So I tried something new!
I planned a lesson in S.S. using historical texts, like my Methods class articles suggest!
It went horribly!
But that is okay!
I learned that students need to be taught how to use EVERY type of text. They also needed to be taught how to use to gain knowledge but like a historian or explorer would use it.
They (and most young students) are used to having their hand held and this was a case of that. They just wanted me to tell them, they write it, and that would be the end of it.
I did not want to do that! I did not want to give in!
The next day though, I did a little... I gave them a chart that they would have to regurgitate onto their unit test later in the year.
Some aspects went well but still sucked at the same time. Some students were really curious and wanted to know more and more! Of course I could not answer! I know quite a bit about the branches of government but they were asking "Would the Supreme Court judge Osama?" How do I answer that!? So the reason this sucked for me was that I was not in charge of this unit, or really another, being an intern. If I got to teach and plan on my own I would love to show my students the curriculum and tell them that this is all that we have to learn this year, how do you want to learn it? This way they could tell me if they just want me to say facts at them and they just memorize them for a test? Or if they want to do their own research, or use videos, or re-enact things. However they want to learn because some of them are curious and there was just not a darn thing I could do about it.
Horrible lessons are a building block for better lessons. Sometimes it is good to know what works in your classroom and what does not. Use the experience as a learning tool. You now know that students need to be explicitly taught how to consume these type of texts. Scaffold the lesson and gradually release responsibility to the students- I do, we do, you do. They need that guided practice as well as independent practice. I like how you ask, how do you want to learn it? I think it is important for students to take responsibility of their own learning. You can find out how students learn best and plan based on the needs of the students.
ReplyDeleteGood for you for trying something new! Even though the students may have been frustrated with the process, I think that's a good thing! It means they're stretching and growing the same way you are. Some of the most worthwhile things I have ever done have been the most frustrating (thinking that way is the only thing getting me through this semester). Part of what we're learning in our methods classes is that the content is not the most essential objective, but the skills and the general thirst for knowledge that will drive them to find solutions to questions or problems that arise. It is our jobs as teachers to introduce them to gateways to these solutions, not just hand them to them on a silver platter. You go girl.
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