When you try to compare the subjects of history and biology, you'll find that there aren't as many similarities as there are differences. But, as a way to reinvigorate your boring old history lecture, what if you combined the two of them? I know that this sounds morally and subjectively wrong, but there's one aspect of biology that can be used almost seamlessly in a history lesson: the theory of evolution.
Disclaimer: While I myself believe in the theory of evolution, the following is in no way being used to say that anyone's beliefs are wrong or right; it is being used primarily to help teach history, not science. People are entitled to their opinions, as am I, so please keep the comment section clean. Thank you.
Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution is a main part of biology; it talks of how depending on environments and situations, creatures will evolve to adapt and survive in their new home. Because history is always changing, the same theory can be applied to it; for example, people like the Bantus and Mongols were always moving around, or "evolving" based on their environment (the changing continent of Africa for the former) or due to certain situations (the Mongols taking over/destroying Asia and parts of Europe). So, use this to your advantage! Get together with a science/biology teacher and work together to make a lesson plan that uses both parts of history and evolution to teach your students important events in history! Here's a little outline to help get you started:
The British Colonies originally lived under the British Crown. However, due to unfair taxes and British oppression, they "evolved" into the United States by starting a revolution.
Short, quick, and to the point, the bolded parts can be replaced with blank spaces and be reused again and again. Just by having your students do something new for note taking will go miles in helping them remember by test time. Heck, you could even change a few things on a test about evolution and make it a test about the Vietnam War! The cross-subject teaching could also make teaching the lesson fun, as it's something new for the teacher as well (we all know that even teachers can get bored). So go out and try it! Teach history like biology, and you'll see how much similarities you can find!
-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep
Sunday, September 27, 2015
How to Pay Attention in History Class
This is a post aimed more at the students visiting this blog, if there are any; teachers can certainly learn from it as well, though they'd have to look at it from a different angle. Today's topic is a little tougher: how to pay attention. History lectures, when done correctly, can open up a whole new field to a student, inspire young minds to learn from its mistakes, leaders to learn from its successes, thinkers to study both. Above all else, it could reveal to a student an interest they hadn't even considered in the long run, and lead to important life decisions surrounding that one core moment. But when a history lecture is done poorly, it can be hard for students to pay any mind to it other than an inconvenience in an already long day, and a whole generation of future historians may be lost in less than an hour. While I always try to help out teachers by offering tips and suggestions to make history more fun for their class, I know many won't take them more than face value; there will always be a "bad" teacher, no matter how hard myself or others work to make it so there isn't. So, for you students out there with a "bad" teacher, here's a few ways to pay attention to the important parts of their lecture without being bored out of your mind.
The first is to Think Ahead. Every teacher, history or otherwise, will usually mention when there will be a big note-taking day or lecture a day before it happens, and it's the students responsibility to prepare for those days. What I did (still do, actually) was mentally go over a "checklist" for the class: will I need my notebook? Is the information going to be needed for the quiz/test/final? If any of these questions were answered with "Yes", I would make a note to come prepared and attentive for the class. You'd be surprised how thinking ahead can actually prepare you more for lectures than going in like any normal day; you'll have all the things you need and the right mindset to get through the class, no matter how much you hate learning about the Causes of the Glorious Revolution.
But even if you've thought ahead and mentally prepared, the way the teacher puts together a lesson/lecture could just as easily send it flying out the window. Boring topics, nasally voices, stuffy atmosphere: all of these can lead to a student losing attention and focusing elsewhere. That's why they should just Focus on the Important Things. In my experience, teachers will give students packets or sheets with names, places, and dates important to history that they will eventually go over in class. If you find yourself starting to fall asleep or lose focus, just listen for those "Hot Words", the stuff that's directly mentioned in the worksheet. Once you get the information you need written down, move on to the next "Hot Word" on the sheet, and continue doing so until it's filled out. For those without note outlines, simply listen for when the teacher's voice changes on a topic (look for enunciation-a part of EEI) or when something is bolded in a presentation; write down as much as you think you'll need to be comfortable with the topic for studying later. While some teachers say to listen to the whole lesson, if there's only certain parts of history you'll need to know for the whole year (like Presidents or Chinese dynasties), and there's only certain things they have you write down per lecture, why would you need to know more than what they had you take notes on? Just focus on important "Hot Words" and you should be fine.
