I’ve
learned a lot of valuable information through my semester social studies method
class. Going into the class I honestly thought social studies was mostly just
history because that’s what I remembered it to be when I was in elementary
school. I don’t remember learning economics or geography, I just remember the
historical aspect of social studies, but with the help of this class I’ve
learned that social studies is much more than just history. Social studies is
about the study of human society and the different branches that are included
in that. I learned through this class that there are ten themes of social
studies that I didn’t know existed before. The themes are: culture; time,
continuity, and change; people, places, and environment; individual development
and identity; individuals, groups, and institutions; power, authority, and
governance; production, distribution, and consumption; science, technology, and
society; global connections; civic ideals and practices. I’ve learned that
teaching social studies isn’t about just teaching the cookie cutter history
information that students just memorize and regurgitate for a grade, it’s about
much more.
It is important to keep students actively engaged when teaching them about social studies. I’ve never been fond of social studies before because, quite frankly, I remember it as always being boring. What I remember about social studies was sitting in the classroom at our desks, textbooks out, reading the chapters and then answering questions. No engagement, barely any intriguing projects; nothing really captured my attention and made me remember it to this day, except for one project. While in fifth grade we did a grade wide project where each student received a state and had to do their own research on it; what the state capital was, what they were famous for, who lived there, what famous people lived there, etc. At the end of the school year, we would make a poster board and handouts for our classmates and parents and provide them with brief facts about the state. I remember this because I was actively engaged in this project, I was researching, cutting, gluing, typing, writing, reading; I wasn’t sitting in a desk reading a chapter and answering questions.
That is how I want to teach social studies to my students, I want to engage them, I want them to be excited about learning instead of thinking it is a boring mundane process that they’re counting down the minutes until it’s over. I’ve definitely learned through this social studies methods class ways to engage students. Technology is an easy, reliable (most of the time), quick way to engage students and keep them engaged. Dr. Smirnova was constantly using technology with us while teaching us, making us engaged and active learners. Students also retrain more information through visuals than just through auditory. I plan on using different visuals to keep students actively engaged and participating in classroom activities.
BizMovie was a great program that really helped students understands the basics of economics in a short time span. I think the program definitely will be something I’ll look into using potentially in my future. Students were usually always engaged and active in lessons because the program required them to be. Besides the direct teaching instruction, most of the lessons involved the students to participate and pay attention while learning. We were able to grab the students’ attention through our different presentation programs and through the tasks they were asked to do.
I have learned all different types of techniques and strategies for teaching social studies in the future thanks to my social studies methods class. I know that I need to get my students’ attention and keep it in order for them to be successful in social studies and throughout school. I plan on doing that through the use of visuals, manipulatives, different programs, and technology. I feel that I will be more of a successful teacher thanks to Dr. Smirnova and this class.
It is important to keep students actively engaged when teaching them about social studies. I’ve never been fond of social studies before because, quite frankly, I remember it as always being boring. What I remember about social studies was sitting in the classroom at our desks, textbooks out, reading the chapters and then answering questions. No engagement, barely any intriguing projects; nothing really captured my attention and made me remember it to this day, except for one project. While in fifth grade we did a grade wide project where each student received a state and had to do their own research on it; what the state capital was, what they were famous for, who lived there, what famous people lived there, etc. At the end of the school year, we would make a poster board and handouts for our classmates and parents and provide them with brief facts about the state. I remember this because I was actively engaged in this project, I was researching, cutting, gluing, typing, writing, reading; I wasn’t sitting in a desk reading a chapter and answering questions.
That is how I want to teach social studies to my students, I want to engage them, I want them to be excited about learning instead of thinking it is a boring mundane process that they’re counting down the minutes until it’s over. I’ve definitely learned through this social studies methods class ways to engage students. Technology is an easy, reliable (most of the time), quick way to engage students and keep them engaged. Dr. Smirnova was constantly using technology with us while teaching us, making us engaged and active learners. Students also retrain more information through visuals than just through auditory. I plan on using different visuals to keep students actively engaged and participating in classroom activities.
BizMovie was a great program that really helped students understands the basics of economics in a short time span. I think the program definitely will be something I’ll look into using potentially in my future. Students were usually always engaged and active in lessons because the program required them to be. Besides the direct teaching instruction, most of the lessons involved the students to participate and pay attention while learning. We were able to grab the students’ attention through our different presentation programs and through the tasks they were asked to do.
I have learned all different types of techniques and strategies for teaching social studies in the future thanks to my social studies methods class. I know that I need to get my students’ attention and keep it in order for them to be successful in social studies and throughout school. I plan on doing that through the use of visuals, manipulatives, different programs, and technology. I feel that I will be more of a successful teacher thanks to Dr. Smirnova and this class.
Renee, I completely agree with your philosophy statement! Everything you have explained in this post is something I have also thought about while in class or when we have left. This really was a rewarding experience and we definitely learned so much from Dr. Smirnova also.
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