Planning is half the battle, but planning is exciting because you get to use your creative bone. This past week I taught a social studies lesson that was quite a hybrid. My cooperating teacher wanted me to cover North Carolina's natural resources. I wanted to do a lesson on North Carolina's inward expansion because that is the topic for the unit we have been planning all semester. It took me a little while to come up with a plan that incorporated both, but I think I pulled it off! I wrote a lesson about how the expansion of the railroad systems during the 1800's allowed North Carolinians to take advantage of the natural resources to help boost their economy. At first, combining the two topics seemed like a stretch, but in the end it actually flowed nicely and seemed like one solid lesson plan and not two separate topics. I even incorporated the regions of North Carolina, since the class is currently studying the geography of the state.
At the request of the teacher, I utilized a Powerpoint presentation for the lesson. It was a very useful tool to show many pictures and primary resources. I made sure that I did not use an abundance of words on the slides, rather I talked about the material. I also had students stop every few slides to do small activities such as a pair-shaire, a group activity, and a quick write. We also stopped and answered questions as a whole class along the way. Since this class is rarely exposed to Powerpoint presentations, I wanted to make the lesson interactive and use the slides merely as a reference.
Technology did force me to change my plans a little though. The projector overheated during the group activity. The students were sorting authentic natural resources on a regional map and during that time the projector overheated. Yikes, it always seems to happen at the most inappropriate times! I was getting ready to review the slides of the answers and it refused to turn on. I revised my lesson to keep students engaged while the cooperating teacher waited for the projector to cool down and come back on. I had the students share their answers as a class. I asked, "Who thinks cotton is found in the mountains? Raise your hand." I went through and asked about each region. They then had to explain why they think cotton is found it that particular region and had to explain how they could make money using that natural resource. We did that for several of the resources before the projector came back on. We utilized the slides that were explaining the answers only as a reference once the projector was finally working.
The temporary technology fail actually changed the direction of my lesson... and for the better. Since we were talking about railroads, resources, and economic opportunities I redirected the lesson to focus on how to make money. This gave the lesson more depth and made it relatable to the students. It also helped with the students' quick write at the conclusion of the lesson.
The one thing that I had difficulty with was maintaining control of the class during periods where students were sharing or doing an activity. I gave explicit rules about 12" voices, working together, raising hands for help; but, it still seemed a bit chaotic. The cooperating teacher only does whole-class instruction so the students do not have a lot of experience with group work or pair-shares. I think in my future classroom, this lesson would go smoothly if the procedures for group work were explained at the beginning of the year and practiced consistently. There seemed to be a lack of respect for other students; students were talking over each other when I called on people to answer. I reminded students that they need to listen to who I call on and show respect; this way the other classmates will do the same when they are speaking. Respect is something that a classroom teacher has to establish, practice, and prompt from day one and I plan to do this in my future classroom.
Overall, the lesson went very well. I am glad that I chose to combine the two topics. I believe that if I merely covered natural resources and the regions, the lesson would not be as interesting or meaningful for the students. I truly believe that the students walked away understanding the big picture of how railroads and natural resources were used to help North Carolinians make money.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Kindergarten Teachers: Affecting Students Lives for the Long Haul
I have been hesitant about student teaching kindergarten in the fall. I have been having so much fun in the upper grades, that I didn't think kindergarten would be as rewarding. An article that I found in the News & Observer yesterday opened by eyes to the importance of kindergarten teachers and the lasting effects they have on children. It has provided me a spark of motivation and has lit a fire of excitement for my experience in the fall!
