Scavenging with Remind

Recently, I tweeted about using Remind to come up with a scavenger hunt while at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum.  Remind asked me to be a guest blogger for them and here is my entry here.  Please check out my other posts and my website at One if by Land Adventures.

The Amazing Geocaching Race

I discovered Geocaching about 4 years ago and quickly grew a little obsessed.  For those of you who have zero clue what I am talking about, Geocaching began over 10 years ago and is a GPS based hunt for hidden caches throughout the world.  Some of them are as small as pill, while others can be the size of a shoe box.  For many, it is simply the thrill of the hunt since some of the finds are quite challenging.

After spending a summer of digging through the nooks and crannies around Florida and beyond finding these little treasures, I figured it would be a great activity for my Geography class.  Within the world of Geocaching you might stumble upon what is known as a "Travel Bug". These are items placed in Geocaches with special missions attached to them.  Geocachers that find them have the option of taking them with them and dropping them off at another cache.

Four years ago, each of my classes launched "bugs" into the world with the mission of just traveling and seeing historic sites. Sadly, two of them were lost somewhere along on their journeys. Unbelievably though, two of them are still out traveling the world.

2010

2014

Betsy Ross has traveled the most miles, logging a staggering 55,000 miles in the United States alone. Recently, I discovered that she was very close to home and I went to retrieve her to reunite her with the kids who remained at our school.  For such a long distance, she was in really great shape.  Heck, I know after a long plane ride, I look like death, but then again, I'm not made of plastic.

This year, my Geography class has created their own version of the Amazing Race with teams competing to log the most miles within the school year.  As the various groups travel around, we are going to look up each site they visit and do a 5 themes based activity researching and discovering about the location where their bug currently is located.  The nice thing about many caches is that many are themed and provide insight into the locations.  For example, in Tampa, we have some caches that highlight our immigrant history or share interesting information that would not really be found in a travel guide.  

I really hope that this batch of bugs travel very far.  It is quite amazing to see the reactions on the faces of the kids when they see how far their bugs have traveled and its pretty cool that they can learn something about our wide world in the process.

For more information about Geocaching, please visit their site and also check out my site as well.  Happy caching!

UPDATE:  After traveling for a few a months, this last batch of travel bugs have had quite the journey.  One group has gone international, visiting Belgium, France and Greece.  They are now resting somewhere in Spain, waiting to be picked up for their next adventure.

Teach from your soul

Please pardon the potential rambling which is sure to weave its way in, but I have been putting a lot of thought the last several months, actually years into what makes up great teaching.

It seems like everyone has an opinion on the matter. There's those that are strict, by the book teachers, and on the far other spectrum, there are those that are much more of the anything goes mentality. 

I have been at my school for 14 years, but in the last few years I have grown restless. Our school has as part of its mission statement to "be yourself" which is something I strive for not only for myself but for my students.

Sadly, my department has adopted more of a cookie cutter approach to teaching which involves very little other than Harkness style discussion. Don't get me wrong, I love discussion based work , but I believe there has to be variety too.

As a teacher, I am passionate about the life I have chosen to lead and I want that passion to translate to my students. Being told how to teach is soul crushing and removes individuality from the classroom.

After reading Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess, I was almost in tears because I finally felt like a found people who understood why I teach the way I do. I finally found some kinship among people who don't feel silly dressing up as part of an activity or even converting the room into a stage where the Boston Massacre is recreated or where students stumble upon a Civil War encampment.

I use lessons as a way to create memorable events for students, lessons that they will absorb and remember for years to come. In the end, I want to teach in a way that stirs my soul and taps into creativity. There's nothing better(and sometimes frustrating) than being jolted awake by one of those "aha!" moments where you think of a more engaging way to allow students to discover and learn the material. Even though I have been teaching for over 17 years, I still get a bit giddy about approaching something in a new and interesting way.

I know that my students appreciate and have enjoyed their experience in my class. Even the ones who just couldn't "get" history have come back through the years to express gratitude so I know I must have done something right.

I honestly do not know what my future holds in my current school. Perhaps this is all the gentle nudge that I need to pursue my real dream of teaching on the road through my site.  If you have not checked out my vision then please visit my information page. I would love and appreciate any feedback.

Until then, I feel as if I have to do what I know works for the kids and what gets them excited about learning history.  Isn't that our real goal, to create lifelong learners?

Tables Turned: Lessons from an 8th Grader

Yes, I will admit it, I absolutely love summer break and the time off that it affords me.  Well, time off is a bit misstated. The time off allows me to pursue other ventures, most namely my work in developing One if by Land Adventures and giving tours of our nations capital.

A few years ago, Worldstrides asked me to come on board and be one of their Course Leaders which is really a more glamorized term for tour guide.  The month I am able to spend in DC is incredibly rewarding and allows me to educate on site which is one of my true passions.

Touring in June can present its own challenges, most namely the heat and humidity which at times can feel as if Satan himself is taking one large fart on you.  Despite that we walk, and I do mean WALK, the sites in DC.  One of my personal favorite places to go while touring is Arlington National Cemetery.

