Creativity strategies
“Creativity is something that can be taught and should be a tool in preparing students for 21st century learning.” (13) The following strategies are useful in allowing students to access information and then take the ideas, thoughts, and plans and put them together in unique ways. Each of these strategies fosters some self-directed learning and cooperative learning within the class as they experience the actual artifacts and work to create their own tapestry.
Paideia Seminar
“Through this type of discussion, students practice how to listen to one another, make meaning, and find common ground while participating in a conversation.” (14) These are the fundamental constructs of a civil discourse and I want to expose students to this higher-level thinking. “By focusing on a specific text, Paideia Seminar creates an entry point to engage students with more abstract ideas.” (15) To facilitate a successful use of the Paideia format the students will view two videos about this type of discussion and how to prepare in advance to ensure a productive use of the time. The first one will discuss how to conduct a group discussion, and the second one will discuss the constructs of the seminar itself. These visual models will help students to experience how this type of group discussion will look and feel. The focus question of our Paideia seminar will be: why is American history sometimes invented? In addition to viewing the videos, the class will video a seminar discussion near the beginning of the unit and then again at the end of the unit to compare their own understanding of this type of discourse. It will also provide opportunities for reflective thinking when viewing themselves on video, and hopefully will generate unique ways to augment their grasp of the content. They may hear something they missed during the course of the discussion, which now resonates in a new way while viewing the replay of the discussion.
Field trip
Students will go on a field trip to Thomas Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, which has many artifacts, prints, and paintings in its collection related to the Revolutionary time period. Paintings included in this collection are: an oil painting, Washington at the Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777 by William Tylee Ranney, an engraving on paper, The State House in Philadelphia, 1778 by Illman Brothers, and the bronze statue Nathan Hale by Frederick William MacMonnies, as well as a copy of the Declaration of Independence. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words and this will allow students to see the artists’ techniques up close and provide them with knowledgeable museum staff to enhance their comprehension of how these artifacts are created and to learn from the docents about visual literacy skills.
Culminating project
Since working with text and image has been a focus throughout this unit, students’ culminating work will be to generate an artifact using the Bayeux Tapestry video (16) as a guide. I would like the students to generate a similar compilation of text and pictures to document their conclusions around the key event studied during this unit. A brief introduction to the tapestry and why it was created will be a mini-lesson to accompany the video version. We will focus on the connections between the text and images and how they are both used to create a message to the viewer. We will pay special note to the borders on the tapestry as well as the action portrayed in the center panels. Students can generate their rendering electronically, like creating a YouTube video, or using the Green Screen app to produce a visual presentation of both text/pictures about Valley Forge. The second option would be to design and create a similar “tapestry” that could be produced using a variety of mediums (paper, painting, 3D creations, and/or using fabric). This product would be a small group project with approximately three-four students per group. This interpretation would be the assessment that I would use to evaluate the effectiveness of the unit. Even though there is an approximate timeline for this unit, the completion of the culminating project may extend past the end of the unit itself. The creations would be presented and displayed in our library showcase and would also meet criteria for an A+ school project.
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