Jessica poses a question about teaching geography

 

 

This week we read Chapter 11 on geography, specifically discussing the five themes: location, place, interaction, movement, and region.  Much of the reading covered different approaches to teaching about maps to children.  It gave examples of all types of maps a teacher could incorporate and suggested some activities.  One of my favorite examples was the aerial photographs/maps along with a bird’s-eye view.  I like how in explaining what that map might look like the author suggested showing your class a picture of a bird in flight and then asking them what the bird would see from its vantage point.  This approach gets the student thinking and using their imagination.

            Currently, in the school in which I am observing,  the students have been learning about maps.  My cooperating teacher taught a neat lesson on longitude and latitude that involved a treasure hunt game on the SmartBoard.  The students loved the game and it got them using map skills while also having fun. Also, I got a chance to teach the students about map scale.  To do so I decided to create a map of their classroom.   I created the map so that that it was to scale.   It took some time to measure everything correctly and then come up with a proper key, but it was well worth it.  It worked so well because it gave the students a better understanding of map scale.  After I asked the students a question about finding the difference between two points using the scale, I could then visually show them by whipping out my measuring tape and showing them its accuracy.

            What kind of map activities have you observed being used in a classroom?  What did you like about it?  Did it work well?  What changes would you have made?  Have any of your former teachers in elementary school used creative ideas for teaching geography?  What ideas have you come up with for teaching about maps after reading Chapter 11?  What kinds of maps can you see yourself incorporating into your lessons?

How do we get students to "connect" with the past? Alexandra poses another interesting question.

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?

 

Stepahnie asks about class discussions? Why don't we just lecture?

Chapter 7 is all about the use of successful strategies for social studies teaching and learning. One of the strategies mentioned is classroom discussion. The four components of classroom discussion, according to the author,  are: information base, central focus, effective questions, and a supportive environment.

In order to have a successful discussion, the teacher must have organization and good classroom management. When teachers  are aware of what the topic is and  then use the right questions in order to prompt interesting, throught provoking, challenging answers, discussions can  help benefit students because, in my estimation,  the knowledge discussed will stick with them.  Do you agree with this assumption on my part?    How do you feel about classroom discussions? How often should they be used? Are they always effective, or does it depend on the topic and/or the teacher?  Can you think of teachers that you have had who conducted very topic-centered, productive classroom discussions?   What qualities did those teachers have?   

 

 

Burcu has a question about a new math approach to addition and subtraction

This semester I am observing in a 3rd grade classroom and,  according to my cooperating teacher, the students in this class all know how to add and subtract.   However, in the lesson that I recently observed, my cooperating teacher was required to teach a lesson that taught the students  addition and subtraction by breaking down the numbers and assigning them to place values. This concept is said to “benefit all students at all different levels” and give them a better understanding of number values.   However, I noticed that some of the brightest students were having trouble with this concept.  

 My cooperating teacher shared with me the fact that she does not agree with this new approach to the teaching of addition and subtraction.  She feels that if the students already understand something, like addition and subtraction, why do we have to reteach it a different way if it is just going to confuse them? I was wondering how my colleagues felt about this approach to addition and subtraction.   Quite honestly, I agreed with my teacher.  In addition, I found that I was even struggling with this new method at first because of the confusing way it broke everything down.

 I was also wondering if others in this class have observed any new approaches to teaching, approaches that were not in existences when you were “sitting in those seats?”   Do you think the new approach is a good one and do you feel it benefits the students?   Or did you think that this new approach to teaching tended to confuse the students?   Thank-you for your input.    

 

Jennifer is concerned about the teaching of cultural diversity

After reading Chapter 3 in the textbook, I thought about my own experiences in school and I can honestly say that cultural diversity was not something teachers focused on. Banks and Banks define four levels of curriculum that represent how cultural diversity is typically addressed in a classroom. I believe my education falls into the "Contributions Approach,” where the textbook information was all the information I was given. Personally, I feel that teachers should use a "Social Action Approach" in their classrooms especially because areas of this state and the nation are becoming more and more culturally diverse as each day passes. The social action approach allows students to learn and partake in activities and social action to become more aware of the other cultures that exist in our communities and to learn first hand about each of these cultures…………..how are they similar, how are they different.    Do you think teaching about cultural diversity is important? Which method would you use in your classroom, and what activities would you do, if any?

Scott asks....Why Oh Why Wikipedia?

Prior to reading the article “What? Wikipedia in History Class?”  I had a few preconceived notions about Wikipedia, most of them very positive.  As a social studies major I have several research papers to do throughout the year.  When conducting my research I always used Wikipedia as a sort of guideline for my report.  I don’t actually quote the website, but because of its vast amount of information about specific topics, I use it to guide my research and keep me on task.

               

After reading the article I was amazed to find out the  amount of useful knowledge a student was able to acquire once completing one of Mr. Boggs’ Wikipedia assignments.  Students learn how to produce footnotes, reference other works, cite sources, conduct research and use a computer based permanently  imprinted on a well-known website, rather than merely handing in a report to their instructor, which would mean nothing after they had received a grade.  Also, the assignment of adding to Wikipedia is, in my opinion,  much more fun for student.   It surely beats just “another research paper” assignment.  I will most definitely try to construct a report like this in the future within my own classroom.

I would like to know how you feel about the use of Wikipedia in social studies classes.   Do you feel the same way?   Or, in your opinion, is Wikipedia too much of a non-scholarly website to use within your classroom?

Monica suggests a democratic classroom. Do we all agree?

I believe that  teaching democracy in the classroom can greatly benefit all of your students and is an essential skill to learn. You don’t even need a textbook or time for a lecture. Democracy can be used in your classroom every day. Based on the article we just read, just by modeling democracy and politics in the classroom your students will learn the concept and be better prepared for read world situations. It can start as early as kindergarten and as you move up in the grades the situations can become more complex.

            A good teacher should come up with stimulating topics for the students to talk about so that they can become familiar with sharing ideas and accepting the ideas of others.    Student input can be very effective. Like the article said, you can have students fill out anonymous questionnaires reflecting their opinion about what is going on in your class. This can also tell you a little bit about yourself as a teacher andalso how much they are really learning. There are many ways to use social studies and politics in the classroom, the hard part is making it interesting for students and making  it real for your students.    Do you agree?    Can you think of ways in which to incorporate democratic principles in your classroom?   Can you think of some teachers that you may have had or teachers that you have observed who truly “ran a democratic classroom?”    What strategies did they use?    Or……..do you feel that a classroom runs best when the teacher makes all of the decisions?