There are some places that simply hold a certain power to them as if walking on the ground is an almost sacred experience.  Upon entering the gates of Arlington, I challenge each group to treat the walk as almost a walking meditation.  We are so surrounded by "noise" and each other, that I ask them to gaze around and really take in the cemetery.  What graves stand out?  Do you notice a particular item left on a grave?  How are others experiencing the cemetery?  These are all things I try to challenge them to do.

A few weeks ago, on a particularly hot and humid day, I took a group up on the road less traveled.  Typically, we usually visit the Kennedy gravesites and then walk up to the Tomb of the Unknowns and back down. On this day, I took them on a route where they would also see the graves of slain civil rights leader, Medgar Evers, Robert Todd Lincoln, and William Howard Taft.  The route does require some pretty heft climbing up oddly shaped stairs but eventually you reach Arlington House which has one of the best views of the entire city.

After the rather brutal climb, we were sweating bullets and I was making full use of my sweat towel and spraying down the kids with my trusty misting fan.  There was the usual grumbling about the heat and I was definitely feeling their pain.  It was then that one of the students came up to me and stated something that I will share with each tour group from now on.  She gazed out over the landscape, lined with endless rows of gravestones and said "You know it's really hot and miserable out here, but just when I want to complain, I think about what each of these people did for our country and then I realize a couple hours of heat don't mean a thing."  I stopped dabbing myself with the sweat towel and looked at her in stunned amazement.  She was so genuine in her statement that I almost teared up a bit.  A couple of her friends agreed and we ended up having a very nice conversation about it as we marched toward the Tomb of the Unknowns.

There are many times when we are told or observe people in general being extremely self centered in todays society.  Yes, that is the case in certain situations, but this young lady taught me a very valuable lesson that day and one that I will continue to share.

There's something about Thinglink

This has been a monumental year at our school.  We made the move to 1:1 iPad and like everyone else we have experienced wonderful successes, and yes, spectacular failures.  As I began the process of reevaluating pretty much everything in my curriculum, I made one vow to myself and my students, which was not to inundate them with thousands of apps.

Just one single visit to the app store can cause all kinds of app fatigue and there is always something new and powerful to try.  Throughout the year, I have tried many and put them through the test, even getting a focus group of students involved to determine which ones were most useful.

One that came sprang to my attention at the beginning of the year was Thinglink.  It allows the user to upload an image and make it interactive.  The old saying of "a picture can tell a thousand words" becomes a reality with this site and app.  Thinglink allows users to generate a variety of tags composed of video, music, links or simply text to make the image interactive.

My classes recently completed a semester long memorial project in which they researched a person or event from American history that they wanted to learn more about.  In the end they produced a research paper and they designed a memorial representing their subject.  Through the years, there have been mind blowing projects turned in and I have always longed to keep more than just a picture of them to show future classes.

This year, each student created a digital copy of their project using Thinglink.  Rather than just a picture, students have now been able to tag all the symbolic elements of their projects, providing the viewer a virtual tour.  Not only that, they were also able to provide extra information relevant to their topic such as site links and videos of themselves and short documentaries.  It has been a great success and students have also enjoyed showing off their work.

Unlike many apps, Thinglink is also computer based too.  There are definite advantages to both.  I actually prefer the functionality of the actual website, because there are more editing options such as different  buttons and such.  Regardless, it is a great tool and one that is not just flashy, but one that also gets those creative and educational juices flowing.

Here are some examples of some student projects.

The Manhattan Project

The Secret Six

A lesson with the president

One of my main goals as a teacher is to provide my students with the opportunity to go beyond the traditional curriculum.  For the past several years, I have taken students on a variety of optional field trips to various locations.  We have traveled both near and far to tour special museum exhibits, participate in Civil War reenactments and even talked with an Abraham Lincoln impersonator on the 200 year anniversary of his birth.

One of the most interesting things that we have done through the years has been a special road trip up to Americus, Georgia to tour the site of the infamous Civil War prison camp of Andersonville.  What began each year as a fairly small group, has now blossomed into quite tradition that they look forward to all year.

As part of the weekend, we also attend a church service with President Jimmy Carter in his hometown of Plains, which is just a short distance from Americus.  For years, President Carter has been one of the primary Sunday School teachers at Maranatha Baptist Church and the public is always welcome to attend.  

The church itself is very small and unassuming.  It reminds me of my grandmothers old church with the unmistakeable "church smell" of old lady perfume hymnals.  Many times, our families and students who have attended, pass by the church thinking that there is no way a former president would be teaching there.  Oftentimes, everyone is looking for some sort of mega church. 

President Carter is still provided(or required) to have Secret Service protection and my students are usually a bit freaked out by them, but they are nothing compared to Miss Jan, who has been with the Carters for years.  She is highly protective of the Carter family and proceeds to tell everyone all of the many rules she expects you to abide by when President Carter comes out.  She tells you how to address him(President Carter is fine), she tells you not to stand up for him nor clap for him.  She explains that he is no longer the president, so rising for him is not required and that he is there as a teacher so clapping at the end is just silly.  She does all of this with a cantankerous zeal and you disobey her at your own risk.  

