History Lesson

 What?

The lesson began with the students and teachers establishing rules for when the group meets. Due to the loud and chaotic nature of last week's lesson and our hands-on and minds-on approach, it was essential to clearly state student expectations. The students helped make the rules and agreed to follow them; this allowed the students to stay committed to following the rules. After establishing this agreement, the students engaged in an opening activity. The students stated their names and one thing they remembered learning about Egypt the following week. This activated prior knowledge while reminding the teachers and students of names. 

After the opening, the students engaged in a read-aloud of Who Was King Tut? by Roberta Edwards. This week, we read chapter five, discussing how the Egyptians viewed and prepared for the afterlife. We chose this chapter for history since it concerned the Pyramids, which the students would be discussing later, as well as addressed how much of Egypt's history is discovered. The tombs were significant to the Egyptians, and they took many of their worldly possessions with them when they passed away. This allows archeologists and explorers to discover Egypt's history in depth. We also examined some pictures of The Sphinx and The Saqqara Step Pyramid. We discussed how prominent the landmarks are and why they were designed in specific ways. We also talked about how the ancient Egyptians created many tools that we have today. 

Rules created by students and teachers.

Next, the students engaged in a group research project to learn more about the history of Egypt and allow students to be the teacher. The activity began with the teacher going over the directions. The students were split into two groups of two and one group of three. Each group was assigned one of the following topics: The Pyramids of Giza, The Rosetta Stone, and The Suez Canal. Each group was provided a poster template, three resources, crayons, and pencils. The students then collaborated to find the information and create the poster. After completing the poster, the students shared what they learned with the whole group, and we placed the event on a timeline.

Students working on posters.

The teachers walked around to assist students on the tasks and in reading. In group A, the two students worked well together. They took turns reading and writing information and divided the work while presenting it. Group B needed help to communicate and access the information. Though the students could read the resources, they needed help comprehending the information. One of the teachers stayed with this group to help them understand the data and produce a poster. Group C worked well together, except one student wanted to do all the work. The teacher stayed with this group to ensure the tasks were being divided equally and that all students could participate in creating the poster. 

Posters created by students on historical Egyptian events. 

While presenting their posters, the students could share all the required information but needed more confidence while speaking to the whole group. The teachers had to adjust by reiterating the information the group shared to the entire group. Then, the students and teachers placed the event on a timeline. 

Timeline created by the students and teachers. 

After completing the timeline, the students added to their Egypt Portfolios by conducting their own timeline. The students were required to glue the correct dates, events, and importance to Egypt's history in the right spot on their timeline. The students struggled with completing the summative assessment but could still do so with 90% accuracy. One teacher observed that the students struggled to connect the timeline in their portfolios to what we did in class due to the two different orientations of the timeline. She helped the students see the connection by turning the timeline sideways. The students were then able to complete the summative assessment quickly. 

Timeline assessment in students' portfolios. 

So What?

This lesson helped us assess how the students worked with each other in a more one-on-one setting, which resulted in us getting to know each student better. We know that Group A worked well together. These two students were good at listening to each other and communicating their ideas. One of the students struggled to comprehend the information at first. With the help of his partner and a teacher, he could learn and write the report. We learned that these two students are willing to compromise and help each other to complete a task. Group B needed help with communication and comprehending the information. We learned that these students should not be paired in future groupings. One student read all the information to her partner but did not admit when she was struggling with reading. This caused the partner to record inaccurate information. When the teacher came around to help, there was an apparent frustration between the two. The teacher decided to stay with this group to help them compromise and learn correct information. We also learned that one student struggles when she does not get her way; we must ensure we are helping her cope and compromise. Group C worked well together, but one student wanted to do all the work himself. A teacher stepped in to help the group divide the tasks evenly and ensure everyone was participating and learning. Group C was our group of three, and we had one student who wanted to avoid participating. He seemed to find the task daunting and needed encouragement from the teachers to join his group members. He and another group member split the writing task while the third did most of the reading. We learned that although these students worked well together, each had individual support needs. Student A needs to practice sharing his knowledge without dominating the conversation, Student B needs to gain confidence in performing academic tasks, and Student C needs support in defending his opinion. As educators, we must support the students in developing these capabilities. 

We could also use formative assessment to learn about the students' reading capabilities. The students were asked to read and analyze three resources to create posters. The teachers carefully selected resources that varied in reading ability. Some resources were more challenging to read than others. Based on each group member's engagement with the text and ability to comprehend the information, we were able to observe and collect information about the students' reading abilities. Most of the students were able to read and understand the materials easily. I noticed that in each group, there was one student who avoided the task of reading. They let their partners read and then recorded the information they told them. One of the students asked the teacher to read the information for him. There was a student in Group C and Group B who was confident in their reading but only sometimes attended to every letter. When they did not know a word, they would make an assumption based on the first few letters. As their teachers, we should provide opportunities for more independent reading while providing proper scaffolding.

This lesson also provided a significant learning opportunity for my teaching. I just realized that using different orientations of the timeline in the class activity and summative assessment would cause confusion for the students. My co-teacher helped me recognize the unintended problem I caused. She helped the students by showing the timeline sideways, which allowed the students to connect the concepts. One student also shared that she preferred to write the answers instead of gluing the solutions into her portfolio. Although the students struggled with completing the assessment at the beginning 

Now What?

In the future, we will provide more practice with team-building and presentation skills. These are essential skills for students to develop in the classroom and adult life. We are constantly working with others and sharing our ideas as part of a democratic society. We must aid students in developing these abilities to give them successful futures. We must also provide students with independent reading opportunities and implement proper scaffolding for ALL students' needs. 

I will ensure that future summative assessments match the class activity. Although I used a timeline for the evaluation and activity, the orientation was different. During the class activity, I used a horizontal timeline, but in their portfolios, I provided a vertical timeline. This difference had unintended consequences. I will have to evaluate future summative assessments for compatibility with class activities. 

Another thing that we will add to future lessons is a Blooket. This is an online resource that provides a way to assess students in a fun and quick way. Students were curious why we had not included a Blooket in our lessons. We had not done so because we thought the portfolios would be a fun assessment. Since the students were discouraged, we decided to adjust future lessons. The students will add to their portfolios during the class activity and then complete a Blooket as a summative assessment.