Colonial: A personal narrative

I really enjoy being placed in a group that was new.  As an eighth grade teacher, I teach ‘participation skills’ throughout the entire year, which is learning to collaborate and work effectively with other students.  Every year, it is a challenge for students and, especially parents, that working with other individual are essential for our American society to succeed.  It’s the personal ability of adjusting one’s behavior for the greater good.

Since, I have three elementary teachers in my group; I would like to follow their lesson plan and adapted it towards the 8^th grade curriculum.

For example, the group selected the historical skill “understand the influence of location and physical setting on the founding of the 13 colonies.”  and focusing on “how humans and/or people adapt to their environmental surrounding?”

Our specific historical characters are: Sarah Morton’s Day and Samuel Eaton’s Day ; however, I really liked the Sybil Ludington.  She represents a female historical character in a heavily male dominated time period.  I believe she sounds interesting because she’s a girl and a teenager that could be used simultaneously with Paul Revere.  He is genreally used to explain Lexington/Concord Battle and Boston Massacre.

The final goal will be to have our students write a personal narrative: learning the ability to write a plot, point of view, setting, and conflict after exploring these specific historical characters. 

Rebecca McCormick had a  “Colonial” narrative assignment from the prior year.  The lesson plan and rubric will serve as our baseline.  We, as group, have e-mailed, attached, and downloaded her prior examples.

In the end, I’m excited about learning more about Sybil Ludington and having my female students write a personal narrative that could easily relate to them.

(Julie Ceko, Che Love, Becca Mcormick, Karen Spohr)