Blogging allowed me to reflect more on the experiences of this course including readings, field trips, and my personal teaching reflections. The chance to create my own blog page will aid in my professional career, I plan to continue blogging and encourage my students to do so through in class assignments. It gave me the opportunity to read my peers thoughts and ideas about the courses activities and forced me to consider differences in opinions and ways to improve my own teaching. Blogging has further enhanced the course because it is more fun and easier to do than journaling or writing on discussion boards. I suppose that my page background and seeing what I have written “published” gives it a special level of engagement. Blogging has not hindered my learning experience in this course. Through thoughtful reflection I am not able to see how blogging has caused my learning in this course to be less impactful.
Social studies is not a boring topic. My views have drastically changed, before I just remember social studies being about history, looking at the globe, memorizing dates, and other very boring activities.
I enjoyed reading Seeing the Whole Through Social Studies, Tarry Lindquist made Social studies learning and teaching very exciting and gave specific activities that can be integrated into the classroom. I learned the importance of integrating Social Studies into everything, including math, science, and literacy in order to cover important topics. I have heard teachers say that social studies is only taught every other day and we only have to meet about 15 objectives. The news of social studies not being integrated into other subjects is saddening and unfortunate for students. I look forward to considering ways to integrate social studies in my classroom by creating an annual plan, rather than just hoping that I get to social studies content. It is important for teachers to give students opportunities to learn about history, culture, government, economics, and geography to give them the knowledge needed to make informed decisions about life.
Upon completion of History through a child’s eyes, the assignment where we interviewed elementary school aged children to learn about their interests and ideas about social studies was also impactful for my learning experience in this course. The assignment was eye opening because I have never assessed a students’ knowledge with social studies and found ways to teach according to what they know about the topic. Through role playing, hands-on activities, virtual field trips, and classroom artifacts, social studies can come to life in any classroom. Now I realize that social studies does not have to be boring.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Biases, perspectives, and points of view in history.
When I first considered this topic my reaction was that I had not experienced biases, point of view, or different perspectives in history. How could I experience these when my history teacher usually focused on American History and gave the point of view of those presented in the textbooks? Hold on, so that means that have experienced all of these!
I recall high school history classes and the teacher rarely included different points of views on wars, slavery, elections, or any other historical events when presenting material. As a result, I was taught little about other cultures or ethnic groups in high school. My first encounter with different perspectives was in college in an African American Literature class. After taking the class, I felt somewhat slighted that I did not have the opportunity to learn about other ethnicities and cultures before then. The information that I learned about my own culture was usually a result of my parents having me read book or teaching me what they knew.
As a teacher of Social Studies, I will expose my students to different perspectives and point of views so that they will not have the same experiences that I had. I would like for students to have all of the possible information about a topic so that they can make their own informed judgments.
Since I will teach about different perspectives, cultures, and points of view, all students, including ESLs will benefit. I will differentiate instruction as usual by scaffolding, heterogeneous grouping when appropriate, and giving visual representations of events and objects when necessary. Differentiation within the classroom will be beneficial for all students in all areas. I will do interest surveys for students to create relevance around class activities and assignments. I would like for all students, including ESL students to have an opportunity to share a part of the lives and culture with the entire class. Everyone and every culture is special and I want my students to understand that.
I recall high school history classes and the teacher rarely included different points of views on wars, slavery, elections, or any other historical events when presenting material. As a result, I was taught little about other cultures or ethnic groups in high school. My first encounter with different perspectives was in college in an African American Literature class. After taking the class, I felt somewhat slighted that I did not have the opportunity to learn about other ethnicities and cultures before then. The information that I learned about my own culture was usually a result of my parents having me read book or teaching me what they knew.
As a teacher of Social Studies, I will expose my students to different perspectives and point of views so that they will not have the same experiences that I had. I would like for students to have all of the possible information about a topic so that they can make their own informed judgments.
