As the end of the year approaches and we start to feel tired and weary, it is all too easy to become overwhelmed as schoolwork is suddenly matched with the stresses, strains, planning and preparation for the Christmas holiday season.
It’s the time of year when networks start to show re-runs of “Love Actually”, “Die Hard”, “Miracle on 34th Street” and of course the holiday season perennial, “The Sound of Music”; and it’s with this feel-good movie in mind that I am now embracing the Christmas spirit to share a “few of my favorite things.”
These links have all been shared with me by some of the amazing teachers in our Verso community, many of whom I have had the privilege of working with in 2015. You will find that some are clever and some are quirky but all of the resources are perfect for developing amazing provocations in Verso, especially at the end of the year! Consider these stocking fillers as a few “brown paper packages tied up with string.” to help you through the next couple of weeks and beyond.
1. Dan Meyer Blog: Understanding exponential growth- how many dominoes does it take to knock over a skyscraper?
2. What Would You Do? Total Strangers Help Buy Christmas Tree for Family in Need
I have been a fan of the TV show What Would You Do? for many years. Their WWYD YouTube Channel is a superb source of intriguing provocations which lend themselves to the consideration of contemporary moral dilemmas. This heart warming example presents an opportunity for students to consider the real meaning of Christmas alongside the concept of gift giving and what it means to “pay it forward”.
3. Estimation 180: Building number sense one day at a time
I was really fortunate to work with Tustin USD math guru, Andrew Stadel this year. He briefly showed me his site Estimation 180 and I have been sharing it with schools around the world ever since.
How much area does my son’s hand cover?
Each day of the school year, Andrew presents his students with an estimation challenge designed to support students in improving their number sense and problem solving skills. Students are required to make an estimation and share their reasoning by first considering what might be too high and too low.
Andrew shares his challenges on his website and he has created his Estimation 180 twitter community where over 1100 teachers are currently sharing challenges of their own.
4. Curiosity.com: Never stop learning
I have downloaded the curiosity.com app on my phone and each morning it pushes 5 new amazing topics, guaranteed to cultivate curiosity and rich discussion. I can’t recommend this site enough. It is searchable by subject and links to YouTube, Vimeo and image banks suitable for use in Verso to generate rich discussion and thinking.
To get you started, I have selected an recent festive article on Krampus.
Krampus is the centuries-old Christmas devil creature that comes out every December 5th, known as Krampusnacht. On this night, the German legend has it that Krampus visits the children who have been naughty over the last year. He would then take these wicked children back to his lair!
Did you know?
Curiosity.com links ideas together by creating new pathways. These are fantastic as they allow students and teachers to take their inquiry in a range of different directions. The Krampus path has links to really useful clips on the root of Christmas traditions old and new.
Mythbusters fire a soccer ball 50mph out of a cannon on a truck driving at exactly 50mph in the opposite direction pic.twitter.com/LFvciOWRsl
— Science GIFs (@Learn_Things) December 7, 2015
Mythbusters fire a soccer ball 50mph out of a cannon on a truck driving at exactly 50mph in the opposite direction, see the full video below
This Twitter community has an amazing 993000 followers. The amazing clips, gifs and images shared are powerful scientific conversation starters.
Furthermore, they sit comfortably with the sparking curiosity approach of renowned science teacher Ramsey Musallam who I have mentioned in previous posts.
I believe that when curiosity is sparked deep cycles of learning can occur
Ramsey Musallam
Ramsey Musallam: 3 rules to spark learning
Finally, I hope you enjoyed browsing through these resources. I will be adding more in the new year but in the meantime, I hope you and your students have a happy and peaceful holiday season and a peaceful and productive new year filled with awe, wonder and curiosity!
Black History Month presents an opportunity to celebrate the humanity, the rich heritage and significant contribution of African Americans in the United States and around the globe.
Throughout February, Verso Learning will be sharing a range of web-based resources and student-ready activities aimed at activating deep conversations about who we are and our developing perceptions of the world.
We will be releasing 4 activities from our Verso library:
2 x Middle and High School
1 x Professional Development activity for teachers
1 x Elementary School
All activities reference Verso Teaching Strategies. These strategy cards are only available to premium customers, however, teachers using our free trial accounts can edit the activities and remove any inaccessible links.
