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This article attempts to convey why Cass Technical High School's students in Detroit continue to succeed in social studies even though the worsening social and economic situation in Detroit would suggest that students would be finding school more difficult. An anonymous study was conducted with 85 students enrolled in the social studies program at Cass Technical Highschool; the study asked the students to explain in their own words why they thought they and their peers in social studies did so well on achievement tests. Their responses were very similar, suggesting that the students really appreciated the enthusiasm and passion their teachers emmitted while teaching. The students also replied that the regular use of primary documents really hooked them into the topic about to be discussed. Regular use of internet sources for research and technology in the classroom was another favourite answer amongst the students. The students really appreciated the facilitation of deep discussions that included everyone and diverse opinions. Humour in the classroom, regular inclusion of images and field trips were all included in the reasons why students felt they continued to succeed in social studies. These teaching strategies are important for teachers to keep in mind when preparing units and lessons that they want students to get excited about and succeed in. This article is a positive reminder that effective teaching strategies really can make a difference; even when the odds are against you.

If anyone can tell me how I can add another tag to this that would be awesome! I thought I had the five all clicked but I guess not:(

I think if you click "Edit this post" under More, you can add tags.

I must admit it took me a little bit of work to find a meaningful article and I am not sure how I even ended up finding this article. Michael Levine starts out addressing the difficulties many students struggle to understand our diverse cultural and sometimes perceived dull Canadian History. Levine mentions Canada has a vast amount of Canadian Literature that is rarely referred to. At first I almost discarded this article as I thought it became to literature oriented, as I read further I realized that this was a good strategy to integrate learning across multiple disciplines. Students love stories we as teachers could integrate some of these great Canadian stories into our reading we could tie real life stories to the dates and circumstances of the time. After all who doesn't like a good story?

This journal article argues that First Nations history needs to be incorporated into Canadian History and Geography curricula rather than just being an additional chapter in the text (often the smallest of the chapters). Although these curricula are well intentioned, much more needs to be done to include the oral and written history of our First Nations peoples. The author believes that by including a diverse history of all Canadians we will guarantee a 'more harmonious' future for all Canadians.