成人头条 senior Will Mercer contributed lesson plans ranging from
the 1973 OPEC oil embargo to the creation of judicial review under Marbury v. Madison.
In mid-March, lesson plans suitable for remote learning became a valuable tool as teachers (and parents) scrambled to keep students interested and on track.
In stepped 成人头条 student teachers with videos, clarinets, John Lennon, baseball, soccer, Greek gods and Abraham Lincoln. The COVID-19 pandemic took them out of the classroom. It did not stop their contributions to education.
鈥淚nstead of doing lesson plans to send to me, we try to help actual teachers and actual kids,鈥� said Dr. Aaron Rife, associate professor in the College of Applied Studies.
Rife and 13 seniors in the history/government education program are creating lessons and materials that teachers can use to teach children over the internet or at home. The videos, lesson plans and slide shows are uploaded to a Google classroom that鈥檚 available to teachers.
鈥淚t went from a sense of uncertainty to making sure we鈥檙e at least getting something tangible and beneficial out for somebody to be helped during all this,鈥� said Will Mercer, a senior majoring in history education. 鈥淒r. Rife has now made it very clear to us: We are teachers. We are here to helps kids. We are here to help teachers.鈥�
The students upload their lesson plans to a History Teaching Resources, 6-12 at . (Password: y4jlakd).
鈥淎 lot of them are doing some truly fantastic work,鈥� Rife said. 鈥淲e wanted to try to do something meaningful and try to contribute to teachers.鈥�
鈥淏ases Loaded: Baseball and Jim Crow Laws鈥� explains Jim Crow Laws and how Negro leagues helped break down racial barriers. 鈥淓xecutive Orders in Kansas鈥� helps students understand the purpose and function of executive orders. In 鈥淲itnessing the Lincoln Assassination,鈥� students analyze eyewitness accounts and consider how the assassination will affect Reconstruction.
Rife and his students are sharing the documents through email with local teachers and administrators and social media. He said a teacher from India is using some of the plans.
Mercer said it is important to make the lessons helpful for students who might lack strong internet or are limited with their use of a computer.
Courtesy photo
鈥淧art of the thinking is 鈥楬ow can I make a lesson that is accessible to somebody who can鈥檛 get online? And how can I give this to teachers that might have students who have packets that need to be printed?鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 made us really synthesize it down to manageable chunks. We鈥檝e really been trying to make sure our lessons are pretty narrow, pretty focused and can be easily digestible in a small amount of time.鈥�
Senior Kristi Neas, majoring in history and government education, plays the clarinet and incorporates music and video with lesson plans that deal with protest songs, Sputnik and 鈥淗ome on the Range.鈥�
In 鈥淧op Culture 鈥� The Influence of Protest Songs,鈥� the lesson includes songs such as 鈥淚magine鈥� by John Lennon and 鈥淏orn in the U.S.A.,鈥� by Bruce Springsteen.
鈥淗istory can be sterile,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t really gets the students engaged, just because it鈥檚 something different.鈥�
With the 1984 Springsteen song, she asks the students to read the lyrics and uses reflective questions about the tone and key phrases to help the students analyze the meaning.
Most of them, she said, know the song and consider it an upbeat celebration. The lyrics, however, show that 鈥淏orn in the U.S.A. is a reflection on the Vietnam War and how the country treated veterans upon their return.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e very surprised,鈥� Neas said. 鈥淭hey haven鈥檛 had that context, or they don鈥檛 know what the Viet Cong is. So even when he says that, they don鈥檛 really register that it has any significance. Once you point it out, it鈥檚 like their eyes are opened and you get a little light-bulb moment, which can be really cool.鈥�
