1960s History Resources

http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/ERAS/20TH/1960s.html

Another good Holocaust Reference

http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/default.htm

Primary Sources:
http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/document/document.htm

Maintaining Self-Control in the Classroom

Hi guys,
We don't have assigned reading for this week. Our topic though is responding to inappropriate and violent behavior, so I thought I would post a discussion about that. Here is a website I found that stresses how important it is to maintain self-control in the classroom.


http://edu518top10.weebly.com/responding-to-inappropriate-behavior.html

This slide is from the webpage above:


This video is also a good sum up of everything we have learned so far about classroom management

Hollywood in the Classroom

For Good movie ideas to share with your social studies classroom check out this webpage:

http://www.historyteacher.net/HistoryThroughFilm/FilmLinks.htm


It also matches them up with time periods and topics.

I've seen most of these but there's a few I'm going to be adding to my Netflix queue!

Reflection CopyRight Laws

http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Teachers/copyrightlaw.html




I found this website online and I think a clear-cut way to determine what falls under fair use and what is copyrighting. I think it is good to keep in mind as educators because these laws can get confusing. I felt like the book was a bit confusing in explaining Fair Use and honestly think this page is a bit more understandable.

Resource

http://oldflorida.tumblr.com/

This is my favorite blog about Florida History. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Reflections on Module 10

I think this was the most beneficial chapter we have read this semester. It primarily dealt with how to find a job, secure it, and excel in your profession. It explained how to develop a professional portfolio with unit plans, syllabi, objectives, lesson plans, videos, assessments, etc. One program that I wish I would have bought from the school is Chalk and Wire. It keeps hold of your old educational assignments. You organize it so that potential employers can look at the work you have done in the past. I really wish I would have invested in the program, now that it is time to start looking for jobs. My biggest objective for the break is to create my own Professional Portfolio probably using a blog like this one. I'll have to sort through my computer, old emails, and blackboard to find the old assignments that I have turned in for past education courses.

Resource for the Week

I'm not sure how many plan on teaching in Florida... but I really like the website for the Florida Memory Project. It has a ton of photographs, videos (some I can't seem to work), exhibits, and class activities. I really like the idea of using this site to bring a topic home for your students. For example, while working on a civil rights unit in Tallahassee, teachers could bring up CK Steele and the bus boycott. I really wish more teachers would do this... because I especially love learning about local history!

Using Rubrics

One thing I love about education courses is that all of my professors are very good about providing rubrics for their assignments beforehand. When I am completing assignments, I usually have my rubric set out in front of me. Coming from a student perspective, I really find rubrics beneficial, and I wish more professors/ teachers would take the time to create them for their students. It really helps students understand teacher's expectations. Rubrics should be clear and concise. I think it is best if rubrics are available to their students before or while they are completing the assignment. Rubrics are also good to pull out if parents or guardians need help understanding their child's grade on a specific assignment.

Thought I'd share this site that helps teachers create checklists/rubrics for different types of assignments and different grade levels.

Hope this helps :)
http://pblchecklist.4teachers.org/checklist.shtml

Resource for the Week

Teaching the Holocaust:



Yad Vashem Holocaust museum has some great sources to use when studying the Holocaust. The learning environment has a bunch of activities to do online. It also has recommended lesson plans to include in your curriculum. It has a bunch of first-hand accounts, photographs, and primary documents for students and teachers to explore. It also has interactive maps of World War II Europe, listing the concentration and death camps.

I also signed up for the monthly newsletter for educators... if anyone else would be interested.

http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/learning_environments/index.asp

Teacher Talk

Something that has worried me about becoming a teacher, is speaking effectively in front of a class. I have had trouble in the past accurately expressing my thoughts and have worried that I might stubble on my words while teaching in front of a class. I took a speech class and did well when presenting speeches. I noticed that I just had to plan well and rehearse frequently. Some things that our book points out are to avoid talking too much, talking too fast. It also mentions that you should ask for frequent checks in comprehension and that you should be sure that you are being heard and understood. It is also important not to assume that your students know something or are familiar with a certain term. The last thing it says to avoid is monotone talk. This is one of my fears as well. I fear rehearsing too much to the point where it sounds unnatural and monotone. The book also points out some other good planning tips for talking to the class, such as monitoring delivery and using plenty of examples while presenting your lesson.

