Integrating Technology into the Eighth Grade American
Revolution Curriculum
Vivian Lawhead, Media Specialist
Eighth graders in a 6-8 middle school are a tough crowd. Hormones aside, they are
filled with an attitude that blaringly dares anyone to try to teach them anything
new or relevant. Slumped in their seats, eyes often at half mast, their minds on
everything but the subject at hand, they present themselves for learning. Today’s
eighth grade teacher needs more tricks up his sleeve than Merlin in order to keep
his class’s attention, keep them engaged in learning, and help them retain the
material presented. Some tricks are not new. A teacher’s enthusiasm for his
subject can go a long way in engaging his students. A positive atmosphere with an
encouraging rather than discouraging teacher that remembers to actively involve
his students also is paramount. However, today’s technology presents an array of
tricks never before so readily available—an array of tricks that just might spark
the interest of even the most jaded 8th grader.
Mr. James, an 8th grade social studies teacher, is ready to begin his annual unit on
the American Revolution. An avid history buff, Mr. James presents the daily
material in an engaging format, leads his class in daily, lively discussion on
the”whys” and “hows” of the period. As his lessons near the end of the unit, Mr.
James wants his students to present the material they have covered during the
past weeks in some kind of presentation involving all class members. He turns to
the school media specialist for some ideas, and together, after reviewing the social
studies, technology, and information literacy standards, decide to introduce the
class to a class Wiki, as well as some work on a social studies Web page. In the
past, each class member worked individually on a PowerPoint presentation, adding
nothing new to the project other than rephrasing the facts presented in their text
book, so each PowerPoint presentation blurred into the next. Mr. James and the
media specialist hope to engage students in a new collaborative effort, have them
review information learned during the American Revolution unit, develop some new
technology skills, and engage in some critical thinking along the way.
ACADEMIC STANDARDS
By completing the American Revolution unit in class, creating the class WIKI,
learning to add pictures, photos, or sound, and participating in creating a class
Webpage, students in this class will have completed work involving the following
academic standards.
Social Studies
Standard 1: HISTORY, Historical Knowledge:
The American Revolution and Founding of the United States of America
Standard 2: Civics and Government, Foundations of Government,
Founding Documents of the USA
Technology (as defined by our school system’s Technology Standards)
Apply productivity/multimedia tools to support personal productivity, group
collaboration, and learning within the curriculum.
Information Literacy
Standard 1: accesses information efficiently and effectively
Standard 2: evaluates information critically and competently
Standard 3: uses information accurately and creatively
Standard 8: practices ethical behavior in regard to information and
information technology
Standard 9: participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate
information
Using these standards as guidelines, our eighth grade class will be divided into
“information” groups and assigned a particular task within the class Wiki on the
American Revolution. They will learn how to create the Wiki during lab time with
the media specialist and classroom teacher. They will also be assigned additional
tasks for the Wiki including sound, clipart, and/or photography.
In addition to the class Wiki, the same information groups will also be engaged in
the creation of a class Web newsletter on their American Revolution unit.
Students will be taught FrontPage basics, including adding text, digital
photographs, and sound.
Students will use their knowledge of the American Revolution and technology skills
for their creations and will share their final projects with the other 8th grade
classes in the building.
By collaboratively creating the class Wiki on the American Revolution, the entire
class will have the chance to be actively involved, both individually and as a group.
The requirements will include creating both new pages AND editing the work of
others in the class, thus giving students the chance to experience the collaborative
nature of a Wiki and test their editing skills at the same time.
TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVENESS
Incorporating the use of technology into the eighth grade curriculum is a natural
collaboration of need and interest. Engaging students in history is not an easy task
and technology tools can spark their interest. Completing a technology project
within the curriculum engages several of the intelligences, including Linguistic
Intelligence, Spatial Intelligence, and Interpersonal Intelligence. (Recipes4Success
http://myt4l.com/index.php?v=pl&page_ac=view&type=&catid=72&page_id=38)
Rather than simply focusing on “making a Wiki” or “creating a Webpage”, the
experience will actively engage the learners throughout the process, focusing on
their strengths, and not simply their ability to regurgitate facts from the text
book.
Jerry Woodbridge, in his article “Defining a Technology Integrated Curriculum”
(Technology and Learning, May, 2002) defines technology integration as the following:
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A technology integrated curriculum is technology is used as an innovative and instructional
tool to enhance the teaching and learning of students throughout the curriculum.
The focus of a technology integrated curriculum should be on student outcomes,
improvement of student performance, promoting problem solving, and lifelong learning
through the construction of their own knowledge.
A technology integrated curriculum may include a variety of technologies needed to guide
learning in the most appropriate and efficient manner.
A technology-rich or integrated curriculum usually results in powerful collaborations
between students, students and experts, and powerful collaborations between teachers.
“Social software such as WIKISPACES.COM has the potential to support and
structure communities where individuals come together to share, learn, and create
and collaborate with each other. The diversity of communities that can form
through Wikis can be a source of creativeness and inventiveness. Recognizing
contributors as individuals with unique experience and as members of a group
allows for a personalized learning experience while also learning as part of a
community…” (“Using Wikis in Schools: A Case Study”, Lyndsay Grant, Futurelab)
While recognizing the advantages of integrating technology into the curriculum in
regards to the multiple intelligences, the community of learners, the collaborative
efforts, and the creative opportunities, one must not forget one other very basic
reason—the pure fun of the project! Given the choice of writing a several page
paper on an aspect of the American Revolution or working collaboratively on a class
Wiki space and then linking to a class Webpage for additional information, what
13/14 year old would choose the first option? Meeting academic standards AND
having fun while doing it….a perfect combination!
