Marley's Social Studies Journey

Connecting to Economics In chapter ten of our class textbook,  National Social Science Press,  I was able to read up on the different ways we can make connections to economics. In the current moment, elementary students don't think that economics can effect them in anyway, but that is far from the truth. Economics effects just about everyone and everything, whether you have money yourself or not. A growing society can certainly effect the economy just as much as it effects class sizes. The bigger the class, the more needs for services such as teachers, janitors, cafeteria workers, etc. On the other hand, the opposite happens when class sizes go down- there is less of a need for these services. With class sizes growing in rural and poverty stricken areas, there are less services being provided to students who need it most. Important one-on-one attention is being overlooked and neglected because there is simply not en...

Goods and Services Inside the topic of economics is the commonly taught goods and services attribute. Goods and services is an important but simple way for younger students to understand the gist of economics. Goods is something you can buy, where a service is something done for you or someone else. You can twist goods and services in many, many different ways to fit your students understandings and needs. You can also do many fun things with this topic. For example, inside the 2nd grade classroom we are doing fieldwork in, goods and services is taught in a discreet and amusing way. Before my college class arrived, the 2nd grade lesson wasn't even focusing on economics, but they had a system in place that is entirely what goods and services is. The teacher has a coin system where a student will earn a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, or rarely a bill, for doing a good job inside the classroom. Then, at the end of the week the student...

Utilizing Debates in the Classroom When you hear the word debate, one would usually think of politics or an argument. But, if done correctly, a debate can be a great method to use when teaching Social Studies in your classroom. As long as you and your student have an understanding that it stays positive and polite, a debate can be a great way for students of any age to learn and see different point of views. It is also a realistic strategy used in many different real world situations. Debates give students a chance to speak up and fight for what they think is right in an appropriate and knowledge filled way. When myself and a few peers presented a current event to the rest of our class, we had them do a debate. We split the class into two groups, one promoting what was being taught and one that was against it. We picked the groups, but in some cases, you can allow your students to pick what side they want to be on: students like having a ...

Collaborative Lesson Plans and Economics To collaborate means to work together, share ides, and communicate. Economics means production, trade, wealth, and services. Tying these two together in an interesting and engaging way is already difficult, but when also adding 2nd graders into the mix, it becomes even more complicated. Collaborative lesson plans are not only important, but also my favorite type of lesson. They are unique and always fun- if done the right way. There should never be a boring moment during a collaborative lesson plan which makes it perfect to use with boring topics like economics, especially in 2nd grade. Most elementary schoolers don't care to learn about economics because it is not something they have to deal with or worry about in their real world. But, by creating interactive and exciting lessons for students to really indulge themselves and their ideas into, it allows them to mak...

Current Events Social Studies is not only history but it is also todays current news. What was and is going on in your neighborhood and around the world is all relevant and important news to share. When someone thinks of a current event, they imagine the assignment you get in school where you have to find your local newspaper and pick a article to explain and present to the class. But, it is more than that; current events are around us all day everyday, especially in todays technology filled society. For this college course on teaching social studies, of course we had to do the typical assignment. Me and two other students worked together to find a relevant article and present it to the class with a few activities. Our article was on New York state banning the sale of large sugary drinks and how it will affect the economy in New York. Before this assignment, I had never even heard of this new law attempting to be pa...

Assessments in Social Studies As in every subject taught in school, assessments are essential tools that should be used to determine what your students now know or don't know. Implementing an assessment into every lesson is vital because if you as the teacher don't have an opportunity to see what your students learned, how will you appropriately move on to the next lesson? When one thinks of an assessment, they usually think of some form of test. Commonly, at the end of a chapter or lesson, the teacher will give a test: multiple choice, true/false, short answer, etc. If you are an insightful teacher, you may think that this is the only form of assessment that is effective; but this is in fact not true. Using a routine test as your form of assessment is actually the furthest thing from the most accurate form of assessing your students knowledge. Giving a test can cause many problems: test anxiety being a big one. Soci...

Social Studies When I Was In School Vs Now My earliest memories of school remind me of my favorites teachers, doing arts and crafts, science experiments, spelling tests, and recess. But, when I think of my time in elementary school, I never really think of the time I spent on the topic of social studies. I don't have any memories, in any class, of doing any sort of engaging activities in social studies. I do fairly remember field trips to local museums but I do not remember any content learned, just the thrill of getting to leave the school grounds for a few hours. I do however, remember taking out big, heavy, old textbooks and using them to find and define vocabulary words. I remember memorizing flashcards for tests on The Civil War and important eras. But, if you ask me to recite any of that information today, I couldn't tell you one thing. Social studies has such a bad reputation in my mind from my experience with it in elementary school, yet it is one of the most imp...

First Experience in Fieldwork  Our first day as teachers in a 2nd grade social studies class was exciting and interesting to say the least! We spent the first day introducing our selves and doing activates to get to know each other as teachers and students. We met every student in the class and asked them questions, academic and non academic, to get to know their interests and dislikes. Our teaching group method for getting to know our students was a "Ski-tell" game. In this game we had a jar of colorful skittles. Each student was to reach their hand in, generously, and pick out one skittle. Depending on the color of the skittle, the student was to answer a question. For example, if a student reached in the jar and picked out a blue skittle, the question to be answered was "Tell us something that you recently tried for the first time." The questions asked were used to specifically get to know likes, dislikes, and interests of students so that we could use the...

The Importance of Economics in Social Studies  Economics is a huge part of social studies and although this may be obvious to us, for elementary school students, it isn't. Most students can guess that economics has something to do with money, but many don't know all the different aspects of it. The subject of economics has many new vocabulary words that students may not have seen before, such as supply and demand, scarcity, producers, consumers, needs, wants, etc. All of these words have an explanation relating to money and how products are made or wanted. When explaining these to elementary students, it can be tricky because they are complex and difficult concepts. Keeping definitions and examples simple and relatable is the best way to go. For example, asking the students about something that they want really bad and then having them connect it to the world of economics.  This subject can also be boring for elementary students because they don't necessarily hav...