Resource for the Week

http://www.archives.gov/education/

Hey guys,
I found this site and I thought it was pretty cool. It has a bunch of pre-made history lessons that are centered around using various primary documents. It is easy to search too! Just look for the time period that your interested in.

Reflection on Module 6

Module 6 of Kellough & Carjuzza discusses different student-centered instructional strategies. The chapter includes pedagogical opposites such as delivery mode v. access mode of instruction. It also discussed the differences between direct experience and direct teaching. I also learned a great deal about ways to get the whole class involved in discussions. Classroom layout plays a big part in class participation. Another important aspect covered was group learning. I am big supporter of learning in pairs and I really like the think-pair-share approach. Learning in pairs and groups can help support the ELLs in your classroom. These methods are also good to get the whole class participating in the discussions. The chapter also talked about using educational games in the classroom. I think games are easy ways to motivate the class while incorporating higher thinking skills. Educational games have many positive purposes in the classroom. This section has really encouraged me to find my own educational games to use in my future class. K&K listed a few that I hope to check out in our library sometime, such as The Amistad Incident: A Classroom Reenactment by T. Levy and The Pullman Strike of 1894 in OAH Magazine of History by J. Bassett.

Presenting the Holocaust in the Classroom

Hi guys,
I am currently taking a course The Holocaust in Historical Perspective and my professor brought to my attention this great website. I thought I'd share this site with all of you who are interested in teaching social studies. This site have a bunch of translated primary documents.


The Nizkor Project: www.nizkor.org
A really great web-hunt could be created using this site. There is information on each major player of the Holocaust. There is also a great deal on the various camps created during the period. There is work done regarding the Nuremberg Trials. There are transcripts, documents, and pictures from the trials. Last but not least, there is an Archive section which includes e-books, and documents from just about any organization or person related to the period. There are quite a few suggested books that are great to help you also learn more about the topic. My favorite part of the site is the 66 Questions and Answers about the Holocaust. These questions provide evidence against Holocaust Deniers. It takes a look at what Holocaust denial theorist propose and combats against them with specific evidence (and links to this evidence).

Reflection on Reading Module 5

Being a History major, I found the example lesson "Working with Documents: Pre-War Nazi Antisemitism" was very useful. It is definitely a resource I will keep on handy when creating my own lesson plans in the future. I also think it is a good idea to look at this resource when planning our next lesson plan assignment. The Written Document Analysis Worksheet will help me create worksheets for my own Analyzing Bias lesson plan. I also like the cartoon/illustration analysis worksheet. In my future classroom, I intend on having daily warm-ups that include analyzing political cartoons. So the cartoon analysis worksheet would be perfect to use for these warm-ups.

This chapter has a bunch of great resources for creating syllabi, lesson plans, and unit plans. It also explains how to create integrated lesson plans that create rounded lessons, incorporating various different subjects.

Unit Plan Resources- American History

Course: American History
Unit Plan: The 1960s

Keeping track of some of the resources I would like to include in this unit plan which may help me with the next lesson plan assignment.

JFK's Inaugural Address http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/kennedy.asp
LBJ's Inaugural Address http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/johnson.asp

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesbydecade.html

This website has a bunch of American speeches listed by decade. It provides a pdf and a mp3 for each speech. Great resource for American history classes.
- Newton Norman Minow "Television and the Public Interest"
- Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream"
- Malcolm X "The Ballot or the Bullet"
- LBJ's "Great Society"
- Stokely Carmichael "Black Power"
- Robert Francis Kennedy Remarks on the Assassination of MLK

And just for fun:
This is from Archives.gov
http://research.archives.gov/description/595725
These are notes taken by JFK during a meeting regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Missiles, Missiles, Missiles!

Trade books- Reflections on Module 4

I think trade books are great for Social Science classes. I think it is hard to explain personal events -- such as the Holocaust, Civil Rights, Slavery, wars, etc -- just using a textbooks and lectures. Trade books help explain the personal aspects behind these historical events.

