Questions for the Answers?

“If the textbook contains the answers, then what are the questions?” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, 125).

This is such an interesting topic to mull over. I had never looked at textbooks in this way, but it makes sense. What are the questions and who came up with them? I certainly didn't send the author, editors, or publisher any questions.

I think it is my job to create the questions that I want my students to explore throughout a learning unit or over the entire school year. I can then use the textbooks, and other resources, to guide the students to find their own answers.

I think it is my responsibility to teach the students in my class how to answer questions for themselves; by doing so I am helping them to think for themselves and become lifelong learners.

Lesson Fail or Lesson Learned?

Wow, I felt like my lesson bombed yesterday! It was horrendous.

My first instinct was to focus on how horrible it turned out, especially given the amount of time I spent thinking about how to structure the lesson. The lesson was going alright, not terrific, but the group presentation portion was when it really fell apart. It felt chaotic. I wanted to run out of the classroom and never come back, but I persevered and ended the lesson as gracefully as I could.

Panicking because I had not felt like I had a lesson fail before, I knew I needed to examine what went wrong. The list was long. After analyzing this list I came away with a few lessons.

* Do not stress out about time. Be mindful, but don't let it affect the flow of the lesson.

* Make sure that the students have time to settle into the classroom after recess; don't jump right into the lesson.

* It helps to write the directions on the board.

* Students need to be taught the procedures for presenting to the class.

* 4 or fewer students in a group (not 6).

The most important lesson I learned: Remain calm at all times! (I think I managed to do this and it helped.)

I felt comfortable with the students and the content of the lesson, but I think the compacted time was stressful for me. I have not had to teach a 35 minute lesson before. Now that I have this experience, I am ready to tackle the challenge of teaching my next 35 minute Social Studies lesson. I tried to fit too much into a short amount of time. Lesson learned!

Annual Plans

Why would I want to create an Annual Plan for teaching a class? It seems like hard work and would take a lot of time while also having to plan for the beginning of the school year. I think that it would be worth the time investment to create an Annual Plan because it would give me a clear view of how I am going to structure learning experiences for my students. I would know where to start as well as how I am going to build upon each lesson throughout the year.

So, how would I start working on an Annual Plan? I might begin by compiling a list of resources available to me that would be useful for teaching that content area. By doing so I would be able to structure the plan to include appropriate field trips and use of resources that are only available during certain times. I could then plan for the remaining weeks by filling in with the other resources available to me. I would also be able to sign up for resources early in the year, when I am more likely to secure the use of the materials when I want them.

Annual Plans seem intimidating to me, but I would like to learn to use them as I plan for my class. I think that they are a helpful tool for organizing the year and would help me stay focused on the learning objectives as I plan daily lessons.

The North Carolina Museum of History

Recently I visited the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh. I was amazed at theresources available for teachers. They offer online workshops for educators, pre-visit materials, History-in-a-box, and educator notebooks.

I was inspired by some of the examples that Ms. Debra Nichols shared with us, such as the "Making Music in North Carolina" Discovery Tour. I was struck by the museum's move from a "hands-off" to a "hands-on" approach to history with students. The museum has various materials available for students to handle as they explore the exhibits. I think this makes the experience more meaningful for the students.

If you have not already visited the North Carolina Museum of History, please do so. The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is practically next door, you could visit both. It is a great way to spend the day learning and exploring.

Is History history?

I have been thinking a lot about how social studies will fit into my day when I begin teaching. I know that there is only so much time to teach all that is necessary and sometimes I wonder if social studies gets the short end of the stick. There is a huge push for literacy and math, and now science, but what about social studies? Is it history?

I aspire to make sure that History is not history in my classroom by creating integrated lessons and units. I recently completed an online workshop for class about creating integrated learning units. This way of structuring learning tasks in my classroom is appealing to me. I think it is an excellent way to reach all students' areas of interest during each lesson. I will not only engage my students during the lessons, but I will be able to maximize the learning opportunities they have during the time that they are in my classroom.

