Background
I teach eighth grade US/NC History in a suburban sixth through eighth grade middle school in Cornelius, outside Charlotte, North Carolina. The school is considered economically-advantaged in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. However, the recent recession has had an impact on the school. Our free and reduced breakfast/lunch percentages have increased from the mid-teens to the mid-twenties. I have about 130 students this year and they are divided into four classes. Due to the above grade level and at grade level distinctions given to Language Arts Honors (at least one year above grade level in reading), Language Arts Standard (below or at grade level), Math 8 (at grade level), and Algebra I or Geometry (high school courses), my students will also mostly be leveled (not intentionally). I will have two classes of above grade level in both Math and Language Arts), one class of mixed levels (above grade level in one of the core classes), and one class that is on or slightly below grade level. My on grade level class may have students who actually read two to three years below grade level. Scattered throughout these four classes are Exceptional Education (EC) students who may have processing disabilities in Math and Reading. I will also have several EC Resource children. These students are classified as EMH (Educable Mentally Handicapped), with IQ's of 50 to 75. These students are main-streamed with their regular classmates for Science, History, and electives. In addition to this, I will also have ESL (Limited English Speakers) students. This particular group of students is growing rapidly. Charlotte's international student population numbers have changed dramatically over the last ten years. We started with a small but growing Latino population and are now seeing many students from China, Scandinavia, Russia and Poland. A foreign language literacy teacher is attached to our school full time as of last year but the students are mainstreamed into our classes from day one. They spend their elective period of the day with the foreign literacy coach and work on reading and communication skills. Each teaching team consists of four teachers. There are five class periods a day, consisting of about 80 minutes per class. We rotate classes each nine week quarter. So, our first block class becomes our second-block second quarter, and our fifth block rotates to first. It allows us to see each student in a different light and to take advantage of those times when a child may be a "sleeper" in first block but come to life in second block!
Bailey Middle is also a BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) school. Students who have Smart Phones, laptops, or iPads are allowed to bring them into the classroom, with the discretion of the teacher. Not every student has personal access to these items, sometimes due to lack of money but most recently because parents don't like their kids having them at school. The school is WiFi connected and has a growing collection of iPads, Chrome books and other technology available for check out through the media center. We currently have 1600 plus students and approximately 200 plus technology items for check out by teachers. If I have a BYOT day I can arrange ahead of time for 15 to 30 Chrome books to be stationed in my room or rely on students to share their technology with seat mates. It is not a perfect situation but is ever changing because of PTSA and large company grants or donations. There is also a program devised by one of my former students, Franny Millen, called Eliminate the Divide or E2D. She and her family have sought ways to provide computers and Wi-Fi service to those families economically disadvantaged in the Davidson, NC community. Implementing this technology will necessitate the use of this and other types of technology. Each class room is also equipped with a couple of extra desktops, a Smart board or ceiling mounted LCD projector.
This particular unit will require the addition of Autodesk 123D Catch. The app is free for smartphone users and some computer brands. This application turns regular photos into 3D models. I imagine my students being able to use this in several ways. At first, they can take any object, follow directions and take photos (about 20) while circling an inanimate object. Once done they submit to Autodesk and the company processes and returns to you the photo you submitted in 3D format. Some of the activities they will engage in will include recreating a painting. Although I had this in mind when I began this project, the photos of Yinka Shonibare's re-creation of Hogarth's Rake's Progress (1732, John Soane's Museum), called Diary of A Victorian Dandy, persuaded me to try this using the 123D Catch process. Every angle of the students' re-creation can be documented via the 123D catch app. Our administrators and technology specialists are constantly asking us to make sure we use innovative technology. I consider this a beneficial application for my classroom.
Some of the Common Core Reading Standards I will be addressing in this unit include but are not limited to the following: cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources; determine central ideas of a primary or secondary source in order to provide an accurate account of the source from prior knowledge; identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view and purpose; and distinguish difference between fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text. 5 The North Carolina Essential Standards I will be addressing include: 8H1.3 – use primary and secondary sources to interpret various historical perspectives; 8H2 - understanding the ways in which conflict, compromise, and negotiation have shaped the US/NC; 8H3 - understanding the factors that contribute to change and continuity in the US/NC; analyzing the democratic ideals which shaped the government of the US/NC; 8C & G2.3 - explain the impact of human and civil rights issues experienced by people throughout the US/NC; and 8C1 -analyze how different cultures influenced US/NC. 6
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