This semester, I am working on the Native History Project with Professor Michaels. My job is to design and create materials for a unit on Native history that teachers across the country can use to teach their students. I have been working on a unit about the history of the Meskwaki nation. To begin, I had to learn about the Meskwaki. I researched the history of the tribe to familiarize myself with the history the unit will cover.
Then, I began designing the unit. I identified topics, themes, and essential questions for the lessons. After I had sketched out the big ideas, I began to create the teacher guide, lesson plan, and materials for the lessons. I have finished the materials for the first lesson. The Meskwaki History unit has five lessons.
I have encountered two main issues during my project work. The first is that it is challenging to create lesson plans about a subject that I am learning about. When I taught Pop Culture, World History, and Contemporary Issues last year at Bowling Green High School, I created lessons about material I was comfortable with. However, for the Native History Project, I have to learn about the history of the Meskwaki because I didn’t know anything before I began.
The other difficulty is that I’ve struggled to complete all of the materials quickly while balancing my need to research the topics covered in the lessons. There’s many elements to create and it’s challenging to make high quality materials while learning about the topics.
After break, I will probably be changing directions on the project. Instead of working on the Meskwaki History unit, I will be helping with the Taino unit. To prepare to switch units, my next step is to create a document that explains the research I’ve done so another researcher can continue my work on the Meskwaki unit in the future.
I am excited to be switching to the Taino unit because I will be working with Princess Joseph.
I wonder what tasks I will be completing for the Taino unit. My role will shift because on the Meskwaki unit, I was both designing and creating the lessons. For the Taino unit I will only be creating materials. I also wonder how Professor Michaels, Princess, and I will find time to meet because we have struggled in the past to find a time that works for all three of us.
