Thursday, March 22, 2012

A brief reminder that your Phase 3 of the Social Studies Unit Plan is due next week Tuesday, March 27. If you have ANY questions, be sure to contact me before it is due.

As I mentioned on the EDU 360 blog, we will be transitioning to using that blog more for the science methods focus for the remainder of the semester.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Today I'm going to demonstrate a lesson using a trade book as a "hook" to launch the lesson. We will also do some housekeeping including checking on your progress (Phase 2) of the Social Studies unit plan.

I have also developed a calendar of events from now until semester end.

Assignment for Thursday, March 22:

Read Chapter 10 in your Parker text. In class on Thursday, be ready to share a lesson with the trade book I gave you. Do it similar to how I did mine in class on Tuesday. Handouts should be prepared for your instructor and your peers. You will actually read your trade book AND do the activity. You'll have about 20 minutes to do both so keep it brief.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

On Thursday, March 8, we will be going to the Teacher Center Services (formerly referred to as the Teacher Resource Center. We will meet there at 1:15 PM. If you need a ride, I will be leaving campus at 1 PM.

Darlene at the Center is going to give us a demonstration of the new materials. She is also going to show us the Veriquest Cutout Maker (although most of you are already familiar with it) and the traveling kits. Your job will be to identify 3-4 kits that you can use for a lesson in the third grade classroom - integrated Social Studies, Science, Art, etc.

You are required to attend this field trip or you will be marked absent for the day.

Happy Spring Break!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

We will begin class today with Shyanne's demonstration of questioning strategies. Remember, too, that Phase 2 of your unit planning assignment must be emailed to me before the end of this class today (by 2 PM).

Assignment for Thursday, March 8:

You will not have an assignment due this Thursday, March 8.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Today in class we are going to discuss the classic teaching strategies in Chapter 9. We will then move right into your presentations - your lessons in which you are going to model one of the strategies described in Chapter 9.

Assignment for Tuesday, March 6:

Remember that Phase 2 of your unit planning assignment is due. PLEASE ask questions beforehand if you are un-sure of any part of it. This is a heavily weighted assignment and needs to be done well (your time to shine!).

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Today in class we're going to finish Chapter 8 on planning units, lessons and activities with discussions of each. We will start with Chapter 9 to set you up for your teaching strategies demonstration on Thursday of this week.

Assignment for Thursday, March 1:

Teaching strategies demonstrations - 30 minutes each.

Assignment for Tuesday, March 6:

Phase 1 and 2 of your unit plan project. We will discuss this in class before then but it is due (must be completed) Tuesday, March 6th.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

We'll begin class today with our quiz over the "Five Ways to Enrich Any Unit". We will then review the Phase 1 assignments you turned in on Tuesday.

Assignment for Tuesday, February 28:

Read Chapter 9 in your text.

Assignment for Thursday, March 1:

Each one of you will choose one of the "Great Teaching Strategies" described in Chapter 9. In class on March 1, you will each model the one you choose to the rest of the class. You will use one of the lessons from your Social Studies series materials. Have everything prepared to teach us, demonstrating your strategy, in a 30 minute lesson.

Tueday, February 21, 2012

We will begin class today by collecting Phase 1 of your unit plan. We will then continue with a discussion of Chapter 8 "Planning Units, Lessons, and Activities". You were assigned to read this chapter as there is valuable information in it that will help guide you with your unit development.

I will return your Phase 1 info back to you, with comments, by tomorrow (Wednesday) so you can begin on the next phase.

Assignment for Thursday, Feb.23:

We will start class with a quiz over the "Five Ways to Enrich Any Unit" from your chapter, pages 298-312. You will be required to provide a definition of each of the five "learning by doing" strategies. You will also be required to provide two specific examples of each of the strategies. So, be prepared to do so!

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

We will continue our discussion of "Checking for Understanding" (CFU) strategies that supplement Chapter 7 in your text. I will also collect the CFU assignment that is due today. In class, we are going to make note cards with strategies on them that you can pull from throughout the day when you're teaching.

