Room 755: September 2010

This past Thursday, Paul & Anna Joseph came to my class again to help my students learn the countries and features they are responsible for knowing. It is an exercise in memorization, for the most part. They have to know and locate 53 places on a map.

I wrote some lyrics, but have no ability to play an instrument, or lead a group in singing. We had a blast! Last year was the first year Paul & Anna came to class. At the end of the school year, I asked my students what I needed to continue doing and what I needed to stop doing. Having Paul & Anna come to class was the number one thing to repeat. That was after 8 months of seeing them. That's how good they are.

I posted several videos on my Facebook page, and the kids "argued" over whose class was the best singers. It was awesome. My kids were in the zone (remember, I hate the word "engaged").

Below are the first 4 videos (of 6) that I will post here. I had over 150 videos, with kids pointing to the locations on a projection of maps, so I'll post some of them too.

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I think it is important to know the big picture of your curriculum. The teacher must know where they are taking their students, how they plan to get them to the destination (at least a temporary, annual destination - not a sense of the learning ends after the test is done), and the best routes to take along the way.

Sometimes the routes are by plane, and very direct

Currently, we are moving in in a direct manner of transportation. Now, flying does not always mean fast, it just means direct, with no opportunity to see the sites along the way. We are learning the countries and features that will eventually represent the learning of deeper issues for grade 7 curriculum in Social Studies.

So, we are memorizing, repeating, and having some in-flight entertainment along the way. I begin with a list we work to memorize in order. There are 53 items, separated into three regions. For example:

Africa Countries

Egypt
Sudan
Kenya
South Africa
Nigeria
Democratic Republic of the Congo

We memorize them in order, with the corresponding numbers - no map (no need at this point).

We repeat as a group, as individuals, through fast-paced cold calling, in the classroom, in the hallway, in the cafeteria, at the high school football games, in the grocery store (yes all places I have "quizzed my students in the past week).

Here's a conversation at our Business Office window after school:

Me: Hi Edith! How are you doing?
Edith: Good Mr. Murry, how are you?
Me: I'm fine. Hey, Africa...What's country number 3?
Edith: Ummm. Kenya?
Me: That's right. Don't question what you know. Tell me all of them, in order.
Edith: Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, South America...
Me: What?
Edith: South America, Nigeria...
Me: What is number 4?
Edith South Ameri...Ohhhh. South Africa!
Me: That's okay, you learned that last year. Keep going.
Edith: South AFRICA, Nigeria, DRC.
ME: Nice.
Edith: Thanks, Mr. Murry.

And this conversation is repeated about 40 times a day for me outside of class. Sometimes on Facebook.

Sometimes the routes are by Interstate Highways

After the students have proven to me that they know the countries in order, I give them a map of each region (Africa, Middle East, Asia) with the countries numbered with the same number as they memorized the list.

Guess what, they always know which country is labeled with the corresponding number. Then we work on the location of the countries, because the state test is not going to have the same labeling system I use. Here is where we take more time to get spacial understanding of where our countries are located. Students don't have to struggle with the inane, inactive, boring activity of finding countries on a map in an atlas or online.

Later, I'll provide different labels on the countries so students can practice identifying locations.

Sometimes the routes are by Scenic Highway

I think it is good for kids to memorize. I'll not make the argument here, but will refer you to Why Students Don't Like School by Dan Willingham for an extensive reason as to why this practice is important even in (especially in) the digital age. HINT: It saves time, and time is the most important commodity in a digital, information economy.

Knowing the spacial relationship between the countries and the physical features found there are the foundation upon which the real goal of my class is built. We soon arrive at environmental issues, ethnic and religious tensions, governance, economics, and much more. These are the important issues, but without being able to put a face on the issues, who will be captured by the situations and seek to make a difference? No one. When we discuss these issues, it is extremely important for my students (anyone really) to be able to visualize the location and geography of the areas in which people suffer.

My new motto this year: Social Studies isn't just a class, it is a matter of life, death, and survival.

By the way, my willingness to share my class on Facebook has led to numerous teachers, parents, friends, and former students to become a part of my classroom. They send me links, respond to questions I ask my current students, and provide encouragement to me and my students. It is awesome.

For instance: The teacher across the hallway from me, Mrs. Ott, a young, energetic science teacher who is a graduate from the University of Florida sent me an article of a young man, Thomas Maresco, who was murdered in Lesotho this weekend. Why would she send me this? Because she knows I want my students to go into the world and make a difference in the lives of people everywhere. But there is danger in doing so. It takes courage to do what is right, and my students will know the risks because I have caring friends who help me teach my students.

I am finding that having several people help me plan and teach my class by providing information, differing opinions, videos, and encouragement are making this teaching thing even more fun than it already was for me.

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