TECHNOLOGY ISSUES
Because creating a Wiki using Wikispaces.com is a relatively easy task, the creation
of the pages themselves should not create many problems for an 8th grade class.
However, recognizing that not all students will have access to a computer outside
school, the classroom teacher will need to schedule sufficient time in the media
center computer lab to allow students work time.
Eighth graders being eighth graders could also present “editing” issues. The
classroom teacher and media specialist will keep a close eye on the pages being
created, making sure appropriate information is being written as well as watching
for “over editing” by the self-proclaimed “leaders” of the group. Keeping in mind
that the project itself is part of the learning experience and not simply the
finished project, minor troubles along the way should be deemed as learning
opportunities! Lyndsay Grant, in her article “Using Wikis in Education: A Case
Study” presented examples of students arguing about the content and editing
via the Wiki. The arguments were never in person, but always as part of the Wiki
pages. Though the arguments seemed minor, they were, in fact, part of the
students’ learning experience of working collaboratively with a variety of student
learners.
The use of FrontPage for creating the Web pages will be completed at school.
Downloads and computer requirements will be discussed during the process, and
students will be given the opportunity to view the pages in the school labs.
Creating a new learning community in an 8th grade social studies class opens up
endless possibilities. Using Wikis, Blogs, Webpages, and more offers classroom
teachers and students creative possibilities to incorporate curriculum content with
new learning environments. By starting small and thinking big, students AND
teachers will be amazed at the results.
RESOURCES
Carmel Clay Schools Curriculum and Instruction Website,
http://www.ccs.k12.in.us/esc/c&i/socialstudiescurriculum.htm
Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning, American Library
Association, Chicago, 1998.
Information Power, American Association of School Librarians, American Library
Library Association, Chicago, 1998.
Grant, Lyndsay. “Using Wikis in Education: A Case Study”, Futurelab,
May, 2006. www.futurelab.org.uk.
(accessed Nov. 30, 2006)
“Multiple Intelligences”, Tech4Learning, 2004.
http://myt4l.com/index.php?v=pl&page_ac=view&type=&catid=72&page_id=38
(accessed Nov. 30, 2006)
Woodbridge, Jerry. “Defining a Technology Integrated Curriculum”.
Technology and Learning, May, 2002.
Implementing the WIKI Project
The class will be divided into two teams, with each team given the same
assignment, so two separate projects will be presented.
The class will spend instructional time in the lab learning the basics of creating
their WIKI at www.wikispaces.com. Instruction will include access to the space,
creating new pages and links, inserting pictures into the space, inserting text and
editing text, and inserting sound if desired. The media specialist and classroom
teacher will be available to help with all aspects of the creating their space.
The entire team will be responsible for the Introduction Page which will include
* Title
* Timeline (optional)
* Topic Headings/links to those topic pages
* First names/last initials of participating team members
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Students will create a team Wiki to explain events leading up to the
American Revolution, outstanding events of the American Revolution, and
famous participants of the American Revolution.
Each page should include at least one of the following: maps, timeline,
pictures, or sound
All team members will participate in the creation of the INTRO PAGE,
then each team member is responsible for creating one TOPIC PAGE of
his/her own which links to the INTRO PAGE
TOPICS will include the following:
 The Tea Act/Boston Tea Party
 Coercive Acts/”Intolerable Acts”
 First Continental Congress
 Lexington and Concord
 Breed’s Hill/Battle of Bunker Hill
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 2nd Continental Congress: Sam Adams, John Hancock, Ben
Franklin, Patrick Henry, George Washington
 Battle of Saratoga
 Thomas Paine and the movement for Independence
 The British Army
 Washington’s Army
 Surrender at Yorktown
Creativity allowed! The pages can be created as an “eyewitness” account, a
newspaper account, an historical narrative, or any other way approved by
the classroom teacher.
Each team member must make one edit or expansion of another member’s
page
Be sure to visit our Website for RESOURCES:
http://www.ccs.k12.in.us/cam/Teams/MediaCenter/Revolutionary%20War.htm
For help with your WIKI:
http://eduscapes.com/hightech/spaces/collaborative/wikispaces.pdf
ASSESSMENT:
Each team member will receive an individual grade based on the following
CHECKLIST:
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(2 pts)
(5 pts)
(2 pts)
(3 pts)
(3 pts)
(5 pts)
Contributed to the INTRO Page_____
Added one individual page linked to Intro Page _____
Edited/expanded one other team member page_____
Included pictures/sound/timeline/map to page_____
Checked for grammatical/spelling errors and made corrections_____
Historical content on page was accurate______
CLASS WEBPAGE/using FRONT PAGE
Working in groups of two-four, team members will plan a section of the class
online newsletter describing the month’s events revolving around the American
Revolution unit.
Suggested Topics that could be included in the newsletter:
* Class discussions/topics covered in class (at least five or six areas)
*“Hot” Topics—topics about the American Revolution or time period
that surprised students, or inspired the most classroom discussion,
such as the weaponry, poor living conditions, etc.
* Pictures/story about guest speaker
* Resources used other than textbook: DVD’s, Websites, etc.
* “Biography” corner: Key “players” from the American Revolution
and their role
* Photos of the class at work
* Technology corner: description of the class Wiki
* A brief narrative about the project
Students in groups of 4-8 will come to the media center lab for an introductory
lesson on using Front Page. When completed, students will be able to insert
tables, insert pictures and sound, make a Hyperlink, and insert text.
Each group will schedule an “appointment” with the media specialist to work on
the newsletter. These “appointments” will take place when others are involved
in research or Wiki creation.
Webpage Participation: (10 points)
(2 pts) Introductory Lesson Using FrontPage/Participation_____
(5 pts)Working with a partner and completing one section of the online
newspaper______
(3 pts) Grammar/Spelling______