Incorporating Today and Yesterday into History.

For Social Studies Methods, I was given the task of creating a current event lesson plan. I was actually very excited because I think that it is very important that students are educated on current events. I feel like many students are not aware of the world around them. If students are not aware of the world and what is happening, then they will never have civic competence. Civic competence is the ultimate goal of Social Studies instruction and that is why I believe that current events are an essential part of Social Studies.

Why should current events be taught to students ? Edward F. DeRoche, dean of the School of Education at the University of San Diego in his book The Newspaper: A Reference for Teachers and Librarians (ABC-CLIO, Inc., 1991) states that "Students who use newspapers tend to score higher on standardized achievement tests -- particularly in reading, math, and social studies -- than those who don't use them. Newspapers help teach students to be effective readers Newspapers can help develop and improve student vocabulary, word recognition skills, and comprehension Newspapers are effective tools for teaching many math concepts, particularly fractions, decimals, currency, and averages.".Deroche's research findings definitely support the importance of teaching current events. Thomas N. Turner, professor of education at the University of Tennessee. says that "Teaching about world, national, state, and local happenings needs to involve active, participative learning rather than passive learning.". I really agree with this statement by Professor Turner, I think current events can really enhance Social Studies instruction more meaningful. 

A slide from lesson plan presentation 

How can you teach current events in the classroom? Creating my own current events lesson plan has opened my eyes to the endless possible ways of using current events in your classroom. Current events connect to all subjects and can be used to create cross curriculum lesson- something that is essential in today's classrooms. I found it very interesting that a current events lesson can be connected back to a history lesson. This is actually what I did for my current event lesson. I tied it back to the American Revolution. I did this by making my articles relate to the American Revolution. All of the articles were about children during tough times like war. The students during my lesson will be making connections between these children and what children went through during the American Revolution. I also wanted to teach my students a skill set during my lesson to get as much out of this lesson as possible. I did this by having my students conduct interviews based on the articles. I gave them a mini lesson on what is expected from an interviewer and an interviewee. You can check my lesson plan out, here ! Besides my own lesson, I came across many great ideas and lessons for current events. One website that stood out to me was a list of 25 ways to incorporate current events into the classroom. The link is provided here ! Try and use some of these ideas in your own classroom! 

Some more slides from my lesson !

 

Here is a picture of my classmate and I modeling how to have a proper interview !

Reference

Why Teach Current Events? (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr084.shtml  

Using Technology In the Classroom

It is essential that teachers use technology in their classrooms. In today's world there is absolutely no excuse why teachers shouldn't. There are so many resources and tools out there that teachers should be using in their classrooms.Before going into this class I was very aware of how important it is that technology is, but I never really had a good understanding of how to implement technology in the classroom. I have learned so much this semester and have many new tools to use ! Two of my favorites are Kahoot and Voki. I absolutely loved both of these, but most importantly the students truly loved them.

I used Kahoot with my classmates for the first time and then decided to use it with my own students I used this in a direct instruction lesson plan as the closure. I think that my students really enjoyed this. They were practicing what they learned while having fun and competing with their classmates. Kahoot is an online game that allows teacher or really anyone to create a series of questions to answer. The students will need some form of technology to sign into the game- every game has a pin number so that students can connect to it. Kahoot can be used for any subject, which is one of the many reasons that this website is so great. Students are also allowed to compete individually or in teams. This website also provides teachers with the results from the questions. I think this is awesome because it allows teachers to monitor and assess what their students know. I highly recommend Kahoot to all teachers !!!

This is great video tutorial that will teach you how to use Kahoot- enjoy !

Another great website is Voki. This is another website that I used in my fieldwork experience. I created a souther general from the time of the American Revolution. I had the general speak to my students and engage them in the lesson! I love this tool because it really brings the lesson to life and gets the students excited! They have so many great character and voice options to choose from. I really think a teacher could create a Voki to go along with any subject or assignment. 

Economics in the Elementary Classroom.

Growing up I did not have much experience with economics.The only memory I have of working with economics in elementary school was in the 4th grade. My teacher had us buy stocks and invest in a company, but to be honest I don't think I ever truly got the point of why were learning about this or how it related to economics. After that I don't really remember spending anytime on economics until my senior year of hight school. For history of senior year, we were required to take a semester of economics. This class gave me a basic understanding of what economics is. I learned the difference between macro and micro, supply and demand, and the stock market. My teacher has us complete a simulation of the stock market throughout the semester.  We started off by having a certain amount of money and then getting to choose where we wanted to invest our money. Throughout the semester we were allowed to sell and buy new stocks. The goal was to end up with the most amount of money when the class ended. Even though I had gained a basic understanding of economics, I still wasn't aware of the importance of economics in the classroom especially in younger grades.

I was assigned the task of researching an area of economics for a class project. I looked up what scarcity and desicion making were. I had a basic understanding of these two areas prior to my research, but I actually learned a lot. I learned how this is important for children to actually understand what economics is. This is general topic that will help students understand what economics.

After hearing all of my peers presentation on economics and how they would incorporate it into the classroom, I learned how truly important it is that students are learning about economics. This is a skill that students will using for the rest of their life and it is beneficial that they start early. I found very engaging lesson plan that I would love to use with my students. This lesson was a literacy/social studies economic lesson. The students would be reading a book about a cat that had to learn about credit cards, scarcity and demand. I liked this lesson because it was a fun and easy way for students to learn about economics. This lesson was also great because it incorporated literacy into a social studies lesson. With teachers and having tight schedules, it is essential that teachers find ways to incorporate different subjects together.

