Growing a Classroom Library? Add these books!

Lately, I've been daydreaming about creating a social studies classroom library. When I see the amazing collections amassed by my friends who teach ELA, I think back to the collection of thirty year old encyclopedias, old textbooks, and atlases that made up my classroom library when I was in the classroom. They definitely served a purpose, but students weren't exactly excited to use them.

So...
What if teachers added books to their libraries that hooked students and made them want to learn more? What if the books made a foreign culture or time more relevant? What if the books were just fun to read? What if the classroom library became a spot that students liked to go to and were excited about?

While I was creating a wish list of books for my dream library, I realized I didn't have many recent books on my list. So, I asked my good friend and ELA teacher, Rachel of Writing by Rachel, to make me a list of recent books that should be added to a middle school social studies classroom collection. Here are her amazing suggestions.

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Do This Before Your Students Open a Textbook!

Have you ever done things a certain way for years and then had a revelation that you've been doing it wrong? Well, this happened to me a few years ago.

I've always liked to assign reading homework to my high school students so they'd be prepared for the next day's lesson. And, every time, the results were dismal. I'd pretty much given up on having students read when a conversation I had with some other teachers helped me realize that I was going into the new school year with a huge assumption.

I assumed that somewhere along the line - in middle school or as freshmen - that my students had been taught HOW to read secondary sources. 

I was wrong.

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Inexpensive Rewards Middle School Students Love

 Rewards for your students don't have to cost a lot. Here are ten your students are sure to love!

1. PENCILS - I'm always surprised at how popular pencils are (I even give pencils away at my house on Halloween and kids will pick them over my stash of good chocolate candy!).  If you are headed toward the dreaded fill-in-the-bubble sheets, make sure the pencils you are giving away are #2. I have a canister of plain to wildly decorated and holiday theme pencils for students to choose from.

2.  HIGHLIGHTERS - The various dollar stores have good prices on highlighters, but I also keep an eye out for great back-to-school sale prices. I buy the assorted color multi-packs and students get to choose one color.

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4 Types of Questions You Should be Asking Your Students

I have always heard 'There are no stupid questions.' While this may be true, there definitely are ill-timed questions asked in your class. And, it's not what you are thinking. The ill-timed questions don't come from our students, but from us.

We all know the importance of 'wait time' before calling on a student and we usually remember to avoid leading a question with a student’s name so the other students don't zone out. But, beyond that, we should be purposeful in the questions we pose to our students.

There are four types of questions and the type of the answer you are hoping for is dictated by the type of question:

Do you want to spark student interest and curiosity? Then, you ask a hook or preview question.

Is there a definite correct answer to your question? Then, you ask a leading question that directs students to that answer.

Are there multiple possible answers? Then, you need to ask a guiding question.

Do you want to promote critical higher level thinking? Then, you need to ask an essential question (EQ).

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Leave the Chaos Behind with Transitions

As a teacher, I take a lot of things into consideration when I plan out my lessons. I make sure the activity aligns to standards and will be engaging. I plan out the prep for the lesson and I have a back-up plan if the lesson is finished quicker than I anticipated or if it flops. But, for years, I left out an important piece of my daily lessons. It's something that signals a smoothly running classroom (and something administrators always look for it when they do their observations) and I didn't give it a single thought. What was it? Transitions - how to go from one activity to another without encountering all-out chaos in the classroom. 

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Music and Memory – A Winning Pair in Social Studies

Have you ever gone through the channels on your car radio and happened upon an oldie but goodie you haven’t heard in years? Suddenly, you remember where you were, who you were with, and what you were doing the last time you heard that song. Even though you haven't heard the song in ages, you remember every word of the song. It's amazing how music interconnects with our memories. Because of this, content linked with music makes an excellent teaching strategy.

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10 Activities for Teaching Historical Perspective

Analyzing history from both sides of the story can encourage students to delve more deeply into the people and events they are studying. But, analyzing is difficult for many students. An easy way to help your students is to add a graphic component. This helps activate various multiple intelligences to assist understanding and retention.

There are a wide variety of graphic options for perspective and viewpoint pieces. A few work best with individual historical figures, while others can be used with people or events. Here are some of my favorites.

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Why You Should Let Your High School Students Color in Class

I've always liked to color. By the time I was in high school, I had a collection of colored pens to use while I took notes during lectures. I also doodled flowers and shapes in the margins of my paper as I listened to my teachers. As an adult, I still have a collection of colored pens and you can still catch me doodling during meeting and webinars. Because of my tendency to color and doodle, I often incorporated ways for my students to color in class. I always had containers of crayons, markers, and colored pencils ready for students to use. They made posters, brochures, picture books, colored maps, and so much more. And then, my friend Brigid of Math Giraffe introduced me to the idea of Doodle Notes - a way to join my love of coloring and doodling with note taking.

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How to Make and Use QR Codes in Social Studies

If you’ve been in a classroom recently, you probably have noticed there is a ton of digital learning taking place. There are cell phones, iPads, Chromebooks, etc. Students love technology and the more we can incorporate it into our lessons and activities, the more engaged they might be. One type of technology that I love to use in my classroom are these things called QR codes. You've probably have heard of them, but do you know how to make one? Do you know how you can even use one? If you don’t, no worries. I am here to help!

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