I don't think I caught everybody in these pictures, but here are some shots of Friday's Halloween festivities.

I caught a glimpse of a couple of the fifth grade costumes and was impressed to see their interest in history has continued.

Our appreciation is extended to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, for providing lunch for our students who toured their facility, last week.

The bus ride on our field trip to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, was enjoyable. Students stayed at an acceptable voice level and interacted with their peers.  A couple even greeted the bus driver with a handshake.  The hour-long journey was the first field trip we've been able to take since Coronavirus locked everyone down in 2020.

Most of this year's honorees as state History Teachers of the Year met virtually, last week for a session with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.  Joe Welch, previous recipient of the national award presented this graphic during the meeting.  I thought it was interesting, and I was honored, once again, to have been included.  For an animated version, check Joe Welch's video on Twitter.

Wager also picked up a grade book (above) at Target and realized that it mentioned everything about school, but disregarded Social Studies and History altogether.  It was nice to see that other people share my concern that History, Civics, Social and so-called "Soft" Skills are largely disregarded in our nation's classrooms these days, but while the camaraderie of like-minded people is nice, the concern is real.  The graphic below highlights this issue, especially at the elementary level.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI), the non-profit responsible for the History Teacher of the Year Award, manager of a collection of over 60,000 Gilder Lehrman documents and artifacts, advocates for more Social Studies engagement in K-5 classrooms.  As one of the newest Master Teachers on the GLI team, I hope to be a part of helping that happen.

​In classrooms across the U.S., teachers are neglecting - teachers are often encouraged to neglect - certain portions of the curriculum.  What used to be important - teaching science and social studies - has again been reduced to The Three Rs - Readin', 'wRitin;, and aRithmetic (or math).  When a teacher recognizes the exclusion of history, the response might be, Teach history during your reading block; in other words, locate age-appropriate writings to read (and respond to) to demonstrate comprehension and fluency.

Ouch.  You just succeeded in sucking the life out of one of the coolest part of the day...and you may have just sucked the fun out of reading, as well.

The same is done with science.  While we may recognize that science is part of the acronym for STEM or STEAM, once again, it has been relegated to some kind of secondary status.  Then again, just like social studies, science must never be put in the corner only to be pulled onto the dance floor in conjunction with reading.  What a way to kill the desire for reading.

Both history and science are about stories, and yes, both can be used to teach reading comprehension, but neither should be the secondary objective.  These are the subjects of substance.  They are robust.  And they are compelling to students.  When a teacher relates of an interesting account in history, he hooks students and makes them want to learn more.  When that motivation is removed, what remains?

School becomes boring.

Friends, may we strive to never let that happen:  do not neglect the good stuff.

Last week's History Arts Group took some time away from the Hamilton Education Program to visit the Be Washington! feature from George Washington's Mount Vernon.

Students consulted with "expert" advisors to make a decision for themselves, whether to stand their ground, retreat, or move forward to take the battle to the British in Princeton.  They didn't all match the choices George Washington made, but there were no wrong answers.

Students enjoyed the video and presentation style of the Be Washington! activity.  We will repeat this in our regular classroom, later in the year, and even do another episode or two.

Here's a short and quick read.  If the font had been regular-sized, this book would have been 50 fewer pages in length.  And the thing is, this one was a decent book, but it just ended.  It was as if the authors stopped writing for the day and forgot to wrap things up in the end.

If you're interested, you can find many more Professional Pet Peeves.

We spent a couple of days talking about the pirates of the early 18th century - Blackbeard, et al - and then made our own themed pirate islands, complete with an X, apparently to "mark the spot" where a treasure is buried.  We will try to finish the maps soon and get to writing about the setting for our treasure X​.

The results are in, and the results are not great.  We had the time of our lives, and students made so much progress, last year, but that progress is not completely or accurately recorded by the state's standardized testing in the spring.  We knew Math was our weak point, but NWEA testing throughout the year did not accurately predict our Missouri Assessment Program scores.

We are always hopeful that we can take our students where they need to go during the year we have them. Unfortunately, the state test has not been consistent from year to year, in addition to the fact that this school year was fraught with interruptions of quarantines (some unnecessary).  In addition, communication with parents was reduced to electronic means.

This year's class has also faced its monsters.  They were born in the year following a terror-filled tornado experience in Joplin, and they have been labeled such by family and friends.  Then, a quarter of their crucial second grade year was called off due to a global pandemic.  This group has always felt different as they have risen through the ranks, and now they face a critical year in which I must get them back (or introduce them to) the joy of learning and an appreciation for order.  That's my first priority - to help them develop positive citizenship skills for their present and future.  Rising test scores are a by-product of achieving that goal.

It is a group consisting of 13 fourth and fifth graders with vibrant personalities and from all levels of ability. We have met for about a month now, and everyone is very comfortable with each other.  The instruction is loose, the challenge is open-ended, and the end products are up in the air.  This group is still getting started, meeting after school for an hour and a half, one day a week.  They may produce visual art, or they might work on writing songs or scripts.  Whatever they choose, it must be based on primary documents from the founding era of our nation, and that's not always a simple task.  Such is usually relegated to middle school or high school students, but here we are, tackling it at teh elementary level.

We've worked very hard in our classroom to write organized paragraphs.  These are paragraphs that have a main idea or a central concept that is reinforced by three supporting details.  Our best work is on display in the hallway where students, teachers, and others can read and appreciate the work students have done.

Here is a page-turner that reads for kids like a Brad Meltzer book should read for adults.  Really, the feel of this volume is more like a James Bond movie.  Charlie is a remarkable 12-year-old who has all the knowledge necessary and all the talent to apply that knowledge ​to accomplish a CIA mission.

Don't let the nearly 400 pages keep you from getting started on this novel by bestselling author Stuart Gibbs.  This one moves fast.  It reads more like an adult novel (without the bad language and naughty bits, though there are a couple of violations to that).  There are explosions, fighting, shooting, and killing.  There are historical locations and just enough factual background to intrigue the reader more.  It makes it feel real, even when the main character is simply too good to be true.  I am especially impressed with author Stuart Gibbs's efforts to research and adequately communicate his knowledge with readers.

Charlie Thorne is a 12-year-old girl who speaks a dozen languages, has an enormous IQ, rivaling Albert Einstein.  She is the only person who can help the CIA on this particular mission.  She has questionable ethics, but leans toward saving the world.  She definitely has a chip on her shoulder, and that makes her an interesting character for a children's book.

Plus, for once, a Mark Twain nominee satisfied me with an ending that is entirely appropriate to the story.  It's not too convenient, and it's not flat.  I have three more books to read on the 2021/2 list, but so far, this one has my vote (not that my vote counts).

Holidays.  I enjoy them.  A day off.  A week off.

Celebrating.  Candy.  Fireworks.  Presents.

Valentine exchange.  Egg hunt.  Leprechauns.

Mostly however, I like to leave the holidaying for home.  We acknowledge them in class, and I'm interested in their origins, but we don't let holidays take over whole months or weeks.

If I get hyped up about holidays - some of which I think are silly in the secular world and some of which are not celebrated by all - then I get my students worked into a lather about holidays.  That is to say that the upcoming special day is all they can think about.  As a teacher, that's not how I choose to spend my class time - constantly battling against holiday-brains with our real studies.  There has to be a better way.

I know that my students know how to celebrate, but once again, I'm not a party planner, and my job is not to host parties and use my allowance for holiday decorations, plates, and napkins.  I'm not going to ignore holidays completely, but I will continue to leave most holiday celebrations to the family setting, and I will continue to distract my students with reading, writing, math, and science.  I might even throw in some history for good measure.