Current Events in The Modern Classroom

History can be defined as “a chronological study that interprets and gives meaning to events and applies systematic methods to discover the truth”(Sunal, 2011, p. 333). This “truth” is found by interpreting evidence from sources left behind by people, events, and so on.  Learning about history and the way we interpret it is especially important for students because it helps “prepare [them] for ‘responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our modern economy”(Sunal, 2011, p. 333).  Despite the incredible impact learning about social studies has on students, it is a topic that does not receive the attention it deserves in education.  Most teachers simply lecture out of a textbook, spewing off a stream of facts with no value or meaning to students other than that they have to know it for a test.  Deep connections between people, events, and time periods are never made.  This needs to change! There are so many ways to create meaningful learning experiences in social studies, teachers just need to implement them.  It is time to modernize our teaching and a great way to do this is by incorporating current events into the classroom.

Throughout my years of schooling, current events were never a significant part of the curriculum.  Sure, we'd find a newspaper article every now and then and write a brief summary.  Teachers sometimes asked if we heard about an event on the news.  But other than these rare instances, current events did not have a place in my learning and that, loyal blog followers, is mind blowing.  Even more mind blowing is that only recently, as a college student, I have finally learned that current events can be taught and experienced in a way other than finding an article and summarizing it.  There are so many creative ways to have a current events lesson that makes it meaningful, integrative, value-based, challenging, and active/engaging.  I recently created a current events lesson with two peers, Jessica and Julie, that involved taking a foreign perspective.  This approach has become one of my favorites and it is certainly a way to get students thinking critically and deeply. 

My group and I found the foreign viewpoint approach on a website provided to us by Dr. Smirnova. It had a wealth of ideas for teaching current events, such as: Tech Talk, What’s It to You?, You Be The Editor, Fact or Opinion, Create a Historical Newspaper, etc.  All of the ideas listed get students involved and active in the task and allows them to show their creativity.  We tossed around a few ideas listed on the site, but ultimately chose the foreign viewpoint, which was described as follows:

                                                            Foreign View
"Have students imagine they live in a distant country and their only source of information about America is your newspaper.  What impressions so they get of teen life?  What roles do teens have?  How do they look, act and dress?"

We loved this idea because it would require students to think about our country with a viewpoint different than their own.  It requires deeper thinking and is more of a challenge than simply reading the articles and stating what it is about.  Students must also put aside their knowledge of American values and think about the situation with an unbiased mind.  How would this look to people who do not live in America? 

            After briefly reviewing what a current is and sharing the word cloud Jess made of topics, I modelled the upcoming task.  Upon reading the article “Celebrity A-List Backlash Against Abercrombie and Fitch Continues to Grow,” I shared what a foreign viewpoint of the article could be:  

We believe that some people, especially those in business, think there is a “perfect image” of an American person.  Anyone that doesn’t fit the ideal image of vanity faces discrimination.  But, many celebrities spoke out against Abercrombie & Fitch and are boycotting the company.  This shows that the true American spirit is still alive and diversity of all types is beautiful!

Once I completed the modelling, Julie introduced the task to the class as the following prompt was displayed on the SmartBoard:

Imagine you are a sixth-grade student in a foreign country.   You are social media friends with a student in America, who you message every day. Your friend has just sent you some news articles about current events in America.  What do you think you can learn/infer about American culture from these articles?

                The class was divided into three groups with each group receiving a different article about physical fitness, junk food, and high-speed internet. Students were then given a few minutes to read the articles with their group and discuss what foreigners may think about America if they had read this article.  Each group was then asked to present their responses.  My favorite part of this lesson was the discussion each presentation facilitated.  After hearing about the article on obesity, Susan made a great statement about a viewpoint that not only Americans, but many outsiders most likely have.  She stated how America will tell people that they can’t wear certain clothes if they are above a size ten (A&F article reference), yet a majority of the food provided in this country is junk!  Susan stated how this is hypocritical of our country.  This statement reinforced how powerful social studies lessons can be.  Approaching these articles with a different viewpoint facilitated great conversation and allowed students to make connections to their own lives, etc.  By choosing topics that students can relate to, we engage them and provide an opportunity to experience meaningful, powerful social studies.  Also, working in groups provides more chances to develop social skills.