Next, to effectively pay attention in a history class, a subject notoriously known for boring students out of their minds, you need to Eliminate Distractions. Even if you plan ahead, even if you try to focus on the important parts of the lesson, it only takes one urge to check a text message and you've missed a sizable chunk of the outcomes of the Revolutionary War. Beyond electronics, the human mind is prone to wander; what you want for dinner, what the homework for today is, did you have to write a paper for tomorrow or Thursday? While this problem ties in with thinking ahead, I've been approached by fellow students in history class enough times because I was the only one who seemed to pay attention that it warrants its own solution. Simply put the phone in a bag or put it on silent, get your mind in the right place, and repress the urge to do what everyone else is doing; they're only hurting themselves by not paying attention, and you don't need to follow suit.
Finally, the most important way to pay attention in history class is to Ask Questions. If you missed a "Hot Topic" in your notes or simply didn't understand/hear what the teacher said, raise your hand and ask. Not only will it get other peoples' attention (a new voice may cause them to snap out of boredom), but it may also tell the teacher that there are students paying attention, and the lesson may become a little more positive as their mood changes due to this discovery. When questions are asked, others may also realize that they were wondering the same thing; they just wanted someone else to ask it in fear of looking/sounding stupid. So take a chance, ask questions. You'll get refocused into the topic, and you may just get others paying attention as well.
To end this post, you CAN pay attention in history. If you simply do the four things I've outlined, you'll find that the subject of history isn't as bad as you thought, even with a "bad" teacher. These skills can also be transplanted for other classes, and eventually the workplace; in reality, paying attention is a life skill. Use this information to your advantage in life, and you'll find that you'll go far in everything you focus on!
-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep
The first is to Think Ahead. Every teacher, history or otherwise, will usually mention when there will be a big note-taking day or lecture a day before it happens, and it's the students responsibility to prepare for those days. What I did (still do, actually) was mentally go over a "checklist" for the class: will I need my notebook? Is the information going to be needed for the quiz/test/final? If any of these questions were answered with "Yes", I would make a note to come prepared and attentive for the class. You'd be surprised how thinking ahead can actually prepare you more for lectures than going in like any normal day; you'll have all the things you need and the right mindset to get through the class, no matter how much you hate learning about the Causes of the Glorious Revolution.
But even if you've thought ahead and mentally prepared, the way the teacher puts together a lesson/lecture could just as easily send it flying out the window. Boring topics, nasally voices, stuffy atmosphere: all of these can lead to a student losing attention and focusing elsewhere. That's why they should just Focus on the Important Things. In my experience, teachers will give students packets or sheets with names, places, and dates important to history that they will eventually go over in class. If you find yourself starting to fall asleep or lose focus, just listen for those "Hot Words", the stuff that's directly mentioned in the worksheet. Once you get the information you need written down, move on to the next "Hot Word" on the sheet, and continue doing so until it's filled out. For those without note outlines, simply listen for when the teacher's voice changes on a topic (look for enunciation-a part of EEI) or when something is bolded in a presentation; write down as much as you think you'll need to be comfortable with the topic for studying later. While some teachers say to listen to the whole lesson, if there's only certain parts of history you'll need to know for the whole year (like Presidents or Chinese dynasties), and there's only certain things they have you write down per lecture, why would you need to know more than what they had you take notes on? Just focus on important "Hot Words" and you should be fine.
Next, to effectively pay attention in a history class, a subject notoriously known for boring students out of their minds, you need to Eliminate Distractions. Even if you plan ahead, even if you try to focus on the important parts of the lesson, it only takes one urge to check a text message and you've missed a sizable chunk of the outcomes of the Revolutionary War. Beyond electronics, the human mind is prone to wander; what you want for dinner, what the homework for today is, did you have to write a paper for tomorrow or Thursday? While this problem ties in with thinking ahead, I've been approached by fellow students in history class enough times because I was the only one who seemed to pay attention that it warrants its own solution. Simply put the phone in a bag or put it on silent, get your mind in the right place, and repress the urge to do what everyone else is doing; they're only hurting themselves by not paying attention, and you don't need to follow suit.
