Review is my favorite time of the semester. I enjoy students having the knowledge to answer questions and understand the concepts they learned throughout the semester. I also genuinely enjoy board games. To review for finals, I had my students create a human board game. Each student designed two pieces that were each incorporated into our board game that we then set up in the atrium. Some created pieces that allowed players to jump spaces, swap places, or preform a task. The students acted as human pieces in the board game and they moved around the board. We rolled large foam dice to determine how many spaces to move. In order to get to move, students had to answer a review question correctly. I incorporated old tests into this activity.
Students really seemed to enjoy this activity. Every student was exposed to each question and gained knowledge of all questions asked, rather than only receiving exposure to the question directly asked to them. Students also enjoyed the freedom to control the tone of the board they played on. I will certainly be using this activity again!
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Keeping teens engaged in a social studies class room is challenging at time! Often, my students wonder why they need to know the information I am sharing. Who cares about war in the 1960s? I always find modern connections with my students. Students may not lock in with materials or information as facts. When you explain history in ways they care about or show how it has impacted today, students connect with the details of eras, such as the 1960s. During this period, we connected social occurrences and styles with today, trust in the government from then to now and how trust has shifted, musical changes, legislative changes, etc. to connect with the information.
Challenging the students is the goal. Students need to have a safe place to think and question what they know according to past information told to them, information read in articles, information from social interactions, and things learned from friends and family. This month, students were asked to write a three page paper. I asked the students to answer the following questions: Does Racism Exist in Society Today? Students were not given more information on the prompt to prevent any sway in their response, but they were told to use at least four supporting sources for their argument. I wanted my students to think about their world and consider the 1960s to the society they live in today, and their responses were wonderful. I'm proud of my students' ability to think, as questions, and challenge societal norms. For the month of November, I was asked to provide a lesson plan of what we are currently working on in class. My students are currently discussing the sticky and interwoven themes of the Cold War. Because of the Cold War stretching out for several decades with major events found within each decade, we are only discussing the start of the "war" now. Students will be wrapping up the unit on Thursday and will complete their unit test.
I try to make history as fun and as relevant as possible. As a history major and teacher, I am so excited to have the opportunity to educate young minds about the nation we live in and how the United States became what each students knows it as today. While I know notes are not the most excited aspect of class, I do try and include interesting bits of information or videos for the students. Today, we viewed the short film "Bert the Turtle- Duck and Cover". This film was created by the United States Civil Defense as a way to educate the population on what to do in case of a nuclear attack. I had the students first watch the nine minute film, then discuss the discrepancies found within the information provided by the government. Students were encouraged to explain why this film was created for the people and what the purpose of the film was. Why would the government care to shield the public from the realities of a nuclear attack? We wrapped up notes after taking this film break and worked on the unit test study guide. Students are provided the study guide several days in advance to encourage them to begin working on reviewing the material gradually, rather than cramming the night before. Below, I have provided a copy of my lesson plan for today. Essential Learning Target(s): Students will describe how the Cold War shaped the political & social climate of the 1950s. Date: 28 November 2017 Subject: Topic: Hon American II Essential Question(s): How did Dwight Eisenhower’s Straight Road policies promote moderate political practice in the United States during the 1950s? What is the significance in terms of culture and development of the “arms race” between the United States and the Soviet Union? Why and how did the United States government mislead the American people when “educating the public” on the results of a nuclear attack? Standard(s): AH2.H.5 Understand how tensions between freedom, equality, and power have shaped the political, economic, and social development of the United States. AH2.H.7 Understand the impact of war on American politics, economics, society, and culture. AH2.H.8 Analyze the relationship between progress, crisis, and the “American Dream” within the United States. Lesson Procedures: Warm Up: Students will be given the opportunity to create an ornament that illustrates a topic discussed in class thus far that they found to be interesting. Ornaments completed will be displayed in the room.
Materials: Paper Pencil Computer Coloring Utensils Assessments: Unit Test on Thursday, 30 November Learning Targets
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January 2018
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