Nancy Zulick's CU

Justice By Student Design:
Development of a Classroom Behavior System

Nancy Zulick

Academic Setting

School Setting

This unit is designed to be used at Cleveland Mid School located in the northeast quadrant of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Albuquerque is the largest city in New Mexico and has a diverse population and socioeconomic structure. Cleveland Mid School reflects this diversity. The school has approximately 870 students of which 230 are in special education programs. The student population is comprised of fifty-five percent Anglo students, thirty-eight percent Hispanic students, four percent Native American students, two percent African-American students, and one percent of the students come from other assorted ethnic backgrounds. The school’s socioeconomic makeup parallels the city with students coming from families on welfare and living in subsidized housing to those from families with upper middle class incomes living in single-family dwellings they own. The majority of the students fall somewhere in the middle of this range, and about thirty-five percent of the student population participates in the federally subsidized meal program.

Cleveland Mid School is a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools. The foundation of this organization is the Ten Essential Principles. These principles foster small, safe, child centered learning environments; teacher interaction with no more than a recommended 80 students at the middle school level that focuses on depth of knowledge with periodic demonstrations of mastery; and teacher facilitators who have high student expectations and non-discriminatory practices.

In accordance with the Coalition of Essential School, Cleveland Mid Schools established small learning communities called families. These families consist of teaching teams composed of two to three teachers. Core subjects are divided between the teachers, usually one team member is responsible for language arts and social studies and while the other team member is responsible for math and science. Special education teachers are encouraged to form teaching teams, and special education families are encouraged to align with general education families. All family teachers are provided a common family planning period to develop integrated curriculum units, organize field trips, discuss students, and design interventions. In addition, each teacher receives an independent planning period.

Classroom Setting

My family will consist of my teaching partner, sixteen sixth grade special education students, and myself. The student’s abilities are two or more grade levels below grade placement in at least one content area. The majority of the students are identified as specific learning disabled and several have diagnosed attention deficit conditions. My partner and I will maintain a student teacher caseload ratio of 8:1, and my teaching responsibilities are science/health and math.

Goals and Objectives

The unit I have developed is designed to facilitate classroom management and empower students in their mid school environment through the achievement of these goals:

analyze historical justice systems
compare justice systems currently used in their environment
design and implement a classroom justice system
engage in trust building and team building activities
familiarize students with tools of Langford Quality Learning

The content areas of language arts and health will be addressed with focus on self-expression and self-advocacy. Civics will also be covered. The lesson plans accompanying this unit will be taught during the first week or two of school depending on student pacing and will supersede all other academic instruction.

Context and Background

Rationale

Our social perception of children changes when they leave elementary school. They are no longer children but have entered the realm of young adults. They are given more responsibilities in highly complex settings. They enter the world of middle school or junior high school.

As a special education teacher, I see more and more students arriving at our mid school with fewer skills to navigate within this new environment. Students lack maturity, interpersonal and emotional skills, and emotional vocabulary, yet we still expect them to embrace their mid school experiences.

As a means to lessen the transition anxiety and foster needed development, students can be empowered in their new environment. This empowerment can be achieved by fostering student-centered decision-making based on sound principles, critical thinking, and team building activities. Once a sense of family community is established, students will be better able to successfully negotiate situations faced in the larger school environment.

In this unit we will explore historical and present day justice systems comparing them to justice systems in our school and our homes. Then we will collectively design a family (classroom) justice system using Langford Quality Learning tools. Our justice system will be implemented for the school year and revised as deemed necessary by our family.

Unit Background

Law

Law is a set of enforced rules by which a society is governed. Law is formally recognized by the society or prescribed by the state encompassing both civil and criminal behavior. Laws are enforced through formal legal proceedings and consequences are administered based on approved formularies. Primitive societies were governed by rules with no formal proceedings or administration of consequences based on pre-approved structures. The governing body at the time assigned punishment for infractions that went against the grain of the established customs. These customary laws were passed down orally from generation to generation. It wasn’t until the invention of writing that laws became public knowledge. As societies became more sophisticated so did the systems that governed them. A brief informational history of law follows.