Finally, the most important way to pay attention in history class is to Ask Questions. If you missed a "Hot Topic" in your notes or simply didn't understand/hear what the teacher said, raise your hand and ask. Not only will it get other peoples' attention (a new voice may cause them to snap out of boredom), but it may also tell the teacher that there are students paying attention, and the lesson may become a little more positive as their mood changes due to this discovery. When questions are asked, others may also realize that they were wondering the same thing; they just wanted someone else to ask it in fear of looking/sounding stupid. So take a chance, ask questions. You'll get refocused into the topic, and you may just get others paying attention as well.
To end this post, you CAN pay attention in history. If you simply do the four things I've outlined, you'll find that the subject of history isn't as bad as you thought, even with a "bad" teacher. These skills can also be transplanted for other classes, and eventually the workplace; in reality, paying attention is a life skill. Use this information to your advantage in life, and you'll find that you'll go far in everything you focus on!
-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Lesson Idea: Historical Biography Cards
Welcome to another Historical Friction Lesson Idea! Today's project is another one from my 7th grade class (Mr. Dierks was one of the BEST history teachers I've gotten), and a quick way for your students to learn about several historical figures without having to read more than a page from a textbook or other source. We called them "Biography Cards", and it not only taught me how to research for a singular topic, but also how to express myself through drawing!
Supplies
Several 12x12 pieces of card stock
Colored Pencils/Crayons/Markers (any of these would do)
History Textbook/Packets (Substitute with Internet as needed)
Optional: Glue
First, assign the students a person from history. It doesn't need to follow a theme (though it certainly can), but try to keep track of who gets who, as the final product will eventually be displayed for all of your classes to see, and no one wants to read about Cleopatra 5 times. After giving them a historical figure, send them off to learn! Have them find at least 10 interesting pieces of information about the figure, including birth/death dates, major contribution to history, and lasting legacy (how are they remembered today?) We'll use Henry Ford as our example for the rest of the instructions.
If the students are researching on the Internet, make sure they are using a reputable source! Many websites are contradictory to each other, and depending on opinions of the website creators, may reflect those opinions in there pieces (for instance, there are some who believe Henry Ford was a full-blown Nazi). Remind the students to use websites with the endings .edu or .gov; even Wikipedia can be helpful, but tell them to cite the References chart when doing their bibliography (better than having Wikipedia in the sources, I've found out).
After they've all gotten their information, it's time to create! Hand out the card stock and tell the students that they have to fit their 10 "facts" onto the card, including the person's name. Stress that they should practice this on notebook paper first, as it is hard to remove smudging effectively from card stock. Then, explain that a picture/drawing of the person must also be on the card (the glue can be used here to paste on the pictures) AND at least 3 images that are relevant to the person (Ford logo, Model T, and charcoal).
Give the students 2 days; one to get the information on the card (IN PEN), and one to either draw or paste a picture of the figure on the card and create a bibliography for the sources they used (EasyBib is the best for this!). Have them turned in, and grade based on quality of information, pictures, and bibliography.
Voila! You have your very own set of Biography Cards that you can now display around the classroom for the students to learn from and enjoy! Leave them up the whole year, base quizzes on them, do whatever you want with them! The kids will always remember a significant amount about their person, and you can say that you taught kids history through drawing. As always, leave feedback on whether this idea is working out, and make sure to offer any suggestions!
-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep
After they've all gotten their information, it's time to create! Hand out the card stock and tell the students that they have to fit their 10 "facts" onto the card, including the person's name. Stress that they should practice this on notebook paper first, as it is hard to remove smudging effectively from card stock. Then, explain that a picture/drawing of the person must also be on the card (the glue can be used here to paste on the pictures) AND at least 3 images that are relevant to the person (Ford logo, Model T, and charcoal).
Give the students 2 days; one to get the information on the card (IN PEN), and one to either draw or paste a picture of the figure on the card and create a bibliography for the sources they used (EasyBib is the best for this!). Have them turned in, and grade based on quality of information, pictures, and bibliography.
