In year nine history this unit, we have been looking at 20th century warfare and conflict. Rather than focus on people, places, or dates, I have chosen to first examine the very nature of warfare. The standards we have been working on for this unit are as follows:
- Select relevant information from a source to group and sequence
- Select and combine information from sources on the basis of content
Firstly, I asked the students to find ten images of twentieth-century warfare. I tried to have them find Creative Common images, but finding historical Creative Common images proved difficult, so we decided that we would use any images we could find. Working in groups, the students sorted the images, devising their own criteria for sorting.
We lead a class discussion to clarify the criteria the different groups used in sorting. Students, in groups, then sorted against specific criteria, looking at common threads, eg naval warfare, civilian experiences. They came up with a variety of categories, then narrowed them down to about ten:
- Urban
- Naval
- Air
- Bombs
- Civilian
- Etc…
As a class, we discussed a ‘concept map’, eg ’cause’, ‘nature’, ‘impact’, ‘effect’ of war. We then used a selection of the images from the sorting activity as a basis for an overview of the “Nature” of warfare. Each student picked one photograph from one of the categories and free wrote a piece of sensory writing, which was then crafted into a poem.
Because Windows Movie Makers does not allow multi-track narration, we had to use Audacity to record a three-track soundtrack including sound effects found online, music, and narration. Most students had little to no experience with the sound recording software, but were quickly able to align their audio tracks with the WMM file. This process would have been much more simple on Mac, but it was a good experience for the kids finding ways to use a variety of software.
After our spring break we will begin to look at the Causes and Impacts of the major 20th century conflicts. Moving on to these standards:
- Identify similar factors leading to the outbreak of major world conflicts
- Describe and make links between relevant reasons for, and results of, events and changes
I hope our video work will help students achieve the following standards:
- Explain the reasons why attitudes to events differ
- Use knowledge and understanding to analyse and interpret information
- Describe characteristic features of twentieth-century conflicts
- Research and summarise information for use in group discussion
As the projects are completed, I will post them on our wiki for review and comments. In the meantime, here is the first one:
Any comments, suggestions, or further ideas would be appreciated.
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Another great project for you students!
I’ve run into similar problems with Creative Commons images: it is near impossible to find scientific or historical images that are licensed under CC. My response was similar as well: use what you can find and make sure you properly cite your source. I’m pretty confident that we are adhering to Fair Use Guidelines for Education.
I wonder if there is a better way to do/teach this?
Hi, my name is Jessica Purvis. I am a student at the University of South Alabama studying to be an Elementary/Special Education teacher and I am currently enrolled in Dr.Strange’s EDM310 class
Wow, I think it’s great what you’re doing in your class. You really make them think, analyze, and be creative. To do otherwise, I believe, would be an injustice to your students. This is a great way for them to learn, most of my history teachers maintained learning at a who, what, when, where level. No wonder I have a difficult time remembering it all. I also really enjoyed watching the video your class made, the narrator is excellent in expressing the intensity of the subject and images being shown and discussed. You hold your students to high but reasonable standards of learning, and this video shows the great outcomes that have come from that. I believe that this video is only one example of many to come of what your students will be able to do.
You can visit My Blog and leave a comment if you want.
Incredible. I think it is overwhelmingly important to teach students to do more than memorize dates, facts, names, ect… They need to be taught to actually analyze the overarching themes, and critically evaluate events and data. You have done an inspiring job of that with this assignment. The sample video you posted is amazing, it illustrates that your students are really evaluating and making deeper connections with the condition of war. This is really great and exciting work.
I am a student at the University of South Alabama and I am in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 Class. I enjoyed reading this blog and thought the students did a good job so far on the video. I like the way the students are being able to think about the assignment they are doing. They are having to be creative and think about it and understand it themselves instead of just “learning” it and burping it back to you in a standardized testing format. I like what you are doing in your classroom because most teachers do not want to take the time and let the students learn. As you stated that “This process would have been much more simple on Mac, but it was a good experience for the kids finding ways to use a variety of software.” I found that very neat and interesting, because some teachers would have just moved on to something else instead of allowing the students to learn how to do it themselves. I think you will really make an impact on the students you are teaching. Keep up the great work! Have a wonderful day!
Summer Anderson
http://andersonsummeredm310.blogspot.com/