Month: January 2019

Class 3 Reflection: Intro to skills 1

I appreciated the way last night’s Montgomery bus boycott lesson unfolded, showing how our overall picture changed with each additional source. It solidified for me the idea that History is really just someone’s pieced-together story of the past. There are more or less widely-accepted versions, and more or less comprehensive or corroborated accounts. But it is a human endeavor, which inherently includes perspective and interpretation. And, there are many lost or forgotten pieces of the past that will never make it into our historical record. This is somewhat freeing for me: if the whole and unbiased truth about the past is virtually unattainable (or, unverifiable), then there really is no “right” answer. Yes, there are facts and dates and names that can be held as truths, but when looking for the big picture — the ‘why?’ and the ‘so what?’ — there is always the possibility that adding one more perspective or source will change the story. We can never know that we have the “right” answer, but with solid historical thinking skills, we can be assured we’re asking good questions and making some reasonable conclusions.

This idea reminds me of something that struck our group in our discussion of The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963: If the cover had not featured a black boy, and research had not revealed that the author is African American, we would not have known that the Watson family is African American – we were all just identifying with the family in the absence of a racial designation. Curtis does not mention racial tensions (except once in a foreshadowing reference to Birmingham’s segregation), and he does not include it in the descriptions of any of the characters. Knowing some background of Birmingham in 1963, I am guessing that race will be a big theme later in the book, whether stated or implied. Maybe it is not mentioned at the beginning because the book is from the viewpoint of a 10-year-old who may not notice such things…perhaps it would be different from the viewpoint of an adult. Or maybe it’s an intentional omission to juxtapose North vs South in the 60s, or even to lure white people into identifying closer with these characters so they could see the events of Birmingham in 1963 from a new perspective. I am curious to see how the pictures in my mind will shift as the story unfolds and new information comes to light — just as my ideas shifted with each new source from last night’s class.

Class 2 Reflection – Literacy in SS

Up to this point, I have felt a sense of complete overwhelm at the thought of working all the content from all the subjects into a cohesive plan. I have a hard enough time scoping and planning a single lesson in a single subject…how on Earth will I be able to organize and plan an entire year’s worth of instruction AND make it comprehensive, integrated, clear and engaging?

During last night’s class, this overwhelm started to lift a bit. I’m starting to see how thinking and planning in an integrated way across the curriculum can be both more efficient and more engaging: working smarter, not harder. A clear example is using social studies (and science) content as the basis for non-fiction reading comprehension instruction. By building NF comprehension skills, students learn to interact deeper and more personally with the content, which makes it more engaging and more memorable. Likewise, I’m seeing the same teaching tools and strategies popping up in multiple courses, which is helpful and comforting. While the process still mystifies me, I’m at least starting to see that it’s theoretically doable. Progress. 🙂

——————

Thinking about vocab instruction… I love thinking about words and how they relate to, and differ from, other words. I hope I can “infect” my students with the same enthusiasm, and plan to use lots of informal word games and challenges in the classroom. But for formal instruction, I wonder about choosing only a few, high-impact words to really dive deep with. I think this makes sense, and the research clearly supports that strategy. But what do we do with the other vocab that the “the establishment” finds important enough to add to the curriculum framework? Will just a parenthetical definition here and there be enough to satisfy both the students’ needs and the expectations of administration? Or is there some middle ground that won’t overwhelm students’ capacity but still builds a working knowledge of other important vocab?

Class 1 Reflection: P&T Framework

My main takeaway for this section of the syllabus is that we can expect to be actively engaged in our learning during class time, rather than passive recipients of a spoonfed curriculum. Based on how our first class went, I assume this means we will be making meaning through thoughtfully designed/selected activities, group discussions and a variety of models through which we will learn both content and process. This sounds wonderful to me.
To make this model work, students should prepare for class thoroughly, participate actively and intentionally, and interact with each other respectfully and thoughtfully. In essence, we each need to do our part to contribute to a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment. This will become especially important as we cover challenging, emotionally-charged subjects such as racism, slavery, immigration, etc. Just as in the elementary classroom, our classroom will need to be a safe space for working through these issues. We must get comfortable talking about challenging material before we can expect to successfully lead students through it, as they will take their cues from us. As such, I am especially interested in learning specific strategies to help cover difficult topics — I am not afraid of digging into emotional stuff, but I want to be sure I am prepared to do so responsibly, and aware of the challenges I’ll face as the facilitator of such discussions: I want to learn how to do it right.
The other critical input for this model is our fabulous instructors, who I assume will also strive to be well-prepared, and respectful — of our ideas, as well as the time and effort we put into preparing for class and doing our best work — and will model many of the best practices that we should bring into the classroom.
I am excited to learn how make Social Studies “…come alive for children…” Despite a childhood full of boring and disconnected social studies classes, I now understand the importance and value of the perspective, context, global awareness, and useful skillset that social studies offers…if it’s taught well. I was pleased to hear about the shift from SOL-driven thinking to a more integrated, balanced approach, and I look forward to working through how that looks in an elementary classroom throughout this course.