Voila! You have your very own set of Biography Cards that you can now display around the classroom for the students to learn from and enjoy! Leave them up the whole year, base quizzes on them, do whatever you want with them! The kids will always remember a significant amount about their person, and you can say that you taught kids history through drawing. As always, leave feedback on whether this idea is working out, and make sure to offer any suggestions!
-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Quick Tips: Elaborate, Enunciate, Invigorate
Hey, it's Pharaoh Noh-Tyep here with a quick tip to make teaching/learning history easier for the teacher/student! My experience has led me to believe that even one tip can go a long way in making history better to understand for everyone; hopefully, it can make your class a little more fun!
Today's tip is in the discussion of history: how can you make it NOT boring? There are three things one can do when discussing historical context, and that's Elaborate, Enunciate, and Invigorate.
For elaborating, let's say you're giving a history lecture. You just want to get through the main part, and send the students on their way to do their own thing while you relax. Well, you can't really do that...as a teacher, it's your duty to make sure the students understand as well as they can what they're supposed to be learning. So while you may not like it, you need to Elaborate, or explain the topic at hand as much as possible. Using different tones and comments can keep the students attentive, and encourage note taking! It's saved my butt more times than I can count.
Going further on the topic of tone, no one likes a droner (see "5 Ways to Make a History Lesson Fun" to learn more), or someone who only speaks in one level of voice. It'll put the students to sleep faster than you can say Bueller! When you Enunciate, you're putting feeling into your voice. This will make an impact in the minds of your students; if the teachers themselves are putting more energy into this one part, maybe they should pay attention/write it down. But don't just Enunciate one part of your lecture! Make the whole thing chock-full of energy-it'll keep your students interested and awake (it may even wake you up, too!).
Finally, capitulate on that energy you get from Enunciating with Invigorate. Get the whole class in a tizzy about learning history-videos, activities, interactive notes, you name it! If you keep the students active, you can get both their respect as the "fun" teacher and more willingness to do their assignments (remember, even after the fun and games, homework is still a must!). So make your lecture fun! Use EEI-Elaborate, Enunciate, Invigorate-and your class'll be learning more about history in no time!
-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep
Today's tip is in the discussion of history: how can you make it NOT boring? There are three things one can do when discussing historical context, and that's Elaborate, Enunciate, and Invigorate.
For elaborating, let's say you're giving a history lecture. You just want to get through the main part, and send the students on their way to do their own thing while you relax. Well, you can't really do that...as a teacher, it's your duty to make sure the students understand as well as they can what they're supposed to be learning. So while you may not like it, you need to Elaborate, or explain the topic at hand as much as possible. Using different tones and comments can keep the students attentive, and encourage note taking! It's saved my butt more times than I can count.
Going further on the topic of tone, no one likes a droner (see "5 Ways to Make a History Lesson Fun" to learn more), or someone who only speaks in one level of voice. It'll put the students to sleep faster than you can say Bueller! When you Enunciate, you're putting feeling into your voice. This will make an impact in the minds of your students; if the teachers themselves are putting more energy into this one part, maybe they should pay attention/write it down. But don't just Enunciate one part of your lecture! Make the whole thing chock-full of energy-it'll keep your students interested and awake (it may even wake you up, too!).
Finally, capitulate on that energy you get from Enunciating with Invigorate. Get the whole class in a tizzy about learning history-videos, activities, interactive notes, you name it! If you keep the students active, you can get both their respect as the "fun" teacher and more willingness to do their assignments (remember, even after the fun and games, homework is still a must!). So make your lecture fun! Use EEI-Elaborate, Enunciate, Invigorate-and your class'll be learning more about history in no time!
-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep
Lesson Idea: Diary Entry
Hello, fellow history enthusiasts and teachers! It's Pharaoh Noh-Tyep here with Historical Friction's first Lesson Idea post! What's a Lesson Idea, you may be asking? Basically, from time to time I'll come up with a way to put some spice back into your history (which is already known for its spices) through a fun lesson topic that you can "encourage" your students into doing. It not only makes it more fun to plan a lesson, but can also help the students find a fun way to learn about a certain time period. Also, who doesn't like arts and crafts from time to time?!