Since I will teach about different perspectives, cultures, and points of view, all students, including ESLs will benefit. I will differentiate instruction as usual by scaffolding, heterogeneous grouping when appropriate, and giving visual representations of events and objects when necessary. Differentiation within the classroom will be beneficial for all students in all areas. I will do interest surveys for students to create relevance around class activities and assignments. I would like for all students, including ESL students to have an opportunity to share a part of the lives and culture with the entire class. Everyone and every culture is special and I want my students to understand that.
One of the best lessons.
Based on my first lesson in the Social Studies classroom about United States regions, I felt that students did not grasp the concept of regions and have an understanding about the key concepts of regions, including population, climate, culture, food, and resources. I decided to create another lesson that focused on the Southeast region of the United States to give students more information about the diversity of regions within the country. I decided to integrate music for more student engagement and motivation as we continued our exploration of United States regions.
After writing the lesson, I was very excited to give students the opportunity to listen to music including country and rhythm and blues to apply to the power point presented about the Southeast region. I anticipated that students would love creating their own musical lyrics and share them with the class. My favorite part of the presentation was the opportunity to listen to music while in a classroom. Listening to music in class seems to make lessons exciting.
Upon arrival, I began to set up and test resources including the projector and computer. As I went through the PowerPoint to ensure that I did not experience technical difficulties with uploading my music video from YouTube, I learned that the school internet network did not allow access to YouTube. Since I was unaware of the restriction as I planned my lesson, I did not save the music video that was a significant part of my lesson onto my computer or email. I quickly tried to get an outside internet connection without success. So, I put a smile on my face and prepared to teach my lesson without music. Surprisingly, the students did not know that the most important part of my lesson was missing as I skipped by it on the PowerPoint. So, as I modeled the writing process for students through my own Southeast song lyrics, I was unsure of the success with the lesson since they were unable to hear the music example. Luckily, the students caught on to the activity, were very excited, and this became one of the best lessons that I have ever taught. The students were engaged through the pictures and the discussion questions that I asked during the anticipatory set and guided practice portions of the lesson. I was surprised with the number of hands that flew up every time that I posed a question. Finally, I was impressed by the Southeast regions songs that the class created. Many students shared their songs and some of them even sang them to the class. The songs ranged from humorous to more serious, with each showing an understanding about the key characteristics of the Southeast region of the United States. After a quick whisper of preparation to the, a student who frequently exhibited inappropriate behavior was the first to share his song with the class. He shared with the enthusiasm and the class was clearly impressed.
Upon reflection of the lesson, I considered the need for flexibility when teaching, since most things will not go as planned. In the future I will save a copy of the music or videos needed on my computer or flash drive to use if the internet connections fails. This lesson emphasized the importance of planning and creating meaningful activities for students. The last lesson about regions may have failed to create a level of relevance for the students that would have allowed them to be more engaged with the exercise. I am very excited about the outcome of the lesson and the student artifacts produced about the Southeast region. During the lesson the students began to get a rowdy, but I used a management strategy that grabbed their attention and got them back in line. I am so proud of myself and the students. Each time that I teach lessons I get better adapt to student needs and create meaningful exercises for students to understand the material presented. Wow! This reflection has almost brought tears to my eyes; this graduate school thing is paying off.
After writing the lesson, I was very excited to give students the opportunity to listen to music including country and rhythm and blues to apply to the power point presented about the Southeast region. I anticipated that students would love creating their own musical lyrics and share them with the class. My favorite part of the presentation was the opportunity to listen to music while in a classroom. Listening to music in class seems to make lessons exciting.
Upon arrival, I began to set up and test resources including the projector and computer. As I went through the PowerPoint to ensure that I did not experience technical difficulties with uploading my music video from YouTube, I learned that the school internet network did not allow access to YouTube. Since I was unaware of the restriction as I planned my lesson, I did not save the music video that was a significant part of my lesson onto my computer or email. I quickly tried to get an outside internet connection without success. So, I put a smile on my face and prepared to teach my lesson without music. Surprisingly, the students did not know that the most important part of my lesson was missing as I skipped by it on the PowerPoint. So, as I modeled the writing process for students through my own Southeast song lyrics, I was unsure of the success with the lesson since they were unable to hear the music example. Luckily, the students caught on to the activity, were very excited, and this became one of the best lessons that I have ever taught. The students were engaged through the pictures and the discussion questions that I asked during the anticipatory set and guided practice portions of the lesson. I was surprised with the number of hands that flew up every time that I posed a question. Finally, I was impressed by the Southeast regions songs that the class created. Many students shared their songs and some of them even sang them to the class. The songs ranged from humorous to more serious, with each showing an understanding about the key characteristics of the Southeast region of the United States. After a quick whisper of preparation to the, a student who frequently exhibited inappropriate behavior was the first to share his song with the class. He shared with the enthusiasm and the class was clearly impressed.
