bars were designed and then cut from baltic birch using the laser cutter to create prison bars. The yellow hands represent the narrator trying to break free from her room and society. 

A board game designed and etched on baltic birch using the laser cutter shows the complex path the narrator would have to achieve freedom. 

The scene of freedom within sight, but unattainable due to the bars of society. 

A depiction of the narrator in a dress that resembles the wallpaper she hates so much shows that she is becoming something she hates. 

These are just a few of the examples that students have submitted and there will be more in the coming days. The students all wrote a brief 8 sentence paragraph explaining their artifact and how it was connected to the story. The students really enjoyed the freedom to explore and create something different. The teacher I was covering for really liked the lesson and artifacts created by the students and we are going to collaborate on some fun lessons in the future.

Overall, this lesson shows what is possible for students in ELA classes if given the chance to explore project based learning with the support of a maakerspace. Some students chose to create with the laser cutter and others took colored pencil to paper. The projects were meaningful to the students and demonstrated their understanding of the story and what it meant in the big picture by deciphering symbols and connecting them to the theme. As an ELA teacher, what more could you want?

Student Declarations of Independence

Note: This post is updated as of April 2025. I added the original lesson and a Space from SchoolAI to level up the assignment. Let me know on social if you use this with your students. 

Here is a link to a Google Doc of the original assignment including the awful rubric that should have never been given to anyone in the first place. If you want a better one, here is one I generated using the rubric generator. 

Here is the SchoolAI Space I built that would have been a wonderful aid to the students that struggled to get started with their Declaration. 

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My students created their Student Declarations of Independence last week and I wanted to share them with you. I have been doing this project on and off for the past 10 years and it is always fun for me to see what the students think is important in school and their daily life. After reading the Declaration of Independence, I ask students to come up with their own declarations based on certain issues they have with my class, the school or the district. Here is a sample of their work.

Franny A's Group

Let it be known that we are entitled to certain rights as high school students. Namely, we have the Right to Sanity, Happiness, Physical Well-Being, Expression and Proper Accommodations...

Elyse B's Group

There are times in life when those without authority or any means of assuming authority must stand up for what they believe in. When it impacts the life they will lead, and the path to success in achieving their dreams, they should be permitted to make their opinions heard. In those occasions when an entire group of people agree upon changes that must be made, it should be in the best interest of those with authority over the aforementioned group to put their best effort in to reaching the prospect of the changes deemed necessary...

Grace H's Group

The students are the majority of the population at Grosse Pointe South. Therefore it is only fair that the student body make most of the decisions, or at least get a say in the matter. Instead we are forced to go to a school where we don’t agree with half of the rules and policies. We, the student body, are taking a stand. The student body is revolting against the school, the board and Mr. Provenzano...

Andrew A's Group

There are times in life when those without authority or any means of assuming authority must stand up for what they believe in. When it impacts the life they will lead, and the path to success in achieving their dreams, they should be permitted to make their opinions heard. In those occasions when an entire group of people agree upon changes that must be made, it should be in the best interest of those with authority over the aforementioned group to put their best effort in to reaching the prospect of the changes deemed necessary. 

Adelle V's Group

We come to this school to learn, not to deal with these oppressive teachers and rules, which crush the basic rights of the children of Grosse Pointe South.  If students are not learning in this school then what is this place for?  Having power over these students, making money on the tyrannical government we call the administration?  Our school is made for the students, not the needs of the teachers or staff.

These are just a few of the Student Declarations created in my three classes. I'm very proud of the work they have done this year. The students have been posting on blogs and writing in class. When the iPads get to class, I'll be very excited to start trying some new things with them. So far, they have not turned a single assignment in using paper. The iPads will really allow me to go deeper with assignments. Stay tuned for more details. 

- @TheNerdyTeacher

 

Tupac and the Harlem Renaissance #ELA

(Editor's Note: This post is over a decade old and is probably not as relevant as it once was. However, the article, "Hip-Hop Planet" is a still a great piece and I encourage you to use it in your classrooms.)

I had some people inquire about my Harlem Renaissance unit in which I played Tupac for the kids. I'll give a little background to the unit before I explain how and why I decided to integrate Tupac into my Harlem Renaissance unit.

I teach in an upper middle class suburb of Detroit, Michigan. While diversity has started to make its way to my school, the vast majority of my students are white. I think our school district does a great job at keeping the curriculum diverse so that our student population gets a taste of various cultures they might not normally experience. In American Literature, there is a nice unit on the Harlem Renaissance, but I always felt that my students were just too far removed from the meaning of the poetry and essays to truly understand how Hughes or Johnson felt.

In 2007, I found this great article by James McBride in National Geographic. "Hip-Hop Planet" takes an interesting look at the culture of Hip Hop around the world and touched on many of the same themes that are explored in the Harlem Renaissance unit. By understanding the cultural significance of Hip-Hop and Rap music, students could understand the relationship Jazz and the Harlem Renaissance had with each other. I was happy that the students could make the connection between the article and the unit we covered, but I still wanted them to connect to the Art that was created during the Harlem Renaissance. Self-Expression is very important to high school students, but they are hesitant to recognize it in others. This is where Tupac comes in the picture.

I was born in 1979 and grew up during a very interesting time in music. Hair Metal was rolling right along and a new branch of Rock was emerging from the Pacific Northwest that I loved. Rap music was taking a very political stand in many different songs. "911 is a Joke" and "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy stood out from many other songs that were speaking about the neighborhoods people were living in but society ignored. Most kids today are not very familiar with Public Enemy so I needed someone a little more current and I decided to go with Tupac.

Tupac is a very interesting artist. He has some songs that are not appropriate for kids to listen to at all in a school setting, then he has others that send such a great message to everyone. "Changes" is the first one I play for the students. It really talks about the struggles of African Americans and the lives many lead because they do not have options. It has spurred some of the best conversations of the year when kids think about the meaning of the lyrics. I especially love the part where he says, "The world is not ready for a black President." It speaks even louder today than it did a few years ago when I taught this lesson. I also play "Keep Ya Head Up" for class. Another solid message about how to treat women. It's a wonderful message that really gets the kids thinking about what might spur someone to write a song like this. It also introduces many students to music they might never encounter on their own.

The link might seem like a stretch, but self expression through distinct cultural mediums was as much a part of the 80's and 90's in African American Culture as it was during the Harlem Renaissance. As each year passes, we are moving further and further away from "The Classics". Connections need to be made for students so they can reach "The Classics". Sooner than later, an entire overhaul of English Departments is going to happen because literature keeps going. In other subjects, much stays static without worry of new material, but the libraries need to get bigger and new books need to be considered so the themes and ideas of relevance can be passed to a newer generation. Representation matters and it is important that teachers consider this when looking to add materials to their curriculum.

- @TheNerdyTeacher