Dave Said:

How can a new social studies teacher engage HS students to think crtically and historically?

We Answered:

Make everything relevant to them with hypothetical questions and scenarios. This'll require a lot of effort (and creativity) on your part, but if speaking on a subject with significance, pose the question, "What if..." then make it relevant to them.

I taught high school English to "underprivileged" kids, so I always went back to hip hop music, urban culture, $h!t that I'm down with anyway-- so we had a lot to relate on.

But I might pose a question like, "Ladies, if this kind of thing happened today, what would go down?" Immediately, high school girls have a response, and the guys get drawn in to defend themselves, and you just keep looping back to the concept so they make the connection.

You've gotta know your kids, though. That's tantamount. You've almost got to be them. Most adults bring up what THEY think is related, or what THEY think kids should be into, often times being the exact opposite of reality. Make the sacrifice, though. The kids will learn, and they'll respect that you're down with them. Maybe you don't wanna talk about hip hop, but if it helps them, then it's what's up.

Good luck.

David Said:

i will be teaching social studies grade1 and 2 and math grade 3,could you help me with some good lesson plans?

We Answered:

i don't remember learning about social studies when i was that young. i think i was robbed of a good education ;-)

all i remember from that class (8 years of it) is the difference between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

luckily it's going to be an election year so you'll be able to build on that.

Theodore Said:

Does Anyone know a Good Lesson Plan Topic that can be done for Math, Science, and Social Studies?

We Answered:

What age level?

The Civil War lends it's self. Our team taught it as a multi-diciplinary unit.

LA - there are a tons of literature relating to Civil War
SS - Self-explanatory
Sci - the science of trajectory for cannon, medicine and disease
Math - calculate distance traveled, etc.

check out
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/pd/instr/strats…

Rachel Said:

lesson plans?

We Answered:

http://classroomclipart.com
http://lessonplancentral.com/lessons/
http://www.theteacherscorner.net/
http://www.learningpage.com/
http://www.edhelper.com/kindergarten/Kin…
http://www.educationworld.com/
http://www.edupuppy.com/
http://www.scholastic.com/clifford/paren…
http://www.creativekidscrafts.com/presch…
http://www.eduplace.com/
http://atozteacherstuff.com/
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/
http://www.teachercreated.com/free/
http://www.nabss.org/irsites.htm

You will find some are more helpfull than others, but do give them a try. I know there is LOTS out there!!!
Enjoy your course ...
;-)

Calvin Said:

What does my teacher mean "Develop a Unit of study using the lesson plan format"?

We Answered:

exactly what you are saying, you need to make a unit about any topic related to social to social studies, does your teacher let you know about how many weeks will the unit has to cover? you can find lesson plan templates online but instead of doing it for one class period use it for the entire unit. for example day one, day two, day three etc. with the proper state standards, the objectives and activities that will cover the entire unit and the resources and materials that will be necessary for the lesson activities. Choose a good book and make all your lesson plans from it.

Marvin Said:

Where can I find information on creating lesson plans?

We Answered:

Go to the Education Library on your campus. They'll have lots of resources relating to lesson planning, and probably some workbooks with sample lesson plans you can copy and fill in yourself. However, this sort of thing should be covered in the part of your program that deals with curriculum and/or classroom management. I'm sure your profs will have lots of good info for you when the time comes. Keep the following things in mind when making your lesson plans:

WHAT are the learning objectives of the lesson?
HOW will the students meet the objectives?
WHO will complete the activities?
WHEN will they do the work?
WHY are they doing this activity / learning this information?

Example:

WHAT - write a letter to the editor about a current event
HOW - read an example letter, write a draft, submit the draft for peer editing, write a good copy
WHO - students will work independently and then peer-correct the drafts
WHEN - ten minutes to read the example, thirty minutes to write the draft, twenty minutes to peer edit, good copy for homework due tomorrow
WHY - learning the format of a personal letter and develop persuasive writing skills

It is also good to have a section of your lesson plan that deals with anticipated problems and how you will deal with them. At the end of your lesson plan you should have space to record whether the lesson was successful and what you would change next time. Then, file the lesson plan for future use.

Clara Said:

What is harder to teach: middle/high school English or Social Studies?

We Answered:

Middle school might be really tough to teach because kids aren't mature. High school is a little bit better. I'd say social is easier to teach.