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Seeing as the US History teachers at my school are about to move into their World War I unit, I’ve been looking into specific resources and interesting media for this particular topic. It’s been an opportune time to search for these materials, as Michael Gove’s recent comments about the Great War and the public controversy and the discussion that has followed has been very interesting to read.

I majored in History in college, and although we did not have to formally choose a concentration area, I took a large number of courses in World War I. This event has piqued my interest in learning history like no other topic. Growing up, I’d always been interested in learning about wars and battles as my family’s vacations and weekend trips often focused on visiting the Civil War battlefields in and around Richmond, Virginia, but learning about World War I was different. What made it so different was that for the first time in my educational career, my teachers used art, fiction, movies, and pop culture to help teach historical content. Granted, reading Sassoon, Owens, Graves,Remarque and watching Paths of Glory does not provide a full picture or unbiased explanation of the war. But, to balance these sources, we ready plenty of textbooks with dissenting opinions, and analyzed a number of first hand accounts and other primary documents. World War I is the reason I became a history teacher. The use of fiction, art, and pop culture made the war “real” to me and encouraged me to go out question, explore, and find new information on my own. These experiences have shaped the way that I teach– personally, I believe that fiction has an important place in a history classroom and can engage and engross students in a way that the majority of non-fiction cannot accomplish.

So here’s where I’m going with this…I think there needs to be a showdown between Michael Gove and “The War Poets.” And what better showdown format than “EPIC RAP BATTLES OF HISTORY!” I think the showdown should not only focus on the Gove controversy (Of course, any good rap battle is going to use whatever it takes to win), but the ultimate “conversation” should focus on art, pop culture, and fiction’s role in a history classroom.

I think it would be great for the students complete some research of their own for this topic, but I think you could provide them with a variety of documents/sources as a starting point.

Here’s a short list:

• Michael Gove’s original comments.

• BBC News video on the Gove controvery and fiction’s role in history.

• Textbook accounts of a World War I. When I say textbook, I’m not just talking about a class text, but instead something like John Keegan’s “The First World War” or Gary Sheffield’s “The Chief” (which I have not yet read, but stumbled upon thanks to reading about this whole Gove controversy.

• Newsreel/original footage from the battlefield.

• War poems and stories from Owen, Sassoon, and others.

• Excerpts from Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” (or clips from the film version).

• First hand accounts of the war from individuals who weren’t necessarily artists: (Database 1, Database 2).

Possible Unit/Lesson Structure:

1. Explain to your students that the culmination assignment for this lesson/unit will involve their opinion on how fiction, art, and pop culture should be used in a history classroom. They should think carefully about the type of documents they encounter throughout the unit, and the effect that these different types of documents have on their understanding of history.  Before watching the following video, discuss the following with your students:

• Is it possible to learn history through art/fiction/pop culture?

  • What are some examples of history that you learned through art/fiction/pop culture?

  • Are art, fiction, and pop culture an effective method of teaching history? Why or why not?

After watching the video, discuss the following with your students:

• What are some arguments for using art/fiction/pop culture to teach and learn history?

  • What are some arguments against using art/fiction/pop culture to teach and learn history?

  • What role do you believe art, pop culture, and fiction play in a history classroom? Why?

2. Introduce the causes of World War I through several different historian’s takes on the backdrop of World War I and the assassination of Arch-Duke Franz Ferdinand.

3. Explain America’s entry into the war by providing them with first hand-accounts of the Lusitania sinking, and the full text of the Zimmerman Telegram.

4. Discuss trench warfare and new technology of World War I through real film footage, movie footage, and fictional accounts and poems.

5. Discuss end of the war and America’s 14 points through an analysis of the original documents (14 Points, Treaty of Versailles) and several historians accounts of the war’s end.

6. Introduce the Gove controversy. Explain the “Rap Battle” concept by playing a clip or two. It’s hard to find a completely clean “Epic Rap Battle,”  but this one is relatively school appropriate and you could cut the best clean clips using this tool.

7. Watch the students have fun and discuss history in a way that they never have before.

This post orginally appeared on: http://blogs.henrico.k12.va.us/waberry/2014/01/10/the-epic-rap-battle-of-teaching-history/

William Berry is currently an Instructional Technology Resource Teacher in Henrico County, Va. Former US History Teacher (6th and 7th grade) “My work habit ain’t no habit, I do it on purpose. I push myself to the limit so my talent will surface.” Follow him @WilliamABerry11

I have spent a lot of time lately researching and writing about some pretty complex topics–  social entrepreneurship, microfinance loans in developing countries, and international human rights documents. What surprises most people when I discuss my work is that I research teaching these topics to elementary students.

I taught middle school social studies for several years and have had other classroom experiences working with elementary students as young as Kindergarten. I also spent many years consulting with elementary teachers about social studies instruction. In my work, I came across lots of people that doubted what young students could do regarding social studies–so much so that they were hesitant to teach the subject at all. I heard so many comments like “These students can’t work in groups”, or “No way will these students understand [fill in the blank historical event” or “My students can’t….”