The article was titled, "Study lauds early school: In kindergarten, teachers matter." The article analyzes an experiment called Project Star, which examined the life paths of 12,000 children from kindergarten until about age 30. The children came from socio-economically diverse backgrounds in the Tennessee area. Test scores from their kindergarten years were recorded and compared to their life paths years later. Some results are:
The article was titled, "Study lauds early school: In kindergarten, teachers matter." The article analyzes an experiment called Project Star, which examined the life paths of 12,000 children from kindergarten until about age 30. The children came from socio-economically diverse backgrounds in the Tennessee area. Test scores from their kindergarten years were recorded and compared to their life paths years later. Some results are:
- A student who went from average to the 60th percentile - a typical jump for a 5 year old with a good teacher - could expect to make about $1,000 more a year at the age of 27 than a student who remained average
- Students who scored higher were more likely to go to college
- Students who scored higher were less likely to become single parents
- Students who scored higher were more likely to be saving for retirement
Class size and socio-economic status of peers do play a factor in explaining test scores. But neither of these factors explain the variation of scores between classes. The conclusion to explain the class performance variation was this:
Teachers: some are highly effective. Some are not. And the differences can affect students for the years to come.
Now that is pretty motivating!
People who look through keyholes are apt to get the idea that most things are keyhole shaped. ~Author Unknown
If children are taught only one perspective, they are never truly seeing the world as a whole. When I was in Social Studies class, I only knew one perspective and that was the textbook's. There was no debate or wiggle room in Social Studies. What the book said, is how it was, and my opinion didn't really matter. This didn't really teach me much, other than to strongly dislike Social Studies. If we actually viewed Social Studies from various perspectives and analyzed and evaluated the information, maybe I would have remembered more from class.
Teaching children how to evaluate points of view and biases not only helps them make Social Studies meaningful and memorable, but it also teaches children important life skills. If children are taught how to evaluate perspectives in school, they will learn to investigate and seek out other people's perspectives in real-life situations. They gradually lose their ego-centrism and learn to see the world through wide eyes, rather than a keyhole. This is extremely important in our diverse world today. Children need to know that there are other children with different backgrounds, cultures, and opinions; and peoples' backgrounds will influence their thought process and perspective. There can be multiple points of the view on the same issue, and it is possible that no one point of view is correct or incorrect.
I think that the younger you teach children how to recognize, evaluate, and respond to different perspectives, the more open-minded they will be in life. I believe that you could easily start in the first grade by reading The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs, a children's book told from the wolf's perspective. I only recently learned of the book, but I believe that I would have greatly benefited from reading that story as a child. I never even thought of looking at the story from a different perspective.
I found an awesome article in The Reading Teacher that explains how to teach multiple perspectives by analyzing the views of Rosa Parks and James Blake, the bus driver. It outlines how to scaffold empathy through looking at the situation through a contrasting point of view. From all of the history books and things I have learned, I thought that the bus driver was an outrageous, racist man. But picture him as a family man, with little money, relying on his job as a bus driver to support his family. Now read this from his point of view:
I wasn't trying to do anything to that Rosa Parks woman except my job. She was in violation of the city codes, so what was I supposed to do? I guess that is part of who I am, a person who does his job according to the code of law. Since that day the law has changed, but on that day I was doing my job.
Wow! Perspective!
Teaching children how to evaluate points of view and biases not only helps them make Social Studies meaningful and memorable, but it also teaches children important life skills. If children are taught how to evaluate perspectives in school, they will learn to investigate and seek out other people's perspectives in real-life situations. They gradually lose their ego-centrism and learn to see the world through wide eyes, rather than a keyhole. This is extremely important in our diverse world today. Children need to know that there are other children with different backgrounds, cultures, and opinions; and peoples' backgrounds will influence their thought process and perspective. There can be multiple points of the view on the same issue, and it is possible that no one point of view is correct or incorrect.
I think that the younger you teach children how to recognize, evaluate, and respond to different perspectives, the more open-minded they will be in life. I believe that you could easily start in the first grade by reading The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs, a children's book told from the wolf's perspective. I only recently learned of the book, but I believe that I would have greatly benefited from reading that story as a child. I never even thought of looking at the story from a different perspective.
