Down Time for Books!

If you have ever had a crazy day in your classroom, you are not alone. Just this past week in my field experience, my students were getting ready for PARCC testing--however, something went wrong with the computers, so we had a few minutes of down time. This was a perfect opportunity for a read-aloud. My third graders loved it!

But, what better way to use down time, than to do a read-aloud using a social studies book! Sometimes I feel like I have to be sneaky to incorporate social studies in the classroom. I want my students to get the most out of my class! So I have provided a link here to a great PDF about social studies books to use in your classroom. They are on an assortment of topics and grade levels (from lower elementary to high school). The list of topics is broad--from biography, to environment, to folktales, culture, social relationships and more! Check it out and maybe you would like to add some of these books to your class library!

Interactive Whiteboards

Starting my field experience for my block class has been a whirlwind! I have so much to do in so little time. Like other teachers, I need fun and engaging ways to incorporate social studies into my teaching.

This is where interactive whiteboards come into play. SmartBoard, Promethean, Mimio and more can all be utilized for social studies. I found this really great part of the Scholastic website that utilizes interactive whiteboards here. This site has cool games and resources for students and teachers. Some of them are about: Ellis Island, World War II, The First Thanksgiving, and the Underground Railroad.

I also found this other website that has a multitude of interactive whiteboard resources here. There really is something out there for every subject. We as teachers just need to be creative in our incorporation of social studies into the classroom. This particular activity is where students use the whiteboard to put the states back together in the U.S. This could be a center activity or a reward to play with the interactive whiteboard. I like this activity because I love puzzles and geography--best of both worlds!

Socratic Cirlces

How can we incorporate more speaking and listening into the curriculum AND integrate social studies? Socratic Circles!

If you have never heard of this before, at the bottom is a list of professional resources that you can use to learn about Socratic Circles. The basic principle is this: students get a chance to express their opinions about a certain topic/article (preferably about social studies) and a chance to critique their peers conversation in a Socratic Circle. Those in the inside circle discuss the material. Those on the outside circle critique the inside circle and give feedback. Pretty simple.

This would be a great addition to any classroom. How many times do you give students homework to "read" and they come back having not read? This would force them to do the reading because they will have to use the information to contribute in conversation.  I hope this sparks and interest and some courage for you to try this in your classroom!

Professional Resources: 
This link gives a presentation on Socratic Circles and how to use them in a classroom. It is mainly for teachers, but I think it would be beneficial for students to understand the guidelines. (Target Grade: 5-8) https://prezi.com/8rhncy5szgie/socratic-seminars-in-the-ss-classroom/

This site has a concise description of how to run a Socratic Seminar. If you follow other links on the site, there are resources and tons of things to give ideas for topics. (Target Grade: 3-6) https://www.facinghistory.org/for-educators/educator-resources/teaching-strategies/socratic-seminar

This is a PDF of a PowerPoint presentation. It has really great explanations and examples to use with middle and high school students. Every content area is addressed. (Target Grade: 7)  http://intc.education.illinois.edu/events/btc2013/shad_skarzynski

This link provides an actual lesson plan for Socratic Circles. The topic is the Enlightenment in World History. (Target Grade: 7-9) http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/ghgonline/units/5/documents/LearningExpU5.pdf

This is a PDF of a PowerPoint presentation. It explains why Socratic circles are such a crucial part of 21st Century Skills. (Target Grade: application to any) http://www.mtagate.org/uploads/1/1/7/4/11741428/walker_socratic_seminar.pdf

This is a lesson plan for high school on Human Rights. I think the format is important here. (Target Grade: 9-12) https://www.uww.edu/Documents/colleges/coeps/cni/social%20studies/lesson%20plans/2008-2009/UN_Hum_Rights_SS.pdf

This site is a great way to form Socratic Questions to ask your students. (Target Grade: application to any)  http://changingminds.org/techniques/questioning/socratic_questions.htm 

This is a PDF that further explains Socratic Circles and how they work. There are some good example handouts. (Target Grade: 4-8)  https://www.nwabr.org/sites/default/files/SocSem.pdf

On this site, under "Find lesson plans in your subject area:" there is a History section, and if you click on the topics it will bring up lesson plans. (Target Grade: varies) http://www.paideia.org/teachers/seminar-lesson-plans/

This is a PDF of a free lesson plan. It is mostly a template that can be used to Socratic Circle Lessons. (Target Grade: application to any) http://www.liketoread.com/Resources/Socratic%20Lesson%20Plan%20Template.pdf

This is a resource on Teachers Pay Teachers for Socratic Circle math cards. (Target Grade: 7-10)  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Socratic-Circles-Number-Cards-227692

Geography Games

What better way to teach Geography than a game? Geography is of utmost importance in classrooms today. Children need to know where they are in relation to the world! I would like to share a few games that I would use to teach Geography.

