Entry Six: Critical Literacy for Young Citizens

A painting of the First Thanksgiving Feast by Jennie A. Brownscombe.

Teaching any grade level can, and will, be a challenge, but it's how we approach the topics that we need to teach that makes the biggest impact on the learning of all students. I have always believed that a teacher who is extremely dedicated and prepared to go above and beyond simple expectations can make a student a life long learner who is appreciative of education and knowledge and ready to reshape the future.

Teaching social studies is a struggle in every elementary school due to the immense focus that is placed on core content subjects like that of Reading Language Arts and Math, but it doesn't have to be that way. I have mentioned in previous blog entries in my love for thematic teaching and cross-subject referencing and I will mention it again..."We can teach any subject critically if we sit down and devise a lesson that allows for information to be linked to several TEKS in different content areas!"

In the article "Critical Literacy for Young Citizens: First Graders Investigate the First Thanksgiving" by Jennifer H. James and Michelle McVay, the concept of inquiry based learning in a social studies lesson is discussed in great depth and detail. The concept of teaching younger students in elementary school historical thinking enables them to develop into effective citizens and how this will set them up to be "capable of shaping our future and sustaining and improving our democracy" (James & McVay, 2009, p. 348).

The inquiry based lesson plan that was designed by Michelle (Mikki) for a class of first graders showed how receptive and curious even our youngest students are, and how given the opportunity and right guidance can lead them to make their own discoveries. While planning her inquiry based lesson Mikki kept her objectives focused with the help of four aspects of historical inquiry that were laid out by Bruce VanSledright; identification, attribution, judging perspective, and reliability assessment. These four aspects allowed Mikki to focus her learning goals and devise a lesson plan that was student-centered.

In closing, it is not difficult to come up with meaningful engaging lessons that are student-centered and thematic or cross-subject effective. Mikki was able to take a inquiry based lesson design, that is generally only seen in science and math, and use it to teach research skills in social studies, while also using written text (nonfiction books) to engage students in reading.

Entry Five: Teaching with Primary Sources

Primary sources are a great way to engage students in a new unit of study or topic. It allows them to make observations about the source whether it is a picture, newspaper, article, diary, artifact, and etc. It also help spark curiosity and meaningful discussions among their peers and with the classroom teacher. The great thing about teaching students through the use of primary sources is the cross TEKS objectives that are covered in various subjects like reading, social studies, and science. 

Teaching about primary sources in reading and then using an example in a social studies or science lesson will help the students reinforce the idea that the information that they learn in one subject area can help them in another. I bring this up because I often hear students mumble, "Ugh... why do I need to know this?" and " When am I ever going to use this?"  As educators we need to make sure to always try and connect across subject areas for the benefit of student growth and as well to reinforce our lessons. 

Entry Four: Columbus and The Indians

Teaching accurate History in Social Studies begins with identifying the myths and debunking them prior to engaging students and teaching them the inaccurate or slightly skewed information. This video that I have attached to this blog tells the story of how Christopher Columbus came to a newly found world and began to ravish not just the resources but also the people of this new world. This video, while it may not be appropriate to show to any elementary school children, educates the classroom teacher and give him/her the essential background knowledge in order to present accurate information to the students.

As current and future educators, we need to be able to tackle uncomfortable situations and teach the leaders of the future (our students) the realities that took place in our world and nations history in order to ensure that it does not repeat itself. Students are more perceptive and accepting than we anticipate. Some students already have some background knowledge that allows them to make connections to these events and they can and WANT to engage in meaningful discussions. So lets allow them to do so in a safe and structured environment.