Anyone? Anyone?....Bueller?

Before I write anything more, please watch this video. 

This is the typical history class today, right? Only in our generation it is students begging to watch National Treasure instead of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

What a tragedy. If you have been reading most of my posts you know my position on the importance of history. History is just begging for it's presenters to make it interesting. In my eyes Historians and teachers of history are storytellers. So with that, I couldn't ask for a better connection to incorporating literacy into the classroom.

Many times when talking about comprehension, vocabulary, writing instruction and reading, one instantly thinks of their English class. Well PSYCH! history is taking them over and making students become masters in all of these. Think back to your history classes. You were asked to read a selection of text, analyze it, pay close attention to the new vocabulary in the selection, and then came back to class and discuss what you had learned (or remembered at least). What is this if not the perfect equation of literacy greatness? Here are some of my goals as a history teacher.

GOAL ONE

Teach students how to write. 

GOAL TWO

Help students begin to question their surroundings by developing deeper thinking skills. 

GOAL THREE

Create situations for students to practice discussion and speaking in front of a large group.

GOAL FOUR

Teach students how to read analytically, and how to pick out the important information in a text.

GOAL FIVE

Help students connect what they are learning in school to their actual lives. 

GOAL SIX

Create a successful group of historically-minded young adults that strive to do well in whatever they set out to do. 

Now, I don't doubt that every potential teacher--just about to start their student teaching, rejoicing that they just walked out of their last college class--has these goals. But let me tell you what I have learned during my education here at Utah State that I hope will help me achieve these goals. 

Being able to write well will get you A's in college, and maybe even get a promotion in your job. As a teacher it is crucial to help your students learn how to create a successful paper. First, don't ever give your students a writing assignment and label it a "punishment". Help students develop their voice when writing. Teach them how to write to different audiences. When writing for history classes make them realize if you back up your argument with specific evidence you will always win. My history classes prepared me for writing in college and I want to do that for my students as well.

Social studies classes are a great place to learn about what you really think about the world and life in general. Here at Utah State, I had the chance to create a controversial lesson plan. The purpose was to help students develop their own ideas about these topics by supplying information for both sides of the issue. They then had to study all of the material and be prepared to argue for either side when they came to class. Once in class they were given their position and prepared to debate the issue with their teams. We modeled one of these lessons in our social studies methods class and I loved it. It gets students talking and gives them a chance to practice important discussion skills. The students run the entire class, from how long each side gets to talk, to how they have to be recognized to speak. When we did this exercise in class we had a city council that the teams were trying to persuade to vote for them. I was the Head Chair person and made everyone address me as Madame Chair before they spoke. I probably had way too much fun creating the rules for the activity, now that I think about it. Oral language in the class is one of the best ways for students to learn and teach one another.

Reading in history is one of the most important skills to develop. There is so much material that teachers can bring into class like letters, primary source documents, journal articles just to name a few. But if students don't know the tricks to reading and understanding these texts the meaning will be lost. I hope to introduce comprehension and new vocabulary to my students in a way to help them get the most out of these texts. I plan to have vocabulary for each unit and have them work with the words in at least three different ways. That way they will be exposed to it more times and actually learn the meanings and not just copy down the definitions. By allowing for students to have some sort of choice with what they are reading, hopefully it will be able to connect to what they are interested in. One way of doing this is with a literature circle, which was what my last post was on. History is a great place to look to understand the present. My incorporating current events in with the lessons I can show my students how history is all around us and how these events will be affecting them now as well as well into their adult lives.

I saw this meme the other day. It said "I really wanted to become a teacher to help students pass standardized tests, said no teacher ever." We all are becoming teachers for a number of reasons, whether we had an amazing teacher that influenced our lives, or we love the content and hope to better others lives with it, our reasoning all comes full-circle back to the underlying factor. We want to help students learn. So, we undergo the four years it takes to become a teacher, work for free for a time, jump through the hoops to get certified and licensed and continue to receive training after we graduate all to maybe make some student think a little deeper and learn something about themselves and the world they live in. Its going to be hard and I don't think I will ever not be tired again, but I'm excited. Its going to be good.