New Social Studies Teacher -- NEED HELP

[seb7176]

Hi. I am a new teacher this year...and I teach World History II (Renaissance To Present) and AP US History. I am working hard and trying to be innovative, but I feel like my students are always bored and would rather be having root canal. My school is on the block schedule with 80 Minute classes. I try to break up the class into different segments so that we are never doing one thing for too long. I am worried that I lecture too much, but my students do not read the textbook. This limits my ability to do some different activities because they then lack background knowledge needed to successfully complete activities. I guess I am looking for new ways to get the curriculum across to the kids. It seems my choices are lecture during class time (which bores them), have them watch brief video segments and then decode and discuss as a class, or take a chance that they might actually read the textbook which would open up opportunities for more active learning activities. ANY IDEAS? Please help. I love teaching, but am so frustrated and getting discouraged. I talked to my principal about my concerns. She said to look online for lessons. I guess I want a little more guidance.

[Chocolate_New_Orleans]

wow, great advice from a principal looking to brush you off :rolleyes:

Either way. Don't forget to sprinkle in some stories in your lectures, that aren't in the history books. I'm not very strong in World History, but with US history, tell them stupid trivial facts like the presidential candidate that passed out "vote for Booze" shaped log cabins full of liquor which led to the name "booze" being applied to alcohol.

Or how Roosevelt had his long speech folded up a lot before a campaign speech in his breast pocket, got shot, and the folded up paper was so thick that it stopped the bullet. And how he gave the speech right after being shot.

There are stories throughout American History, and World History as well that aren't in the text books, but are good attention getters. Of course, none of that is on the tests, but it will get them paying attention Heck, throw in a personal, school related thing that happened somewhat related, or a dumb comment made by a student of your past. I had one who was asked if he knew what the Great Depression was, he said, "yeah, that's like a big hurricane, right?" I swear, I laughed so hard I had tears coming out. Another student said "That's a TROPICAL DEPRESSION you big dummy" and class was OVER!!! I have never laughed so hard in my life, and now, whenever we get to the great depression in History, that story comes out. With the older kids, tell quotes, cus words and all as they said it. Trust me, you can get their attention. Not everything has an interesting story, but enough do that you can get them interested.

Always remember, History is a collection of stories, and history teachers are story tellers. Become a good story teller.

[Unregistered]

You are so right, Chocolate. Little tid bits of trivia like that do make class more interesting, and sprinkling your lectures with little facts about yourself, or things that have happened in class in the past, make it much more interesting as well. I think kids can relate to many of these stories, and especially like to hear stories about their teachers----sorta makes them more "human" to them, if you know what I mean. I taught elementary, fourth grade, for several years and it works for them, too!

[Unregistered]

Block schedule can be brutal for a new teacher. I had lessons I thought would go on for days and they'd never last. I had to start creating activities to break things up and reinforce what we were doing. Actually I think I could just do the activites because the kids seem to get more out of those, but I know they need to hear the material more than once. Libraryofcongress.org gave me a lot of ideas on how to create activities. That and surfing the internet while watching game shows. Anything to win and the kids will do it. Especially if they think they are getting you off topic. I created a few games and in the process of trying to find some shortcuts on the intenet, I ordered a few things from historesearch.com ( a couple of links there) and onelessthing.net. Hang in there the first year is the most challenging just remember keep going in and coming up with new ideas and eventually they will start sticking and the kids will start learning.

[Gail Hennessey]

Although I taught 6th grade social studies, I still feel that older students would enjoy doing activities from time to time, especially during an 80 minute block class. For example, have the students draw a picture of the Mona Lisa, after a discussion on Leonardo. Do art appreciation by showing some of DaVinci's famous works. Or go to the site on Leonardo's inventions and have the students try and determine what his sketches were(see: http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/LeosMysteriousMachinery.html). For Gutenberg and the printing press, do potato printing so the students can see the concept of blockprinting. Talking about Galileo... do a mock trial for his "crimes" of scientific beliefs that went against the Church. As others have said....trivia can be found on the internet to disperse with the students.(Ie: During the European Renaissance, fashionable ladies used lemon juice as a way to redden their lips!) For the Black Death(late MAges/early Ren), have the kids do creative writing(including at least 4 factual pieces of info learned from the lesson). There are websites on the Black Death that are good, too. Check out this one:http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/heathsid/Subjects/History/plague.htm Listen to music of the time. Again...the key, multi-learning methods within the period.

