The great thing about being a history teacher is that history can be literally all around us, especially on the Internet. There are all kinds of things that might be of use for teachers of history. I provide for you three “guilty pleasures” that you may wind up exploring for fun on your own time. Continue reading “Guilty Pleasures” of History Education
Category Archives: geography
Teaching the 5 Themes Using Movies – Location and Place
Teaching 7th graders reminds me how much I loved walking in to the classroom when I was in school and saw the t.v. pulled to the front of the room, MOVIE DAY!! Of course, now I just have to turn the projector on, no pushing a t.v. cart around, but the kids still instinctively know that they will not have to listen to me in class that day. I can remember watching movies and wondering, even as a student, what is the point of watching this movie? Continue reading Teaching the 5 Themes Using Movies – Location and Place
I’m GOing places….
This summer I have had the privilege of teaching 30 students from Ecuador in the GO program here at Kansas State University. The students are teachers of English from Ecuador on behalf of the Ecuadorian government to improve their teaching skills for their English program back home. They have been a pleasure to teach and have taught me tons about their culture, educational system, and their lives back home. Continue reading I’m GOing places….
Just because they look the same doesn’t mean they are . . .
When I started teaching last year I assumed that students would know how to read a map, use an atlas, and find locations on a globe. What I soon realized was that most of my students couldn’t even tell the difference between a map of South America and Africa at first glance, because they have almost the same shape. My goal for this year, spending the first several weeks practicing using all three of these resources until the students know that just because they look the same doesn’t mean that they are. Continue reading Just because they look the same doesn’t mean they are . . .
This Isn’t English Class (or computers for that matter)
Having just finished my first year of teaching I find myself looking back at all of this lessons I learned this year, and there were a lot, and how I can change my curriculum next year to incorporate what I have learned. One of the most surprising things that I learned about 7th graders (at least mine) was that they have no clue how to write.
It all started with what I assumed would be an easy and straightforward assignment, write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the Aztec, Inca, and Maya civilizations. The first response I got, “Mrs. Medley this isn’t English class.” Of course I had to be smart and retort with “WHAT?! They told me I was teaching English!” After my lame joke received a few giggles I told the students that they would have to write in all of their classes eventually, so we might as well start now. I got my first hint that they had no clue what they were doing when someone asked what compare and contrast meant, and I had to stop and think to myself “Do they really not know how to do this?” Continue reading This Isn’t English Class (or computers for that matter)