 

            This lesson was designed for sixth graders.  If we were going to use this foreign view approach in the first grade, I would do it as whole-class instruction to begin.  There would be one article and I would read it aloud to the students as they followed along, pausing every now and then to check for understanding and discuss what was said.  Then, students would be divided into groups and would discuss what they would think if they lived in a foreign country that did not have as much money as America.  I would give details about the “foreign country” so that students had a basis of why the viewpoint would be different.  By thinking aloud with the students in a more specific way than I did in the actual lesson, they will be better able to understand the meaning of the article and create a viewpoint. 

            My group and I also got to experience other groups’ current events lessons.  It is great to see everyone’s own unique take on the topic, yet still see similarities.  One group discussed cubing, and it was extremely interactive and engaging.  The group connected the article they used back to various aspects of our own lives as well, which created a meaningful learning context.  Overall, it is important to carefully plan lessons in order to meet all five of the important elements.  Meeting each one can only make your lesson the best it can be.

           In my future classroom, I will strive to incorporate current events into each week.  I believe it is critical that students understand what is going on in the world and their own backyard.  It will not be a topic that gets pushed to the side week after week.  I will certainly approach the topic with various creative ideas.  One idea that I have thought of and like is creating a current events journal.  Students can find a current event article every week and write about it, whether it be what they think of it, how it makes them feel, etc.  They could even respond with a picture (depending on the grade) or with a poem or song.  Also, students that hear a story on the news can record themselves responding to it and make a video journal. The assignment each week would not consume more than a few minutes of time, and we could schedule days to share our work. 

Check out our presentation!

 Need ideas for incorporating current events into your classroom? Watch this brief video!

Sixth Grade Standards that Relate to Our Lesson

Comprehension and Collaboration:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.1.c
Pose and respond to specific questions with elaboration and detail by making comments that contribute to the topic, text, or issue under discussion.

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.4
Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically and using pertinent descriptions, facts, and details to accentuate main ideas or themes; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

Craft and Structure

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.6
Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

Lesson Sources:

Current Events. (n.d.). Current Events. Retrieved April 25, 2014, from   http://www.ncwiseowl.org/ss/Current/activities/default.htm

Scott Foresman Social Studies. (2014, January 1). Scott Foresman Social Studies. Retrieved April 25, 2014, from http://www.sfsocialstudies.com/index2.html

Sunal, C. S. (2011). Social studies for the elementary and middle grades: A constructivist approach. (4th ed.). Pearson.

Read closely.Think critically.Be worldly. (2014). Newsela. Retrieved March 25, 2014, from https://www.newsela.com/pages/about-newsela/

**A great resource listed above for current events is the Scott Foresman textbook. You can find a variety of current events activities and also find current events from past years!  Everyone should check it out!

 

 

Researching New Programs

           Hey everyone!  One of our most recent assignments was to work with our fieldwork groups and research Bizworld and the various programs it has to offer.  I was thrilled to get to work with my group on another task because they are truly the BEST group mates I have ever had the experience of working with.  We collaborate extremely well and are able to share our opinions without any worry about members getting upset, etc.
          We were given the specific task of researching the foundation of BizWorld, meaning its history, mission statement, programs offered, social media sites, etc.  We gathered our information from the website itself and were able to create an awesome interview script using the information we found.  A quick overview of the organization is as follows:
           BizWorld was founded in 1997 by Tim Draper, who wanted to inspire entrepreneurship in children.  His organization now includes three innovative programs: BizWorld, BizMovie, and BizWiz.  They are distributed across more than 80 countries for grade levels 3-8 and are available for all age levels, abilities and backgrounds. Bizworld hopes for “Children around the world[to] be prepared for bright futures that support global economic growth and vibrancy. Engaging them in entrepreneurship education will inspire and set the stage for future leaders.” Children of all ethnicities, cultures, socioeconomic background and multiple other backgrounds should be knowledgeable of 21^st century skills and learn to work together in a real world context. They discover their talents, develop critical skills for success, and increase their self-confidence.” All children deserve this chance to foster their talents and build up their arsenal for success.  The organization's mission statement also focuses on providing kids with hands-on experience that help them develop leadership and collaboration skills.  Overall, this organization aims to prepare students for success in life.