I found an awesome article in The Reading Teacher that explains how to teach multiple perspectives by analyzing the views of Rosa Parks and James Blake, the bus driver. It outlines how to scaffold empathy through looking at the situation through a contrasting point of view. From all of the history books and things I have learned, I thought that the bus driver was an outrageous, racist man. But picture him as a family man, with little money, relying on his job as a bus driver to support his family. Now read this from his point of view:
I wasn't trying to do anything to that Rosa Parks woman except my job. She was in violation of the city codes, so what was I supposed to do? I guess that is part of who I am, a person who does his job according to the code of law. Since that day the law has changed, but on that day I was doing my job.
Wow! Perspective!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Hook and Engage: My Reflection
This past weekend, I wrote a very thorough lesson plan for 4th graders about mapping and directions. The teacher that is allowing me into her classroom requested that I do a mapping lesson and incorporate writing. It took me over four hours to create the plan and accompanying worksheets. I slept on it and when I woke up the next day I realized that the plan was thorough, but it wasn't actually very good. In the original plan, I provided a mini-lesson on how to read a NC Travel Map, and then I had students follow a random set of directions on my own personal road trip, and finally, students would create directions for their own road trip. These 4th graders can't drive and why would they want to go on a road trip to my parents? This lesson had no relevance and no "hook" to get students engaged and keep them engaged. Back to the drawing board I went!
Since this lesson was intended to be for social studies, I pondered on how I could incorporate additional social studies beyond the mapping lesson. What do all kids like in this Sponge Bob era? Arr, matey... pirates! The most notorious pirate in North Carolina is Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard. Blackbeard used maps to get around, and we can also use the NC Travel Map today to visit some of the sites that Blackbeard has ventured. This was the perfect hook (no pun intended to the pirate lovers) and it gave the lesson relevance because students could actually go on this tour of Blackbeard's Trail. Then students could create a set of directions for their own pirate trail along the North Carolina coast.
I implemented the lesson today and it actually worked! Students were interested and engaged. They were authentically honing their map reading skills and direction writing skills while learning about history and geography along the way. This truly was an interdisciplinary lesson, quite unlike my first attempt. I had fun and the kids had fun as well! The students also discussed the essential question of why it is important to know how to read a map. They had some really great answers such as: A GPS system can break or it can give you wrong directions; not all people can afford a GPS and maps are free; and my favorite... if you don't have a map, you will have a boring life because you won't be able to get around and see things.
Following our exciting Blackbeard Trail lesson, the cooperating teacher had students evaluate the lesson and me as a teacher. She asked several questions in order to provide me feedback for my next lesson. The students said that the lesson was fun and the lesson will help them with their mapping project that they are working on. Only one student said that the lesson was a little too fast paced, even though she was actually on task the whole time. The students also agreed that I was strict, but that it was good because "I wouldn't get walked all over." Oh, kids say the most honest things!
After implementing the lesson and listening to the feedback, there are a few things that I would change. In general, I would create a clear signal to regain students attention. The lesson required students to do a couple of pair-shares and also to ask their partner for help if they were lost. The noise level got increasingly louder throughout the lesson, even though I reminded students to use their 12 inch voices. For my next lesson in this class, I plan to use some type of signal to regain attention and redirect excessive talking. Also, I believe that I was a little over-ambitious in the amount of activities for the allotted time. For this particular lesson, I would make the write-your-own-pirate-trail an independent activity so that students have sufficient time to write quality directions that meet all of the specifications. Then students can switch their directions to see if they actually work.
I often plan a 45 minute lesson that, in reality, is more suited for a 2-day lesson. I am fearful that I will not have enough planned and students will be bored or not have something to do. I am excited to have my own class someday soon; that way, if we go over the allotted 45 minutes, we can re-arrange our day! This lesson could have easily been a 1 1/2 hour social studies/literacy lesson because of the interdisciplinary nature.
My advice today: Take the time to hook those kids, always engage!
