I have been in an 8th grade World Geography class for the past two months, and it has been a blast! The later part of the course is divided into regions, in each region you have an endless possibility of content before you, which makes planning both exciting and difficult. It has however, made the use of current events in the classroom and seamless integration. They are a great way for students to to be brought up to speed on culture and politics in each of the regions that we have studied. For example, when we were learning about the Middle East as our region of study we were able to compare news articles about the events of the Arab Spring as they were unfolding last year, to how they are portrayed in the news a year later. We also found this great game (designed by a university to teach the Arab Spring) that we were able to play with our students in the class that incorporated the Arab Spring events. The link to game and all instructions and materials can be found here: Arab Spring Game. What was neat about the news articles from last year to this year was that we could really get into some media literacy. Ask the students questions like:
"How have the Article titles changed?"
"Do the authors attitudes and opinions change over time?"
"Are the events portrayed as positive things or negative things?"
"Do the content of the articles change drastically from one year to the next?"
"How do each of the different news outlets treat the events of the Arab Spring?"
"Do online news media tell the story differently than public radio?"
Both the nytimes online and the BBC allow you to access archived news articles (simple search by title/content and plenty of information comes up) as well as NPR, which provides an alternative media source for information. To ensure that your students are exposed to a wide variety of media outlets with varying slants and opinions, also think about using the Washington Post or Huffington Post to get some of your articles.
Likewise, when doing the unit on Europe there were plenty of current events that fit seamlessly into the unit and content. For example, over the weekend the recent elections in Europe resulted in some massive upheaval of staunch EU supporters; these events played perfectly into the essential question: Is Europe unifying or dividing?
A great way to introduce students to media bias would be to discuss the case of Turkey and the EU. There are a whole host of videos that you could use demonstrating the EU's position and likewise Turkey's position. You could also use political cartoons, and EU advertisements to enrich the content with a variety of resources. The discussion of Turkey and the European Union is a great way to integrate geography, history, government and sociology into your classroom, and tie Europe to the Middle East.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Application to Practice 2: Law can be Powerful
As social studies educators we are aware of how powerful the Supreme Court is and how important it is for our students to understand it, and to want to learn more about it. As educators it is our job to find the thing that will motivate and engage them, when it comes to the Supreme Court that is not easy to do. However, to inspire their legal desires beyond just your own classroom I recommend introducing the students to the Innocence Project. Note, I believe that this content is appropriate for seniors, I recommend caution if you plan on using it in lower grade levels.
The Innocence Project was started in 1992 to assist attorneys through DNA testing of the innocence of wrongfully convicted men and woman in America. To date 289 people have been exonerated including 17 who were on death row. It is a very powerful organization and most law schools have their own chapter. There is also a way for Youth to get involved. If you visit the website, Youth Take Action you can see how students have gotten involved and made a difference. It is also a great way to introduce the project to your class and get them motivated to do something. Often times the cases in The Innocence Project deals with the much larger issue of race; this can be a useful tool for teaching social justice, the supreme court, and also ethical economics. Even if your classroom decides not to get involved further, it is still a highly engaging way to teach your students about the Supreme Court.
The Innocence Project was started in 1992 to assist attorneys through DNA testing of the innocence of wrongfully convicted men and woman in America. To date 289 people have been exonerated including 17 who were on death row. It is a very powerful organization and most law schools have their own chapter. There is also a way for Youth to get involved. If you visit the website, Youth Take Action you can see how students have gotten involved and made a difference. It is also a great way to introduce the project to your class and get them motivated to do something. Often times the cases in The Innocence Project deals with the much larger issue of race; this can be a useful tool for teaching social justice, the supreme court, and also ethical economics. Even if your classroom decides not to get involved further, it is still a highly engaging way to teach your students about the Supreme Court.
Application to Practice 1: The Power of Film
For a content area as vast, detailed and varied as World History, wherever a teacher can find a useful tool to enrich the content she should grab it! Film can be a powerful tool and create a more powerful image or complete picture of a subject that a typical classroom may not be able to. One area where i have found success with this is in teaching Western Imperialism in Japan in a a 9th grade World History class.
Japanese history played an important role in its eventual rise to power and understanding where Japan came from was essential for my students to be able to see just how remarkable their rise to power was. I used the video, Memoirs of a Secret Empire Episode 3 "Alien Barbarians" to provide the students with some more vivid background information. The entire episode was 40 minutes long, but I pulled only a fifteen minute segment from it. The students had a handout to follow along with, containing questions only necessary for its tie to imperialism (not too many questions and your students will not be able to watch the video). I stopped every five minutes or so to ask a check for understanding question. The video was excellent, it was narrated through letters written by visitors to the Tokogawa empire and also educated Japanese living under the empire as well. It was a great, engaging, and easy fifteen minute way to catch my students up on the long history of Japan.
In general, for a great film selection, including educational, documentary and traditional, having a netflix online account has ben an invaluable tool. You can access PBS, BBC, and the History Channel videos. Another less thought of location to find great films for the classroom is your school's library or your local county library.
Film can be a great way to bring history to life but like anything has a time and a place in a classroom. Before you present a film to a class, be sure that you have watched it several times and know exactly where you will need to pause it, and where the answers to the questions on your organizer are. The film is not meant to trick the students, its meant to supplement and enrich their learning, so be helpful wherever you can.
Japanese history played an important role in its eventual rise to power and understanding where Japan came from was essential for my students to be able to see just how remarkable their rise to power was. I used the video, Memoirs of a Secret Empire Episode 3 "Alien Barbarians" to provide the students with some more vivid background information. The entire episode was 40 minutes long, but I pulled only a fifteen minute segment from it. The students had a handout to follow along with, containing questions only necessary for its tie to imperialism (not too many questions and your students will not be able to watch the video). I stopped every five minutes or so to ask a check for understanding question. The video was excellent, it was narrated through letters written by visitors to the Tokogawa empire and also educated Japanese living under the empire as well. It was a great, engaging, and easy fifteen minute way to catch my students up on the long history of Japan.
In general, for a great film selection, including educational, documentary and traditional, having a netflix online account has ben an invaluable tool. You can access PBS, BBC, and the History Channel videos. Another less thought of location to find great films for the classroom is your school's library or your local county library.
Film can be a great way to bring history to life but like anything has a time and a place in a classroom. Before you present a film to a class, be sure that you have watched it several times and know exactly where you will need to pause it, and where the answers to the questions on your organizer are. The film is not meant to trick the students, its meant to supplement and enrich their learning, so be helpful wherever you can.
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