 Many kids are on facebook and myspace. In New York City, those sites are blocked. This is fine, because ning.com does a much better job. Facebook can look rather untidy; Nings look clean and professional. And, they're just as easy to maintain. Students can add discussion pages, blog, upload videos and pictures, and design their site to fit the assignment theme.
I like to create facebook (or, in my case, Ning) pages for countries and historical characters. Each student group was assigned a country involved in World War I. They simulated the system of alliances, reactions to the assasination of Franz Ferdinand, and wrote about a battle, and finally, responded to the Treaty of Versailles. Everything must be written from the perspective of their assigned countries. The Serbian group will respond positively to the assasination of Franz Ferdinand; it was a fellow Serb who killed the Duke, who was a symbol of oppression. They would probably be fine with the Versailles treaty, since Germany, ally of Austria, had to pay reparations.
This assignment could easily be adapted in an English class. Literary characters could blog each other, talk about their day, upload their favorite videos (sme imagination is required, of course!).
Steps:
I. Master World War I content.
2. Assign each group one country involved in World War I.
3. Get ning.com accounts.
4. Students create their own pages.
5. Groups should dress up their Nings. They should look as nationalistic as possible. They can include their countries flags, brag about their famous generals and artists, and upload videos from youtube of their folkdances.
6. Each group should "friend" their allies, modelling the alliance phase: another cause of World War I. To friend, hit the invite tab, and type in the addresses. Students need to know who their allies are, and to send and accept invitations accordingly. Some countries might choose to trick their enemies. This could add a fun element, and force students to keep on top of the content. France would friend England, but never Germany!
7. Assign each group at least one battle. Each group member can respond: one, with a journal entry from a mother of a soldier who has gone missing, and another from a soldier on the battlefield. They publish their work by hitting the "add discussion," tab.
8. Finally, assign them an excerpt from the Treaty of Versailles. They should choose one article to respond to: and post their responses on the discussions and/or blogging page.
9. Some students might want to add their own touches; creativity should be encouraged.
Here's an example:
|