2350 BC Urukagina’s Code: Never discovered but discussed in other documents. It was a compilation of “ordinances” enforced by Mesopotamian kings. Citizens were allowed to know why specific actions received punishment. Urukagina’s Code confirmed the thinking of the time; the ruler was appointed by the gods. The code was considered harsh by present day standards. The consequence for most offenses, including minor offenses such as thief and adultery, was death. This sentence was often carried out by stoning.

2050 BC Ur-Nammu’s Code: Partially decipherable, the Ur-Nammu Code, developed during the reign of King Ur-Nammu of Babylonia, is the earliest known written code of law. It was enforced by an advanced legal system of specialized judges, sworn testimony, and payment of damages to victims. This Code provided protection for the poor and punishment in direct proportion to the crime.

1850 BC Earliest Known Legal Decision: Clay tablets outline a case of murder. Three men murdered a temple worker. A trial was held and the three men were found guilty and executed.

1700 BC Hammurabi’s Code: Under the rule of the Babylonian king Hammurabi a code of law was developed. The laws were carved into a large column of rock for public viewing. Hammurabi’s Code was based on the principle of an “eye for an eye.” Obligations, professions, and rights were outlined in 282 clauses. Punishments were barbaric.

1300 BC The Ten Commandments: Moses receives the list of 10 laws directly from God. In the Bible, the chapter containing the Ten Commandments includes a complete set of legal rules based on the “eye for an eye” philosophy of Hammurabi’s Code. The Ten Commandments are incorporated into many of today’s legal rules.

621 BC Draco’s Law: The Greek citizen, Draco, was selected to write a code of law for Athens, the first ever written. His laws introduced the concept of the state having an exclusive role in punishing an offender. His prescribed penalty for many infractions was death. Coming from his name, the word “draconian” has come to mean in the English language extremely harsh law. Draco was greatly admired by the citizens of Greece. As a demonstration of this admiration, they showered him in a customary fashion with their hats and cloaks at a reception given in his honor. When the cloaks and hats were removed, Draco was found smothered to death.

600BC Lycergus’ Law: Lycergus, the king of Sparta, was known for his law giving. His laws were never written, and they controlled every part of Spartans lives. The sole function of Spartan citizens was to support the military machine.

536 BC The Book of Punishment: A printed book from China stressed moral obligation and limiting the punishment once convicted of a serious crime.

500 BC Solon’s Law: The Athenian statesman and lawmaker, Solon refined Draco’s Laws and received credit for democratizing justice. Courts became more accessible to the average people of Athens.

450 BC The Twelve Tables: Ten Roman men are given the power to write the laws to govern Rome. They developed ten laws and later added two more. These laws promoted the organization of public prosecution of crimes, instituted a system where injured parties could seek compensation from their aggressors, and protected the lower class from legal abuses. The basic principle of Roman law was established and all subsequent law had to be written. Justice was not to be left in the hand of the judges alone to interpret. The Twelve Tables, written on wood and bronze tablets, survived almost 1000 years. They were finally destroyed in 390 by invading Gauls.

Approximately 350 BC The Chinese Code of Li k’vei: The first imperial code of law from China. The T’ang Code is modeled after it.

AD 529 Justinian’s Code: Justinian, the Byzantine Emperor, is remembered for his codification of Roman law. His collection, the Corpus Juris Civilis, served as an important foundation for contemporary law, and was inspired by the principle of the logic based Greek law. The modern concept of justice was derived from his work.

604 The Seventeen Article Constitution of Japan: This constitution, written by a Japanese prince regent, shaped law and morality in Japan. The emphasis of Oriental law is to prevent altercations, while Western law focuses on the resolution of disputes.

653 T’ang Code: The unified Chinese empire develops the T’ang Code listing crimes and punishment in 501 articles. The T’ang Code revised earlier Chinese codes and standardized procedures.

