I teach my methods students here at KSU to “constantly think about teaching.” To do this, we always look for things to use even for small parts of lessons. A picture to promote thinking, a quote to start a conversation, a primary source to investigate, all of these are ways to promote learning. I happened to find a website the other night at class at the suggestions of Dr. John Harrington and Ms. Lisa Tabor who were presenting on geography…
All posts by bradburenheide
Socrates, Plato, and Noble Puppies
We are fortunate to have another guest post from our KSDE Social Studies Consultant, Mr. Don Gifford. Enjoy!
(And don’t forget to comment on the Flags post to win your own classroom flag.)
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When I was young, I really couldn’t read philosophy partly because they used really old language, really big words, and mostly because I knew so little about the world and of thinking about it. But recently I have returned to reading some of the classic works of political philosophy and ran across the description of Socrates’ ideas about education in Plato’s Republic.
In my role as an educational program consultant for the Kansas State Department of Education, I was intrigued with the education of what Socrates calls the “guardian class.”
Flags, Flags, Flags… and a CONTEST!!!!
As a guest post this week, Mike Cronin of Gettysburg Flag Works, shares some things you can do in the classroom and has agreed to SPONSOR A FLAG CONTEST where one lucky reader will WIN A FREE FLAG!!!! The details can be found in the blog post so make sure you read the entire post!!!!–BB
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As we educate students about American history, we tend to focus more on the events than on the civic observances that are part of history, too. However, understanding that Memorial Day is about more than parades and barbecues, and that there is a correct and incorrect way to display an American flag is also an important part of our culture. Continue reading Flags, Flags, Flags… and a CONTEST!!!!
“It’s Been A While…”
The title for this post is from the song of the same name from the band Staind. A great rock ballad from a good rock band. But I digress. Now that I am back in the swing of things, I am ready to share some more great social studies information! Today’s post is about the using of music in social studies education.
A good colleague of mine is Dr. Chris Goering from the University of Arkansas (and graduate of Kansas State University) has a wonderful website titled “Lit Tunes” where he talks about using music in language arts instruction. As we know about the College and Career Readiness standards, we need to look at how we can incorporate language arts into our instruction. I would greatly encourage you to look at Dr. Goering’s Soundtrack of Your Life assignment on the website. Continue reading “It’s Been A While…”
Vocab: A great place to start!
Something I like to do with my sixth graders is start each unit off with a vocabulary activity. There are several different things I’ve done, sometimes I take about 30 words from the unit and have the kids put them in categories before I tell them what the words mean. I let them choose the categories as long as they have at least 4 or 5. Kids work in groups then share with the class. We compare categories and see which ones are similar – it’s a great way to introduce words that kids have never heard of before. Continue reading Vocab: A great place to start!