Art Imitates Life Imitates Art

Dear Teachers,

One of the best ways for students to learn is to teach, yes? Double win, because you can kick back with your venti cold brew while they do all the work. (One can dream.)

 

The following activity gives you a slice of that dream, where students take on the responsibility of finding a topic they are interested in, researching its impact, and crafting an engaging mini-lesson.

 

The following activity was used in my 1960s class, but “Tiny Teaches” can be applied to any historical time period. Shout-out to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times circa 2005, where I learned how to facilitate this activity.

                                                                                                                    

Culture Wars “Tiny Teaches”

Notes before we begin: 

• “Culture Wars” is a reference to a cultural conflict between social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices. It commonly refers to topics on which there is general societal disagreement and polarization in societal values is seen. #thankswikipedia
• The “tiny” refers to the presentation length and not the size of the teacher.

 

Instructions:

1. Once you decide on a topic to "tiny teach" re: culture wars or cultural revolution (think sex, drugs, rock & roll, anti-establishment), please confirm your topic with me, and then prepare a five-ish minute presentation that includes the following information:

   a) How is your topic part of the "culture wars" or "cultural revolution" of the 1960s?
   b) What is something you want your classmates to take away from your tiny teach?
   c) What is your topic's short and/or long-term impact(s) on American society?
   d) What are your sources? (Challenge: include sources with a specific author)

   
   

2. When thinking about how you want to teach the information listed above, I encourage you to think about how you best learn and try teaching in that way (i.e. sounds, images, eye contact, voice inflection, audience participation).

3. During your tiny teach, each student will write a one-liner takeaway to capture the significance of your topic.

4. Need help thinking of a topic? Here are some used in my previous classes:

 

Stay Tuned,