The most rewarding revelations I have experienced so far as a result of this project is getting to know the members of my group and being able to work with people from a different content major. Also, I was surprised to see just how much in common social science has with english as far as literary works are concerned.
The most inspiring part of this project for me has been to see how easy it can be to collaborate with others. I will definitely use this experience in my future classroom. I think emphasizing language arts in the social sciences will only further students' understanding of material. If they are given a book in which they can relate to (versus a text book) they will become more motivated to pay attention and engage in the topic.
I have been inspired in many ways through this lesson. One of the main reasons is working with different people. I have enjoyed getting to work and getting to know everyone in my group. Another thing that has inspired me is how much we can use literature in social studies. I realized this after reading our anchor text Incantation, which is about the Holocaust. This is a great reading, and can be used directly in a history classroom.
The biggest revelation I have seen thorugh our group work is that the content are of social studies and english are not that different and can easily be intertwined. The goals and objectives of the content are different but the actual content or literature can be used very easily with both areas of learning. It has been easier then I thought it would be to collaborate with the group and the disagreements have been quite minimal.
The book has been the most "inspiring" thing so far. I like the idea of this screen play way of writing a story. It gives me some pretty good ideas not only for projects, but class lessons too. It is also nice to meet some people who care as much about this as I do. I've got a great group.
I feel like the most inspiring revelation so far is the ease working with other contents. Many times we can be "content snobs" and to be able to efficiently work with other contents is refreshing. Brittany Holland
English meet Social Studies. Social Studies meet English! This is great. We can be friends and work together to teach children and help them find a love of reading. Not just a love of reading but a greater appreciation of history. Historical fiction brings history alive and makes it much more than dates, names, and wars. I never thought all of this was really possible until I saw the incredible collection of literature that is avaialable for us as history teachers.
I feel like the most inspiring part of this project has been to see how I can use books other than the often boring textbooks. I personally have always enjoyed reading trade books but I can't stand most textbooks, even the ones about history! I found the book we're using (Monster) to be very interesting. Also, I was a bit worried at first about the fact that my group chose a book that wasn't explicitly "historical fiction." It's been really helpful to see that books can be used in other social studies subjects, especially since I'm leaning towards teaching government/economics.
The most engaging revelation I have had on this project so far has been that operating a Wiki is not quite as simple as one would think.
I’m inspired by the idea that I really can bring projects like this into my classroom to help truly educate my students. It is great to see that there are so many of my fellow classmates who want to be “agents of change” (the phrase of the semester), because they genuinely care about their students and want the very best for them. At our meeting, it was so relieving to hear the other girls talk not only about the problems they see in their placements, but also about how they are just as head strong to make sure that does not happen in their classroom when they graduate. They genuinely care about their students – ALL of them. It is just encouraging because no I feel like I am not alone in wanting to give my students the education I feel all children deserve. And now that I have heard so many others talk the same way, I feel that the schools are only going to get better and better as more like-minded people enter the education field!
This project has given me a better vision for the depth in which my lessons can be used. I am actually teaching a social studies lesson in a unit on the Ancient Greeks that is a collaboritive lesson. The english teacher is teaching on fables, so I am going to teach using various fables. I love that this gives me more ammo to teach.
I have been really impressed with the relationship that Social Studies and Language Arts students have in common. There is a bridge that i never really noticed was there. Also just meeting new people is always a good thing and helps us learn good people skills that will be needed when we are out in the schools.
The most rewarding revelation I have had during this project is that it is surprisingly easy to work with other content majors to create an engaging unit plan. I'm not sure yet how Social Studies teachers could work with a Math teacher in a collaborative plan, but I think this is a good start. I think this project will make us more comfortable working with other teachers and help us to see beyond our own content.
This particular project has given me the opporunity to share knowledge with people from different content areas. Also,I have the chance to work with a wonderful group of people. Working with students from different content areas has really help me gain a new perspective.
In response to Ellis Thomas: I would certainly have to agree with you, Ellis, on this one. While our group has only just recently decided on an anchor text, I believe that it will be one of those "can't put down" type of reads. Who knows, I may have a rewarding, inspiring, or engaging revelation before the entire project is all said and done, but as of now, it just hasn't happened. I must say that I typically enjoy enlightening revelations, so I've got my fingers crossed.