You get the idea. In my opinion, some of these statements were a bit unfounded. Sure, a lot of the students in these classrooms had very little experience with social studies but that shouldn’t be a reason to NEVER give them that experience. I’ll never forget one teacher saying that she couldn’t teach social studies in Kindergarten because her students had no background knowledge. They’ve only been on the earth for 5 years! Of course they have very little background knowledge! Instead of the attitude of “I need to give these students the background knowledge and experience”, she used their inexperience as a reason to avoid social studies. In these teachers’ defenses, however, many of them have had very little experience learning social studies themselves. When it requires some work, knowledge, and guidance to help your students learn social studies and you are out of your comfort zone providing this, it makes sense that this becomes a very scary endeavor.

But let’s not project this discomfort on students when making claims about what they can or can’t do. I came across this quote from Sheldon Berman last year as I was writing my dissertation:

“Our conception of the child as egocentric, morally immature, uninterested in the social and political world, and unable to understand it has effectively deprived young people of the kind of contact they need to make society and politics salient. Young people’s distance from politics and their lack of interest may be the effect of our misconceptions, our ignorance of their potential, and our protectiveness (Berman, 1997, p. 193).”

Berman understood that sometimes young children’s perceived or actual inabilities are because of our own projections of what they can do. In my work, I set out to show teachers and students that are doing amazing work to highlight what students CAN do, and I am continually impressed but not surprised when young students rise to the challenge.

Most recently, I worked with a group of 5th grade students at Lanley Elementary. I engaged these students in a project-based unit centered around economics, but also integrating math and literacy as well. The students learned about entrepreneurs and what they need to start and run successful businesses through concepts of revenue, cost, profit, loans, interest, and price. They also learned about how some entrepreneurs start social businesses that address community needs and that some people in developing countries need small loans to get these businesses off the ground.

In teams, the students started social businesses that addressed a community need that they chose– helping raise awareness of child abuse victims. The students received a loan to create and sell products like homemade calendars with inspirational messages, and a variety of children’s toys that were royal blue, the color of child abuse victims awareness. Together, we found an organization working to build a homeless shelter specifically for children and teenagers. Because we had learned about human rights, the students made the connection between homelessness and child welfare. By the end of the project, the students had more than $700 to donate to this shelter. They created a final presentation that they gave to the entire school that described their work and presented the shelter with their profit money.

I faced the same problems as many teachers do when I began the project: the students had trouble working together in groups and they had little to no background knowledge on economic concepts. But we kept at it, and yes, even though this project took a while and was very challenging at times, the students rose to the occasion. That paragraph above doesn’t do justice to all that they learned about economic concepts and math concepts. It doesn’t do justice to all of the amazing literature they read through the unit and the practice they had reading complex informational text, like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. More importantly, in my opinion, the project gave the students experience making a positive impact in their community. After one successful experience making a difference; whose to say that they won’t be inspired to do more now that they have done it once before?

Since I now am responsible for working with pre-service teachers, I need to somehow get it across to them not to underestimate their future students either. This will involve me getting them more comfortable with teaching elementary social studies to break this cycle. It’ll be a lot of hard work and effort on my part, but I’m pretty sure pre-service teachers are more capable than one would think as well.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has” – Margaret Mead

Written by: Annie Whitlock is an Assistant Professor of Elementary Education at the University of Michigan-Flint. She teaches elementary social studies and writing methods. @AnnieWhitlock

Integrating portraiture into the classroom provides exciting opportunities to connect students with history, biography, visual art, and many other subjects. The National Portrait Gallery collection presents the wonderful diversity of individuals who have left—and are leaving—their mark on our country and our culture. The museum portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists whose lives tell the American story. The Summer Teacher Institute will take a broad look at the Portrait Gallery’s collection. During the institute, the museum’s curators and historians will provide in-gallery content lectures, introducing the collection. Utilizing an interactive approach, NPG educators will model a variety of “learning to look” strategies—unique ways to hook and engage students when they look closely at portraits. Participants will learn how to “read” portraiture and use the art as a springboard into a more in-depth discussion about biography and history. Teachers in grades kindergarten–12 may apply as individuals or as part of a team. Priority will be given to social studies, English/language arts, and visual arts teachers.

The institute will be held twice during summer 2014:
July 7–9
July 28–30

Institute participants will:
• Gain expertise from museum educators, curators, and historians through gallery talks, discussions, and hands-on activities
• Learn to use portraiture in the classroom, identifying and analyzing key components of a portrait and relating visual elements to relevant historical context and significance
• Make interdisciplinary connections among portraiture, social studies, and English/language arts
• Develop and share lesson ideas with colleagues

To ensure participation, a nonrefundable program fee of $100 per person is due upon acceptance into the teacher institute. Participants are responsible for travel and lodging costs. Each participant will receive a stipend of $200 at the conclusion of the workshop.

Visit http://npg.si.edu/education/teachprog.html to apply.

Please direct queries to npgeducation@si.edu or 202-633-8503.

Application deadline is April 15, 2014.