Elem Social Studies 11 (Mercedes)

In reflecting on this semester, I am unsure how to feel. It was definitely one of the most challenging periods of my short life struggling with chronic migraines and even temporary losing my eyesight because of one. The impact this had on my schoolwork was tremendous and that can be said for this class. Many times I was not as present as I wished to have been and I felt that my work did not reflect the effort I was putting forth. It was a hard semester but I still took away so much from it. The first thing that really stood out to me was the idea that education creates an opportunity and is bettered by collaboration. I think about the PLC I might one day work in and all of the benefits of that when I look around at my classmates. I see just how crucial it is for us to bounce ideas off of one another and also how we can learn from each other. During the Virtual Field Trip presentations I found myself writing down things like NearPod that my classmates used and I had never heard of. I also gained a love for Literature Circles. I hope I can use this one day in my own classroom to create a cross-curricular approach to learning about history. I think that pairing the non-fiction and fiction texts were especially important because I want my students to be able to connect to real events on a personal level and the fiction text gives them the ability to do so. Lastly, I learned so many different techniques and types of activities that I would want to use in the classroom like DBQ, analyzing primary sources, and more.

The readings that caught my attention and made me think deeply in preparing for class were the Stanford Study and American Indian Perspectives readings. The Stanford Study was interesting for me to learn about because I definitely pertain to the group of people who believe everything they see and often forget to take a step back and look at their sources. In my classroom I would definitely use the language modeled in the article of “reading horizontally not vertically” because I think that is a perfect visual for what checking for fake news is. Honestly, I would not know how to approach that without a visual like that. I also think categorizing it as learning about thoughtful engagement in society could be helpful for students to apply it to the real world. Connecting it back to society is important and also takes away notions that we might be talking about the fake news they hear about with Trump etc.

The American Indian Perspectives article was especially impactful for me because it made me aware of my ignorance to the treatment of Native people in children’s literature. Before this, I never payed attention to the assigned role of the Native American as the “faceless, nameless” Indian who is always the supporting player in the story. What this reading pointed out to me was that and also that the Pilgrims would not have survived without the knowledge of the Native Americans who were accustomed with the natural resources with the land around them. I think it could also be interesting to compare and contrast with students the rituals of giving thanks that pertain to the Native Americans and of the Pilgrims. I love the idea that students can write their own “Thanksgiving Address” and by learning about both in an equal amount of time, students could get the idea that one group did not a supporting role to another.

In creating my Biography Lesson Plan for this week, I found myself struggling immensely. I worked extremely hard to find resources that would be appropriate for my lesson and activities that would be cohesive yet impactful for students. This is a challenge for me as I create most of my lesson plans. Distinguishing whether or not something is valuable is extremely difficult for me and I feel as though I cannot yet distinguish between what is in front of me. I also labored over the actual writing of it. We have been told many times what to write in these plans but always in somewhat broad terms. I know that our teachers want us to struggle to grow when creating these plans but at the same time, I have struggled enough. I think what would be most helpful is a template of a “perfect lesson” written by teachers so we can see exactly what they expect. Walking into this as an undergraduate next to people who have been substitute teachers or have special education classrooms I feel as though I am at a huge disadvantage. However, the amount of effort I put into this lesson plan was enough to satisfy me but the results always leave me questioning my abilities and how impactful I will be as a teacher in the future.

The readings for this class period were extremely helpful and gave me a lot to think about as I walked into class on Tuesday. The first reading was about integrating the arts with social studies. Before this, my only idea would have been to have students look at a painting. Now,  I am extremely curious and hopeful that I can integrate aspects of art like theater into the classroom. I have said time and time again that I believe one of the most important ways to teach history is as a story. Growing up in musical theater, I see the value of acting things out and giving life to otherwise dull textbook pages that can seem detached from real life. I wonder if I could use this technique in my classroom when talking about significant events in history. How long would this take? Are there any examples of people using this in their classrooms today? If so, are there scripts ready for teachers to access online? The other concern that I would have with this otherwise completely engaging activity is how to make it work in a smaller time frame. What might this look like?