In response to milton: I definitely agree that it has given me a new outlook on how it is possible to integrate different content areas into a lesson. I am looking forward to attempting this.
Like many of the other comments, I have also been surprised how easy interdisciplinary lessons can be taught. Until this semester, none of our earlier classes have really discussed the possibilities in-depth or its practicality.
The most enlightening revelation I have had so far with the project, is the notion of the project itself. Oftentimes while in the traditional classroom setting, it is easy to get bogged down with the beauracracy of the educational system. The discipline, rules, and regulations binding educators in many ways. This project shows that there can still be some fun and collaboration within the school environment. It gives the students to branch out of their normal Language arts or History class. The students can be engaged, while gaining knowledge and purpose to their studies.
in the preparation for this project I have seen that the two subjects must be prepared for similarly, but are taught usually very differently. I am actually waiting on the BIG revelation that I can take away from this as I feel that it will teach me a lot more as my group and I connect and form this lesson.
I personally fill that this is a great project for English/Language Art teachers and Social Studies teachers. The two subjects of Language Arts and Social Studies not only work very well together I fill that they play an accentual role and are needed to teach either subject well. Coming from the Social Studies side, I think that without the use of literature in the history class the students will not get the full picture and they well not truly understand all of the aspect to the topic. In the Social Studies classroom literature is used to supplement the text and gives students a better understanding of the text. So the inspiring thing that I will take away from this lesson is to search for alternative resources to use and try out new techniques in order to give students the best instruction that I can.
This project is really inspiring and I think gives us as teachers something to strive for in our own classrooms. It is really great to work with other content areas to work toward a common goal. It has also made me realize how easy it is use to fictional texts in the classroom to teach more than content but also the themes of certain eras.
I think the most revealing thing I learned and was surprised by was how easy it was to get the two subjects to collaborate on a unit plan. After thinking about it though I realized how hard it would be to teach history without the use of literature and the first hand accounts of events.
It is the general realisation that there are many connections that can be made between social studies and language arts and that there has been so much enthusiasm by my classmates shown in how their projects have progressed so far. It shows their determination to work together and also work to get this actually used in their lessons in their teaching posts down the road.
I totally agree with Megann. I think working with different people for this project is going to help in understanding others ideas and suggestions, and its similar to what it really would be like if we collaborated with another teacher. The teacher may be someone you know well, or someone you only know in passing, but either way it is helpful to bounce ideas off each other as you go along. I think for some of the historical events I would rather use more “literature” type texts than textbooks, because many of these are so much more interesting and detailed.
The most inspiring part of this project is getting to collaborate with the Language Arts student teachers. As I have stated in previous posts, I have learned so much from the Language Arts students and have seen how much Language Arts and History go hand in hand. By working with Language art students I had to become flexible and put forth more creative effort than I could imagine. It is rewarding to experience a collaboration like this before I begin my student teaching and teaching career. I know I will be able to use what I learn in this project in my classroom. I am inspired by my group members to try this kind of project in the future.
The most interesting aspect of working alongside a Language Arts teacher has been learning about how to "think like a Language Arts teacher." As a former history major, I have been taught and almost conditioned to look at everything as historians do. This project has made me become more flexible and understanding of different ways to interpret the same text. Additionally, I feel as though learning and hearing what the other content teacher has to say about the material gives me a far greater understanding of the topic at hand. If this has been my experience as a “teacher,” there will surely be a similar experience for the students. Essentially, this type of instruction allows the teacher to explore the art of teaching. To use creativity, understanding, and strengths to create a curriculum that is not mandated by an administrator or board of directors or centered around a textbook, for once it can be authentic, challenging, and exciting.
In response to Jessica; I completely agree that the most inspiring part of this project is getting to work with the English/Language Arts student teachers. We have built relationships with the students over the past three years and it is awesome to get to work with them again. It is awesome to see how as teachers; even though we are different subject areas, can come together and work collaboratively to create a lesson that relates to both History and English. This has been a very rewarding experience so far; I cannot wait to see what else we learn throughout the project.
I agree with Jessica as well, because I love to find a more creative approach that they bring to the table. My favorite thing is learning about the different books I might not have known about if it were not for this project. The book we chose was great, and very interesting to read.
The most rewarding revelations I have experienced so far as a result of this project is getting to know the members of my group and being able to work with people from a different content major. Also, I was surprised to see just how much in common social science has with english as far as literary works are concerned.
