Social studies is a subject that comes with a stigma. People believe that all social studies is, is the memorization of facts. Memorizing people's names, dates, places, and outcomes. I strongly disagree with this belief. Social studies isn't about memorizing facts, it is about learning why something in our past happened and how it affects us today. For most students lessons learned in a social studies classroom are so abstract and often say, "Why do we have to know this". The key to making social studies a subject of importance is connecting key concepts to the "real" world, in other words making these concepts more concrete.
Social studies consists of four subjects; economics, political science, geography, and history. All of these subjects need real world applications in order to make a significant impact in learning. I'm not suggesting that every lesson every day needs a connection to the present, however, connecting key concepts would give more of an impact to those everyday lessons. For example, students in high school learn about the Great Depression. If there were a way to connect that concept with today's economic crisis, students could have a better understanding of what it might have meant to be unemployed in the 1920's. In civics students learn about U.S. foreign policy. This can be a very difficult concept for students to understand. However, if we could connect this classroom lesson to what is happening now in Haiti, students might have a better comprehension of this very difficult subject.
People might suggest looking at newspapers, journals, and news stations for making connections. These resources are all great for information but they aren't student engaging. Students generally don't want to read articles or watch CNN; they would prefer an activity in which they can interact. Activities that can grab their interest and create a learning environment would be better suited for the classroom. Now we have to explore our options. What can be done? I will attempt to discover new and engaging ways to make connections from the world to the classroom.
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This is a great idea Lea! I have tried to do this the last three years and with certain topics it is very difficult to relate it to something the students will understand and comprehend. This sounds like a very interesting topic though and I look forward to seeing what you can find out as an American History and Economics teacher, let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAlso, use of things like I-tunes and interactive scavenger hunts have helped me bring American History and Economics to life for some of my students!
ReplyDeleteYour idea reminds me of a story that I just read from the 4th grade Houghton Mifflin Anthology. It's called "Happy Birthday Dr. King." In the story, Jamal, a young African American boy, gets in a fight with another student over who is going to sit in the back of the bus. When Jamal's grandfather hears about this, he is very upset, and Jamal does not understand why. It did not seem like a big deal to him. However, Jamal learns that his Grandfather is so upset because African American's did not always have the right to choose where they wanted to sit. Before the Civil Rights Movement, there was segregation, and African American's did not get to choose where to sit. So, it is kind of ironic that Jamal wants to sit in the back of the bus, when his people had to work so hard to be able to sit in the front of the bus. Jamal learns from this situation and realizes that peaceful measures can be taken to solve problems. He comes up with an idea for the class to preform a skit. The skit is to be preformed for MLK's birthday celebration. The opening scene will be 2 boys getting in a fight over a seat at the back of the bus.
ReplyDeleteThat story is not the same as what you are trying to do, but I feel like it is really similar. I really admire what you are attempting to do. Maybe challenging your students to give up their current way of living to live a day in the life like someone struggling in Hati would be a way to make them appreciate what they have.
I look forward to working with you and hopefully exploring the "digital stories" connections to social studies standards in our SIG project.
ReplyDeleteI recall from your introduction that your experience is with middle and high school students and that you are interested in exploring the use of webquests to motivate students and increase their understanding of important social studies content. I think that you will be able to find great collections of social studies webquests on sites like http://bestwebquests.com and http://questgarden.com. Another place to explore is at http://voicethread.com. Go to the "ideas for using voice thread" at the top of the page, then scroll down to the social studies projects. I really valued the 4th grade project on "letters from the internment camps."
I look forward to reading and commenting on your blogs in 812.
I think your ideas about trying to connect history with what is happening today is a great way of motivating students. They do want and need to know why it is important. Sometimes I wonder if the fact that students have access to so much information is the reason for nonchalant attitudes about learning. They think the answer to "why do I need to know this?" is a simple one. Many students think that because information is so accessible that they can find out what they need to know when they need to know it. While I can appreciate the power of the internet, I am not sure that our students see the big picture. Unfortunately, many students have the idea that it is okay to find bits and pieces as necessary. I think you have chosen a great topic for your TechQuest focus. I look forward to seeing it develop.
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