Here's something to evaluate trade books for your classroom:

http://www.hhpcommunities.com/kane/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=245:evaluating-trade-books&catid=60:assessments&Itemid=93

Hope this helps for future teachers :)

Reference for the Week- Heritage Trail Books

Hey guys,

I recently ordered Heritage Trail Books from the State of Florida. These are great little history books that prospective social science teachers should keep handy in their classrooms. They have a bunch of photographs to look through. Also each book includes a bunch of historical sites for possible field trips in cities all around Florida. The state is now providing these books free of charge. All you have to do is email Susanne Hunt, email on the bottom of the page, and she'll send over copies of the books you request.

Titles you can request:
Black Heritage Trail
Civil War Heritage Trail
Cuban heritage Trail
Jewish Heritage Trail
Native American Heritage Trail
Women's Heritage Trail
Spanish Colonial Heritage Trail
World War II Heritage Trail

:)

Reflections on Reading Mod 4

Module Four in Kellough and Carjuzza's textbook discusses how to select appropriate content and create objectives. I found the most beneficial part of this module to be the discussion regarding the use of textbooks. Textbooks are important because they provide students with basic content. They also help teachers find content that should be emphasized, as well as suggestions, activities, and resources for furthering student learning. The problem behind the textbook is that many teachers get "too" comfortable, using it as the only resource in the class. It is important as secondary teachers that we bring to the table more than class textbook. Using one textbook often hurts the learning environment. Students aren't exposed to outside opinions and left to rely on publisher's opinions. These books are also very general and may not discuss everything that you hope to teach your class. Before using an textbook it is important to evaluate it appropriately based on your curriculum and your students. It is also important to teach children how to use their textbooks. They should be able to locate the Table of Contents, the Index, Appendixes, Glossary of Terms, Summaries, etc. It is wrong to assume that your students already know.
Another big thing brought up in this chapter is using other printed materials. In addition to your textbook, you should also include various trade books, charts, online resources, primary document- newspaper articles, documents, etc.

Attached I've included a Checklist for evaluating Textbooks from Kane's book Literacy and Learning In the Content Areas. This checklist could be used when trying to compare textbooks for your future classrooms.




From Literacy & Learning in the Content Areas, Third Edition, by Sharon Kane. Copyright © 2011 by Holcomb Hathaway, Publishers, Scottsdale, AZ.

Reference for the Week

Found this on the Internet... If your a Dolphins fan and you enjoy History, I think you'll find this enjoyable.


I think showing funny clips like this to your students to relate history with current events can help keep learning fun in your class. It can give kids a break from the everyday lecture notes and class activities.

Also this clip comes from the film Downfall . It is a really great film for History majors or anyone with an interest in World War II. I really enjoyed it and to my knowledge it is actually pretty accurate. I highly recommend the film!

Reflections on Teacher Qualities

I really like that someone added humor to our list of "good" teacher qualities. That should have been something on my list. I really feel that humor could turn a dull subject matter for some kids into their new favorite subject. My favorite teachers growing up were the ones that could really make me laugh. They made learning enjoyable by adding little tidbits of humorous information or jokes. They also used humor when disciplining children. I continue to look up to those teachers that made my learning environments lively and entertaining. They have become the role models for my teaching career.

Heads up Social Science Teachers! History Resources

Hey guys,

For my own studies in history, I've been searching online for websites that can provide good reviews of historical events, themes, and figures that are concise and accurate. I've found myself checking PBS History quite frequently lately. I use it for quick fact checks, study aids, and to check up on recently added videos.

PBS History
This site is always great. It is very user friendly. It is exceptionally organized, making it incredibly easy to maneuver. They are always adding new videos to their list, so the site never gets old! You can choose different subtopics that you wish to explore from the drop-down menu found on the top. Each subtopic has a ton of interactive videos, lectures, audio-clips that provide you with a ton of valuable information. Enough videos to have you entertained for hours! They also have the world war clips that provide concise timelines that quickly sum up the events of the wars. My favorite collection of clips are those from History Detectives. There is also a section for teachers that features a bunch of possible lesson plans and great social science resources. The lesson plans they provide are very detailed, and they also usually provide you with any additional handouts or video clips associated with the lesson.