           In order to share this information, we were asked to create a video using GoAnimate.  Due to some technical difficulties, my group taught our class simply by reading our script in person, but we recently created the thirty second introduction video we made with GoAnimate!  This program allows you to choose from various background themes, characters, props, and methods of recording your information.  It's an awesome way to grab students' attention and discuss topics in a unique way.  It is simple to use and even offers a tutorial for new users!  Now that we made the introduction, my group is going to record ourselves again in an "interview" about Bizworld.  Stay tuned for the update, but in the meantime...

Check out our GoAnimate!

Also, check out the BizWorld website!

 

NAT Project

          

Opportunities to engage in cooperative learning group work are critical for students of all ages.  According to Sunal (2011), cooperative learning can be defined as “an approach and a set of strategies specifically designed to encourage student cooperation in learning”(p. 204). Rather than simply being placed in groups, students actually have to work together towards a common goal that cannot be reached unless each member of the group does his or her part.   This kind of approach has been proven to help students better learn than traditional competitive and individual learning strategies.   Cooperative learning encourages positive interdependence, individual accountability, group processing, social skills, and face-to-face interaction.  Students learn not just about the topic, but develop their social skills along with “a positive self-image and an improved attitude toward, and acceptance of, classmates”(Sunal, 2011, p. 204). The skills developed during cooperative learning are especially well-suited for the teaching of social studies because these social skills are “essential to democratic attitudes and beliefs”(Sunal, 2011, p.204).  The Native American cooperative learning project assigned to our college class proves that this approach to learning has a positive impact and belongs in classrooms of every grade.    
 This project reinforced the importance of using cooperative learning all throughout schooling, regardless of age.  While I am a college student, I still grow every time I work with a group.  The NAT project allowed me to research a tribe and teach my class, while also allowing me to work with a classmate that I have not worked with as much as some others.  I finished the assignment with no complaints about my group and would love to work with them again.  Projects such as these help us develop more respect for our classmates and the work they put in.
Attached is the link to the presentation my group and I created and taught to our class.  We each contributed information to the slides and gave a successful lesson to our class.  I learned not only about our topic, but also further developed my social and interactive skills. 
Check out our presentation on the Lakota Tribe!
 

Connecting the Clues: Artifact Bags

          This past Wednesday, our class was divided back into our fieldwork groups.  Each group was given an artifact bag by Dr. Smirnova and was told to go through the items in the bags, do some research, and determine what the bag represented.  My group's bag held Russian nesting dolls, an intricately painted lacquer box holding an American flag pin, and a picture of Dr. Smirnova's grandmother.  After some searching and Dr. Smirnova's sharing of some personal stories regarding the items, we determined that our bag represented Dr. Smirnova herself and how she is a member of both the Russian and American cultures.  This activity was great not only for learning about our professor and her culture, but also for helping us in creating our own artifact bags on our lesson plan topics.  Modeling is key in the classroom!
          My fieldwork group had taught the topic of Lewis and Clark and the expansion westward.  Therefore, I decided to take a slightly different approach than my colleagues (who created awesome bags on Sacagawea and Lewis and Clark!) and create a bag with the following clues:

I also chose to show the cover of the book Steam Train, Dream Train and ask my peers what they felt the book could represent. 

