Treasure Hunters

I really enjoyed the “treasure hunt” on Wednesday!  I thought it was a lot of fun.  Geo hunting is a great way to get people outside and spending time together.  Nowadays, families do not spend quality time together so finding fun ways to be together is important.  Additionally, many children spend hours in front of the TV; therefore, Geo hunting would be a fun way to get children moving and being outside.  

Observing Social Studies

Yesterday, I observed a great way to teach 3rd grade students latitude and longitude.   The teacher gave each student a popsicle stick and instructed each student to write longitude vertically on one side of the stick and latitude horizontal on the other side of the stick.  The students used the sticks to help them find the latitude and longitude of various places.  For example, the students found the latitude of Memphis, TN by laying the latitude side of their stick on Memphis, TN and following the line to the number of degrees.   The students caught on quickly and eventually did not need to use their sticks to answer the questions. 

Geography

Geography is an extremely important subject to teach.   It is the study of the earth, its features, and the distribution of life on the earth.  Since it such an important subject to teach to students, teachers need to make learning geography exciting and interesting.  My first memory of geography was in kindergarten.  My teacher drew a simple map of our town with my classes help.  The next day my class took a field trip throughout the town with the map.  This was a great experience.  I learned how to read a map, cardinal directions, functions of particular buildings, and so forth.  Activities like this and the block city activity that we did in class are wonderful ways to get students involved in learning and having fun!

Creating a Deeper Understanding of History

In order to teach student s about history, teachers need to help students become involved in history.   Instead of having the students memorize meaningless dates, times, public figures, and so forth, teachers should create or design lessons and activities that create a connection between the students and history.  For example, instead of reading about the Boston Tea Party, students could reenact the event.   Reenacting historical events will not only help students to better understand the reasons behind the event s, but it will also help students remember information about the event.   Students could also write their own reenactment of the event.   Another way in which to get students involved in their learning about history is for the students to pick a time in history and create a museum exhibit.   Timelines are also a great way for students to link events and understand cause and effect.  Students who are involved and interested in what they are learning are going to learn more than students who are not.

Critical Voice

It is extremely important for teachers to have a voice in how their students are taught and what they are taught, which will ultimately lead to a better education for all students   It seems as if teachers are told to all teach in the same manner, straight from the book that even has a word script, and straight to a state- mandated test.  However, no two students are exactly the same nor do all students learn in the same manner.    Therefore,   it is the responsibility of teachers to voice their objection to school administrators and politicians who simply want students to regurgitate information, whether or not they understand or grasp the information.  Teachers need to raise their voices and stand up for their students.  They need to suggest other ways of teaching and show evidence of student achievement.   It is unbelievable that in some schools that teachers are told to only teach math and reading.  Although there is no denying that these are probably the most important subjects, other subjects can be used to teach these skills.  For example, social studies lends itself to improving reading and math skills just as art and music do.   All these subjects can be taught by “teaching across the curriculum” with a little bit of ingenuity from teachers.  Teachers, administrators, and politicians should not limit the curriculum but broaden it.  After all, a well-rounded student is the best student