Return of the Blog

I am continuing this blog in order to continue developing  my teaching skills.  After my first and second student-teaching placements, I have been thinking about some of the students I encountered and how I can better engage them in social studies.  I still come in contact with the same students when I substitute, and understanding their interests and their intellects is key to teaching in the constructivist method.  I want to be able to connect new information to old.  So what do they think about?  Where do their preconceptions come from?  

In one lesson that I taught while student teaching, I asked the students about their parents, and the jobs that they do.  It was a constructivist moment.  Children were learning about each other, and experiencing a whole gamut of alternate viewpoints.  I felt I was tapping into an emotional energy, and asked the students to realize how parents struggle to meet their needs. Next, I tried to get the students to imagine the government as almost like an extended family. It helps people in certain ways when they want.  It defends us from harm, and tries to look after our overall well-being. They seemed amused by this concept, but I tried to make them see things in a different light.  

Another method I used to make students think was to ask them if they had ever experienced oppression, or injustice in their lives.  I didn't get much of a reply.  They are young, and maybe they had not been exposed to such malevolence.  This intro was connected to slavery, and how the Constitution did not guarantee rights for those in bondage.  It was a difficult subject to teach.  I want to try to implement it again.  Some classes are not prone to talk about things as much. Still, that doesn't mean they are not thinking about their own experiences.  And that is my goal.