Into Ben's edublogosphere!

My treasure box focuses around Benjamin Franklin and the Declaration of Independence.  Some items I included are photographs of the main signers of the Declaration, a picture of Independence Hall, a copy of the Declaration, a quill pen and ink, a map of the 13 colonies, and two books "Now and Ben" and The Journey of the One and Only Declaration of Independence.
My unit is focused around Ben Franklin so I wanted to keep a common theme when it came to my treasure box and show the role Ben Franklin had in the signing of the Declaration.  Students used the map of the 13 colonies in the treasure box to map from the signers of the Declaration traveled from in their notebooks.
My main core subject I teach is Fourth Grade Science.  I chose to focus my unit on Ben Franklin because of his contributions to science through his many inventions.  After reading Signing their Lives away, I had a different view of the famous Franklin. We grow up viewing these historical figures as heroes who were perfect and upstanding citizens.  Ben Franklin was quite an interesting guy.  He was very conceited and quite the ladies man.  The most interesting thing I read was the discussion that many believe Franklin's kite experiment never happened.  After research, most believe that if the experiment with the kite actually happened as described he would have been "fried."  It was also interesting how long it took him to publish the findings and information about the experiment.
I don't think I lost respect for Ben Franklin after reading all these details of his life, I think I became more aware that these historical heroes had crazy lives and stories as we do today.  It made Ben's life more realistic to me.  I will certainly not think of him the same way again though.

Autobiography of Ben Franklin

Both Ben Franklin and Hewes were men born to poor families who most people wouldn't predict to be heroes or prominent figures in our country.  These men worked hard in life to accomplish something.  Franklin's autobiography basically is a story of a man living the American dream.  Franklin was one of 17 children and the last son.  His father encouraged him to become a priest.  Franklin was a hard worker from young up.  He defied the odds of a boy coming from a poor family.  His hard work made him the man we know today.
Somethings that shocked me about this book:
Franklin very much came off as an arrogant man.  He always tried to prove to everyone how well he was doing and how he was succeeding.  He included the two letters addressed to him which basically praised him.  He wrote the book basically as a self-betterment book to help others basically become the man he was. He wrote Poor Richard's Almanac to give instruction to the "common people."
I thought it was weird how he didn't talk much about the death of his son.  Most parents would describe something of that magnitude as a major event in life and he skipped right over it.  Almost like he wanted to focus of the positives in his public life rather than bring up his private life as a father.
I think Ben Franklin had every job possible.  As I read I was shocked how many different things he had done in life and how that experience probably helped him succeed.  This book will definitely change some of the views I had of Franklin both positively and negatively. I think many of us think of these historical figures and just think good and wonderful thoughts.  This book showed me a different side to Franklin which made him more human to me.  These figures were much like us and there is a lot more to their story than we often know.

Its a Tough Life for those Historians

After reading parts of the book The Shoemaker and the Tea Party, it really opened my eyes to how easily historical stories and events can be different.  Both authors in this book, wrote two different biographies after talking to Hewes. This reminds me of the activity we did during our summer workshop at one of the stations where we read recollections from different people at the same historical event and how different each was.  It's tough as a historian because you can't just base your facts on one side of the story.  You need to find many primary sources to validate your story your about to tell.  I guess the question is how do you determine the best way to represent the information you acquire?  I definitely took advantage of our history books.  It's not something that you can sit down and write.  The amount of work and research that goes into the telling of each event is unreal to me.  It should almost make you feel at ease that history is at our fingertips and we get this information so easily thanks to the work of these historians.

Hakim vs Wood... Round 2!

Another win for Hakim for me!  When reading the Hakim book, I feel involved in the passage.  I feel like I'm there living in the moment whereas the Wood book was just your typical history textbook.  When reading about the Declaration of Independence, Hakim focuses on the main facts and elaborates on the things kids should take out of this event in history.  Wood is providing so much information on all topics it causes me to have to go back and reread over and over again.  History is important to all of us but I will admit it wasn't my favorite subject in school.  Most likely because of history books that resemble the style of Wood.  There were so many facts that it bombards us and we can't focus on the depth and what to really take out of it. Kids can't relate to books like Wood.  Hakim connects the reader in some way, like when stating that Jefferson was hesitant about leaving home and separating from his wife.  History books never really put things in perspective that these historical figures were a lot like us in ways.  Connections like that make understanding while reading much more likely.

I really enjoyed this textbook.  It is definitely different from most history textbooks I've used in school or seen.  It provides the same detailed information however I love all the other details it provides.  I feel like the stories, pictures, art, and intersting facts in the sidebars are what made the book so interesting to me.  These details would create a better connection for the students. I feel like students would be more interested in the content. The books reads more like a story book rather than your usual textbook.

Article Reflection

After reading articles on both right and left brained learners and Teaching for Historical Literacy, it really became clear how different each one of the students are in my classroom. Unfortunately, due to time constraints we tend to teach only one way. I liked how the right/left brain articles gave suggestions on how to help children use their strengths but do it in a way to involve the other side of the brain. Is our ideal child middle brained? Where the positive attributes from both sides are present? I thought the way the classroom in "article 2" taught history was fascinating. It makes students really involve themselves in the lesson. We are so worried about standardized tests, we definitely only teach a mile wide and an inch deep. It shouldn't be like that. Students need depth to really understand concepts and remember what they learned for more than a week or two until the tests.

Blog Time

Finally got the chance in my rediculously busy schedule to sit down and do my first blog entry. I have used blogging in my classroom before so I am familar with it. Hopefully this class helps me understand the world of blogging a little bit better!