Crossroads: Ideas for
Thematic Teaching
Kelly McKee
Lake Forest High School
kmckee@lfschools.net
Overview of Presentation
• Common Core
• 10 NCSS Themes
• China First!
• Four “P” Themes
• Classroom Application
Let’s begin….
• One Minute Essay!
Common Core
One Minute Essay!
• What does Common Core mean to you and
your students?
• How has Common Core changed your
teaching?
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RH/9-10
10 NCSS Themes
1. Culture
2. Time, Continuity and Change
3. People, Places and Environment
4. Individual Development and Identity
5. Individuals, Groups and Institutions
10 NCSS Themes
6. Power, Authority and Governance
7. Production, Distribution and Consumption
8. Science, Technology and Society
9. Global Connections
10. Civic Ideals and Practices
10 NCSS Themes
Application of NCSS Themes to the Ancient
Crossroads exhibition…..
?
Selecting Themes
• Everyday Life
• Power and Glory
• Influence and Innovation
The Four “P” Themes
• Progress
• Power
• Population
• Poverty
POWER
PROGRESS
POPULATION
POVERTY
C
H
I
N
A
F
I
R
S
T
MING to MAO!
Zhu Yuanzhang – Hongwu Emperor
Mao Zedong
CHINA FIRST!
MING (1368-1644)
QING (1644 – 1911)
REPUBLIC OF CHINA (1911-1949)
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
(1949-Present Day)
MING DYNASTY
Global Events?
Forbidden City
Great Wall
Columbus
Constantinople 1453
Elizabeth and Akbar
Martin Luther
Mayflower
MAKING CONNECTIONS
EAST ASIA:
CHINA/JAPAN/
KOREA
1500 – 1700
1700 – 1800
1800 – 1900
1900 – today
EUROPE
MIDDLE
SOUTH/SOUTHE
EAST/AFRICA
AST ASIA
LATIN AMERICA
POWER
PROGRESS
POPULATION
POVERTY
Taiping Rebellion 1850-1864
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Emancipation of serfs in Russia
U.S. Civil War
Colonial conquest of Africa
Unification of Italy and Germany
Perry arrives in Japan
Meiji Restoration in Japan
Sepoy Mutiny in India
French conquest Indochina
The Learning Process
What instructional strategies most impact
student learning?
Robert J. Marzano “Classroom Instruction that Works: Research
Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement”
The Learning Process
-Question, Cues and Advance Organizers
-Identifying similarities and differences
-Summarizing and note taking
-Setting objectives and providing feedback
-Homework and Practice
-Nonlinguistic Representations
-Cooperative learning
-Generating and testing hypotheses
The Learning Process
Identifying similarities and differences = 45%
Summarizing and note taking = 34%
Homework and Practice = 23%
Nonlinguistic representations = 27%
Cooperative learning = 27%
Setting Objectives and providing feedback=23%
Generating and testing hypotheses = 23%
Questions, cues and advance organizers=22%
Classroom Application
Board Games!
Monologues
Commonplace Book
Commonplace Book
• Thematic Application
• Finding Common Ground…
– PAST
– PRESENT
– FUTURE
Commonplace Visual Book
• Four ‘P’ Themes + Global Context
– Thematic approach across regions and eras
• Past-Present-Future
– Indentifying similarities and differences
• Visit to the Art Institute
– Promoting Visual Literacy
– Selecting objects at the museum
• Student Voice
– Cooperative Learning
Commonplace Art Talk
• Is this Common Core curriculum?
谢谢你！
kmckee@lfschools.net