The Shoob and Stout chapters provided different knowledge and ideas about a similar topic. They talked about the importance of dramatization but also music which is something that had not even crossed my mind. However, I understand why it would work so well. Music not only gives a peek at cultural realms of history but things like lyrics can hint to certain aspects of that time period. I could have students listen to a song and hand them the lyrics to it and ask them things like what stands out about the song, what did they notice about the background music, and what do the lyrics tell us about the people in this time period/ what did they value. I also liked how the chapter talked about creating a biography unit. In my classroom I could do this by having students write letters to that person, create a commemorative mini monument using art or a play or song depicting an important moment in that persons life. I think that incorporating art into social studies makes it extremely engaging.

 

I found this class period to be extremely helpful because it forced me to confront something I have been afraid of when it comes to teaching, bias. In my personal experience learning social studies, I feel as though my teachers taught the way that the book and most of American education wants them to. The great American heroes were perfect and without any professional or social flaw or discrepancy. It was not until I became older and looked at events from a critical perspective that I learned this was not the case. I would like to prevent my own students from starting off with the single perspective view of history that I started my learning with. However, I find it hard to strike a balance between the two. After class I explored the website briefly mentioned in class (www.americanindiansinchildrensliterature.org) and I think I now understand how to find that balance. I see that it is important to teach from the traditional angle but not neglect diversity of opinion and contradicting facts. The students should be able to make their minds up for themselves and as a teacher I want to use resources to provide a wide range of ideas for my students to formulate their ideas from. The other thing we talked about in class that I found really interesting was the idea of a hero/ face of propaganda versus a change agent. As I was saying before, we never hear the bad things our heroes have done. I think it is important for students to study these change agents because they are ordinary people who make mistakes but also make a difference. I think students in my classroom could have things like a weekly change agent presentation where one student starts the week by telling us about what they have read and learned about a change maker they have studied. This would probably be for 5-6 grade. I also like the idea of introducing the “bad” of our heroes as a follow up to a typical biography to look at both sides and humanize these names.

Lesson planning for me has been one of the more disappointing parts so far studying Elementary Education. They have caused me to doubt myself and my future as a teacher time and time again so naturally, I was more than eager to learn how to formulate a proper lesson plan. One thing that this class period taught me was that when I write my lesson plan I should think about possible student responses and incorporate them into my planning. I wonder though how to approach the questions that I do not anticipate. Those are my greatest concern. What if I myself do not have the proper amount of background knowledge to address student questions off the top of my head? The other piece of the lesson planning discussion that I took something away from was that we should write our lessons like recipes for a substitute teacher. Before this idea, I could have been missing key details that I would think I know off the top of my head. I see now that my lesson plan writing has to be not only for myself but cohesive enough for an outsider to understand it. Unrelated to lesson planning, I think that the map/ picture activity that we engaged in was one of my favorite this semester. Honestly, I don’t think I have ever been as engaged or genuinely curious when participating in a social studies activity. I only wonder how I could incorporate an activity like this if I were to work with younger kids.

The teachers that presented the DBQ presentation to the class truly took my learning to a new level. I found it extremely helpful to have instruction from people who are out in the field with young children doing something so innovative and seeing success. The presentation itself was extremely helpful and seeing the kids responding so positively to things like the gallery walk in the hallway was inspiring and gave me ideas for how I would incorporate interactive Social Studies lessons with younger students. The study of primary sources to answer the questions for me was key. I thought that working with primary sources for young students was unheard of but I see now that it can be done. I wonder though if at such a young age they can truly put value on what a primary source is.  The other idea that I would like to implement and makes a lot of sense for younger students is framing history as cause and effect. I think that creating a narrative is vital in capturing attention because bombarding with facts seems like the usual approach. I wonder how to find a perfect balance between narrative and fact, sticking to the standards and goals you have to meet but also engaging students. One thing that did worry me though was how to implement a DBQ model while sticking to a pacing guide that is not as flexible. These teachers said that they had a principal who worked with their needs and I worry because I know that not all principals are like this. The final thing that struck me importance of collaboration and communication throughout the DBQ process. It’s clear that students not only have to be communicating their thoughts with the teacher but the teacher has to model the type of language students are expected to use. This seems like a lot to handle but I am sure it comes with practice.