For a brief video overview of the Verso Teaching Strategies, please click here!
If you’d like some helpful tips on how to use VersoApp, please visit our knowledgebase
Our Chief Academic Officer, Phil Stubbs has created the following activity as a professional learning opportunity for teacher sharing and collaboration.
Black History Month: We Need to Change How We Teach Black History
This activity has been developed for an article authored by Keisha L. Bentley-Edwards, PhD.
Dr Bentley-Edwards is an Assistant Professor of General Internal Medicine and the Associate Director of Research for the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University.
source: https://www.drbentleyedwards.com
For more information on how to access Student Mode to use your Verso Teacher Account for professional learning, you can refer to the helpdesk article:
Can I use my Teacher account to participate in Activities as a student?
(Note: one teacher will need to create the class and run the activity, then provide the class code for other teachers to join as the students. Shared Classes are only available to Verso Premium subscription holders. If you would like more information on upgrading to the benefits of Verso Premium, please refer to our account comparison page.)
As promised, please find below a selection of activities we’ve cultivated for you to import directly into your Verso Classroom.
Verso Library Activity: Grades 3 – 6
Black History Month – Make a Difference
https://app.versoapp.com/flips/KouDMRaWpoW3jXXcE
Verso Library Activity: Grades 7 – 12
Verso Activity – Black History Month: “Let America be America Again” Langston Hughes
https://app.versoapp.com/flips/FBDHFDqCfG3iaQpnq
Verso Activity – Black History Month: Camille Rankine
https://app.versoapp.com/flips/izHXYWmcbAkyETh9t
If you need some help with copying/cloning activities, here’s a link to a helpful article:
Can I use the same activity more than once?
25 April is ANZAC day, a significant day in Australian and New Zealand history. The date marks the anniversary of the landing of New Zealand and Australian soldiers – the Anzacs – on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. It was the first major military action for both counties during the First World War.
In honour of this important day we have compiled a list of free resources that our Australian and New Zealand teachers can use to create engaging Activities in Verso. We’ve put some examples of how you could use these below: ANZAC Day: Sacrifice (Secondary School), ANZAC Day: Interviews (Primary School), ANZAC Day: Campaign (Secondary School) and ANZAC Day: Last Post (Primary/Secondary)
Verso Campus subscribers can head straight to the global library here to copy these Activities into their account. Not a subscriber, get in touch to learn how you can upgrade your school.
Australia Remembers: WW1 1914 -1918
http://www.abc.net.au/news/first-world-war-centenary/
ABC Splash
http://splash.abc.net.au/home#!/topic/1170683/home
and
http://splash.abc.net.au/newsandarticles/blog/-/b/1818164/top-10-resources-to-commemorate-the-anzac-centenary
Imperial War Museum (UK)
http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/15-photos-of-the-anzacs-at-gallipoli
and
http://www.iwm.org.uk/learning/resources/the-gallipoli-campaign
Victoria: Anzac Centenary
http://anzaccentenary.vic.gov.au/get-involved/student-teacher-resources/#shrine
Anzac Day: Sacrifice
This activity makes use of some of the phenomenal case studies exploring the ethnic diversity of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF).
https://www.awm.gov.au/
To replicate this activity you will need the following link and text:
LINK:
https://www.awm.gov.au/education/schools/resources/anzac-diversity/
TEXT:
Approximately 420,000 Australians enlisted in the AIF during the First World War, including nurses, Indigenous Australians, and Australians with British, Asian, Greek and Northern European heritage. For some, enlisting was difficult.
The introduction of the Commonwealth Defense Act in 1909 excluded any person not “substantially of European descent” from enlisting in the First World War. The Act was in line with the White Australia Policy, which aimed to ensure that Australia retained its white colonial British character.
Read at least 3 of the Australian War Memorial’s powerful case studies exploring the ethnic diversity of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF).
RESPOND: Based on what you have read, what do you think drove these men and women to risk their lives for a country that had not always offered them equality?