Since this lesson was intended to be for social studies, I pondered on how I could incorporate additional social studies beyond the mapping lesson. What do all kids like in this Sponge Bob era? Arr, matey... pirates! The most notorious pirate in North Carolina is Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard. Blackbeard used maps to get around, and we can also use the NC Travel Map today to visit some of the sites that Blackbeard has ventured. This was the perfect hook (no pun intended to the pirate lovers) and it gave the lesson relevance because students could actually go on this tour of Blackbeard's Trail. Then students could create a set of directions for their own pirate trail along the North Carolina coast.
I implemented the lesson today and it actually worked! Students were interested and engaged. They were authentically honing their map reading skills and direction writing skills while learning about history and geography along the way. This truly was an interdisciplinary lesson, quite unlike my first attempt. I had fun and the kids had fun as well! The students also discussed the essential question of why it is important to know how to read a map. They had some really great answers such as: A GPS system can break or it can give you wrong directions; not all people can afford a GPS and maps are free; and my favorite... if you don't have a map, you will have a boring life because you won't be able to get around and see things.
Following our exciting Blackbeard Trail lesson, the cooperating teacher had students evaluate the lesson and me as a teacher. She asked several questions in order to provide me feedback for my next lesson. The students said that the lesson was fun and the lesson will help them with their mapping project that they are working on. Only one student said that the lesson was a little too fast paced, even though she was actually on task the whole time. The students also agreed that I was strict, but that it was good because "I wouldn't get walked all over." Oh, kids say the most honest things!
After implementing the lesson and listening to the feedback, there are a few things that I would change. In general, I would create a clear signal to regain students attention. The lesson required students to do a couple of pair-shares and also to ask their partner for help if they were lost. The noise level got increasingly louder throughout the lesson, even though I reminded students to use their 12 inch voices. For my next lesson in this class, I plan to use some type of signal to regain attention and redirect excessive talking. Also, I believe that I was a little over-ambitious in the amount of activities for the allotted time. For this particular lesson, I would make the write-your-own-pirate-trail an independent activity so that students have sufficient time to write quality directions that meet all of the specifications. Then students can switch their directions to see if they actually work.
I often plan a 45 minute lesson that, in reality, is more suited for a 2-day lesson. I am fearful that I will not have enough planned and students will be bored or not have something to do. I am excited to have my own class someday soon; that way, if we go over the allotted 45 minutes, we can re-arrange our day! This lesson could have easily been a 1 1/2 hour social studies/literacy lesson because of the interdisciplinary nature.
My advice today: Take the time to hook those kids, always engage!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
“If the textbook contains the answers, then what are the questions?” ~Wiggins & McTighe
If the textbook contains the answers, then the teacher is not asking the right questions. Answers found in textbooks merely assess students' abilities to recall or find facts. Students do not apply any of Bloom's higher order thinking skills if they can merely find the answer in their textbook. Teachers need to pose essential questions that have no right or wrong answer so students learn how to think critically. Teachers need to pose questions that encourage students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information in order to answer the question. These types of questions do not have a "correct" answer that can be found directly in the textbook. Students are forced to look at differing viewpoints of their classmates, use a variety of resources, and then make an informed decision to answer the question. The textbook is merely one resource that can be utilized to support their decision.
Posing essential questions in the classroom may be difficult because many students may be uncomfortable if there is no right answer. It is our jobs as teachers to scaffold students learning so that they do feel confident about answering essential questions. We need to model and provide opportunities for inquiry learning in all subjects. We need to teach students how to engage in systematic inquiry in which we show students how to acquire information from a variety resources, organize the information, and interpret the information to answer essential questions.
Too often this type of systematic inquiry is forgotten about in social studies. Teachers do not pose the essential questions that will help students understand the big picture of what they are studying. If these questions are not posed, students do not have the opportunity to discover and form opinions. It is our responsibility as teachers to pose essential questions in every subject so students have the opportunity to develop and utilize their higher order thinking skills.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Annual Plans: Flexibility is Key!