         Once we had adequate time to teach and explore my bag, my group was able to come to the conclusion that the artifacts represented the beginning of western settlement, specifically the settlers.  I used the picture of the map and routes to show the progression from Lewis and Clark's journey to the building of the Transcontinental RR.  I included pictures of a steam locomotive and many passengers getting on the train to represent the way this mode of transportation could carry more people to settlements out west.  I also included a piece of RR track as a huge clue to the importance of the RR and where it led during this time.  Steam Train, Dream Train also was chosen because the story shows how passengers fill the train and stock it with supplies, which was also a critical part to developing this mode of transportation. The title also represents the dream many families had of owning their own land out west.  Overall, railroads allowed the West to become settled more quickly and helped the settlers receive supplies. 

         I love this activity because it allows students to have a concrete experience with a part of history!  Instead of just being a name or concept in a textbook, artifact bags bring them to life.  By allowing students to explore and actually touch the clues, you create a meaningful learning situation.  Students can now visualize the word or person much better than simply hearing about it from the text. 

***Here is my presentation that goes along with my artifact bag: https://docs.google.com/a/my.msmc.edu/presentation/d/1zpFB14RvXix80bjApYWEvWUr7PgKQaK0SZE_CbT6D2Q/edit?usp=sharing ***

Teaching and Assessing Economic Education

Students at all grades, ability levels, and SES’s can learn about economics, therefore it is critical that a variety of approaches be taken when teaching economic education. I will focus on two programs discussed in Chapter 13 that build upon the integral role economics plays in the classroom purely through student interaction. I believe this is the best form of learning for young students.  The programs, Mini-Society and Kinder-Economy, present the concepts of economics through three types of lessons and are described as follows: 

                “First, students experience the concept in their own classroom society and decide how to solve the situation.  Second, the teacher helps the students debrief the situation to learn the names, definitions, and relationships between the economic concepts.  Third, the teacher provides reinforcing activities such as role-plays, games, exercise sheets, stories, and art projects for the students to complete"(p. 434).

These approaches are great because the students create the problems that need to be solved based on their own interactions once they have learned how to follow these lessons.  Teachers go from leaders to facilitators while students learn about concepts of money, scarcity, etc.  These approaches are also good for allowing the teacher to check in periodically and informally assess students.  By observing their interactions and whether or not they have incorporated the language taught during the de-briefing stage, teachers can determine whether students are grasping the concepts or not.  Both the approach and informal assessment provides students with genuine experiences and the ability to construct their own learning.  Assessment is taken beyond what happens in the classroom when teachers reinforce the learning through homework.  They inform the parents about the goals of the lessons and receive consent to allow students to bring items to school for either bartering, selling, or if they are of use. 

Thinking back on my own education, I experienced an approach such as this in my sixth-grade social studies classroom.  While we were focusing on medieval times, not modern, we were asked to bring in items from home that we would be willing to barter and trade.  The exercise allowed us to experience how the economy worked in medieval times, but also allowed us to make the decisions regarding what is a fair trade and so forth.  By giving students the chance to create genuine situations, they learn in a more concrete way.  The abstract concept of bartering, money, etc. becomes concrete and touchable.

                Taking various interactive approaches, such as games and role-playing, allows children to learn further beyond simple recognition of concepts.  Their actions in the classroom require them to use decision-making skills and to apply and analyze various instances. 

Further assessment options include:

·         Have students identify what they gain and what the give up when making a choice

·         Have students negotiate exchanges and identify the gains for not just themselves, but others

·         Explain things like: how changes in competition in different markets can affect them, how life in a world without money would be different, and explain how they participated in certain markets.

Overall, assessment of economic education can be done in multiple ways.  Students can role-play, play games, create writing pieces, make posters, and give presentations.  The most important aspect I have gained from reading this piece on economic education is that students should have hands-on experiences with the concepts!  We cannot teach these critical life concepts abstractly.  They need to dive in to it.