Final Post

During the extent of my life with social studies, I've viewed this subject as boring and unimportant.  Now that I have experienced social studies from a different perspective, I understand how important and dynamic it is and can be in the classroom.  I have witnessed how social studies is now in the classroom and why it is important to know how to teach it.  The lack of this subject in the classroom is disappointing and inspiring because it motivates me to want to improve how it is represented to the students and the school.  I am thankful to have a teacher dedicated enough to this subject to inspire a classroom full of students to want to make a difference and appreciative of the difference that can make.  I hope that my new lease on social studies holds true while I teach and encourages other teachers to follow in the process.

Teaching Multiculturalism using the Tourist Model

Teachers in the classroom strive to find fun and exciting activities for their students to do to help them better relate and understand the material.  Some teachers, however, try to introduce multiculturalism in the classroom by establishing one link such as food or maybe a trinket or tow.  These methods are O.K. as long as you elaborate more on the culture you are explaining.  Just to use these tourist methods of introducing multiculturalism can help fuel stereotypes and other harmful ideas that can actually be anti progressive.

Post-Its Throughout Your Book?

Post-it notes are a great tool for students to have while trying to comprehend and relate to the text in a social studies classroom.  These little sticky sheets of paper can allow students to find places in the text while reading and immediately place a post-it on a page telling how they relate to the certain situation or a reaction the text evokes.  This helps students to become more involved in the reading and fuels the learning in your classroom.

Living History Museum

Studying history in the classroom can be extremely boring.  Students can fall asleep and no one ever knows what page the teacher is on.  Now you can have your students demonstrate history by opening up your very own living history museum.  No this isn't a new learning institute in your town but a simple demonstration your students can do to learn information you would have had to force feed otherwise.  When students become involved in the learning and actually find the lesson interesting and fun, they tend to learn more and be more active throughout the lesson.

History of Ones Self

Throughout many social studies lessons, teachers are always asking students to learn about the history of many different people.  One of the things they never do though is ask them to look at the history of ones self.  This type of project helps students learn and understand the importance history by explaining where they come from.  Also, while the students are finding out about their past, they can make a book that depicts the major highlights of their life allowing them to see the parallels to their lives and the ones in the text book.

Book Talks In The Classroom

The students in the classroom enjoy activities and learning that doesn't fit the norm of teaching.  Book talks are a great way to incorporate these things into the classroom and still allow for a multitude of learning.  Students can do these book talks and the teacher can do them as well but the important part of these is to pick books that relate to the subject or topic being taught in the classroom.  These allow for creativity and a chance to excite fellow students about reading and about the topic.  Book talks are an important part of a social studies classroom and even any other subject as well.

Being Cultural in the Classroom

Learning about Everest and more importantly, the culture of the Sherpas who lead tourists up the mountain, is a great way to excite students about other countries cultures.  This experience keeps the attention that is needed in some classrooms and pushes the envelope on students that go out and learn for themselves.  This type of learning can be used in the classroom with many other wonders of the world and the cultures that inhabit those areas allowing for a culturally rich, world interested classroom. Now who doesn't think Social Studies is awesome?!