I've found this to be a great source of information on the Cold War, and they have an email newsletter (which makes it easy to keep up with news, etc).
An excellent newsletter to sign up for. They're not just try to make money and they are historians and know what they're talking about. If you're on twitter then #historyteacher is the place to be!
"Our Page in History collects Western Australian history and also captures what life looks like today for future generations. We will also provide supportive assistance and information orientated towards assisting you in understanding how to protect and conserve your historical content. There are many useful links below and our e newsletters will be full of valuable information."
Hi Mary,
Thank you for this amazing share. Down here in Australia there has been a similar event regarding monuments in the news, just after the Charlottesville monument events unfolded. We can definately incorporate and contextualise this for Australia as a combined or global event.
A link to an Australian news article that could also be utilised to expand young American minds in understanding that this is a global issue also.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-26/australia-day-argument-intensifies-as-vandals-hit-captain-cook/8845064
Thanks again
Faye Goodwin
pre service teacher
Dear Faye,
Thank you for your comment and the link you posted. It will be interesting to look at this as a global issue. Recently I also saw some articles about similar events in Canada.
Hope you have a good school year!
Mary
Very often, teachers operate under the assumption that all standards are equally important and that they have to ensure that students are taught all of the standards with the same level of intensity each year.
The danger of delivering standards that are an inch deep and a mile wide is that students will inevitably leave a grade level or course with gaps in their learning.
prioritize certain standards and performance indicators, rather than giving each of them an equal amount of attention in the curriculum and on assessments.
teachers collaboratively prioritize their standards
requires teachers to look at the standards vertically. This vertical alignment allows teachers to identify important prerequisite skills students need
higher quality assessments
aligned, purposeful, and essential in identifying those students in need of intervention, remediation, or enrichment.
If a collaborative approach to prioritizing standards is not used, then teachers are forced to choose what they feel is essential. Often those decisions are based on a teacher’s comfort level, availability of resources, or personal preferences. This approach does not give all students access to a guaranteed and viable curriculum.
narrowing the focus
It is far easier for teachers to go in depth when they have fewer priority standards
deepening students’ understanding of essential content, strategies, and skills
debate and discuss the significance of the standards they teach
easier for teachers to choose high quality resources
teachers have clarity around what is essential to teach
We call these prioritized standards “power standards.”
distinguishes the standards that are essential for student success
“those standards that, once mastered, give a student the ability to use reasoning and thinking skills to learn and understand other curriculum objectives.”
support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Part of the problem is that the students don't see many REAL world (ie popular in media) examples of this. They have unsubstantiated claims from both side, demonization of the other side instead of discussion and debate over content and ideas.
learning that is essential for success
goes beyond one course or grade level
important in life
students will need to read informational texts proficiently and substantiate their claims using evidence from the text when reading, writing, and speaking
multidisciplinary connections
relevant in other disciplines
learning that is applied both within the content area and in other content areas
standard represents learning that is essential for success
Does this standard contain prerequisite content
think of a triple Venn Diagram, and that for the overall success of students each circle in that Venn Diagram has equal importance
skills necessary for the next
power standards are those that teachers will spend most of their instructional time teaching
standards emphasized on state and national assessments
focus of teacher assessments
If every teacher in the grade level or course is emphasizing something different, you do not have a guaranteed curriculum for students.
Not all standards are equally important at every grade level or in every course