Primary Sources: Ideas from a Colonial America lesson plan video

When reading about primary sources I remembered a video I watched in undergrad. The video was on using primary sources a fifth grade In this video Kathleen Waffle a fifth grade teacher at John Muir Elementary School in San Bruno, California is teaching on unit on Colonial America (predominantly Colonia Virginia).  In the beginning of the video her students were asked why it is important to learn to learn about Colonial Times.  One student’s answer was that it is important to learn what they did back then (referring to Colonial Times) and why because it can help us today

The focus of the video was on Primary Sources.  A primary source is defined as “a document, speech, or other sort of evidence written, created or otherwise produced during the time under study. Primary sources offer an inside view of a particular event” (Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center, 2008).  The focus of the activity was to have the students understand the connection between the past and the present by connecting Colonial Times to modern day America.  First the Ms. Waffle had the students analyze an advertisement in the Virginia Gazette (a paper from Colonia Virginia in the 1770’s).  One particular advertisement was from a silversmith; Ms. Waffle had the students focus on that advertisement.  She told the students that being a silversmith was a trade during colonial times and there were about 76 trades during those times.  She had the students, as a class, complete a graphic organizer comparing the Colonial advertisement with advertisements today.

The second part of the lesson was to have the students analyze a contract between a master and an apprentice during Colonial times and relate it to modern day.  The students were to ready the contract and with a partner translate it into modern terms that are easier for the students to understand.  Ms. Waffle stated that before starting a lesson that had unfamiliar terms to the students she would review the vocabulary prior to the lesson (which in this case she did) or have a word bank provided for the students.  She stated that it is important, however, to have challenges for the students because she feels that when they are challenged they learn more.

Ms. Waffle wanted the students to have empathy for business owners today and from the past.  For the final assessment she had the students write an advertisement for a trade of Colonial Times and compose a contract between a master and an apprentice. The students were also required to give an oral presentation as well as have Colonial Day where they cooked food from Colonial Times and some students dressed up in outfits from this time.

This was video was a great tool to give insight to primary sources.  I believe that after watching the video it is key to do more research on primary sources to fully understand them as well as the difference between primary and secondary sources. The website is video is:  http://www.learner.org/libraries/socialstudies/3_5/waffle/index.html. For further information on primary sources you can visit the following website that I used to define a primary source:  http://www.knowledgecenter.unr.edu/instruction/help/primary.html .

Integrated Curriculum -- What I think about this way of teaching...

After reading Chapter 2 in Susan M.  Drake and Rebecca C. Burns Meeting Standards Through Integrated Curriculum I began to feel even more convicted in my views on integrating curriculum.  I first think it's important to define integrated curriculum. Our book pointed out that there are three approaches to integration: multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary. They are defined as follows by Drake and Burns:

• multidisciplinary - one uses the disciplines as focus and standards are organized around a theme
• interdiscplinary - ones uses common standards accross the curriculum to form lessons
• transdisciplinary - ones uses students questions and censers to create the lesson. 

Now having defined integrated curriculum through its approaches one can can conclude that, put simply, integrated curriculum is including more than one 'curriculum' in a lesson. I 100% agree that no lesson should be taught without the integration of curriculum. With that said I do want to remind you of the three approaches to integration.  We constantly remind ourselves that learning must be meaningful to students and we all want to make it relative, so what not make one thing relate to another and integrate our lessons?

Coming out of undergraduate and going straight to graduate school without 'joining the profession' puts me in a different category, for lack of better words, than my peers.  In one hand I came out having it drilled in that I should always integrate curriculum, but I hear so much of how it is so hard when teacher are driven to "teach to the test." I believe that teachers should integrate curriculum as much as possible to make sure lessons are relevant to students and they can make connections in their learning. 

Introduction

Hello All!

This blog will be used to reflect on topics from EDUC 520 Integrating Language Arts and Social Studies. I hope that through blogging I will be able to gain insight on topics in the course as well as tips to use for the future when I am in the classroom.

I will be discussing ideas and citing from the following texts:

Daniel, H. & Bizar, M. (2005).  Teaching the best practice way: Methods that matter, k-12.  Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

 Drake, S.M.  & Burns, R.C. (2004). Meeting Standards through integrated curriculum.  Alexandria, VA:  ASCD. 

Melber, L.M., & Hunter, A. (2009). Integrating language arts and social studies: 25 strategies for k-8 inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Schell, E. & Fisher, D. (2007). Teaching social studies: A literacy–based approach.  Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Pearson/Prentice Hall.