We learned how to make social studies come alive. Some ways to do this are:
-Have the historical character “email” you and have a special message for your students
-Have students act out characters or words in the text
-For example: For a person, have students say the name and come up with some movement that will help them remember that person. Also designate one student to be that character while reading the text and continue to call them that
-Have dress up items for the student to put on and use when acting the text out
-Use histopics (take notes, but with pictures) after reading or acting out the text to make sure the students comprehended what was read
-Gossip column or newspaper: article about the event
-Walking timeline: long piece of paper with artifacts and students tell what happened
-Social studies songs: on Youtube or make up your own
-Synetics: compare a concept to something totally different (hamburger model)
-Graffiti groups: have chart paper around room and have students write down all of their questions and comments
-Project Approach: high conflict and innovation
-ABC brainstorm: go through each letter of alphabet after reading a text
-Storyboard: use computer programs
-Photo journaling: kids take pictures of scenes and the describe in writing
-Graphic organizers
Check out www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions
Offers great resources for teachers such as lesson plans for different content areas and standards. The lesson plans are very detailed and resources that are needed for each lesson are provided (worksheets, maps, websites, videos, etc.) and different approaches are listed too. The lessons are hands-on and very interactive. I think students would enjoy these lessons because they are fun and can be applied to real life situations for when they get older. I am excited to use some of these lessons in my classroom!
We went on a tour of the Benjamin Harrison house where our 23rd President lived. During the tour we learned about his background, family life, and what he had accomplished throughout his time. The house was filled with great artifacts that allowed you to see what life was like back then and could see how things have changed over time. Downstairs we learned about immigrants coming to the United States. They came from all over the world and endured many different hardships. We made our own passport and were assigned a person from the different countries. My person was a laborer from Greece who was looking for a new life. Since there was limited space on the ships that they took to the U.S. we had to come up with a packing list of ten things that were essential and could fit in a medium sized trunk. This task was quite difficult because I was not sure what I really needed and if everything would fit. That activity gave me a perspective of what my person had to go through when he had to pack for America.
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