When I think of Social Studies my first thought is that it is the study of the past, but in reality it is so much more than that! It includes Geography, Economics, Social Science, Citizenship and many other things! I personally have had some great Social Studies teachers in my life as a student and because of that I always really enjoyed the subject. I also had teachers that made it extremely dry and boring. My teachers have shaped the way that I want to teach Social Studies.
In class we talked about the powerful elements of Social Studies. It occurred to me that all of the teachers I loved used these elements to teach. The elements included:
Meaningful
connecting to real world experience
Integrative
uses more than one discipline or skill
Value-Based
strengthens democratic value and social responsibility
Challenging
uses children's critical thinking abilities
Active
hands on and minds on activities
Another interesting aspect of class was the learning pyramid about the best way students learn! I need to keep this in mind when I become a teacher!
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