Time Traveler’s Journal:
Journaling in the Social Studies
Classroom to Promote Deeper
Student Connections to
Curriculum
Dottie Aldrich
Windsor Knolls Middle School
MWP / Towson SCED 605
Agenda
 Introductions
 Rationale
 Standards/objectives
 Background
 Lesson
Demonstration
 Reflection
Rationale
 Students
who write well in LA classes
often do not transfer those skills to other
academic classes.
 Writing helps students explore topics and
make deeper connections to the material.
 Journaling, with feedback from the
teacher, helps to improve student writing
and thinking skills.
Objectives
SS.AS1.20.03 – Analyze situations that illustrate
conflicts between conscience and respect for
authority.
 SS.AS1.20.03b. – Analyze the growing tension
between England and the 13 colonies.
 LA.800.40 – Write to Inform by developing and
organizing facts to convey information

Background

Historical simulations allow students to immerse
themselves in the activity. Helps them to gain additional
insights into the time period and events.
 In the “Road to Independence” unit of AS1, students are
first assigned a specific character to adopt for the
remainder of the unit.
 Students research that character and produce a short
biography in order to know how that character would
react to classroom activities
 Students are to remain in character AT ALL TIMES in
class.
 For this presentation, participants will work in partners.
One will be a patriot and one will be a loyalist.
Road to Independence
Today’s Plan
 Warm-up:
Fact-finding
 Direct Instruction – video clip
 Personal response
 Think/Pair/Share – “the other side of the
coin”
 To the Books!
 Partner work
 Time Traveler’s Journal entry
Fact Finding
 Examine
the image in your packet. Circle
at least three things you see happening
and describe them in space provided.
Check your facts:
“The Boston Massacre”
 Watch
the following video clip. Check
what you saw in your image against what
actually happened.
 http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index
.cfm?guidAssetId=EEA88C86-7298-4E01A534CB11664010F6&blnFromSearch=1&produ
ctcode=US
Personal Response
 On
the next page of your journal, write a
short response to what happened in the
“Boston Massacre” based on how your
character would view the incident.
Think/Pair/Share –
“the other side of the coin”
 Now,
exchange journals with your partner.
Read what your partner wrote and write
your response to your partner’s
comments. Be persuasive. You want to
change his/her opinion to possibly prevent
war!
 Remember to stay
in character!!
To the Books!
 In
class, this is where we would go to the
textbooks. Instead . . .
 Read the short Wikipedia article for some
additional background on the “Boston
Massacre.”
Partner Time
 Work
with your partner to compare your
two images. Identify key differences and
how those differences reinforced your
character’s perception of the incident.
Time Traveler’s Journal
 Read
all 5 possible prompts and select
one.
 Respond to that prompt on a sheet of
paper.
 Remember to:


Write in complete sentences.
Support your points with facts from the text
and video.
Reflections
 Questions?
 Last
words
 3 – 2 – 1 – DONE!