All posts by glennw

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About glennw

I work as a social studies specialist at ESSDACK, an educational service center in Hutchinson, Kansas. Before coming to ESSDACK, I taught middle school US History and higher ed social science classes.

Using Edmodo and Chromebooks

best practice, computer, technology, web 2.0, ,

chromebookZach Wimmer is a high school teacher in Sublette, Kansas where he teaches Geography, Government, Debate, and Economics. In this guest post, Zach highlights his use of Edmodo in a Chromebook learning environment.

As schools implement a one-to-one technology initiative, it is easy for educators, novice and veteran alike, to feel overwhelmed by how they should employ them in the classroom. When my high school in western Kansas adopted Chromebooks, there were questions among the faculty about how these new devices would actually enhance student engagement.

One site in particular eased these concerns. Edmodo, in myriad ways, has improved the learning process in my Social Studies classroom immensely. As the website explains, Edmodo is “a free and safe way for students and teachers to connect and collaborate.” Continue reading Using Edmodo and Chromebooks →

Using elementary Evidence-Based Terms in social studies classrooms

best practice, C4, common core, Glenn Wiebe, graphic organizer, historical thinking, literacy, primary sources, reading, strategies, , , , , ,

evidence-based-terms2As we move into a social studies world that is asking kids to collect evidence, organize evidence, create products, and communicate results, writing skills are becoming more and more important.

But for the last ten years or so, at least in the state of Kansas, we’ve asked kids to focus instead on memorizing content. So now when we’re asking our middle school and high school students to not just write more but to use evidence while proving assertions, we get a lot of blank stares.

My suggestion?

Steal a practice used by a lot of elementary teachers and start training your secondary kids to use evidence-based terms while writing.

Evidence-based terms are simple phrases that support the use of, well . . . evidence. So if we ask kids to look a couple of primary source documents and develop a thesis from their analysis, they have some scaffolding to help them do that.

Examples of evidence-based terms? Continue reading Using elementary Evidence-Based Terms in social studies classrooms →

Sweet Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic lesson plans and instructional goodies

best practice, geography, Glenn Wiebe, lesson plans, primary sources, social media, strategies, , , , ,

Sochilogo

Are you looking for some sweet Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic instructional goodies? Here’s what I’ve got:

Start with the basics

News

Social Media

Mobile Apps
(I’m part of Team Apple so . . . these are iPhone / iPad apps. I did some checking – Google Play and Android also have tons.)

Lesson Plans / Instructional Materials

Have fun!

Disc vs. Plow: Social Studies in the 21st Century

best practice, Glenn Wiebe, historical thinking, standards, strategies

I grew up in western Kansas. Land of giant jack rabbits. Tumble weeds. Beautiful sunsets. Vast horizons. And wheat. Lots of wheat.

I spent a lot of time on the family farm in the northeast part of Finney County. Much of the land was broken out by my grandmother’s father and uncles around the turn of the century. Growing up, my brothers and I rode trucks, tractors, and combines, climbed windmills, fell off windmills, walked miles of fields, hunted pheasants, raced motorcycles, and generally had a great time.

As we got older, we drove the trucks, tractors, and combines – planting and harvesting wheat and milo.

The point? Continue reading Disc vs. Plow: Social Studies in the 21st Century →

Some sweet sites for historical thinking

common core, historical thinking, lesson plans, primary sources, standards, , ,

The new buzz word in social studies instruction?

Historical thinking.

Okay. Yes. It’s two words but it’s still pretty buzzy. The idea of historical thinking has been hanging around as part of social studies instruction for a long time. But it’s sort of been like that weird second cousin who shows up at family reunions that no one really talks to. We haven’t been paying much attention to it.

But with new state standards and Common Core literacy stuff, not to mention the new College,Career, and Civic Life standards, historical thinking is back where it really belongs. As the central part of everything we do. And because it’s been at the weird second cousin status for so long, many teachers don’t have a ton of historical thinking resources.

So today . . . three sweet web sites that provide primary source raw data and lesson plans / resources that support historical thinking skills. Continue reading Some sweet sites for historical thinking →