Hope some of these suggestions are helpful.

Gail Hennessey
http://www.gailhennessey.com

[Unregistered]

I would be interested to know what is being taught in public schools regarding separation of church and state.

[Chocolate_New_Orleans]

you can't teach Social studies without religion. I haven't had any issues teaching Christianity as I also teach Buddhism, etc.

What I tell kids who ask "why do I have to learn about Islam,I'm Christian and Islam is wrong" I tell them what I did when I had to learn about other religions I didn't believe in, I simply learned the "right" answers for a test, I put what the professor wanted to see, and I disregarded all of it as soon as I left the class. I tell them, I'm not trying to convince them of anything, but to show it is out there. Understand what you battling or arguing against

[Burshrod]

"Let us have...Philosophers, Deists, or even Atheists, rather than a Presbyterian President.”

--John Adams to Benjamin Rush, June 12, 1812

(Warning: This quote may or may not be presented out of context)

[Unregistered]

Great advice has been given, just remember history is all about the STORY. If the story gets lost in textbook questions, maps and vocabulary you won't teach the kids a thing, they simply won't care. I have recently posted my entire curriculum online (still a work in progress) and though I teach the level before you (medieval world history) many of my assignments are designed to work for any history subject.

I've also posted my lecture notes which (not to brag too much) my students enjoy greatly. As posted they do not include the video clips I use (copyright issues) but it should give you an idea of what it looks like.

If you're interested check it out at kevinroughton.com. Lastly, I'd recommend you check out the blog under "Roughton Record" as that is written by my students and should give you some more insight into how they see my class.

[Unregistered]

To Kevin Roughton--great web site!l

Try this link:
http://www.klif.com/Backside_Of_American_History2.pdf

The guy who writes this does a talk show in Dallas on Saturday mornings. He talks about cars, but he does these great segments called The Backside of American History. If you love history, this is great!

[klkatz]

and you think they really need the content, you have several options...

have them read the text in class in small groups, and then report to the class on their findings. (i sometimes like to have them do this in a fun way, either acting out certain scenarios, or playing charades... they love it)

you can give them small nightly reading assignments and quiz them on it the next day. if they keep failing the quizzes, the ones that care will start to read.

another is to simply read it as a class.. have the students take turns and interject where necessary. be honest with them.. if there is a paragraph that isn't important... tell them and skip it... they'll think you're giving them some kind of secret.

and lastly, teach them some reading techniques to help them navigate the text better... look at headers, highlighted words, use index, etc... you can give them a task that they can accomplish without reading the entire chapter.

and videos are good, as long as they have something to go with it... an essay, questions during the video, your interjection etc...

[OldsRocket]

I agree with klkatz on the suggestions. The quiz idea is a good idea to find out who truly cares, but it may not make you very popular. If you are teaching an AP U.S. class (I did this for only one year thank God) the kids should be pretty motivated already. If you tie in the quiz with their reading they will need to read the material to keep their grades up in your class. If your kids are anything like mine were, most will begin reading because they, and their parents, really care about their GPAs.

I would also recommend doing as much discussion as possible. Ask them "why" constantly. Even when you are lecturing ask "why." This allows lecture to be more like a discussion. Do readings, watch videos, analyze political cartoons/music, etc. and follow up with discussion.

[Legobedan]

I teach in Australia, though I took many AP in my high school days in the US. All I can say is don't give up! Your students, especially your AP students, need you to give them 100% every day! I'm surprised they gave a first-year teacher that responsibility. Try to keep it interesting, but relevant. The ability to recall interesting information will aid them in their AP tests, but don't forget that they usually get to choose from a variety of topics. If you can, try to get your hands on some old AP tests for a variety of questions and examples. Similar themes always arise, and you'll be able to focus your content on those areas.

[rah07]

Hi,
What kind of help does this teacher is talking about. You should refer good social studies books to read and teach.


Pam