All in all, the field trip we went on to the museum was pretty disappointing for me. I thought it was a great trip in theory. After doing the readings I understand the value of getting outside of the classroom and exploring the content in new ways but the trip to the VFMA fell short of this. I think this for a few reasons.

I believe that the first part of the tour was informative enough to use in a classroom and helpful. I liked that the kids could see the history they are learning about in front of them and that the museum has tours that match the content of specific grade SOLs. I also liked the activities prompting students to think in three concrete steps in relation to what they were observing. I think this promotes advanced thought processes that are crucial in reaching full understanding of social studies. As much as I liked the second part of the tour in theory, I have never been more bored in my entire life. The women explaining it kept talking about how great it was that there was all this quiet time just observing and I could not imagine being a kid and having to stare at a painting for so long being asked the same few questions over and over again just using different words. At that point, it was hard to imagine students truly focusing on this activity. I also didn’t like that the museum’s materials were meant only for older students. I was hoping to be able to access something like them for my own classroom one day but hearing that was disheartening and confused me on the reason I was there.

This trip showed me how I felt about different aspects of out of classroom excursions. I enjoy the constantly active and struggle to understand the more inactive.  The importance of observation though and the ability to develop observational skills is crucial to students especially upon entering middle school. Perhaps I should think about ways to incorporate the less active into my classroom but maintain a fun and engaging environment.

 

I think that the McTighe reading tied in very well with the Shoob and Stout reading as well as the material covered in class. The McTighe reading described four key goals of education that I think should be covered in varied assessments. The first, knowledge, implies that the student should know what is factual and concrete like vocabulary and basic concepts. I think that this knowledge is foundational and necessary to achieve the other goals of education and should be tested in a concrete manner that has less variability in response. The second goal of education is for the learner to acquire basic skills. I believe that this should be assessed much like the reading puts it, with on a continuum through observation and examination once their is a final product. I believe that this goal allows for variability in assessment like creative projects and can be summative. The third goal is understanding of the “big idea”. This can be assessed through justification using evidence that I think can take place in argumentative or persuasive papers or a short answer test. The final goal of education is long-term transfer of knowledge. This means that the information you learned can be applied to a new situation. I think this can be assessed with hands-on creative projects as well where the student is given the liberty to apply the content to something they are interested in.

In the Shoob and Stout reading, I really liked the idea of using models of student work as examples for the different grading levels on the rubric. I think this gives students a better idea than just the rubric of what exactly their work should look like. I also think that incorporating self-assessment is key to the classroom environment because it creates accountability and ownership for student’s work. Additionally, I was intrigued by all of the intricacies of rubric making that we discussed in class. I see now that it is much more complex than writing simple categories and attaching them to numbers. Feedback is crucial for aiding students and nourishing their potential.

I have never truly been clear about the kind of learner I am. I think that I am most likely a mix between an auditory and visual learner. I appreciate seeing examples in front of me but also listening to accounts and writing notes on what I hear to revise later for further comprehension. This worked for me in my elementary years because the school I went to was very traditional in its approach to teaching and clung to a lecture heavy approach with little to no room for variation. However, in my classroom, I will do my best to incorporate varied teaching methods to keep kids up and active as well as engaged with the material at hand. I think that something like acting out scenes from history would be perfect for this. Also, going out to museums or field trips of some kind could offer varied experiences.

I think that when providing background knowledge for English language learners, picture books could be the perfect aid. Not only are they associating the simplified words you are saying with the text, they will most likely be making connections and predictions across the visuals in front of them. This allows for the creation of a narrative that could be crucial for them to understand the material at hand or at least create a foundation of understanding that could be built upon. I think that finding various picture books with simplified language could be extremely helpful.

For other students I could use picture books as well. I also liked the idea of using the Picture Walk. It creates a really good idea of what is to come as well as providing opportunity for students to speak out about what they see that is perhaps familiar to them. The final strategy I found helpful in the Shoob and Stout reading was the implementation of Word Webs. I think this a really helpful introduction because it addresses background knowledge as a class and also could correct any misconceptions students may have about a topic.