I hope you will find this site useful in your own studies and in your future classrooms!

Reflection on Reading

This week we read and reviewed the last half of Module 3 in the Kellough and Karjuzaa textbook. It had a great wealth of information for new teachers. I agree with the text's claim that transitions can be hard for new teachers. I find it hard to myself on an individual basis with students or even with the little activities I do with my after school care kids. Another point mentioned in the book is anchor activities. If you are going to be teaching a diverse group of students, this is one technique that is important to conquer. Anchor activities are assignments that can be done by students while they are waiting for the rest of the class to finish up the original activity. Effective teachers carefully plan out their lessons and ensure that they have anchor activities that will keep all children engaged.

The text also explained different types of misbehavior and how to effectively combat each. It also went into great detail for creating a proactive classroom. The book provides examples of mistakes made by teachers that may result in misbehavior.

References for Social Science Education

After searching through a few boring and uninteresting reference options for the week, I finally came across this website, HistoryTech. It has a lot of great posts related to using technology in our history classes. Since we have been working on our first day of class and thinking about classroom procedures, I thought I'd share with you HistoryTech's "Five Back to School Ideas for Social Studies Teachers." (Too bad I couldn't come across this page earlier when we were working on our Classroom Management Plans)
Here's the link to the article post:



http://historytech.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/tip-of-the-week-5-back-to-school-ideas-for-social-studies-teachers/


It has some really awesome ideas. I thought the History in a bag idea could be serve as a great icebreaker for the first day! It asks that you get bags for each of your students. The students than fill up their particular bags with personal items. The students trade bags anonymously. The student then has to try to use the "artifacts" in the bag to decipher who is the original owner of the bag. This is a great way to get the kids to learn about one another, while at the same time having them understand the role of historians. They will learn the historical process and how we must use artifacts, as historians, to help unravel our past.

The article also had some great ideas that I would love to use as warm-ups for my class. I really like the idea of the Timeline Challenge and History Couples. Check them out for yourself!

In my opinion, this is a really neat resource that I will definitely keep in mind!

Reflection on Reading Module 3

I really liked that in this chapter they included "Mistakes to Avoid." I really hope that reading this chapter will help me right now with my after school care kids and in the future when I have my own classroom to deal with. This chapter seems to be the most vital for any new teacher and it is something that I see myself re-visiting and re-reading.

I found that one mistake that I have been making is spending too much time focused on one activity or one group of children. Before I realize it the rest of the class seems to be going 'buck wild.' I feel like I need to deal with situations with specific students more effectively and, in turn, spend more time with the classroom as a whole. I also have noticed that I speak to the class with my 'normal' voice. I have to remember that when working in a classroom, I need to create and use a new 'classroom voice' in order to be heard and respected. I also need to learn to effectively use non-verbal gestures to gain attention (eye contact, mobility, frowning, and proximity). I also have noticed that I use "shh" too much in the classroom. I never realized how ineffective this method truly is at quieting the class. I also should remember that reprimanding should be done as privately as possible. I find myself too often yelling across the room to get a child's attention. I find that my absolute biggest problem is that I try too hard to be liked by the children and do not spend enough time establishing a supportive and disciplined classroom environment.

Hopefully the tips learned in module 3 will help me get through the rest of the week and eventually become natural by the time I have a classroom of my own.

Humor & Classroom Management

Video - "David Spade Uses Classroom Management"





Funny spoof on dealing with classroom management in secondary schools. Spade uses humor in the classroom to show who is in control.
... BUT now I ask how do you use humor if your not necessarily a "Seinfeld?"

Here are some tips for using humor in the classroom:




Here are some jokes that I want to start sharing with my preschool kids:

What do skeletons say before a meal?
Bone appetite.

Where do very smart hot dogs end up?
On honor rolls.

Why was six afraid of seven? Because seven eight nine!

