The Importance of Applying Current Events in Social Studies - 4 views
Please refer to link below for the article of reference : http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1051868--new-yorkers-shrug-off-anxieties-as-9-11-milestone-approaches?bn=1
Group items tagged
World population grows to 7 billion by Halloween - 0 views
-
mike86 on 26 Oct 11Who will be # 7, 000, 000, 000? This article discusses different population trends. It is also an awakening for the world as the population increases so to will our energy, food prices and environmental stresses. Not to mention the amount of people who already undernourished. These reasons are very important and should be discussed in social studies classes' world wide. Our schools should be educating our children about demographics and the effects it has on the many social and environmental factors.
Making the Case for Geography in our Schools - 1 views
http://geography.about.com/od/teachgeography/a/geoedcommentary.htm This is a US article but is also relevant to Canadian teachers and the public in general. The idea of this article suggests that ...
Geography Songs and Raps - 0 views
Start your geography lesson with a song or rap to grab your student's attention! There are many different songs that you can model a concept or skill of geography with. They can then spur conversat...
Numerous Canadian Organizations Will Open Their Doors to Demonstrate How Geographic Inf... - 1 views
The article discusses the growing importance of GIS in teaching as well as its growing importance in organizations and in gaining a better understanding of world issues. GIS allows for a better un...
Google Earth helps bring First World War to life Laurier team produces book detailing e... - 0 views
-
This article describes three authors from Laurier who have written a book entitled "Canadian Battlefields 1915-1918" which is a guide to and describes the battlefields of northern Europe. In addition to the book, the article describes the use of Google Earth images in better understanding the situation that soldiers were facing during the First World War. It is the author's opinion that by utilizing the technological images, "readers better understand what the Canadians were up against during their battles in the French countryside." I believe that this would not only be an interesting book regarding teaching of historical events, but also an interesting way to incorporate technology into history and to modernize history for students.
Social Studies for Early Childhood and Elementary School Children: Preparing for the 21... - 1 views
http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/elementary
Largest Recorded Arctic Ozone Hole Sparks Fears of Worse to Come... - 1 views
-
On October 2, 2011, journalist Tim Alamenciak posted an intriguing article to readers of the Toronto Star regarding the environmental changes occurring within our world. This article is tremendously intriguing as it increases individual's awareness on the detrimental and harmful effects happening to our environment. According to a study published in the Nature, in the beginning of the year, the loss of the ozone over the Arctic has reached unprecedented levels never seen before in the northern hemisphere. Three researchers from Environmental Canada and one from University of Toronto commented on this occurrence by stating an unusually long period of low temperatures and powerful wind patterns played a tremendous factor in damaging the ozone layer. Ultimately, persistent cold weather created the perfect conditions to destroy ozone levels. Sitting fifteen to thirty-five kilometres above the Earth's surface, the Stratospheric ozone layer acts like a giant shield that blocks harmful ultraviolent rays that cause skin cancer to humans as well as damages all plant and animal life. Therefore, when the ozone layer gradually begins to deplete, this will have a devastating effect on our world. Man-made chemicals known as Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are gases used in the manufacturing of aerosols and refrigerators. Scientists have regarded these chemicals as key identifiers for destroying the ozone in the stratosphere. Individuals must become more cognisant of how these harmful chemicals negatively impact our world. By fostering responsibility, community service, and nurturing at a young age, children can apply these values and employ them for future action.
Authentic Learning for the 21st Century - 0 views
-
Ever heard the groans of students, "When will I EVER need to know this in real life?" or "I learn better by doing!" The boom of the internet, communication and simulation technologies has allowed students more opportunities for authentic learning experiences, such as experimentation and real life problem solving. Authentic Learning focuses on real world, complex problems and their solutions. These learning programs do not revolve around 'teaching english or math.' Authentic Learning tasks are inherently multidisciplinary; they could require skills from more than one subject area. Examples of authentic learning tasks could be setting a budget, or managing a city. Ensuring classroom learning has real life relevance will allow students to feel like their learning will apply to them beyond the classroom setting. Their classroom learning strategies will teach students how to turn information into useful, transferable knowledge. Making different connections across disciplines is an important skill that will aid students once they reach the 'real world' beyond the classroom.Read this article and prepare your students for the real world complexities they will soon face that cannot be solved simply by applying an algorithm!
The Essential Role of Social Studies: Reflections on Arne Duncan's Article - 0 views
-
Recent years have seen a sharp decrease in social studies subject areas. Studies have shown that students are not properly informed or educated about our countries political system and its operations as we would hope them to be. Classroom time has been focused on literacy and numeracy. This negatively influences a student's critical thinking skills as future voters. Steve Goldberg stresses the importance of restoring social studies at the forefront of the curriculum in order to shape our students into responsible and civil citizens. This article does a great job of discussing how the discipline of social studies creates critical and informed thinkers. Social studies provide a platform for discussion concerning our country and the global world. Students are able to critically think outside the box and make sense of the world. They are taught basic skills that they can apply to their everyday lives such as, learning through a historical context and interpreting graphs and charts. Steve Goldberg states that these are numeracy and literacy skills that can be applied to the real world.