ReplyDeleteThe most inspiring part of this project for me has been to see how easy it can be to collaborate with others. I will definitely use this experience in my future classroom. I think emphasizing language arts in the social sciences will only further students' understanding of material. If they are given a book in which they can relate to (versus a text book) they will become more motivated to pay attention and engage in the topic.
ReplyDeleteI have been inspired in many ways through this lesson. One of the main reasons is working with different people. I have enjoyed getting to work and getting to know everyone in my group. Another thing that has inspired me is how much we can use literature in social studies. I realized this after reading our anchor text Incantation, which is about the Holocaust. This is a great reading, and can be used directly in a history classroom.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest revelation I have seen thorugh our group work is that the content are of social studies and english are not that different and can easily be intertwined. The goals and objectives of the content are different but the actual content or literature can be used very easily with both areas of learning. It has been easier then I thought it would be to collaborate with the group and the disagreements have been quite minimal.
ReplyDeleteThe book has been the most "inspiring" thing so far. I like the idea of this screen play way of writing a story. It gives me some pretty good ideas not only for projects, but class lessons too. It is also nice to meet some people who care as much about this as I do. I've got a great group.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the most inspiring revelation so far is the ease working with other contents. Many times we can be "content snobs" and to be able to efficiently work with other contents is refreshing.
ReplyDeleteBrittany Holland
English meet Social Studies. Social Studies meet English! This is great. We can be friends and work together to teach children and help them find a love of reading. Not just a love of reading but a greater appreciation of history. Historical fiction brings history alive and makes it much more than dates, names, and wars. I never thought all of this was really possible until I saw the incredible collection of literature that is avaialable for us as history teachers.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the most inspiring part of this project has been to see how I can use books other than the often boring textbooks. I personally have always enjoyed reading trade books but I can't stand most textbooks, even the ones about history! I found the book we're using (Monster) to be very interesting. Also, I was a bit worried at first about the fact that my group chose a book that wasn't explicitly "historical fiction." It's been really helpful to see that books can be used in other social studies subjects, especially since I'm leaning towards teaching government/economics.
ReplyDeleteThe most engaging revelation I have had on this project so far has been that operating a Wiki is not quite as simple as one would think.
ReplyDeleteI’m inspired by the idea that I really can bring projects like this into my classroom to help truly educate my students. It is great to see that there are so many of my fellow classmates who want to be “agents of change” (the phrase of the semester), because they genuinely care about their students and want the very best for them. At our meeting, it was so relieving to hear the other girls talk not only about the problems they see in their placements, but also about how they are just as head strong to make sure that does not happen in their classroom when they graduate. They genuinely care about their students – ALL of them. It is just encouraging because no I feel like I am not alone in wanting to give my students the education I feel all children deserve. And now that I have heard so many others talk the same way, I feel that the schools are only going to get better and better as more like-minded people enter the education field!
This project has given me a better vision for the depth in which my lessons can be used. I am actually teaching a social studies lesson in a unit on the Ancient Greeks that is a collaboritive lesson. The english teacher is teaching on fables, so I am going to teach using various fables. I love that this gives me more ammo to teach.
ReplyDeleteI have been really impressed with the relationship that Social Studies and Language Arts students have in common. There is a bridge that i never really noticed was there. Also just meeting new people is always a good thing and helps us learn good people skills that will be needed when we are out in the schools.
ReplyDeleteThe most rewarding revelation I have had during this project is that it is surprisingly easy to work with other content majors to create an engaging unit plan. I'm not sure yet how Social Studies teachers could work with a Math teacher in a collaborative plan, but I think this is a good start. I think this project will make us more comfortable working with other teachers and help us to see beyond our own content.
ReplyDeleteThis particular project has given me the opporunity to share knowledge with people from different content areas. Also,I have the chance to work with a wonderful group of people. Working with students from different content areas has really help me gain a new perspective.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Ellis Thomas: I would certainly have to agree with you, Ellis, on this one. While our group has only just recently decided on an anchor text, I believe that it will be one of those "can't put down" type of reads. Who knows, I may have a rewarding, inspiring, or engaging revelation before the entire project is all said and done, but as of now, it just hasn't happened. I must say that I typically enjoy enlightening revelations, so I've got my fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteIn response to milton: I definitely agree that it has given me a new outlook on how it is possible to integrate different content areas into a lesson. I am looking forward to attempting this.