1100 The First Law School: Throughout the Middle Ages, law is taught haphazardly. Random teachers in Europe are instructing handfuls of pupils in Roman law. In Bologna, one teacher, Irnerus, becomes extremely popular. Unable to meet the demand of increasing pupil numbers he hires fellow teachers and the world’s first law school is born. By 1150, Irnerus’ law school has over 10,000 students. These students begin to spread Roman law throughout Europe.

1215 Magna Carta: King John of England signed The Magna Carta on June 15, 1215. In an attempt to advert a rebellion by his barons, King John agreed to such freedoms as the freedom of the church, fair taxation, controls over imprisonment, and the right of all merchants to come and go freely, except at time of war. Once sworn a legal document, letters were sent to all the sheriffs ordering them to read the Charter aloud in public. It is the blueprint of English common law.

1689 English Bill of Rights: Limited Royal Family’s legal prerogatives and limited Parliament’s rights to tax citizens.

1765 Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Law of England: Blackstone, a British barrister, documented English law in a four volume set. Written in easy to read English, English law was suddenly available to the common man. His work became a must read for law students and lawyers alike. The Commentaries allowed examination of British Common Law of the time, and Blackstone’s Commentaries was the law for the first century in the American colonies.

1776 The American Declaration of Independence: Proclaimed on July 4, 1776, it was a statement to sever all political connections with Great Britain and to form a new state, the United States of America. This declaration espoused the philosophies of equality, unalienable rights, and the government derives its power from the consent of the governed.

1787 The Constitution of the United States: The Constitution established the first republican government in the world. It outlined the institutions of the government and powers of each institution. The Constitution of the United States has served as a model document for many countries forming democracies.

1791 American Bill of Rights: Amended the Constitution and provided United States citizens freedom of speech, religion, and the press, the right to a speedy trial by your peers, protection against unlawful search and seizure, protection against cruel and unusual punishment, and the right to bear arms.

1804 Napoleonic Code: Under Napoleon, France adopts a comprehensive code of law. This Code incorporates parts of Roman law and was a written document. It was non-technical in style and available to the public.

1864 The Geneva Convention: An agreement designed to provide human rights on wartime. It was supplemented with the Prisoner of War Convention.

Critical Thinking Strategies

Our world is becoming so technology driven that rote memorization of basic skills has decreased in value and a major emphasis is being placed on higher order thinking skills. Using Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Domain, critical thinking moves students from the safety of knowledge, comprehension, and application and thrusts them toward analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The development of these higher order thinking skills is essential for academic success and employability in our modern world.

The use of critical thinking skills, once thought for “gifted” only, is achievable by all students including special needs students. When children feel psychologically safe in their learning communities, they are able to try new things, express ideas, and defend opinions. These are all key components to fostering critical thinking. Another element of critical thinking is verbal interaction. Students need extensive opportunities for verbal interaction. Teachers can foster verbal expression through paired problem solving, cooperative learning, group decision making, and thought provoking questioning (Lombardi 28). Teachers modeling good listening skills, respect for others opinions, and being able to acknowledge personal mistakes will foster a rich environment for critical thinking activities.

Critical thinking can be taught by helping students understand critical thinking. Beyer’s Four Step Process is a method you can use to facilitate higher level thinking. This process involves: introducing the skill and giving the skill a name – categorizing, analyzing, evaluating, etc.; explaining the skill; modeling the skill using “self talk”; and applying the skills until generalized (Lombardi 29).

Two other strategies teachers can engage to foster higher order thinking are careful questioning and graphic organizers. Thought provoking questions that require more that one answer will increase verbal interaction and vocabulary development, while asking students to clarify answers will stimulate critical thinking. Graphic organizers allow students a visual format to structure information and can be designed to produce higher order thinking – compare and contrast charts, outlining, ranking, and ordering information by importance. Graphic organizers also allow students to focus on ideas rather than grammatical rules. Students will be empowered with these strategies and their level of thinking will be elevated.

