Social Studies Manifesto!

Wow this semester has completely shook up my ideas on how to teach social studies. Social studies is such an important subject to teach students. There is no young or old age to start incorporating it into the classroom. Kindergartens are doing it when they play or talk about different roles people play in the community and sixth graders are doing it when they are learning history. Social Studies has so many  different subjects rolled into one from history, geography, and economics. Students need to understand who they are and where they come from, why the world is the way it is and how it became that way, and the different ways people live all around the world. Social Studies can be a great tool to use when you are planning the management of your classroom. Students can help create the rules in the classroom and feel that each of them help play a part in the way the room is ran. If each student feels important and that their opinion matters it can only help a teacher build a stronger classroom community. I want my future students to feel that they are a part of not only a classroom but also a community and that each of the have a voice. Each student has opinions, ideas, and beliefs that they can each contribute to the classroom. Social studies is a great tool to help promote and for students to learn about democracy. In my classroom students will not just being reading from a book and doing a worksheet, they will be actively participating in the lessons they are learning wither it be with the acting of a play, giving a presentation, dressing like characters from history, or creating class projects about our community. Social Studies seems to be the forgotten subject in most schools but it is one that will be very much alive in my classroom. So many schools do not ever require the teachers to teach it. If I work at a school that does not share my enthusiasm of teaching social studies there are some subtle ways that I can use to teach it in my classroom. Social Studies can be integrated through so many subjects wither it is language arts with the reading of a historical novel or math when you are dealing with measuring and you can measure distances on a map. This semester was an eye-opening semester! Every activity we did help my love for social studies to grow more. This semester helped  me to face prejudice and ideas that I did not even know I possessed, but in the end, it helped shape me into a better educator. You do not have to love social studies to be able to teach it, but when you are shown ideas as I have been shown this semester you cannot help but fall in love with it!  I cannot wait until I get my own room and I can put all of these great ideas into practice!

FQR

The Fact Question and Response that we did over the articles is a great tool that teachers can use to help engage students with reading. By doing this activity students are comprehending what they are reading and are having to look for key terms and facts that will help them understand the article. The videos that showed the teachers engaging with the students in reading and understanding really opened my eyes to the many different ways that I can teach my students how to understand what they read.

Living History Museum

The Living History Museum was such a great tool that teachers can utilize the classroom. I thought it was great how each person brought history to life. I learned so much about many different people throughout history. I think it would be a great tool for me to use in my classroom with my students. However, I may change it a bit and have the students make a poster of bring an artifact about that person because some students may have problems with making a costume. Either way you do it the Living History Museum is a great way to get students excited about history!

True of False?

Thanksgiving seems to always be the same story every year with the Pilgrims and Indians coming together to have a friendly meal. However, it was brought to our attention in class Monday that this may not be the case! It is so hard to believe that everything we as educators have built our knowledge around may be false, but that is the issue that we are being faced with. I understand that is important to follow tradition, but what if that tradition is based on inaccuracy? It is a fine line that we have to walk! So the choice is up to you ....do we teach according to truth or fallacies?

Book Reviews

Today in class I really enjoyed hearing about all the different books that everybody had read. I think doing something like this in the classroom would be a great activity for kids to do! For example, if a class had just finished a story unit this would be a great way for each of them to express what they thought about the story or what they took from it. Book talks are definitely something I will be incorporating into my classroom in the future!

Story Path

Yesterday in class we did story path and I had so much fun! I thought this activity was such a great way to get the students involved and into the topic they may be covering. By having the students create characters it gets them to see and put themselves into the story. Story path brings learning to life and this is an activity that I will do in my classroom!

Social Studies in the Classroom

The other day while I was observing in the 4th grade classroom the teacher began the social studies lesson. She told the students they would begin their new unit about new worlds, this included the discovery of America and and the Pilgrims and Indians. The teacher told the students she wanted them to write in their journals as if they were one of the pilgrims coming to America and how they felt coming to the new world. I thought this was great activity because not only does it incorporate social studies but writing as well. The students did very well at the activity and continued writing in their journals throughout the unit. I hope to use fun and creative ways such as this in my future classroom!

Mount Everest

I have to say that Mount Everest is a beautiful place! However, it is a place I can enjoy through pictures and movies. I thought it was interesting all the things that climbers have to do in order to climb the mountain! It was so neat learning how Sherpas and climbers depend on one another and the things they have to do to train their bodies. I do love thrill seeking my I would have to say that climbing a mountain for 40,000 dollars is not one of them!

Geocaching

Even though I was absent for the class period where the class went on a scavenger hunt, I was told about how much fun it was! I went to the Geocaching website and think it is so neat how the whole thing works. I think it is a great way to get students excited about geography and using latitude and longitude. Students can also create similar ideas with using latitude and longitude with their community and students can create boxes they want to hide with special things in it!

Geography used to be boring until now!

Geography used to be my least favorite subject in school. It just seemed to be the memorization of countries and capitols. However, when I reached 8th grade Mr. Rodiger taught me something different. We had been studying the capitals of the states and one day he took us outside. In the parking lot we had a huge drawing of the U.S. and he had each of us students go stand on a state. He then would yell out a capital and we would have to throw a ball to the person that was in that state. If you got it correct you could stay in the states but if you got it wrong you were deported as he would call it to another country. I found this game so fun and it actually help us learn and see where the capitals were. It is activites like this and things like box city that help students to not only learn but to have fun!

Sometimes kids are the teachers....

Tonight I was at work, which is a daycare by the way, and we have some boys that come from a Hispanic family. The two boys are 7 and 5 and are as cute at as can be. Well tonight we had a ton of kids as usual and they all try to find ways to play games and things to pass the time. Well the oldest boy of the two brothers who is 7 told everyone to gather round and they could play football. Well all the boys got excited and started calling out with NFL football team they wanted to be, but he just looked at them and laughed and said not that type of football, we are going to play my countries type of football. He then went on to explain about how it is just like soccer and that some of the rules are different. I found this interesting that a young child was teaching other children about his culture and how sports are different. All the kids had a blast playing football but its really soccer said one child....I think incorporating games and things like this in the classroom is a great idea and not only is students learning about another culture but they are learning it from a peer!

Critical Voice

When I read the article about teachers having a critical voice I found it very intriguing. It is so important that teachers learn to have a critical voice!! As teachers we are expected to follow the guidelines and the curriculum  that schools late out for us, but I also think it is important that if we have an issue with something that we make is known. Schools just lay out outlines and guidelines they think are good for all to follow, however, teachers are the ones who know their students and know how they learn. So it is important for them to voice a concern if they see a student is having an issue with something we are told to do. As a teacher I want to advocate for my students, it is my responsibility to teach each and every child and sometimes you just have to throw the rule book out the window!

I hope I get black ants in my classroom.....

I loved the article we were assigned to read Black Ants and Buddhists. It was so cute! I was amazed at how these 2nd graders could infer things about paintings, religions, and class discussions. The way the students respected one anothers beliefs and opinions was amazing. They have really built a since of community in their classroom and the teacher is doing an amazing job felicitating it. The way she has people from different religions come in and talk to her class is a great way to incorporate social studies in the classroom. The black ants that day started a great new journey for her classroom and so if black ants ever come into my room I will gladly welcome the new visitors! :)