I haven't had time to look at the "clickers issue" we had but will get back to you on that one!

Assignment for Tuesday, Feb. 21:

Read Chapter 8 in your text, "Planning Units, Lessons, and Activities". Complete Phase 1 of the Preparing a Social Studies Unit project. This will be due at the beginning of class on the 21st.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Today in class we're going to talk about methods of assessment (Chapter 7 in your text). One of the purposes of assessment is to "check for understanding", a collection of strategies that educators use to guide lesson planning, student learning, and our teaching - all part of the teaching and learning process.

Assessment that is designed to give feedback to students in the development of knowledge is Formative Assessment. Formative assessment can be thought of as "taking the temperature" of your class. This "temperature" then drives the direction of your teaching. Formative assessment with clickers is a perfect fit. Varying assessment modalities can be used throughout a unit to constantly monitor the "temperature" of your class. Without the fear of extensive grading, more frequent assessment techniques can be used.

A Vision of K-12 Students Today

You're going to get an opportunity in class today to develop an interactive assessment tool using "Clickers".

Assignment for Tuesday, Feb. 14:

Complete the "Checking for Understanding" Strategies document that I will email you that lists a number of formal and informal assessment strategies. You will have to search the internet to find the definitions but these are common assessment strategies so you should be able to find them. This assignment is due the beginning of class on Feb. 14.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

We're going to start class with a short video clip about the continents - are there 6 or 7?

How Many Continents Are There?

Then we're going to discuss our current event assignments that are due today as well as review the suggestions for teaching current events in Chapter 6 of your text using a Powerpoint. We are going to review newspapers for current event articles that are and are not appropriate for classroom discussion at the elementary school level.

Assignment for Thursday, Feb. 9th:

Read Chapter 7 in your text - READ it! On pages 256-257 of your text, there are examples of multiple choice with justification and short essay item assessments. Using your current events topic that you shared in class on Tuesday, Feb. 7, develop your own multiple choice with justification and short essay item assessments. Have them typed/word processed and ready for class this Thursday, Feb. 9th.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Your reading guides for Chapter 6 are due at the beginning of class.....

In class today, we're going to begin by discussing strategies for teaching current events. I will share an example with you that is aligned with the 6th grade Social Studies series. As stated in your syllabus, you are required to complete the following:

4.    Current events/issues planning

In addition to a unit plan, candidates will develop and exhibit current events lesson plans modeled after the “whale capture” news story, and public-issues lesson plans modeled after the “Who is responsible for the poor?” plan, both in Chapter 6. Additionally, Lesson Plan #9: A Nation in the News, also in Chapter 6, illustrates the third approach discussed there for including current events in the elementary school program: using current events as the basis for social studies units. An event happening in another country is used as the springboard into learning the history and geography of that country. Candidates will see that the six topics running down the left side of the chart can be used to study any nation in the news.

We will also take some time to preview the Social Studies series at the different grade levels. I have a hand-out for you that corresponds to the visual diagram I drew on the board at the beginning of the class (as the child goes up through the grades, the scope of the social studies curriculum expands).

Assignment for Tuesday, Feb. 7:

Identify a grade level and a current event topic that is appropriate for that grade according to the Social Studies scope and sequence. Bring your article to class with you and a written summary of how you would teach about the event. You can use the one I give to you in class today (my example) as a template for what you're going to complete for this assignment.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

We will begin class today by turning in your assignment for Chapter 5. We will then discuss the "Teacher Toolbox" strategies and a survey I would like you to complete. After this, we will each share our "hook" for the Lesson Plan 7 on page 178 of your text, "Using the Globe to Learn About Earth". If we have time, I will share my talking globe with you so you can play a game.

Assignment for Thursday, February 2:

Read Chapter 6 in your text, pages 204-233 (shorter than some). Complete the reading guide for Chapter 6 - it is due to be handed in at the beginning of class on Thursday.