Team Building

In The Theory and Practice of Challenge Education, Burk’s definition of team building, “when a work group has at least one common goal that is common to all members and when accomplishment of that goal requires cooperative interdependent behavior on the part of all group members” is quoted (Smith 161). This is also the definition of a well-functioning classroom. Team building activities are paramount to a classroom that focuses on child-centered learning. Team building allows students to demonstrate skills not necessarily valued in an academic setting. It bridges socioeconomic, cultural, and gender gaps; allows for group and individual goal setting; enriches verbal and non-verbal communication skills; and strengthens awareness of self and others.

Team building activities are structured opportunities for groups to develop as a unit. They range from simple task, i.e., a group juggle, to complex activities requiring multilevel tasking, i.e., traversing an “acid” river. The activity structure follows a basic format of safety and rules briefing, activity scenario, time to develop an action plan, implementation of the action plan, and debriefing of the activity. Participation is based on the philosophy of challenge by choice. This allows all group members the opportunity to participate at a level they are comfortable.

By participating in team building classroom activities, students’ self esteem and attitude toward school are enhanced. Classrooms communities are more cohesive and behavior problems are reduced. Students generalize the behaviors they have learned in the field and are energized for future team building activities. Positive byproducts of team building activities are increased trust among the group members and group members supporting each other in social situations. Team building, while being an excellent activity unto itself, is also often the carrot needed to dangle in front of hard to reach students.

Implementation

This curriculum unit is designed for use at the beginning of the school year. The timing of this unit is critical and teachers need to closely monitor the environment because limited relationship foundation with students has been developed. The activities in this unit are sometimes intense and are designed to engage students cognitively, emotionally, and physically.

When possible, this unit should supersede all other academic instruction. The foundation of a student structured classroom behavior system will foster a productive learning environment and allow gradual make up of missed academic time. Lessons are planned for a block schedule (80 minute blocks). Most lessons have a natural transition between activities and can be adjusted to fit into a traditional schedule.

New Mexico State and Albuquerque Public Schools standards are addressed in this curriculum unit and are noted at the end of each lesson. These standards can be found in their entirety at the following web sites respectively http://sde.state.nm.us and http://ww2.aps.edu/

Lesson: Structured Chaos

Objective: Students will evaluate their ability to work as a team.

Materials: timer, craft paper, markers, paper, pencils

Procedures: List on the board a task to be completed, i.e., rearrange the classroom to provide a space for a reading zone, group-work zone, one-on-one zone, time out zone, and relaxation zone. Instruct students on time limitation. (Time allowed should be shorter than actual time to complete task.) Explain assessment—all students will be given 10 points upon completion of the task in the allotted time. Start timer and instruct students to begin. At this time, the teacher’s role is to become semi-invisible while monitoring the environment for physically or emotionally dangerous behaviors. When allotted time is up assess students’ progress and give points, zeros. Instruct students to get out a piece of paper and pencil and spend 2 minutes reflecting and writing on the rearranging classroom activity. Collect reflections then allow 2 minutes for group discussion. Monitor for “blame game.” After reflection move on to formal debriefing. Using craft paper list each of the following questions one at a time, write the students responses and discuss responses.

� What happened during activity?

� What behaviors happened during activity?

� What was missing?

� How could you have done better as a group or individual?

Evaluation: Student participation and written self-reflection

Standards: New Mexico State -- Health: Standard 3 Benchmarks 13, 14; Standard 5 Benchmark 11, 12, 16. Albuquerque Public School – Language Arts: Strand IV Expressive Language: Speaking, Performance Standard 1, 2, 3; Strand V Receptive Language: Listening and Viewing, Performance Standards 1, 2, 3, 5.

Lesson: Team Building I

Objective: Students will engage in team building activity.