Please share your thoughts on the role of Social Studies lessons in the Elementary classroom.

Pondering a meaninful, well-planned Social Studies lesson

I will tackle this topic by first listing a few things that it is not.

It is not:
* quickly thrown together.
* questions at the end of a textbook chapter.
* arbitrary.
* crammed into the class schedule.
* BORING!

I must admit that I did not like Social Studies in school. In fact, I don't remember Social Studies prior to 7th grade Geography. (I think I only remember that class because I had to memorize the locations of all of the countries on each continent.) I associated Social Studies and History classes with a large, heavy, boring textbook and rote memorization. Yuck! While I am sure that my teachers did not quickly create each lesson, they certainly were not interesting enough to capture my attention. Now that I am older, I wish that I had paid better attention in these classes; I would know more about history, economics, politics, and geography.

I hope that I am able to create a better experience for the students in my classroom.

I hope to do so by:
* spending time crafting meaningful lessons.
* asking students what interests them about the topic they are studying.
* finding ways to connect the topic to their lives in a meaningful way.
* integrating Social Studies into other content areas.
* making Social Studies content come ALIVE for the students!

I will have to spend time getting to know the students' interests and prior knowledge on each topic for which I am planning lessons. This will help me to create lessons that are of interest and not bore them and waste time reviewing things they already know.Once I have done that, I will have to spend time, a lot of time, planning a course of lessons in order to integrate the topic into other content areas. This will ensure that I am able to devote an appropriate amount of time to the content I wish to cover. I must also make sure that during the planning stages that Social Studies interesting, relevant, and meaningful for the students. I will do this by continually assessing the students' interests, as well as finding ways to connect the content to their lives and experiences.

I have read about many sterling examples of innovative, meaningful, well-planned Social Studies lessons. One that resonated the most with me was that of a teacher who brought in a newspaper article to her class that was about the state insect of Maryland. This sparked a class conversation about whether or not their state had a state insect, which led to research, and ultimately, a class project to try to get an insect adopted as their state insect.

What a powerful lesson for these students! Not only were they learning about their state (part of fourth grade curriculum), but they were actively participating in their government. I cannot think of a better, more appropriate way for students to learn about that topic in a way that makes sense to them and will, most likely, stick with them. These students will forever remember how laws come to pass in their state, participated in the process, all the while practicing language arts skills in practical application.

I hope that I will be as innovative in my classroom as that teacher was in hers. I know that it will take a lot of planning and creativity, but I am up for the challenge. After all, I am becoming an educator to inspire and challenge my students, which is a lot of hard work, but I owe it to my students to put in the effort necessary to plan lessons that are meaningful.

Discovery Through Art

Today we visited the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) in Raleigh. It was amazing. I absolutely love visiting art museums. I find that there is something about art that resonates with the the core of my being. There are so many things to think about when looking at different art: how did the artist make that, what was the artist thinking at the time, what message(s) do I see, and how does this fit into the culture and time period?

During this visit my eyes were opened to a new perspective, using art to teach other subject areas - math, science, language arts, and social studies. How wonderful to be able to integrate this into the lessons I will be teaching. It is so important that young people are afforded the opportunity to connect with art in ways that are not traditional. It is sad that the arts are being sacrificed due to budget restraints; I feel as if it is my responsibility to find a way to bring them into the classroom despite cuts in funding.

The NCMA is a wonderful resource for teachers in the area (and state). One item I hope to use in my classroom is the Art Detective Discovery Kit. It is a wonderful way to bridge artwork and language arts. Students learn how to interact with the text (the paintings), and are able to develop their writing and critical thinking skills. I envision using this prior to a visit to the museum, where the students will be able to see amazing works of art in person - so powerful.

I encourage you to visit the museum, even if you have been before; I assure you that you will see something different each time that you are there. Also, consider becoming a member of the museum and support such a wonderful resource for the state.