Look Ahead: Refer to your syllabus for the assignment (#4) from Chapter 6. That will be due next week, Feb. 7th.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

As always, I will collect your assignment that is due today at the beginning of the class period.

In class today, we're going to discuss Chapter 4 in the text, paying particular attention to primary and secondary sources. What are they and why do we (and children - our students) need to know about them?

Assignment for Tuesday, January 31:

• Read Chapter 5 in your text. Your assignment is to identify 10 concepts or topics from Chapter 5 that you want to remember for when you have your own classroom. Each topic should be described with 3-4 sentences. (Do not simply give me a list.) Include enough information so you can refer back to it later.
• Think about the lesson plan on page 178 of your text (Lesson Plan 7). Come to class prepared to share a motivator, or anticipatory set, with the class that you would use to begin this lesson if you were teaching it to a 1st grade classroom.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

We will begin class by collecting your assignments that are due today - numbers 3 and 4 on page 114.

We will then review the 7 guidelines for teaching in a diverse classroom (the posters) from Chapter 2. We will also continue/complete our activity with the two speeches that we started in class last Tuesday.

Assignment for Tuesday, Jan. 24th:

• Read Chapter 4 in your text.
• Respond to the following 3 prompts (use a table for the first two):

1. Summarize the essence of each of the six disciplines presented in Chapter 4 and explain the importance of each to children and their communities.
2. Correlate the six disciplines presented in this chapter with state Social Studies curriculum guidelines (standards).
3. Distinguish between "absorbing" and "doing" history.

This assignment is due at the beginning of class next Tuesday.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Your six dimensions of citizenship education summary is due today, at the beginning of class.
We will begin class by reviewing the 7 guidelines for teaching in diverse classrooms on the posters you made in class last week. We will then move into an activity using two famous speeches - one by Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce and one by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Assignment for Thursday, Jan. 19th:

Respond to numbers 3 and 4 on page 114 of your text, in Chapter 3. For number 3, you don't have to write up a lesson plan. Just come prepared to share an idea of a lesson on the Constitution. For number 4, a handwritten paragraph response is sufficient. I'm not going to specify the "length" of your response; just make sure your response has relevance - some "meat" to it. Give me specific examples.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

We are going to be meeting in the computer lab in B06 today for class. Lisa Cantlon would like to use our classroom for a test and we have a computer project to do so it works out perfectly! So, COME TO B06 FOR CLASS ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 12th!

Your assignment for today is to read Chapter 2 and respond to #2 on page 66. I will collect those responses at the beginning of class. Then we'll spend a few minutes talking about the first part of Chapter 2. After that, you're going to get on the computers and develop a series of posters for the "Seven Guidelines for Teaching in a Diverse Classroom". Each one of you will take two of the guidelines and design a poster for those two guidelines. Because there are four of you and seven guidelines, one of you will also make the title page. We will then scan and print these documents on our new poster maker so they can be displayed.

Assignment for Tuesday, January 17th:

• Read Chapter 3 in your text.
• In your own words, summarize each of the six dimensions of citizenship education described in the chapter. The summary of each one of the dimensions must be no less than 300 words. This means your total document will be a total of no less than 1800 words (6 dimensions x 300 words). This is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, Jan. 17th.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

We will begin class today with a discussion of the content in Chapter 1, which you were assigned to read for today. I will give you a handout of the 10 themes established by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS).

Assignment for Thursday, Jan. 12:

• Referring to the example on page 11 of your text, develop an example of your own for another grade level. You will need to refer to your 10 themes handout.
• Read Chapter 2 in your text - pages 28-67.
• Respond to #2 on page 66, in writing, and be prepared to hand it in at the beginning of class that day.

Keep in mind that this is a methods course! Methods courses are more work, requiring more time and effort, than typical content classes. Just so you know what to expect!