Materials: Hula Hoops or hose hoops, beach ball, timer, whistle

Procedures: Teacher explains safety rules and concept of “challenge by choice.” Student’s Experiential Contract (Figure 1) is explained and signed. The group moves to a large open area, a gym or outdoors. Hula Hoops are “randomly” (in a square or circle pattern) thrown onto the ground with about 5 feet between Hula Hoops. Instruct students to stand inside a hula-hoop of their choice. Once all students are positioned, teacher will introduce instructions:

1. ball must be passed from group to group by hitting it

2. each group member must have one foot in the hula hoop at all times

3. no one can hold the ball

4. only one hit per group

5. this is a timed activity

Once the instructions are given and everyone understands the ball is put into play. Teacher starts the timer (2 to 3 minutes for each round) and counts the number of groups that make contact with the ball. After the first round, ask the group these questions: Can you do it better? How? Why do think this will help? Allow students to make one modification and begin with round 2. Proceed with modifications and new rounds until all modifications have been tried or you reach a state of diminished return. When final round is played have students relax by sitting in a circle and conduct a formal debriefing session. Questions to explore when debriefing:

� What modifications were made?

� Did they work? Why or why not?

� How did you feel during this activity?

� Did you work as a team? How do you know?

� Can you think of any other modifications you could of tried?

� How does this compare to arranging the classroom?

Evaluation: Student participation in activity

Standards: New Mexico State -- Health: Standard 3 Benchmarks 13, 14; Standard 5 Benchmark 11, 12, 16. Albuquerque Public School – Language Arts: Strand IV Expressive Language: Speaking, Performance Standard 2; Strand V Receptive Language: Listening and Viewing, Performance Standards 1, 2, 3, 5.

Lesson: Brainstorming: Justice Systems

Objective: Students will list, group, and label class generated terms related to justice systems.

Materials: craft paper, markers, pencils, paper, overhead transparencies

Procedures: Review lessons 1&2 and the teamwork concept. Introduce students to brainstorming activity by writing Justice Systems on craft paper. (If Justice Systems is too advanced use the terms- rules and consequences.) List all student input until resources are exhausted. Count up the number of terms and write it on the corner of brainstorming paper. Introduce L-G-L process. Divide students into groups of 3 and have them group and label words form brainstorming activity, writing it onto a transparency. Share L-G-L activities discussing similarities and differences. Ask students to explain reasoning and seek clarification as needed.

Evaluation: L-G-L activity and student participation

Homework: With family members help make a list of rules at home

Standards: Albuquerque Public School – Language Arts: Strand III Expressive Language: Writing, Performance Standard 4; Strand IV Expressive Language: Speaking, Performance Standards 1, 2, 3; Strand V Receptive Language: Listening and Viewing, Performance Standards 1, 2, 3, 5.

Lesson: Comparison of Justice Systems

Objective: Students will compare justice systems they encounter at school and at home.

Materials: APS Behavior Handbook, Cleveland Mid School Agenda, homework—list of rules, paper, pencils, craft paper, markers

Procedures: Review L-G-L from previous lesson. In small groups, have students compare rules lists looking for unique items. Have each group present differences and then construct a class list of commonalities on craft paper. Post list. Review school and district behavioral policies, then compare them to home rules looking for similarities and differences. Introduce comparison chart (Figure 2) and have students complete it individually.

Evaluation: Comparison Chart and participation

Standards: Albuquerque Public School – Language Arts: Strand III Expressive Language: Writing, Performance Standard 4; Strand IV Expressive Language: Speaking, Performance Standard 1, 2, 3; Strand V Receptive Language: Listening and Viewing, Performance Standards 1,2,3,5.

Lesson: Historical Perspective on Justice Systems

Objective: Students will demonstrate knowledge of the evolution of historical justice systems.

Materials: “History of Justice Systems” booklets, paper, pencil, assorted reference materials on world history

Procedures: Prior to this lesson you will need to construct the History of Justice Systems booklet using the information in this curriculum unit or other sources. Begin this lesson by having students form small groups of 3 or 4. Give each group an index card with a period of history on it. Instruct students to research and discuss given period looking at the entire world and using classroom resources. Each group will be reporting back at a preset time. When time is up, students will report finding in chronological order. Once historical thinking is activated introduce “History of Justice Systems” booklets. Assist students in making connections between historical advances and development of legal systems. Once discussion is completed assess students understanding of objective by answering teacher generated questions on the historical evolution of justice systems.