I found a great video on how an elementary teacher incorporated economics into their classroom. I think this is such a great idea because the students are not just being lectured, but instead learning by doing. Enjoy the video !!!

 William Walsted (1998), stated that "Even young children are capable of learning basic economic concepts that help them understand their economic world. In the secondary years, that initial foundation can be expanded to include instruction in a broader set of economic ideas and concepts. This additional education gives students greater capacity to understand more complex personal or national economic issues.". This proves that children of any age can start learning economics and it is also important that children learn the basic components of economics. He also stated that "The development of basic economic literacy is an important goal for a democratic society that relies heavily on informed citizenry and personal economic decision-making. To achieve that goal will require that significant gaps in the economic education of youth be closed by giving economics a more central place in the school curriculum." This once again proves how essential it is that children of all ages of receiving economic education.

References 

Walstad, William B. (ed.). (1994). An International Perspective on Economic Education.   Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Why Teach Geography ?

Geography is the study of the different features that make up the world like oceans, continents, rivers, and cultures. It is essential that students are taught about Geography because they need to understand the world around them and why it is like that. There are so many ways to incorporated Geography into not just social studies, but all subjects. In class we were provided with a very useful slide show that contained 103 way to teach geography. I'm going to give you a brief description of some of my favorites. I definitely recommend checking out the whole list- here is the link !

One favorite is Google Earth ! I think this is such a cool tool to use. It really brings Geography to life. Another reason I like this is because it is free and accessible to students both inside and outside the classroom. I truly believe this can be incorporated into any lesson.

I also loved the adopt a rock project. I think young children would absolutely love this as well !The children would choose a rock and study how it looks and why they chose it. They can also bring it home to their families for the weekend. I think that this is more meaning full twist on brining home a teddy bear for the weekend. 

I thought the clay modeling of psychical land features was another great idea. I liked this because students would get to see land features like a mountain or valley in 3 dimensions rather than just looking at if from a picture.

The list include a creative activity that has students looking for pictures inside the state borders ! i thought that this was a unique and interesting idea that helps students picture the state lines.

Another activity that I loved was the landscape in a box ! This activity has students creating a landscape inside of a box and then all of the students get to display theirs.]

I thought the map for memory activity was very cool as well. I think the students would really enjoy this one because it is like a competition for them.

I think students would really enjoy creating a 3d map.This is awesome because the students get to use classroom items !

The online geogame is a great way to incorporate technology into geography !

The blow up globe activity is great because it can be used for all subjects and the students will become more familiar with the world !

One last idea that I thought was interesting was the map shower curtain hanging in the classroom ! I feel that students would really enjoy this.

It is essential that teaches include Geography into their everyday instruction- with such fun and engaging ways, there's really no excuse for teachers not to !

What Is an Artifact Bag ??!

When I first heard we would be creating an artifact bag I must say I was a little confused. I had never actually heard of and artifact bag or seen it used in a classroom. Once I found out what it was and how to create it I felt intimated. The creativity part of this had me stumped. My first thought was how was I going to find actual artifacts, but after putting some thought into it I came up with a more practical solution. I decided that I would replicate and design my own artifacts!

My first step was to decide my event. I choose to do the Boston Tea Party. next I had to think of different artifacts that relate to the Boston Tea Party. I decided I wanted to do a bag of tea, a native american head peace and a mini boat. I got a teabag form kitchen and borrowed a little ship from my bother. I created the native american headpiece using a trial headband and feathers. You can see my artifacts in the picture below! I designed an inquiry based lesson to go along with my artifact bag. The students would be exploring the artifacts and discovering what event using the inquiry process. You can check my lesson out here!

Here is my voki that I created !

This is how I activated my students' prior knowledge !

I took away a lot of great ideas from my experience working with artifacts bags. I absolutely love the idea of using them in Social Studies. I think that this is such a creative and hands on way of presenting material to students. I also really love the idea of having student s create their own artifact bag. This would be a great way to wrap up a unit ! I also think that artifact bags can be used in any subject. One idea I have is for students to use them for a book report. The students would read a book and then create artifacts based off of the book and share it with the class. Another idea is to have the students create an all about me artifact bag. I think this would be a perfect way for the students to get to know each other in the beginning of the year.

Here are some of the materials from my lesson !

Mowhawk Native American Headpiece 

Tea Ship

Tea Bag 

The book I used for my artifact bag lesson !

Don't just take my word on artifact bags, there's actually a lot of great research out there supporting them!  The Pennsylvania Department of Education says that "Using artifacts in the classroom can be an invaluable asset.  Artifacts bring a time period or culture to reality for students who tend to be firmly centered in their own culture.  The interest that can be generated should not be underestimated.  Occasionally, you even find that a student does independent research on a topic simply because of the interest that was generated in class. Some teachers may view only priceless items from a period as viable artifacts. Instead, any hands-on, tangible item is an important artifact to give extra dimension to a historical period." This just goes to show the importance of using artifacts in the classroom an why they are so valuable. It is essential that students are able to experience history because it is sometimes very challenging for them to actually imagine it happening. 

Here is a video of teachers and students being introduced to artifacts !

References

Teaching History.org, home of the National History Education Clearinghouse. (n.d.).  Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://teachinghistory.org/tah-grants/lessons-learned/23961

Standards Aligned System. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.pdesas.org/Instruction/Frameworks