Student Reflection on Remembrance Day - 1 views
-
The Montreal Gazette Newspaper published an article on November 11, entitled, "The Need for Remembrance Day Endures." This article recognizes the importance of veterans and their memories they bring from experiencing historical events in history. Ultimately, individuals who fought in World War I, World War 2, and the Korean War, lay the foundation of Remembrance Day ceremonies across the country. The fascinating stories of veterans' lives serve as the purest form of experience as it provides invaluable insight to historical events. While there is an array of documentation of veterans' experiences, it is more meaningful and engaging to have them orally share their stores. Although many will no longer be able to share their experiences with us, it becomes essential for parents and educators to continue honouring the individuals who sacrificed their lives for our country. A poppy can serve as a simple testament of respect as well as the desire for peace. As we continue to fight the war on terrorism, the desire for power and resources raise the possibilities for greater global violence and turmoil. By paying tribute to our war veterans, it becomes essential to teach students the importance of reflection by promoting peace and community within the classroom environment.
How to Teach with Technology: Social Studies - 1 views
This article is full of ideas about how to make social studies more fun for the technological generation of students by using a variety of social media networks (coveritlive, skype, myspace, wiki a...
The Art of Teaching Creativity - 0 views
-
Do you keep hearing about how important creativity in the classroom is but have no idea how to teach such a skill? There seems to be an understanding that creativity is something that one is born with and not something that is taught. This article offers reasons why it is important to teach creativity in your classroom and offers examples on how you can accomplish this seemingly incredible task. Creativity is not a bestowed gift; if can be experienced and learned by students in a classroom setting. The article emphasizes that there is a desperate need for creative thinkers in the world; we are in the midst of a creativity crisis. A sustainable future depends on having creative thinkers think up innovative solutions to complex problems. Creativity is a set of skills that must be taught to the future generations. The article provides examples of teaching creativity in the classroom. For example, As part of their social studies report, high school students developed a strong sense of empathy when they worked with the art teacher to create masks representing the emotions embodied by people from significant historical events: Polish Jews during the Second World War; a mother and her children leaving Ireland during the Irish Potato Famine in 1847; and parents receiving news that their son or daughter has been killed in action in Afghanistan. Students' creativity cannot be constantly held back by the tight constraints of producing a specific product to exhibit their understanding in a specific way. Creativity should be further explored in our education system if it is a skill that future generations will need to deal with our future complex concerns; not pulled away from simply because it is a concept that many people have not quite figured out how to explain and teach in a school setting.
Teaching Social Studies Authentically - 1 views
This article talks about using Fred Newmann's concept of "authentic teaching" in the classroom. Doing 'authentic work' is working for a purpose, not just a grade. Making important decisions is a go...
Sheppard Software: Fun online games - 0 views
This is a website that provides fun interactive online games for students in all subjects. There are interactive geography games and history games as well as quizzes. This provides for a great wa...
Fun ways to teach kids geography - 3 views
http://www.squidoo.com/teach-geography This is a website that can be used by teachers to get ideas on ways to make geography a little more interesting for students. It provides many different ide...
Towards Some New Methods In Teaching Geography - 1 views
The article by Jadranka Brkic-Vejmelka, "Towards Some New Methods in Teaching Geography," provides examples of a new approach to teaching geography. The author suggests that geography should give ...
Teaching Social Studies Authentically - 1 views
The article, "Teaching Social Studies Authentically", stresses that many teachers of the social studies division are under extreme pressures to meet curriculum expectations for their particular pro...
Designing Classroom Spaces to Maximize Social Studies Learning - 0 views
-
Research on the relationship between a physical environment and learning confirms that the physical environment strongly influences not only academic learning but also behaviour in general. This is why we tend to see more elementary school classrooms with different visuals and tactile stimuli the students can interact with. The article provides a few different ideas on how we as teachers can get students involved and interested in social studies. The article closes by saying, beyond being educative, building a physical classroom environment is exciting when it reflects and expands upon students' understanding of themselves and the world makes them feel a part of their classroom community. Lessons about sense of community and the world will not only help students now but it will help them for many years to come.
How Can Social Studies Teachers Best Use The Internet With Young Learners? - 1 views
http://www2.education.ualberta.ca/css/css_39_1/ARgibson_SSteachers_internet_young_learners.htm Our program has a "technology focus" and we get bombarded with suggestions to include technology in ...