ReplyDeleteLike many of the other comments, I have also been surprised how easy interdisciplinary lessons can be taught. Until this semester, none of our earlier classes have really discussed the possibilities in-depth or its practicality.
ReplyDeleteThe most enlightening revelation I have had so far with the project, is the notion of the project itself. Oftentimes while in the traditional classroom setting, it is easy to get bogged down with the beauracracy of the educational system. The discipline, rules, and regulations binding educators in many ways. This project shows that there can still be some fun and collaboration within the school environment. It gives the students to branch out of their normal Language arts or History class. The students can be engaged, while gaining knowledge and purpose to their studies.
ReplyDeletein the preparation for this project I have seen that the two subjects must be prepared for similarly, but are taught usually very differently. I am actually waiting on the BIG revelation that I can take away from this as I feel that it will teach me a lot more as my group and I connect and form this lesson.
ReplyDeleteI personally fill that this is a great project for English/Language Art teachers and Social Studies teachers. The two subjects of Language Arts and Social Studies not only work very well together I fill that they play an accentual role and are needed to teach either subject well. Coming from the Social Studies side, I think that without the use of literature in the history class the students will not get the full picture and they well not truly understand all of the aspect to the topic. In the Social Studies classroom literature is used to supplement the text and gives students a better understanding of the text. So the inspiring thing that I will take away from this lesson is to search for alternative resources to use and try out new techniques in order to give students the best instruction that I can.
ReplyDeleteThis project is really inspiring and I think gives us as teachers something to strive for in our own classrooms. It is really great to work with other content areas to work toward a common goal. It has also made me realize how easy it is use to fictional texts in the classroom to teach more than content but also the themes of certain eras.
ReplyDeleteI think the most revealing thing I learned and was surprised by was how easy it was to get the two subjects to collaborate on a unit plan. After thinking about it though I realized how hard it would be to teach history without the use of literature and the first hand accounts of events.
ReplyDeleteIt is the general realisation that there are many connections that can be made between social studies and language arts and that there has been so much enthusiasm by my classmates shown in how their projects have progressed so far. It shows their determination to work together and also work to get this actually used in their lessons in their teaching posts down the road.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Megann. I think working with different people for this project is going to help in understanding others ideas and suggestions, and its similar to what it really would be like if we collaborated with another teacher. The teacher may be someone you know well, or someone you only know in passing, but either way it is helpful to bounce ideas off each other as you go along.
ReplyDeleteI think for some of the historical events I would rather use more “literature” type texts than textbooks, because many of these are so much more interesting and detailed.
The most inspiring part of this project is getting to collaborate with the Language Arts student teachers. As I have stated in previous posts, I have learned so much from the Language Arts students and have seen how much Language Arts and History go hand in hand. By working with Language art students I had to become flexible and put forth more creative effort than I could imagine. It is rewarding to experience a collaboration like this before I begin my student teaching and teaching career. I know I will be able to use what I learn in this project in my classroom. I am inspired by my group members to try this kind of project in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting aspect of working alongside a Language Arts teacher has been learning about how to "think like a Language Arts teacher." As a former history major, I have been taught and almost conditioned to look at everything as historians do. This project has made me become more flexible and understanding of different ways to interpret the same text. Additionally, I feel as though learning and hearing what the other content teacher has to say about the material gives me a far greater understanding of the topic at hand. If this has been my experience as a “teacher,” there will surely be a similar experience for the students. Essentially, this type of instruction allows the teacher to explore the art of teaching. To use creativity, understanding, and strengths to create a curriculum that is not mandated by an administrator or board of directors or centered around a textbook, for once it can be authentic, challenging, and exciting.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Jessica; I completely agree that the most inspiring part of this project is getting to work with the English/Language Arts student teachers. We have built relationships with the students over the past three years and it is awesome to get to work with them again. It is awesome to see how as teachers; even though we are different subject areas, can come together and work collaboratively to create a lesson that relates to both History and English. This has been a very rewarding experience so far; I cannot wait to see what else we learn throughout the project.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jessica as well, because I love to find a more creative approach that they bring to the table. My favorite thing is learning about the different books I might not have known about if it were not for this project. The book we chose was great, and very interesting to read.
ReplyDelete