I would almost be willing to bet money on the fact that my student’s least favorite part of my class is when I say “grab your textbooks.” The groans that echo around the room are enough to keep me from repeating that phrase very often, but I know my kids still need to learn how to use their textbooks, so I brave the sound effects every now and then. What my students dread most is opening the book and silently reading hundreds of pages (or at least it feels like that many to them), so I try to find fun reading strategies to alleviate the amount of reading while still ensuring my kids are getting the information they need. Continue reading The Dreaded Textbook
Category Archives: literacy
How I use “Discrepant Event Inquiry” in my classroom
A few years ago, I was introduced to “Discrepant Event Inquiry” from Glenn Wiebe. (Here is another post about it from his History Tech blog). The idea is that you take an image and only reveal a little bit at a time. As I reveal a little bit of the picture, the students must guess Who is in the picture, What is happening, When was the photograph taken, and Where is this taking place. This encourages students to think outside the box and it also does WONDERS with questioning and how to ask the right questions. Naturally, I turned this into a competition. Continue reading How I use “Discrepant Event Inquiry” in my classroom
Graphic notes, primary sources, and literacy skills
It seems like every social studies teacher I talk to asks about reading and writing strategies. Everyone is freaking about Common Core ELA literacy skills for history / government. And I suppose that’s a good thing. Good social studies instruction should always include reading and writing activities.
But I believe that we sometimes over-think the whole process. Give kids engaging questions, provide some interesting evidence, and step out of the way. An easy way to focus on document analysis and support writing skills is something I call Graphic Notes. I posted this on History Tech several weeks ago but I like it so much, I decided to post here as well!)
A Graphic Note is a lot like a Thought Bubble but takes it a bit further. So you can use it as a hook activity or even as a type of assessment.
1. Start by Continue reading Graphic notes, primary sources, and literacy skills
Literacy strategies and book sites
Feeling a bit uneasy about how to respond to the Common Core Literacy Standards for History / Government? Struggling with what that looks like? Need a few ideas and suggestions for integrating reading and writing into your social studies instruction?
Here ya go! Continue reading Literacy strategies and book sites
Opportunities
Colleagues in social studies,
Just want to offer a few things for you to peruse for opportunities for growth and development. The opportunities include information about the Kansas Social Studies Conference, a class on East Asia, and a training session on Dual Encoding – using maps while teaching history.
