social studies strategies

Role-Play in the Classroom with Delicious

Delicious (del.icio.us) is an online social bookmarking platform that stores and categorizes photos, videos, and articles that teachers can use to motivate and engage students. It is part of social media because teachers can see each other’s folders called “stacks” of information and share each other’s postings of links on the web. These links are usually of high quality because teachers have invested time in surfing the internet to make meaningful selections.Many teachers have used Delicious to share great links with...

Enlivening Social Studies to Meet the Test

Andi Stix was interviewed by Donna Green from the New York Times on why Social Studies instruction needs improvement.Coming soon from the same people who brought New York students new tests in reading and math – a new test for social studies. The tests are mandated by the Board of Regents and are aimed at raising academic standards. For fifth-graders, the test is to be given this year, although there is talk of delaying it a year; for eighth-graders,...

Using Multi-Level, Young Adult Literature in the Middle School American Studies

Talk to middle school teachers about the challenges of teaching today, and you are likely to be barraged with a long list of factors that make their jobs difficult. Class size, lack of materials, poor attendance– the list of problems facing today’s teachers sometimes seems endless. We often hear middle school teachers from all subject areas complain that, “It is so difficult to motivate students today.” Another complaint, often made by teachers is, “My students read on so many different...

Differentiating the Curriculum- How We Established a Multi-Level, Young Adult Literature Bookroom for the Social Studies Department

Recently, the District #2 Office in New York City mandated that all children at the middle school level should read 25 books per year. While the burden of this mandate fell most heavily on the shoulders of the Language Arts department, we at Robert Wagner Middle School in Manhattan began to discuss ways the social studies department could help to increase literacy, a goal important to all subject areas. As we talked, we agreed that it was misguided to assume that the language...

How to Address a Political Cartoon for Clearer Interpretation

A Letter to the Editor: Social Education on Political CartoonsI applaud Ray Heitzmann’s article , which discusses the use of political cartoons in the classroom. I am always in search of good sources and am glad to find a detailed list included in the article.According to Dr. Heitzmann, teachers often find that their students have trouble deciphering political cartoons. In preparation for the new state document-based essay questions, I have devised an easy-to-use format for students to follow:Read the question on...

Role-Play in the Classroom with Delicious

Enlivening Social Studies to Meet the Test

Using Multi-Level, Young Adult Literature in the Middle School American Studies

Differentiating the Curriculum- How We Established a Multi-Level, Young Adult Literature Bookroom for the Social Studies Department

How to Address a Political Cartoon for Clearer Interpretation

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