Evaluation: Students’ written responses to teacher generated questions

Standards: Albuquerque Public School – Language Arts: Strand III Expressive Language: Writing, Performance Standard 4; Strand IV Expressive Language: Speaking, Performance Standard 1, 2, 3; Strand V Receptive Language: Listening and Viewing, Performance Standards 1, 2, 3, 5; Strand VI Research: Performance Standards 1, 2, 4, 7.

Lesson: Overview of the United States Constitution

Objectives: Students will have a working knowledge of how the United States Constitution was formed.

Materials: videos, paper, pencils, markers, examples of various types of graphic organizers

Procedures: Activate student thinking by asking, “Where do laws come from?” Discuss answers with students and try to formulate a group response to the question. Show teacher selected portions of the videos This is America Charlie Brown and School House Rocks: America Rock and have students take notes. Review the first video and see if the class response to where laws come from is in need of any changes. Make necessary changes then show the second video. Discuss this video and make any adjustments needed to initial question. Organize students into small groups and instruct them to construct a graphic organizer (i.e., flow chart, a web, bubble graph, story board) on how a law is made. Monitor students’ progress providing guidance and direction as needed.

Evaluation: Student’s graphic organizer How a Law is Made.

Standards: Albuquerque Public School – Language Arts: Strand III Expressive Language: Writing, Performance Standard 4; Strand IV Expressive Language: Speaking, Performance Standard 1, 2, 3; Strand V Receptive Language: Listening and Viewing, Performance Standards 1, 2, 3, 5.

Lesson: Team Building II

Objective: Students will work as a team to accomplish task

Materials: rope

Procedures: Rope is tied at crotch height between 2 post/poles. Introduce activity by reviewing experiential contracts and outlining procedures. Group is instructed to move from one side of “fence” to the other without touching it. Group must move in mass (all touching each other at all times). If the person-to-person connection is broken, the entire group must start again. If the “fence” is touched, the group must start again. When task is accomplished, debrief activity.

Evaluation: Student participation.

Standards: New Mexico State -- Health: Standard 3 Benchmarks 13,14; Standard 5 Benchmark 11,12,16. Albuquerque Public School – Language Arts: Strand IV Expressive Language: Speaking, Performance Standard 2; Strand V Receptive Language: Listening and Viewing, Performance Standards 1,2,3,5.

Lesson: Justice By Design

Objective: Classroom family will create a justice system for classroom use.

Materials: craft paper, markers, pencils, paper, timer

Procedures: Brainstorm for ideas on what classroom rules should cover and how many there should be. Once parameters have been established, have students work in groups of 3 or 4 creating a list of rules. Discuss and combine lists. Delete or add rules so major areas are covered. When finished creating list have all students sign it, create a paper size version, and again have all participants sign it. Have students present rules at first parent meeting and provide each family with a copy.

Evaluation: Classroom justice system

Standards: New Mexico State -- -- Health: Standard 3 Benchmarks 13,14; Standard 5 Benchmark 11,12,16. Albuquerque Public School – Language Arts: Strand III Expressive Language: Writing, Performance Standard 4; Strand IV Expressive Language: Speaking, Performance Standard 2; Strand V Receptive Language: Listening and Viewing, Performance Standards 1,2,3,5.

Lesson: Structured Chaos Revisited

Objective: Students will redesign classroom layout

Materials: craft paper, markers

Procedures: Instruct students to arrange the classroom creating a reading zone, time out zone, group-work zone, one-on-one zone, and relaxation zone. Teacher becomes a worker and follows directions from students. Work until task is completed. Debrief activity using questions from Structured Chaos lesson and compare today’s activities to Structured Chaos lesson.

Evaluation: Successful completion of task and student participation

Standards: New Mexico State -- -- Health: Standard 3 Benchmarks 13,14; Standard 5 Benchmark 16. Albuquerque Public School – Language Arts: Strand IV Expressive Language: Speaking, Performance Standard 2; Strand V Receptive Language: Listening and Viewing, Performance Standards 1,2,3,5.

Documentation

Bibliography

Burdick, Charles K. The Law of the American Constitution: Its Origin and Development. New York: Putnam’s Sons, 1922.

