Reason for Item: Without a connection to a teacher(s), then it would be much more difficult for me to connect with middle school students, whether to design lesson plans/supplementary materials or teach live lessons (two of the primary components of my project).

Notes: 

• Ann and Adele’s suggestion during my pitch: reach out to either Sarah Barlow (8th Grade humanities) or Sara Momii Roberts (8th Grade humanities) about my project and asking if I could observe their classes for a couple sessions. 
  • This would be a great way for me to see how the kids learn best and which ones would be most interested in participating in my course, as well as to find areas where I can potentially help design lesson plans/classroom material.
• Other teachers to potentially reach out to: Elizabeth Simmons (7th Grade humanities), Suzanne Cohen (7th Grade humanities) 
  • If I am emailing, then I should email the 7th and 8th grade teachers separately.

Resolution: I should resolve the first bullet point in more than one email. The first email should cover some of my ideas for the project (including the live component and supplementary materials) and ask if they would be willing to have me work with their students. I want to shape my course around what would be most suitable for the middle school teachers and their students, so it would be helpful for me to go over my ideas with them before I begin fleshing out the entire course. 

Further emails should address more logistical questions (eg. how long will the course last, which days would work best for me to “shadow” classes, what types of activities work best for their students, what are some areas of U.S. politics that I can design supplementary material/lessons for).

Reason for item: I hope that this will not happen, but the LREI middle school teachers may not be able to accommodate my project for one reason or another. If this becomes the case, I will draw up a list of possible alternate contacts.

Notes:

• The contacts I have gathered so far are from my middle school, Manhattan Country School: Maiya Jackson (mjackson@manhattancountryschool.org) and Nassim Zerriffi (nzerriffi@manhattancountryschool.org). As I have stated in previous posts, I think MCS would be a great place to teach a curriculum on American politics because of the school’s commitment to activism and social awareness.

Resolution: I will keep a back-up list of possible contacts in case I cannot make the connection with the LREI middle school humanities department. If necessary, I will reach out to teachers in the LREI high school history department to see if they know of any potential contacts from other schools.

Reason for item: Something that I will have to consider if I go through with the live teaching component is whether it is possible to do in person. The difference between the two formats is vast, especially when trying to connect to younger students (as I have experienced in many of my X-Blocks). Online learning will likely require me to structure my lessons very differently, so I will need to know early on if I am able to teach the course in person.

Notes: 

• As I plan my course, I will need to navigate the middle school’s COVID-19 restrictions. As I understand them currently, students taking classes in person are separated into “pods” of 10, and there are strict rules about keeping those pods contained from each other.
  • How are the pods divided? Are there specific teachers that “lead” each pod?

Resolution: I will send an email to Allison or Phil asking to clarify the restrictions in the middle school and whether or not it would be possible for me to teach LREI middle school students in person in April.

Reason for item: To get my course off the ground, I will need to spend some time refining its content and developing lesson plans. This will be a particularly difficult task, as there is only so much time in the trimester to cover plenty of material.

Notes:

• Areas I have previously stated I wish to cover: 
  • Limits on the three branches: what can they actually do? I think many Americans (myself included) are not fully aware of the boundaries for each branch and how members of each (especially in recent history) have pushed the limits.
  • The Supreme Court and civil liberties: how have Supreme Court decisions affected the rights of marginalized groups throughout history?
  • American foreign policy in 2020: where do we stand now, especially in the wake of Trump’s presidency? What are our relationships with our allies and adversaries? What work does the US have to do to address global crises, both immediate and long-term?
• I think I may have a clearer picture of what I want to cover after I do my research piece (reading my book and searching for sources to craft my content around).

Resolution: This is going to be a long-term item, and will be something that I address during Trimester 3. I have already recorded my thoughts on this matter (see my working draft post and my proposal pitch post).

Reason for item: Over the course of my experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have realized the value of using technology to enhance learning. I think combining a variety of online tools is key to holding students’ attention for an entire lesson period. Whether I teach middle school students in person or via Zoom, I want to source a list of online materials/websites that I can use throughout the length of my course.

Notes:

• Some of the tools that I find really helpful in class include:
  • Jamboard
  • Pear Deck
  • Mentimeter
  • Kahoot (as a tool to study for assessments)
  • Quizlet (especially for vocabulary)

Resolution: In my follow-up emails to the LREI middle school teachers, I will communicate with them about what tools they use in class and what their students best respond to.