Benefits of teaching U.S. and world history backwards with examples
Explore the benefits and cons of teaching history backwards. Whether you're teaching U.S. or world history, this strategy can be effective.
What happened to “ODWM”?
This week, we'll be replacing one of our US history songs with two new songs on Flocabulary.com. ODWM with be swapped out for two new units: Indian Removal and Jefferson vs Hamilton. This isn't the first time we've swapped out a song. In the case of our US constitution song for instance, we felt the original track wasn't up to our musical and lyrical standards. We're replacing ODWM for different reasons: because a few of our lines were being interpreted in ways that we didn't intend. Two lines in particular were often misunderstood. The first misunderstood line was: "We're talking…
How to run your class like a well-oiled machine
We all know the importance of effective teaching. We know effective teachers raise their students' test scores, boost their self-worth, and inspire them to become open-minded students and good people. But what makes an effective teacher? A potent combination of precise classroom management and content-area knowledge. So says a recent article in the New York Times Magazine. The article details the work of Doug Lemov, an educator who set out to study America's best teachers. He distilled his observations into 49 techniques that teachers can use to run effective classrooms. Here are a few, paraphrased. 1. Precise Praise The idea…
4 Questions for Spectac: The Rapping Principal
“First Capture Their Hearts, and Their Minds Will Follow” Does the principal of your school moonlight as a rapper? Does he or she win Principal of the Year awards during the day and then collaborate with Grammy award-winning producers at night. Meet Mervin “Spectac” Jenkins, a former middle school principal in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Flocabulary has worked with Spectac on a variety of projects including Shakespeare is Hip-Hop and The Hip-Hop History of the World. We recently put Spec through our 4 question interview. 1. You've been both a working emcee and a middle school principal. Did you ever see…
Julius Caesar Rap in a Quick Minute
Better than Flocab? Have any students who listen to one of our songs and say, "not bad, but I could do better"? Well, three such students at Lindenwold High School in New Jersey heard "Three Times," our version of Marc Antony's famous speech in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and decided to take the challenge. So Booshon, John, and Kyle spent a weekend writing and recording their version of the famous speech. The result is pretty incredible. Lyrics: Friends, lend me your ear for a quick minute! Romans, lend me your ear for a quick minute! Countrymen, lend me your ear for…