Today's Lesson Idea is one I actually did back in middle school, in Mr. Dierks' 7th grade social studies class. We were learning about Lewis and Clark, and Dierks had us do something I still remember to this day: pretend YOU were on the expedition, and write about your "time" on the expedition in a Diary Entry. It was both a fun way of learning about the expedition and a lesson in where they were when, and how, and with who (covering all the bases here!). So, here's some instructions for leading your students make their own Diary Entries!
Today's Lesson Idea is one I actually did back in middle school, in Mr. Dierks' 7th grade social studies class. We were learning about Lewis and Clark, and Dierks had us do something I still remember to this day: pretend YOU were on the expedition, and write about your "time" on the expedition in a Diary Entry. It was both a fun way of learning about the expedition and a lesson in where they were when, and how, and with who (covering all the bases here!). So, here's some instructions for leading your students make their own Diary Entries!
Supplies
Paper
Soy Sauce
Paper towels
History Textbooks
First, you'll want to choose a time period in history. To make things easier, we'll just do the Lewis and Clark expedition I used in my example. Start by either assigning the students a certain role in the event (Billy is Lewis, Joey is Clark, etc.) OR have the students be their own people in the event (I was Captain Jebediah McCarthy, so I was on the Lewis and McCarthy expedition!) Once they've gotten their character, now you can begin.
Have the students read about the expedition from their textbooks, then encourage them to find at least 3 other resources about their event. If you've assigned them specific characters in the actual event, have them research those characters' lives and backgrounds as well as the main event. Encourage them to do research at home as well-it never hurts!
Once they've fully immersed themselves in the topic (which should take about 2 days, at max), hand out the papers they'll be writing the entry on. I've found that printer paper is best, and you can format it to your choosing with lines, date boxes, and a signature line (I don't recommend this, though, as it takes away from the "accuracy", which you'll learn about in a bit). Now comes the homework assignment: the students must write a diary entry as their character! After they've stopped moaning, stress that their rough draft of the letter MUST BE WRITTEN ON NOTEBOOK PAPER. It gives the students an ability to make mistakes, and will make it much easier to read when grading.
Next, have them write the drafts for a few days, and collect them on Friday. Why Friday? It gives you, the teacher, 2 days to grade them (tough enough already, I know), and allows the students time to relax but not enough time to forget. If you wait to give them back their rough drafts after Monday, it'll be too late! The kids will have become distracted and/or forgotten enough about the topic that they won't be as interested in it as before. Time is key!
Now, have them write their final drafts on the printer paper. Encourage cursive, but don't push it; some kids may not know it, especially nowadays. Finally, either in class or at home, lay out the paper towels (you will need a lot!) and place the entries on them. Have the students "age" their drafts with the soy sauce, but don't let them get too carried away! 3 pours should be enough. I ended up doing this part at home, but it's up to the teacher.
Have the letters dry overnight. In the morning, they'll be dry, crackly, and tanned, much like a two-hundred year old piece of paper (the only difference being is that they smell like Chinese food). For extra credit, have the students "age" an envelope as well, or paste the letter (if one-sided) into a journal, to make it even more accurate. Grade the final product, and post them for all the other classes to see.
There you have it! Diary entries that every kid will enjoy! I discovered that I now know more about the Discovery Corps' interactions with the Walla Walla's due to this project than I ever learned reading in the textbook or hearing from a teacher. It follows the 5 Steps of making history fun: it gets the kids' attention and can make history enjoyable for both student and teacher. So, go try it out! It usually ends up taking about a week and a half, and don't be afraid to share your results; we always want to make sure our Lesson Ideas work! Once again, thanks for reading!
-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep
Friday, September 18, 2015
5 Ways To Make a History Lesson Fun
Does this sound familiar? You're in history class, and you think the topic's about Napoleon, but you're not sure because you've been flicking pieces of paper at Jake while the teacher's monotonous drone provides an uninteresting background noise. If this is true, there are three things that could be happening:
Time and time again, I've gotten history teachers who were so uninterested in their topic that they'd punish the students by making each lesson more boring than the last, which ultimately led to half of the class not learning about an era of history and flunking the Unit test (I, of course, paid attention and, while I received a good grade, also became clinically depressed). It wasn't until high school that I even had a history teacher who seemed to like what they were teaching about, and I figured out it had something to do with how they did the same lesson plan year after year. Repeating something really can get boring.