Upon reflection of the lesson, I considered the need for flexibility when teaching, since most things will not go as planned. In the future I will save a copy of the music or videos needed on my computer or flash drive to use if the internet connections fails. This lesson emphasized the importance of planning and creating meaningful activities for students. The last lesson about regions may have failed to create a level of relevance for the students that would have allowed them to be more engaged with the exercise. I am very excited about the outcome of the lesson and the student artifacts produced about the Southeast region. During the lesson the students began to get a rowdy, but I used a management strategy that grabbed their attention and got them back in line. I am so proud of myself and the students. Each time that I teach lessons I get better adapt to student needs and create meaningful exercises for students to understand the material presented. Wow! This reflection has almost brought tears to my eyes; this graduate school thing is paying off.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
If the textboook contains the answers, then what are the questions?
In the text, Understanding by Design, Bob James poses a great question of "If the textbook contains the answers, then what are the questions?" In backward design the essential questions are made before the curriculum is created. The textbook question is thought provoking. As my group and I created our essential questions for a unit plan and relating them to student perspective on issues, personal connections, and ability to analyze, I began to understand the necessity of backward design. Many teachers believe that the textbook contains all of the answers. This belief limits students creative ability with asking questions that are not in the textbook, such as "What would life be like if we lost the Revolutionary War" or "How does war make me feel?" These questions are those that will created a knowledge base around subjects in ways that students will never forget. As I went through school, I wish that my teachers had modeled to these thought provoking questions.
The ability to analyze a historical event such as the Revolutionary War,by asking meaningful questions will have a far greater effect than having students read a text and search for answers to questions within the text. The textbook does not contain the answers to those questions that evoke thought in students and force them to internalize events and think about their effects on life, economics, and the entire world. Asking truly thought provoking essential questions will propel the learner to new levels that cannot be achieved by just reading the textbook. A textbook can not tell you about your feelings, perspective, or impressions of historic events and other important Social Studies subject areas.
The ability to analyze a historical event such as the Revolutionary War,by asking meaningful questions will have a far greater effect than having students read a text and search for answers to questions within the text. The textbook does not contain the answers to those questions that evoke thought in students and force them to internalize events and think about their effects on life, economics, and the entire world. Asking truly thought provoking essential questions will propel the learner to new levels that cannot be achieved by just reading the textbook. A textbook can not tell you about your feelings, perspective, or impressions of historic events and other important Social Studies subject areas.
Monday, July 12, 2010
"Drum roll please!" Presenting my views about annual plans (before and after class)
What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of an Annual Plan? Why start with resources when designing units?
As I work to finish graduate school requirements and began thinking about my own future classroom, I have had many worries about my ability to cover the neccessary material throughout the school year, without teaching to a test. Hopefully, an annual plan will help to ease some of my worries as a preservice teacher. I decided to create this blog in two perspectives, one perspective is before our Social Studies class during which we will discuss annual plans in more detail and the other is after our social studies class after I have obtained more insight about creating an annual plan.
So far, I have not been able to find many online resources related to annual plans and their creation, other than the online workshop presented by Dr. Heidi Jacobs. I considered if this lack of internet resources is due to teacher or districts not utilizing annual plans as much as possible. The advantages of an annual plan include planning. A teacher can never plan enough to create engaging, meaningful activities for his or her students. I think of annual plan as a roadmap to success, ensuring that the teacher's lessons are in line with school, state, and national learning objectives. The disadvantages of annual plans is the time and effor that it takes to create a succesful plan. However, I have a feeling that the advantages will certainly outweigh the disadvantages.
