BFSSCaroline

__Unit Plan Scenario Reflection__ The easiest accomodation for my lesson plan would be if the computer lab was full. I have the students doing research in the computer lab but there are a lot of books about Ancient Greece that cover what we need to address. If I could not use the computer I would ask the librarian to pull books about Greek Mythology for me. The toughest one for me would be be a class of thirty students at the end of the day. I currently have a lot of textbook work and if this were the case I would try to incorporate more active activities and large group work to keep the students on task. My timeline activity could be changed to make it more hands-on and with more movement. __Content Advisor Reflection #4__ We talked over conference call but I hadn't done much of my unit yet. I told her my unit idea, grade level, essential questions, and goals. We all spoke about our units and Beth discussed the requirements more in depth. We talked about what kinds of accommodations we could include and how to grade fairly. We talked a little about what to expect out of student teaching. __Reasons for Being a Teacher__ There are so many reasons that I want to teach in schools, number one being the kids themselves. One thing that still amazes me is how much potential lies within each student. They can be anything! They are creative, intelligent, and inquisitive at their best and they make all the frustration that comes with teaching worth it. I have a passion for learning myself and hope I can pass that on to the student's I meet. I love seeing student's faces when they are excited about learning, excited about acquiring new knowledge. But I have also seen how much student's are up against in some situations and how valuable a little encouragement can be. I value the opportunity to become a mentor. People say they feel called to be a teacher and I believe that to be true of me. Teaching such an important job and I crave a career where I can have an impact. I need to teach, encourage, enlighten students to be all that they can be. Also, I value a job where there is a challenge and teaching is certainly that. While I haven't had my own class, I've observed many teachers who spend whole days thinking about the best ways to communicate content or get through to a struggling student. I admire their dedication to helping every student succeed and see the same drive in myself. I want to be challenged to be creative and reflective in my profession. I have a lot to learn but in this short time, I have seen tremendous growth in myself and I'm excited to work on becoming the best teacher I can possibly be. __Content Advisor Meeting #3__ I shared my Summative Assessment plan and it was generally good. Beth gave me some only resources to check out to possibly incorporate into my project portion of the lesson as well as giving me some suggestions for how to make accommodations to it. I looked at the websites she suggested but they didn't appear to be fully functional yet (at least as far as I could tell.) __Content Advisor Meeting #2__ __Article Reflection__ Online Writing __Paper Abstract__ The goal of teaching social studies in schools is to create informed and engaged citizens but there are many roadblocks to this. In this paper I will address the need for teaching literacy in social studies and ways to confront lack of interest and the lack of literacy knowledge that teachers might find in their students. Through incorporating primary documents and teaching reading strategies, students will find themselves emotionally engaged and connected to the course content in various social studies courses, but particularly in history courses. It is important for social studies teachers to incorporate literacy strategies to increase comprehension and promote retention of concepts. Literacy strategies help students engage and increase enjoyment of social studies. "What are 3 current trends or issues facing your content area?" -- Explain in approximately 1 paragraph.

** Three Trends **that I would like to investigate further are 1) Common core standards in Social Studies: how to implement them and what they mean for social studies, 2) How to incorporate literacy education into social studies, and 3) Use of Primary documents and their importance of their use in social studies. These can all fit into sort of an umbrella topic of curriculum design.  Textbook Survey—Social Studies


 * As you peruse your content area textbook, please complete the following activities and/or questions. You may place your response on this page. **


 * 1. Write a bibliographical entry for the book using APA format. **
 * Zevin, J. Z. (2007). //Social studies for the twenty-first century, methods and materials for teaching in middle and secondary schools//. (3 ed.). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.**


 * 2. What is the author’s background in education? **
 * Taught high school in Chicago, middle school in Michigan.(xii) Queen's College, City University of New York**


 * 3. Skim through the Preface and the Personal Prologue. What are 2 things that you learned about the book or author? **


 * He believes in an inquiry-based method as proposed by John Dewey as an excellent teaching strategy and is a proponent of a deeper and and more reflective teaching of history through primary and secondary sources.**


 * "Any classroom session I observe in which the social studies teacher and the students divided their time equally by acquiring knowledge, thinking about motives, and making choices amid competing values rates, in my book, as a wonderfully enriching experience, deeply assisting in comprehending the human and physical world as we know it." p xiii**


 * 4. Looking at the Table of Content, what are the 6 main parts of the book? **
 * 1.Philosophy and History of Social Studies **
 * 2Teachers and Students: A Context for Social Studies Instruction **
 * 3. Strategies for Social Studies Instruction **
 * 4. Teaching the Social Studies Curriculum **
 * 5. Textbooks and Media in the Social Studies **
 * 6. Beyond the Social Studies Classroom: Professional Issues and Trends **


 * 5. Which chapter should you definitely read before you begin the unit project? **


 * chapter 7**


 * 6. Which chapter will be particularly helpful with planning assessments? **


 * chapter 8**
 * 7. To aid your quick review of the textbook, how does each chapter begin and end? **


 * Begin with a quote and overview and end with a summary, to-do list, notes, and for further reading list.**


 * 8. Of all the chapters in the book, which one interests you the most? Why? **


 * Chapter 9 because it has lots of good ideas and lays out goals well.**


 * 9. Of all the chapters in the book, which one will you probably not read during this course? Why? **


 * Chapter 15 (because it's not on the list below) and because, while its good information, it doesn't really apply to the scope of this course.**


 * 10. What is one section in particular that you would like to discuss further with your content advisor? **


 * Section 3- Strategies that work for all types of students.**

Instructor Recommendations for Reading:**
 * For Research Essay—Read Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, 13, and 17. Highlight as you read a chapter. Then stop and list your “Top 5 Ideas/Tips” from the chapter. Read only one chapter at a sitting. Chapters 9, 10, 11 are also important, but the main ideas and summaries may be enough at this time.
 * For Unit Plan and Summative Plan—Read and highlight Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8.
 * For Job Preparation—Chapter 16 and 17