COMMENT: Read other students’ responses and comment on whether the reasons given and the risks taken paid off once the war was over. Think about the lasting effect (If any) their sacrifice had on the Australian identity.
Links to the Australian curriculum: History
The content of these stories and classroom activities will provide opportunities to develop historical understanding through:
Key concepts
Sources and evidence, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy and significance, and contestability.
Cross-curriculum priorities
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia.
General capabilities
Literacy, IT competence, critical and creative thinking, intercultural understanding.
Anzac Day: Interviews
This activity asks students to go into the community in search of the meaning of Anzac Day. In collecting diverse viewpoints the students can synthesize the responses to look for common ground.
To replicate this activity you will need the following link and text:
LINK:
https://www.awm.gov.au/education/schools/resources/anzac-diversity/
TEXT:
Anzac Day means different things to different people. When you get home speak to a parent, grandparent or somebody close to your family and ask them the question, “What does Anzac Day mean to you?”
SHARE: Share the name of the person you interviewed and then share their response.
CARE: Read some other responses and share a reason why you think it is important that we still commemorate this day. Try to use part of their story in your answer. Remember you can comment on many responses so you can give a different reason each time.
Links to the Australian curriculum: History
The content of these stories and classroom activities will provide opportunities to develop historical understanding through:
Key Concepts
Sources of evidence, continuity and change, perspectives, empathy and significance.
General capabilities
Literacy, ICT capability, critical and creative thinking, Personal and social capability and ethical understanding.
Anzac day: Campaign
This activity asks students to consider the controversy around Woolworths’ 2015 Anzac Day campaign. The “Fresh in Our Memories” website — linking Anzac commemorations to the retailer’s “Fresh Food People” branding tag line — was taken down overnight amid claims that it was in very poor taste. This activity asks students to consider the underlying issues.
To replicate this activity you will need the following link and text:
TEXT:
Woolworths have come under fire for their “Fresh in Our Memories” campaign. Their website encouraged people to change their social media profile picture to one of someone that was involved in the war – a great way of paying tribute to a relative who’s life was touched by the war. However once put through their “profile picture generator” it came out with the words over the top, “Lest We Forget, Anzac 1915-2015″ and “Fresh in our memories” with the Woolworths logo.
The slogan “Fresh in our Memories” offended many and prompted the Veterans’ Affairs Minister to get on to the phone to Woolworths and demand the material be taken down. Woolworths said in a statement, “We regret that our branding on the picture generator has caused offence, this was clearly never our intention.
Like many heritage Australian companies, we were marking our respect for Anzac and our veterans.
We continue to be proud supporters of the RSL and Camp Gallipoli in this important year and look forward to working with them into the future.”
RESPONSE: Do you believe that Woolworths were indeed “marking their respect for Anzac and our veterans?” OR Do you think they had another agenda?
COMMENT: carefully read some responses and think about what your classmates are saying. Whatever their opinion, comment on their response with what you think would be the counter-argument.
Links to the Australian curriculum: History
The content of these stories and classroom activities will provide opportunities to develop historical understanding through:
Key concepts
Sources and evidence, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy and significance, and contestability.
General capabilities
Literacy, IT competence, critical and creative thinking and ethical understanding
ANZAC Day: Last Post
LINK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-Pz5KsyfN0
TEXT:
In military tradition, the Last Post is the bugle call that signifies the end of the day’s activities. It is also sounded at military funerals to indicate that the soldier has gone to his final rest and at commemorative services such as ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day.
Put your headphones on and listen to the music in the clip.
The Last Post evokes a lot of different emotions in people.
SHARE: Respond in Verso
1. When listening to the music, what type of emotions do you feel and why? Try and explain your reasons.
2. What other music has significant meaning to you and why?
When responding remember that Verso is anonymous. No one but your teacher can see who you are so try and explain your emotions.
CARE: Now find a response that is different to yours but which you like or agree with and leave a comment as feedback.
Links to the Australian curriculum: History
The content of these stories and classroom activities will provide opportunities to develop historical understanding through:
Key concepts
Sources and evidence, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy and significance, and contestability.
General capabilities
Literacy, IT competence, critical and creative thinking and ethical understanding
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