The article “Bringing Ancient Rome to the Classroom”
discussed the effect of making ancient history come to life. Ryan Wollberg is a
teacher who showed his students how awesome learning about the Ancient Romans
could be by introducing his students to the actual shields, swords and helmets used
by the ancient people. I was impressed
with the creative way in which this teacher taught this unit of study and how much thought he put into improving the
learning of his students. As a result, students will remember what they saw and what they encountered in
their readings. They now have a real live picture to go hand in hand with the facts
they have been reading about ancient Rome.
Nothing is more important than getting students to make
connections with their readings because the greater the connection they make
the greater the chance that they will remember what we teach them. Last
year I did a “Text to Self” lesson in Ms. De Bel’s fourth grade class, helping
the students to make connections to the story entitled, “My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother” by
Partricia Polacco. I asked the students if,
indeed, they ever felt like a character in the story. The students really liked the lesson because I gave them
the opportunity to answer in whatever way best suited them. They were given an opportunity draw a scene that they connected to, write about
it, act it out, or even sing about it. I strongly believe that in my future classroom, I will definitely incorporate the ideas of
Ryan Wollberg. I want to get my
students actively involved in what they are learning.
What are some ways you can get your students excited
about social studies? Have you observed
any teachers like Ryan? Do you think demonstrations like his could help your
students?
I feel there are many ways to get students excited about social studies. You just have to remember to steer away from lecturing from a textbook. When I was a student in elementary school, I never had teachers like Ryan to get me so interested into social studies or even the sciences which may be why I am not a fan of these subjects today. I feel we can get students more excited by planning more lessons that involve the students. Dr. Ries always talks about holding a democracy amongst the students themselves. I think that is a great way to not only get kids excited and involved but to educate them. As I stated before I have never had a teacher like Ryan, but I have also never observed a teacher like Ryan. Though I have not observed many social studies lessons, the few that I have were not as interactive and involving as his. I think demonstrations like this could really help students get excited to learn. This can give them something to look forward to rather than dreading sitting in class for an hour while their teacher talks the whole time.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite ways to get students involved with social studies is to take them on field trips. I loved this when I was in elementary school. It is always so much fun and gives students such a memorable lesson. In high school I had a social studies teacher that would bring us to our local movie theater to see historical films. I think when you find a way to teach students without constantly lecturing it tends to stick out better in a person's mind. One of the reason I liked field trips so much was because it can give students the exact setting or experience from a different time period.
ReplyDeleteI feel that getting students excited about social studies is the only way it is going to be successful. I've seen many teachers lecture straight from the book, and then show videos. Although videos are exciting for kids, it puts them to sleep when it says exactly what they just read in the textbook. When I was in elementary school the only thing that stands out in social studies was the learning of the presidents in 5th grade. Learning dates and important events that correlated with each president can be a long and tedious process for a 5th grader but the teacher I had made it one of the most memorable topics. Each student was assigned a president and we had a few weeks to prepare for our giant presidential presentation. We had to dress up as the president we were assigned and make a visual that represented that president. I was Thomas Jefferson, and I made the Jefferson Monument. We also had to have a speech prepared with important facts. Everyone in the school was invited to our room that day to visit each president. The students then had to visit everyone in the class and take notes on what they learned. I personally never had more fun learning social studies. I think it is very important to create activities for your students to do otherwise they will never retain anything you teach them.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is very important to get your students excited about social studies. When teachers get dressed up and 'live the past' their students are more likely to remember the lesson being taught. Unfortunately, I have never had a social studies teacher like this but I plan to make my classroom fun and exciting.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if many teacher don't try to make Social Studies interesting to students. They concentrate more on Literature and Math, and treat Social Studies as a 2nd class subject. If the students are even taught Social Studies, they are taught it from a textbook where the teacher simply asks them to read a passage and answer questions. This way of learning is never fun, and doesn't have many benefits for the students. In order to make Social Studies fun for students, a teacher must make the subject fun and interactive with projects and presentations. I love Social Studies, and I feel as if History is filled with so many interesting stories which need to presented differently than just a textbook. If teachers continually rely on only textbooks, Social Studies will never be fun for students.
ReplyDeleteI was very impressed when I read the Ancient Rome article. It is pleasing to see that teachers still do what it takes in order for a lesson to be successful. This sounds like a lesson that will stick to some students throughout their adolescence. Most students are visual learners and need hands on activities to express themselves. This lesson sounds like it covers both.
ReplyDeleteI think lessons like these will make social studies more interesting. Obviously, students cannot remember every lesson and teachers cannot 'wow' them all the time. But I do think the more the students are involved, the more interested students will become in the subject. I think demonstrations like Ryans will help me in my future because I want to make a difference in my students lives and teach them the tools they need to be successful in the path they choose.