So, after years of hearing lecture after lecture, I finally devised 5 ways to make history fun to teach- not just for the teachers, but also the students.
- You're easily distracted
- Jake's head is a perfect target
- The lesson is boring
Time and time again, I've gotten history teachers who were so uninterested in their topic that they'd punish the students by making each lesson more boring than the last, which ultimately led to half of the class not learning about an era of history and flunking the Unit test (I, of course, paid attention and, while I received a good grade, also became clinically depressed). It wasn't until high school that I even had a history teacher who seemed to like what they were teaching about, and I figured out it had something to do with how they did the same lesson plan year after year. Repeating something really can get boring.
So, after years of hearing lecture after lecture, I finally devised 5 ways to make history fun to teach- not just for the teachers, but also the students.
5. Make The Lesson Interactive
History lectures (really any lecture in general) can become bland after about 10 minutes. When a teacher continually talks and talks about an event that happened hundreds of years ago, students can start getting bored. Taking all those notes while trying to keep up with that Tudor PowerPoint can be really hard on a student's brain and hand, and most will usually give up and space off. The best solution to this problem? Interactive lesson plan. When a teacher does something new, even something as small as walking around, students WILL pay attention; much like a T-Rex, their senses are based on movement. Asking questions to the class also keeps minds focused, and changes in mood and voice level will either shock or amuse them into listening (I should know; Mrs. Smith always had the best Pirate Day). For those really distracting students, calling them out in front of the class usually solves the problem swiftly.
4. Care About Your Subject
When a teacher doesn't really care about their lesson, the student won't either. This is especially true in history, where so many events and names and places can cause one to blur the line between what they studied in college and what they're teaching; this leads to disinterest and as a result makes a bland lesson. SO, the night before your lecture, try re-learning the event, seeing it from new angles, or simply Google it to find others' opinions on the subject. When you think you've done enough, you'll find that the subject as a whole may seem more interesting, and that could change the way your students learn about it too (tip: don't share opinions from the Internet. Simply use them to put emotion into the lecture.
3. SPEAK WITH A PURPOSE
I cannot stress this one enough. When a teacher stays at the same level and tone of voice, you will put your students to sleep! Use emotion, speak eloquently, but don't use a monotone! The purpose of your lesson is to teach the students something they'll need to know in the future, and if you can't remember what your subject was about a day later, neither will they. Not only will purpose and emotion put life into your lesson, it may put a little life into you.
2. Use Humor
Let's face it: history is often times not interesting. I didn't want to learn all of the names of the Founding Fathers, but I did (of course, that was 5 years ago). But humor can go a long way in allowing someone to remember specific historical facts and terms. Perhaps making a joke about Henry VIII will suffice; students will laugh, and suddenly they're paying attention again. Even corny jokes will do, because as long as the students are paying attention, they're learning. Using a humorous acronym can also lead to better memory when it comes to tests (like BAGPIPE in AP US History), and the best part is that you'll be having fun too. And don't just do one joke; try and fit a whole bunch of them in a lecture (tip: don't become too distracted with jokes. They still need to learn).
1. Finally, Make it a Show!
When a teacher calls on a student, it's usually associated with trouble. But in history class, it could mean assigning them a historic role for a presentation. Yes, I said it: use the students as your tools to teach the lesson to them! When a student becomes involved, all sorts of things can happen, and it combines all of the previous points into one. Who won't remember how Jake played a really skinny Ben Franklin, or Sally got to be Marie Antoinette but said "let them eat pie"? It turns the boring lesson into a fun activity, and students will definitely be happy to not have to do quite as many notes as much as live the history (however, they still need to take notes!).
In conclusion, lessons can be boring to a teacher, especially ones they've done multiple times a day, and history is no exception. But by making history fun for the students, some teachers may actually make it fun for themselves!
-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep
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