What did Zero say to Eight? Nice belt!

What has ten letters and starts with gas?
An automobile.

What's a pirate's favorite letter?
A: aRRgh (R).
B: No, it is the Sea (C).

How do you get a Pikachu on a bus?
You Pokemon! (poke-him-on)

Reflection on Reading

Pages 351-354 in the Kellough and Karjuzaa book offered a great deal of information on how to work with parents. The most vital part of the chapter was dealing with "Angry Guardians." I really do believe that remaining calm show strength. This is a quality teachers must have when dealing with parents. I like the suggestion of scheduling another conference with the parent, when you feel like things have escalated out of control.

Reading this section made me a bit nervous. It really got me thinking about dealing with parents and preparing for conferences. I found a conference checklist online. I think something like this would be a good idea to pass out to parents before a conference takes place. It will help them keep track of important information and allow them to take home a progress report about their child.

Pre-K Behavior problems

Seemed like the students in my class today had a severe case of the Mondays... I tried to settle them down and this is when I realized how little I know about classroom management and disciplining students. I decided that looking for classroom management tips online would be a good start for this week's Resource Site.

The first website I found was Discipline by Design.

I learned a great deal about dealing with children. The tidbit that I found most beneficial was using "assertive I messages." This means getting children to behave by telling them "I need everyone to be quiet" or "I need everyone to take a seat." I'm hoping to use this one in class tomorrow. The site also mentioned a tactic I had forgotten from my schooling. FLIPPING LIGHT SWITCHES! Don't know why I hadn't thought of it earlier but it is definitely a great way to grab the attention of a bunch of rowdy munchkins.

I also checked out this video:

In the video they exposed the problems behind bribing children and negotiating. She also spoke about giving children ownership of their problems. One problem I am faced with quite frequently at school is sharing toys. I usually end up taking the toy away from both parties. The video explained how you can take the toy away and explain that they could get the toy back when they negotiated among themselves how they will share the toy. This allows the students to try to find a solution to their own problem.

I really hope these sources will help me manage the after school kids. I guess will figure out later down the line. :)

Virtual Museum Tours

I think Virtual Museum Tours are super NEAT! It is so exciting what you can now do with technology but these tours will make great supplemental material in any classroom. Having children visit areas or time periods that you are referring to in the virtual world allows them to relate to the lesson. These sites are great because they provide you with photographs, artifacts, specific individuals, recordings, and video clips.

Here are some Museum tours to suggest for Social Science Education:

You can check out Anne Frank's House and the movable bookcase

http://www.annefrank.org/en/Subsites/Home/Enter-the-3D-house/#/house/20/hotspot/4102/audio/

A Holocaust Virtual Museum Tour:

http://mznet.org/mzintro.html

Take a tour at the White House:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours-and-events/

Tour Colonial Williamsburg from your computer:
http://www.history.org/almanack/tourthetown/index.cfm

Online Culture Training

"http://www2.pacific.edu/sis/culture/">

http://www2.pacific.edu/sis/culture/

After reading Module 2 in the Kellough & Carjuzaa book, I recalled this website from a past education course. I took TSL 4234 a few semesters ago and still find this website to be entertaining and interesting. In our Module we discussed a few things about ELL learners and I think this website is great supplemental material to learn about cultures outside of America.

This website was designed for students to use before going on trips abroad. It is especially interesting to learn about the different cultures, manners and formalities that we are not exposed to on a daily basis. The website discusses stereotyping, naive realism, and ethnocentrism. It has a bunch of neat activities that can help you learn about the ethnicities of the world, as well as about yourself and you own culture. It also discusses the differences between individualist cultures and collectivist cultures. Future teachers should also learn about universalism and particularism. The most interesting part of this website is the page pertaining to different body movements and how they relate to specific cultures. All of these activities will provide an understanding for the diversities that you will encounter in your classrooms.

It has activities that you can do that will help you rate yourself and your own culture to see where you lie on the spectrum. I really suggest checking out some of the little tidbits on the website if you have some free time. There are a bunch of interesting facts and activities that will teach you about yourself and the cultures that make up the world.