For the Geography of the United States, I would use Scribble States because it is my personal favorite. Players have to “connect the dots” with a virtual pencil, and then have to answer a multiple-choice question about which state (in the United States) they just drew. And the whole thing is timed! (Target Grade: 2-4) I probably had too much fun playing this by myself. 

I have a particular interest in English Language Learners. I would use these two games to support any diverse learners in my classroom.
Landscapes This site is and elementary introduction of different types of landscapes. It would be great for English Language Learners because it shows the word and speaks the name. (Target Grade: K-2)

The Sea This site would be perfect for English Language Learners. It shows pictures of different things pertaining to the sea--showing the word and orally pronouncing it. (Target Grade: K-2)

These are just a few of my favorites. Below are more, that I hope to inspire you to search for your own Geography games. Happy Hunting! 

Geography Glossary This site has an interactive glossary of geography words that would be a great review for students. (Target Grade: 4-6)

World Continents and Oceans This is a beginner’s website to learn the continents and oceans. In the sidebar, information about the continent/ocean is given. (Target Grade: 1-3)

What’s It Like Where You Live? In this site, students can explore different types of climates and environments that are found in the world. It also answers common questions about certain climates. (Target Grade: 2-4)

The Traveler IQ Challenge is probably going to be just about the most difficult map game you’ll ever play. Players have to click where they think a certain city or landmark is in a particular continent/region. It is hard because it is timed and points are deducted for how far off you are from the actual answer. (Target Grade: 5-6)

The View From Above This is a guessing game that uses satellite images. Players have to guess the country that is pictured. Note: be sure to scroll down--the adds take up a lot of space. (Target Grade: 4-6)

Brainpop Geography This site has tons of cool games that students can play whenever you reach a certain topic. Note: username and password needed to play (Target Grade: 2-4)

Latitude and Longitude This site has an interactive game where students use latitude and longitude to find the character Hannah. (Target Grade: 2-4)

Flat Stanley

Have you ever heard of Flat Stanley? Flat Stanley is a book about a flat boy who travels the world by being mailed. It is super cute and relevant to social studies. For my BLOCK class, I created my own Flat Stanley to be mailed to different places. I tried emailing it to a few friends in Scotland, Swaziland in South Africa, and Washington state in the US. However, she only came back from Africa.

A friend of mine's mother works in Swaziland with an orphanage. In this picture are her two children (holding my Flat Stanley and the puppy) and some natives eating fresh mangoes. 

Flat Stanley is a great tool for teaching social studies. Children in your classroom can color their own and mail it to different places you are learning about. Children can write journal prompts about the adventures their flat person has taken in their travels. Math and science can be incorporated in distances and regional differences. And most importantly, Flat Stanley can give an account of the people, life, culture and other traditions from the places he has been. 

I hope you enjoy this great idea for incorporating social studies!

Time for a Timeline

Have you ever had one of those classes where you get all these dates just thrown in your face, and the teacher says "Memorize these for the test! You'll have to put them in order." My response was always something like this….

Why are timelines so hard for me to grab on to? I am a very sequential thinker, but if I am putting a bunch of random dates in order that have no meaning to me, it is a lost cause. I honestly think that memorizing dates is a waste of time. A better way to have children put things in order is by making a timeline a project. It doesn't have to be this big, fancy ordeal, but can actually be kinda fun!

I searched high and low on the wide spaces of the internet and found this website with the top 10 free online sites that you can use in your classroom to build timelines! Top 10 free timeline creation tools for teachers

This is a super cool resource for teachers to think about. This type of timeline project would be super easy to integrate English Language Arts as well (timeline of story events in order etc), and it is very adaptable for any age.

Have fun creating your timelines!

Warm Ups for Cold Weather

I love winter!! Not many people can say that, especially those living in Boston with their 5.5ft of snow (and counting). Here in Mississippi it is pretty chilly and rainy so you feet can stay cold all day.

To beat this cold weather, let's talk about a couple warm ups to keep those young minds in your classroom nice and toasty.

So in our BLOCK class last week, we were all very stressed with our upcoming unit. Our wonderful teacher reminded us that it is important to voice your concerns and listen to your students! I couldn't be more thankful for an understanding teacher. 

Anyways, our warm-up for the day was called QuickWrite. You give the students options of what to pick to write about. The format is like this: "How is a ____ like a __(1)____, __(2)_____, or __(3)_____?" and the students get to choose whichever one they want to write about.  For example, ours was "How is a teacher like a doctor, artist, or builder?"After this warm-up you could hold a discussion about what the students picked and why.

Even with this activity, students can have different interpretations of the same option. For example, in our class 3 of us chose that a teacher is like a doctor, but we all had completely different reasons. 

I found a couple links to some good warm-ups if you ever need a change in your classroom. 

This site has 10 warm-ups for introducing lessons. 

If you have some down time, this site has free downloads and directions for 360 warm-ups.

I hope you enjoy these! Comments are always welcome! And remember to keep those minds working!