What Are They Thinking?
I loved doing this WATT activity. At first I was unsure of how much I would actually learn from it, or was worried how the students would answer. I later realized I needed to listen to what I was telling the students, this is not for a grade and there are no right or wrong answers, just write what you think. Once I calmed down about this, I ended up looking over the answers and finding some great ideas for my unit plan, as well as teaching in general.
The first thing I reminded myself by looking at this, was that as a teacher, you cannot assume what students know and don’t know. I remember as a kid, I learned a lot about the Civil War and figured many of the students would know at least a few facts about it. I have now realized that is not the case. I connect this back to the reflection I wrote earlier this year about how my experiences are not the same as others. I had forgotten others had not learned how text books can have lies in them, and I forgot that not every student learned about the Civil War before fourth grade. I tried to figure out where this major difference came from, and realized I had been given many opportunities outside of school to learn about such things, such as Girl Scouts, that I’m not sure the students at the school that I’m at may have.
I questioned 10 students, and I was shocked at the variety of answers throughout the entire thing. One specific spot was that many people answered differently for when they learned about the Civil War. I was also intrigued to find out that the students did know some details, such as Abraham Lincoln was president. Meanwhile, other students mixed up the Civil War with the American Revolution. This will be an important thing to address, making sure the students don’t mix up these two wars. There were also some students that were very excited to answer the questions because they felt they knew a lot about the Civil War, meanwhile, others were not happy because they felt they knew nothing about the topic.
Taking the answers from these questions, I’ve come up with a few different things for my unit. First, I realized that I should put a geography lesson at the beginning of the unit. This came about because one student thought the differences between the North and South were direction, which is indeed true. I then realized I could also tie this unit into a science lesson. Some of the students brought up how the difference between the North and South is climate. This opens up a great science lesson and weather and agriculture, because these indeed are two differences that played a role in why the war was fought.
Looking over the answers, I’ve also realized a few topics or discussions I need to have with the students. The very fist one is going back to basics and just talking about and defining what a war is. Tied into that, would be an in-depth talk about freedom and rights. Quite a few students brought up that people were fighting for freedom but I don’t think they really know what that means. Lastly, a few used the term slavery, but it was clear they all don’t know about slavery and most don’t really know any details about it.
Lastly, I learned a lot about teaching philosophy in doing this activity. The students were very nervous at first and afraid to write on the paper. I had to explain to the students that this was not going to be graded. I also had to further explain there was no right or wrong answer; I just wanted to know what they were thinking. It was so sad that the students didn’t want to answer unless they were sure of the answer. I want to strive to encourage students to make mistakes and take risks. I hope the students I have one day will feel comfortable writing down their ideas, even if they don’t know if the ideas are right or wrong. Students need to realize that mistakes can be good and you can learn from them.
The first thing I reminded myself by looking at this, was that as a teacher, you cannot assume what students know and don’t know. I remember as a kid, I learned a lot about the Civil War and figured many of the students would know at least a few facts about it. I have now realized that is not the case. I connect this back to the reflection I wrote earlier this year about how my experiences are not the same as others. I had forgotten others had not learned how text books can have lies in them, and I forgot that not every student learned about the Civil War before fourth grade. I tried to figure out where this major difference came from, and realized I had been given many opportunities outside of school to learn about such things, such as Girl Scouts, that I’m not sure the students at the school that I’m at may have.
I questioned 10 students, and I was shocked at the variety of answers throughout the entire thing. One specific spot was that many people answered differently for when they learned about the Civil War. I was also intrigued to find out that the students did know some details, such as Abraham Lincoln was president. Meanwhile, other students mixed up the Civil War with the American Revolution. This will be an important thing to address, making sure the students don’t mix up these two wars. There were also some students that were very excited to answer the questions because they felt they knew a lot about the Civil War, meanwhile, others were not happy because they felt they knew nothing about the topic.
Taking the answers from these questions, I’ve come up with a few different things for my unit. First, I realized that I should put a geography lesson at the beginning of the unit. This came about because one student thought the differences between the North and South were direction, which is indeed true. I then realized I could also tie this unit into a science lesson. Some of the students brought up how the difference between the North and South is climate. This opens up a great science lesson and weather and agriculture, because these indeed are two differences that played a role in why the war was fought.
Looking over the answers, I’ve also realized a few topics or discussions I need to have with the students. The very fist one is going back to basics and just talking about and defining what a war is. Tied into that, would be an in-depth talk about freedom and rights. Quite a few students brought up that people were fighting for freedom but I don’t think they really know what that means. Lastly, a few used the term slavery, but it was clear they all don’t know about slavery and most don’t really know any details about it.
Lastly, I learned a lot about teaching philosophy in doing this activity. The students were very nervous at first and afraid to write on the paper. I had to explain to the students that this was not going to be graded. I also had to further explain there was no right or wrong answer; I just wanted to know what they were thinking. It was so sad that the students didn’t want to answer unless they were sure of the answer. I want to strive to encourage students to make mistakes and take risks. I hope the students I have one day will feel comfortable writing down their ideas, even if they don’t know if the ideas are right or wrong. Students need to realize that mistakes can be good and you can learn from them.
The Questions I Asked:
Please answer the questions below. You can write, bullet, or draw in order to explain yourself. You can use the back for more space if you need it.
1. Tell me what you know about the American Civil War?
2. Why was the Civil War fought?
3. Where did you hear about the Civil War? When did you learn about the Civil War? What grade were you in? Did you enjoy learning about it?
4. What were the differences between the North and the South before and during the Civil War?
5. Are the North and South still different? If so, in what ways?
1. Tell me what you know about the American Civil War?
2. Why was the Civil War fought?
3. Where did you hear about the Civil War? When did you learn about the Civil War? What grade were you in? Did you enjoy learning about it?
4. What were the differences between the North and the South before and during the Civil War?
5. Are the North and South still different? If so, in what ways?