Elem Social Studies 08 (Lane)

Tonight we dove deeper into using primary sources.  I felt like I was back in high school again reading and analyzing sources!  However, I got to practice the extra step of not only extracting information from a source but really decifering the underlying messages in text.  This activity was slightly difficult for me, as well as others I noticed, because I am used to just taking the top, superficial layer of text, what exactly is written on the page, as the truth.  It was hard to think in a more theoretical way and try to infer reasons not blatantly stated for why the Mongomery Bus Boycott was successful.  In my mind, history has always been based on facts, less scientific hypothesizing and more mathematical – a clear path or answer.  Through all the MBB discussion, I felt I gained useful insight into teaching the use of primary sources.

I enjoyed the reading groups much more than I anticipated.  The book my group is reading, Blood on the River, takes place during one of my favorite times in history.  I like discussing the reading with my group members and reflecting on what we thought was interesting or important.  The various roles we all played, I was the setting and summary specialist this week, really gave us a chance to talk about different aspects of the story.  I can see how these reading group roles can truly be beneficial to students.

 

In this week’s class, I was really interested in the different types of graphic organizers and vocabulary word maps.  I don’t recall using any type of organizational diagrams to dive deep into vocabulary during my grade school years; maybe they just didn’t stand out to me.  My group practiced using a modified Frayer model, which I found to be useful.  I see how some words with multiple meanings can be confusing for students, but on the other hand be hugely discussion-provoking.  I enjoyed the activity we did using the pictures within posters on the walls.  I saw historic pictures as well as modern, relevant images, which really gave meaning and personal connection to the lesson.  There is a lot to be said about making historic events connect to the present, because I know when I was a young student, often times I felt so far disconnected from some social studies topics because they happened “so long ago”.  Giving students the power to define certain vocabulary and share their knowledge is crucial in building connection and relevance to the material and building confidence.

I have been thinking about how to incorporate tier-2 words relevant to social studies topics across a few subject areas.  Ideally, I like to think I can teach important social studies vocabulary during reading/writing/literacy instruction to create a cohesion between subject areas.  I also realize that tier-3 words are likely going to need more time and sometimes vocabulary maps!

My final take-away from the class last night was the summarizing methods.  The It Says…I Say… And So… model was an entirely new concept to me.  I found it difficult to find the difference between the concrete parts of the article, It Says…, and what I got from the information (I Say).  I guess I have never effectively learned how to break down a piece of text and create inferences from it.  I tend to want to include all information in a summary, and I have difficulty decifering the most important information.  I hope to better educate my future students so they are well-equipped with these crucial skills.

Coming in to class on Tuesday, I expected to see familiar faces and participate in some active icebreakers, which I had predicted correctly.  I was excited to hear that we will not be doing a unit plan this semester, but instead focus on a variety of assignments that dive deeper into understanding how to implement social studies in the classroom. I have grown up in a family that has always valued history, so I have been interested in social studies for as long as I can remember.  I am looking forward to learning social studies pedagogy and the specific content that comes with it.

I am prepared to learn how to introduce many different sources and a variety projects into my classroom.  Throughout the semester I hope to learn new content myself, as well as grow professionally through class discussion, group collaboration, and individual research and reflection.