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!