Starting with resources to design units will give me ideas for integrating subjects. I can envision using different aspects of different lessons plans, websites, and etc. to incorporate into the annual plan. With resources, I can always refer back to the activities and seek ways for improvement. It is a great idea to use peers and other teachers as a resource for collaboration when creating an annual plan.
As I work to finish graduate school requirements and began thinking about my own future classroom, I have had many worries about my ability to cover the neccessary material throughout the school year, without teaching to a test. Hopefully, an annual plan will help to ease some of my worries as a preservice teacher. I decided to create this blog in two perspectives, one perspective is before our Social Studies class during which we will discuss annual plans in more detail and the other is after our social studies class after I have obtained more insight about creating an annual plan.
So far, I have not been able to find many online resources related to annual plans and their creation, other than the online workshop presented by Dr. Heidi Jacobs. I considered if this lack of internet resources is due to teacher or districts not utilizing annual plans as much as possible. The advantages of an annual plan include planning. A teacher can never plan enough to create engaging, meaningful activities for his or her students. I think of annual plan as a roadmap to success, ensuring that the teacher's lessons are in line with school, state, and national learning objectives. The disadvantages of annual plans is the time and effor that it takes to create a succesful plan. However, I have a feeling that the advantages will certainly outweigh the disadvantages.
Starting with resources to design units will give me ideas for integrating subjects. I can envision using different aspects of different lessons plans, websites, and etc. to incorporate into the annual plan. With resources, I can always refer back to the activities and seek ways for improvement. It is a great idea to use peers and other teachers as a resource for collaboration when creating an annual plan.
Monday, July 5, 2010
You must have a plan...
A well -planned Social Studies is imperative to effectively integrate with subjects as Math and Science. It is important for students to have engaging activities that they can relate to and apply to their personal lives. Imagine, the opportunity to learn about the First Thanksgiving or Kwanzaa by role playing, drama, music, or art. Providing multiple ways for students to understand Social Studies is important since most teachers will not have the time to re-teach the topic area. In the textbook, Social Studies for the Constructivist Classroom, Maxim introduces Social Studies as a subject that should be integrated with other important subjects, such as Science and Math. An attribute of a well planned Social Studies lesson is the effectiveness of integration. In order to integrate lessons, the teacher must have a very well planned out lesson that meets Social Studies objectives and the objectives for the subject being integrated. Carefully thought out and well planned lessons will allow students to step into the world of Social Studies with excitement and with motivation to learn topics that may seem boring.
A well planned Social Studies lesson is differentiated for all learners. An attribute of planning a Social Studies lesson that is differentiated grabs the attention of visual learners, kinesthetic learners, auditory learners, learners with disabilities, and ESL students. The idea of planning a Social Studies lesson with skits, costumes, music, and hands on activities is exciting for me. As an elementary school student if I had experience differentiated lessons as described in the book, I would have retained more information and been excited about the prospect of learning Social Studies.
A well planned Social Studies lesson intertwines different cultures into American culture to make every student feel important and valued. Including different cultural perspectives should be a part of every Social Studies classroom. As a child growing up in a predominately Caucasian area in rural Virginia, the introduction of different culture views, just usually did not happen. It made me sometimes wonder why the people we always discussed never looked anything like me. I look forward to teaching my students about everyone, including some that look like them. We usually learned about people and topics that were only associated with “American Culture.” What is American Culture? Well that is probably a topic that is solely worth its own blog! Social Studies is a powerful topic, it seems to be the topic of ‘People.’ Giving students the opportunity to have a deeper understanding of the influential people in their own culture and that of others, will propel everyone into a new level of respect and understanding one another. As a Social Studies teacher I look forward to teaching and learning about different cultures and perspectives on important issues and people in our world’s history.
Oh the possibilities associated with teaching Social Studies are endless. I have the task of shaping our next president, community leader, or civic leader into a caring person that takes into account different cultures and beliefs. I am excited for the challenge.