Annual plans are not only part of classrooms, but are also essential to all sound business models. The annual plan is a broad scope of the objectives and goals that you hope to accomplish throughout the year. In a business, the annual plan usually includes the projects and strategic objectives that you work towards each day. At school, the annual plan includes the broad units that cover the Standard Course of Study objectives, which you work towards through individual lessons. In both business and school, it is important to utilize an annual plan to help you see the big picture, set goals that are aligned to your objectives, and ensure you are working towards those goals each and every day.
Recently, a group of us have been working on an annual plan for Social Studies for a 4th grade class in North Carolina. Since no one in the group has had any personal experience with an annual plan, we have varying ideas on how to pace the annual plan and what to include. We have been collaborating and taking the best parts of each person's contribution. I think the most important thing to remember is to keep the plan broad enough to allow for flexibility. It is best to block off multiple weeks for units and try not to individually plan each week. Weekly plans are too specific for an annual plan. You must first get to know your students before you can plan specific lessons. You need to base specific lessons (which usually take more than 1 class) on the knowledge, interests, and abilities of your students. Social Studies should also be integrated into other subjects; keeping the annual plan broad allows you to not be pigeon-holed into specific lessons that are difficult to integrate.
The North Carolina pacing guide for social studies is an excellent resource to help you begin your annual plan. Keep in mind that this is only a guide. Many of the objectives overlap and can be moved around to best suit your plan. Analyzing additional resources may help you with your planning. Look at what the schools and community have to offer. Incorporate resources into your units, but do not let them hinder your planning or ideas. If resources are not readily available to enhance your units, go out and look for them. Ask other teachers, museum education personnel, and go on-line.
The key is to maintain flexibility while still covering course objectives. Some people believe that annual plans are not flexible enough for teachers that base instruction on ongoing assessments and the interests and abilities of their students. I disagree because if an annual plan is written broadly and utilized with flexibility than the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Social Studies: Beyond the History
In 1916 the National Education Association (NEA) created the subject of Social Studies. The NEA wanted to ensure that the immigrating youth of America had the necessary skills and knowledge to become participatory citizens of this country. History merely provided details of our past, but Social Studies prepared our nation's youth to make informed and reasoned decisions regarding political, social, and economic matters. Today, social studies is more important than ever, as it prepares are youth to be contributing members of society.
In addition to history, the subject of social studies encompasses economics, sociology, anthropology, civics, and geography. This is a lot of information to be incorporated into one subject that barely receives a full lesson each day. Social studies is one of the most important subjects because it teaches our youth the knowledge, skills, and values essential to making important decisions. It is imperative that teachers take the time to create and implement meaningful, well-planned lessons so our youth can be prepared to enter the world with this arsenal of knowledge that will help them be competent and competitive in our world.
So what are the attributes of a meaningful, well-planned social studies lesson? The lesson will be something that students remember for the rest of their lives. It will be interesting and applicable. It will make students think about how social studies is a part of our daily lives. It will connect the past and present. It will provide students with the knowledge or skills that can be used to reason and justify their decisions.
A teacher must first think about what she wants her students to learn or gain from a lesson; she must develop a well-thought out objective that will be accomplished by the planned activities. The planned activities must be exciting, yet meaningful. Lectures and note-taking are not the most effective way to teach social studies. Social studies can be explored and analyzed in a similar manner to science and mathematics. If you allow students to explore social studies and encourage open discussions, students can personally relate to the information and make meaning out of complex concepts. Social studies should be integrated across the curriculum. Since social studies is such a broad subject that teaches essential decision making skills, it needs to be part of all areas of the curriculum.
Teachers need to think beyond the history aspect of social studies. Envision social studies as a social science that can be investigated and evaluated. Allow students to explore and discover so that they can make meaning out of social studies!
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