In between the subtle threats, Miss Jan also humanizes President Carter.  A gifted carpenter, Carter personally made the wooden collection plates and large wooden cross at the front of the church.  She loves to point out that President Carter inscribed his initials on the bottom of the wooden bowls and that JC was just a happy coincidence.  Since she has known the Carter's all of her life, she loves to dish about their marriage and how Rosalynn remarked that after their first date, she wasn't all that impressed with him.  Apparently he really grew on her because they have been married a whopping 68 years!

After roughly 30 minutes of going through "training" Miss Jan asks everyone to bow their heads for a prayer.  She blesses everyone in the church and the upcoming lesson.  When the prayer is over, President Carter is in front of the congregation.  This is one of my favorite parts of the entire service, because the look on my students faces are priceless.  Although, we have not really covered President Carter's presidency in class quite yet, they are still filled with awe at being so up close to a former president.  

President Carter typically begins each lesson with getting to know the audience a bit by asking some questions and then proceeds to relay what he and Rosalynn have been up to.  Despite being 89, he is still incredibly active in his role as a former president.  Last year he talked about he and Rosalynn had just gotten back from South America and had ridden to the top of a mountain on mules. I can only hope to be that active at his age.

The lesson itself often a blend of scripture combined with anecdotes from his world experience.  During our most recent trip he talked about peaceful resolutions and how Jesus surrounded himself with the wretches of society and offered them forgiveness when all others shunned them.  He made the point that the United States has much work to do if they are to live up to the ideals that Jesus espoused.  President Carter expressed concern about how we treat our poor and how in our current political environment, the poor and even immigrants are being cast as enemies and a bunch of freeloaders.  Yes, the system must be modified, but to deny access to many because of abuse by a few is unacceptable.  The entire lesson was quite compelling and eye opening.  

Although the subject matter is often quite heavy, President Carter injects humor into every lesson I have ever seen him teach, often at the expense of Rosalynn who is seated in one of the front pews.  To see them riff on each other is great fun to watch.  Seeing the various small town characters that attend is also what makes the whole experience special.  One little old man strolled in late and President Carter poked a little fun at him for being tardy which led to a whole exchange between the two lifelong neighbors.  

Despite what one might think of Carter's presidency, it is impossible not to be moved by hearing him and witnessing him teach.  It is such a unique experience and one that I treasure each year with my students.  Although historians will always point out his mistakes as president, it is my hope that he will also be remembered for his kind spirit and generosity that he has truly made his life's mission.  

Will this make you a SuperTeacher?

In every teachers lounge across the country, the same scene plays out every morning.  The tired and weary teachers line up at the coffee machine for that first cup of coffee to provide that first necessary jolt in the morning.  I remember that our coffee machine at school broke down on the first day of school one year and you would have thought the entire was going to become one unending disaster. 

I am a self confessed recovering coffee addict.  As a young kid I would whine and complain until my mom finally relented and gave me a morning cup filled with enough sugar to make it more like pancake syrup than coffee.  I made the switch to green tea a couple of years ago and saw major improvement in my mood and energy.  My students appreciated the change because there was no more hideous coffee breath to deal with.  Sorry, no Altoid can cover up that rank smell.

Like many, at the beginning of the new year I did make some resolutions.  One of which was to eat better and make healthier choices.  Admittedly, I am not the picture of health.  I would love to say that you could bounce a silver dollar off my rippling abs, but that is simply not the case.  I did, however, do 20 push ups before beginning this article, so I guess that is a start.

With all the craze about "green drinks" recently, I decided to give it a try and went through a variety of green based drinks.  I discovered that a majority of them taste like total crap.  I would be better off running out into the front yard every morning and grazing like cattle.  Finally, I have discovered one that tastes decent AND has the added benefit of truly revitalizing me throughout the day.  Amazing Grass, when mixed in with Welch's Lite White Grape Juice is the perfect and more healthy substitute for coffee and even green tea. Do not under any circumstances mix it it with just water.  It's pretty darn revolting that way.

After having been drinking it consistently for a month, I have noticed I simply feel better and have more energy throughout the day.  I have also noticed my skin is even better.  What I usually do is mix up a few batches in a large Mason jar and keep it handy at school.  Yes, it looks like swamp water in the fridge but you are guaranteed that no one will be stealing from you.  I drink an 8 oz glass in the morning before heading to school and then have a a glass in the afternoon.  Students are pretty grossed out by me drinking it, but it has led to some nice discussions about healthy eating.  Some are even drinking it themselves now.

Amazing Grass comes in a variety of sizes and flavors, but my favorite is the ENERGY one.  They also make individual packets for those on the go.  

So much is written about student health these days, but we as teachers also need to take care of ourselves too.  By doing so, we are benefitting our students in a way that is often overlooked.  Alright, time to do more push ups.