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Welcome
to the first week of Block 1 and to your first set of notes that
will be posted on the web for your social studies class. Here
are the important notes from this past week in class:
On
Tuesday, all of your four professors that you will have in Block
1 met with you for your Induction Meeting. During the meeting, we mentioned information and implemented
various teaching strategies that are important for you to know.
One
of the most important conversations that we had during our
induction meeting was the inquiry about how your new experience
in your Block 1 semester will be considerably different than
your previous experiences as a student. In class, students
worked in small groups to create a t-chart to consider
characteristics of classes and expectations prior to Block 1
and the characteristics of classes and expectations during
Block 1. It is important to realize that Block 1 is
considerably different than other previous semesters that you
have had because you now have responsibilities working in
elementary classrooms (25 hours) and with that responsibility
comes many expectations that are looked for in your on-campus
classrooms. For example, it is essential that you attend all of
your Block 1 classes unless you have an emergency. In the case
of an emergency, it is imperative that you contact the
professors who teach the classes that you will miss. Staying in
close communication with all of your professors is so important.
In addition, you will be working with the same group of students
throughout all of your Block 1 classes. Your group is referred
to as a cohort. You are also responsible to be in class
and fully participate because you are now an important member
of a cohort. You will learn so much from each other. It is
essential that you share your ideas in class. Full participation
in class during paired-share, small group and large group
discussions is essential because we all will benefit by
hearing and learning your perspective that you bring to our
classrooms. Remember to share!
When
you worked in small groups, you were arranged in random
groups using puzzle pieces. Each of you had a
different puzzle piece (made from an old calendar with pictures)
and you had to move through the room to find people who had the
other pieces that completed your picture. Those people then
became your small group. In class on Tuesday, we used a similar
activity to assign students into random groups. We used Stand
up-Mix up-Pair up. In that situation, students were each
given cards that had a similar overarching quality. Students
moved through the room while music was playing (I played Red
Grammer's "Teaching Peace"). While the music was
playing, students exchanged cards. When the music stopped,
students were asked to find others who had similar cards. After
they found their matched cards, this arrangement became home
groups. Home groups are used to create safety within the
classroom so students can get to know some students well. We
will keep the same home group arrangements for about 1 month.
In
class on Tuesday, we discussed the key components of
social studies. The key components are: 1. History, 2.
Geography, 3. Economics, 4. Civics, Citizenship and government.
In
class, I asked that students begin thinking about three
dimensions of learning that were referenced in the Resource
Guide more carefully. Those dimensions are 1. diversity;
2. multiculturalism and 3. multiple perspectives.
These topics will be discussed more in our upcoming classes.
It is important
to begin to
identify
diversity in
our society.
People are
different with
regard to race,
class, gender,
language,
religion,
ability, sexual
orientation,
age, appearance,
etc. It is
important to
recognize that
certain groups
of people have
more access
to power in
our society than
others. This
helps us to
understand that
certain
historical
stories get told
(and taught)
while others do
not. Reflecting
on our own past
and recognizing
what we've
learned can help
us to reconsider
our own ideas
about difference
and begin to
work toward
eliminating
biases that we
have - but may
not have
previously
noticed.
We as teachers
must understand
the power
inequities in
our world and
teach our
students to
identify these
injustices. When
we do this,
students can
begin to
understand the
importance of
social justice
and work to
create ways to
end the
inequities in
classrooms and
in our world.
This work is
often referred
to as 'teaching
for social
justice'.
We'll talk more
about this
during an
upcoming class.
That's
all for your first week. Keep reading, keep learning and keep
coming to class.
See
you next week!
Kim Rombach |
