Interpret the Evidence.

The stress of the upcoming semester is starting to set in. My professors are beginning to pile on the work and I can already feel my brain swelling and the stress mounting. It is EXTREMELY difficult for me to balance school, work, club activities and a social life. I just hope I don't lose sight of myself from all the stress.

Twenty-One Pilots- Holding On to You. This song pumps me up SO much and will definitely become a staple on my homework playlist. (I'm currently listening to it as I write this post! )

This post will be regarding my WEEK TWO experiences in Social Studies Methods:

Monday 9/2/13

We did not have any class today, but there is always work to be done. Our class was assigned to read Chapter 11 from our textbook. I enjoyed reading this chapter because it provided true classroom applications that I could potentially carry out in my own classroom. My favorite quote from this chapter regarded historians; "Historians interpret the evidence." Chapter 11 focused on the learning cycle lesson plan, which moved through three phases: explanatory introduction, lesson development and expansion. The lesson provided in the chapter explored how intermediate/middle grades would learn from paintings and drawings. The lesson was aligned with NCSS standards, with objectives and assessment options. I liked that this section of the chapter provided step-by-step guidance for how to carry out the lesson plan. This type of reading helps me begin to feel more confident about my abilities to participate in fieldwork, to create lesson plans similar to this one, to carry them out and to be an effective teacher overall.


Wednesday 9/4/13

To start today’s class, we finished working through our about me presentations. Dr. Smirnova stressed the importance of getting students attention at the start of the lesson by clapping or using phrases to have students become engaged in what you needed to say. “One two three, eyes on me” is the phrase I have begun using in the day camp I participate in and it seems to be effective thus far. 

We also came prepared to talk about an artifact bag article. According to Fuhler (2006), "using artifacts, from primary documents to items that can be held in one's hand, is a motivational technique that can tie readers to a variety of genres and bring a period of history to life in the process." I think this quote embodies what the entire article bag activity is about: motivating learners and providing an experience. This article, much like Chapter 11 of our textbook, provided a lesson plan regarding how to carry out an article bag lesson I liked that teachers modeled how to do each step, while still engaging students and having them participate by answering questions and writing, before students were encouraged to explore the activity bags on their own. I think teacher model is an extremely effective technique. I have seen it work nicely in my own mock-classroom at the day camp I worked at during the week. I am excited to create an artifact bag with my classmates in the near future.

TIPS FOR THE USE OF ARTIFACT BAGS:
1. Get students interested in using the artifact bags. Do not just lay them out on desks.
2. Try to make use of primary resources. This adds authenticity to the lesson and can make students feel like they are truly historians.
3. Always encourage students to use prior knowledge. Make connections, give examples, promote discussions.
4. Use the artifact bags as a "jumping off" point to carry your lesson. Use the bags to lead into group projects, presentations or other work.
5. Include time for discussion so students can share their findings.

I also created a Wordle to highlight the key terms in my tips for the use of artifact bags list.

Here are ONE and TWO sites that have listed artifact bag activities that have been successfully carried out.


Friday 9/6/13:

Today our class was introduced to Blogger. As you can probably already tell from my posts, I enjoy blogging. I have been a member of Tumblr (even though the first rule of Tumblr is to never talk about Tumblr...) for over four years. Blogging is often a procrastination technique that I use, but here on Blogger it will be a fun and productive thing to do! This site is simple to navigate and provides many different options for customization, through your pages, the capabilities to link different pictures, videos, and links, and the privacy options. 

Dr. Smirnova also requested that we respond to a video she shared in class. I chose to respond to the video below:

This video was extremely interesting. Students are constantly exposed to technology, whether it be television, computers, cell phones, music players or video games, but many teachers are not fully taking advantage of this medium to engage students. As a future teacher, I plan to learn as much about technology as possible. I want to be able to reach my students in ways that speak to them, while still meeting standards and lesson plan objectives.