Carr, Kathryn. “How Can We Teach Critical Thinking?” Childhood Education,Winter
1988:69-73.

Charles, C. W. Building Classroom Discipline: From Model to Practice. New York: Longman, 1989.

Dun, Marcel, ed. Larousse Encyclopedia of Ancient and Medieval History. New York: Harper Row, 1963

Glasser, William. Control Theory in the Classroom. New York: Perenial Library, 1986.

Horn, Wade F., Douglas Tynan. “Revamping Special Education.” The Public Interest Sum 2001:36-53.

Lombardi, Thomas P., Luise Savage. “Higher Order Thinking Skills for Students With Special Needs.” Preventing School Failure Summer 1994:27-31.

Madgwick, Wendy. Questions and Answers: Ancient Civilizations. New York: Kingfisher, 2000.

McMillon, Helen G. “Developing Problem Solving and Interpersonal Communication Skills Through Intentionally Structured Groups.” Journal for Specialist in Group Work Mar 1994:262-77.

O’Brien, David M. “Law”. World Book Encyclopedia. 1997.

Paul, Richard, Linda Elder. “Critical Thinking: Teaching Students to Seek the Logic of Things.”
Journal of Developmental Education Fall 1999: 334-335.

Robinson, Helja A. The Ethnography of Empowerment: The Transitive Power of Classroom Interaction. Washington DC: The Falmer Press, 1994.

Rohnke, Karl and Steve Butler. Quicksilver. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt, 1995.

Simmons, G. A. “It Is Outdoors: A Guide to Experiential Activities.” American Association for Leisure and Recreation, 1991: 64.

Slavin, Robert E. Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1994.

Smith, Thomas et al. The Theory and Practice of Challenge Education. Dubuque:
Journal of Developmental Education Fall 1999: 334-335.

Stepien, William, Shelagn Gallagher. “Problem Based Learning: As Authentic as It Gets.” Roeper Review Jun 1993:25-28.

Tool Time: Choosing and Implementing Quality Improvement Tools. Molt: Langford
International, Inc, 1999

Instructional Resources

Videos

This is America Charlie Brown: Birth of the Constitution. Director: Evert Brown, Producer: Bill Melendez, Writers: Charles Schultz and Lee Mendelson. Videocassette. United Feature Syndicated, Inc. 1988.

Schoolhouse Rocks: Video on American History. Producer: George Newall and Radford Stone. Videocassette. Buena Vista Home Video Distribution, 1995.

Web Site

“The Timetable of World Legal History.” 1998. Duhaime and Company.
<http://www.duhaime.org/Law_museum/hist.htm>

Possible Student Resources

Bernstein, Vivian. World History and You. Austin: Steck-Vaugh Publishing, 1997.

Burton, Paula (ed). The Complete Book of World History. Columbus: American Education Publishing, 2002.

De Marco, Neil. The Children’s Atlas of World History. Chicago: Peter Bedrick Books,1997.

Haywood, John (ed.). Everyday Life in the Ancient World. London: Southwater, 2001.

---. Through the Ages – Tribes, Empires, and Civilizations. New York: Lorenz Books, 2001.

---. Through the Ages –Homes, Families, and Everyday Life. New York: Lornez Books, 2001.

---. Through the Ages – Science, Crafts, and Technology. New York: Lornez Books, 2001.

---. Through the Ages – Work Trade and Farming. New York: Lorenz Books, 2001.

Kondeatis, Christos. Illustrated Book of World History. London: Christos Kondeatis Designs, Ltd., 1999.

Millard, Anne. The Atlas of Ancient Worlds. New York: DK Publishing, 1994.

Figure 1

Experiential Contract

I ________________________________ will abide by the rules of each experiential activity in addition to the rules listed below. _________________________________ Signed _________________________________
Date

Rules For Every Activity

1. I will follow all directions given to me. If I don’t understand a direction I will ask for it to be explained.

2. I will conduct myself in a safe manner.

3. I will show respect for other people’s ideas, their opinions, and their persons.

4. I will communicate my needs in an appropriate manner.

5. I will listen to the instructor and my peers.