A well planned Social Studies lesson is differentiated for all learners. An attribute of planning a Social Studies lesson that is differentiated grabs the attention of visual learners, kinesthetic learners, auditory learners, learners with disabilities, and ESL students. The idea of planning a Social Studies lesson with skits, costumes, music, and hands on activities is exciting for me. As an elementary school student if I had experience differentiated lessons as described in the book, I would have retained more information and been excited about the prospect of learning Social Studies.
A well planned Social Studies lesson intertwines different cultures into American culture to make every student feel important and valued. Including different cultural perspectives should be a part of every Social Studies classroom. As a child growing up in a predominately Caucasian area in rural Virginia, the introduction of different culture views, just usually did not happen. It made me sometimes wonder why the people we always discussed never looked anything like me. I look forward to teaching my students about everyone, including some that look like them. We usually learned about people and topics that were only associated with “American Culture.” What is American Culture? Well that is probably a topic that is solely worth its own blog! Social Studies is a powerful topic, it seems to be the topic of ‘People.’ Giving students the opportunity to have a deeper understanding of the influential people in their own culture and that of others, will propel everyone into a new level of respect and understanding one another. As a Social Studies teacher I look forward to teaching and learning about different cultures and perspectives on important issues and people in our world’s history.
Oh the possibilities associated with teaching Social Studies are endless. I have the task of shaping our next president, community leader, or civic leader into a caring person that takes into account different cultures and beliefs. I am excited for the challenge.
Friday, July 2, 2010
My first graduate school field trip
The North Carolina Museum of Art was a pleasure to visit. Our tour guide and seasoned teacher, Mrs. Harriett Weinstein, was the highlight of the tour. The sparkle in her eyes as she talked about the collections and integrating art into Social Studies and Science curricula was priceless. As a future teacher, I hope to exuberate with the same passion about learning as she does after so many years. The tour guided me through the endless ways to integrate subjects and the necessity of creating engaging and meaningful field trips for my future students. Listening to Mrs. Weinstein rattle off historical dates and people has encouraged me to “buff up” on my own historical knowledge. Teaching is a sea of information and knowledge, I am grateful for the internet to help guide my journey of seeking knowledge that will guide my student’s daily learning experiences. It’s amazing to think that Mrs. Weinstein did not have this luxury when she learned the historical dates and important people.
As the tour neared its end, I contemplated which painting or which collection was my favorite. The funny thing is that I am still pondering that question. I enjoyed the works of art so much, but some (It is inevitable that I have more than one) are the Radin collection, Miss Elizabeth Hewitt, and After the Mona Lisa created from spools of thread. I chose these collections as my favorites, not only because I liked them, but I loved the stories that Ms. Weinstein told about their creation. The field trip have been as impactful if we were not able to experience the great stories behind many of the collections. I have many questions that I must research after hearing the presentation such as, “Exactly, how were Egyptians embalmed?”
I appreciate the wonderful opportunity to visit the museum and the exposure to field trips and ways to integrate them into our curriculum. Moreover, the student trips are free and an added bonus for my future principal.
As the tour neared its end, I contemplated which painting or which collection was my favorite. The funny thing is that I am still pondering that question. I enjoyed the works of art so much, but some (It is inevitable that I have more than one) are the Radin collection, Miss Elizabeth Hewitt, and After the Mona Lisa created from spools of thread. I chose these collections as my favorites, not only because I liked them, but I loved the stories that Ms. Weinstein told about their creation. The field trip have been as impactful if we were not able to experience the great stories behind many of the collections. I have many questions that I must research after hearing the presentation such as, “Exactly, how were Egyptians embalmed?”
I appreciate the wonderful opportunity to visit the museum and the exposure to field trips and ways to integrate them into our curriculum. Moreover, the student trips are free and an added bonus for my future principal.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
My first (okay, maybe second) blog
Hi Everyone,
This is my second blog, I created one this morning and then deleted since I really didn't like it. I look forward to using the blog for class, I have been meaning to start one for quite some time. What better reason than to create one for a grade? Happy Blogging.
This is my second blog, I created one this morning and then deleted since I really didn't like it. I look forward to using the blog for class, I have been meaning to start one for quite some time. What better reason than to create one for a grade? Happy Blogging.
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