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Sarah Cooper

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Category: Civics

“Distance Learning Strategies to Bring Back to the Classroom,” Edutopia

May 20, 2020May 31, 2020 Sarah Cooper

Before my eighth-grade history students moved into online learning this spring, I had no idea about one student’s affection for Cup Noodles or another’s sweet way of talking about her 5-year-old brother. Perhaps I should have known, but I didn’t, and I wish I had. Distance learning has enabled these intimate glimpses… Continue reading

Posted in Civics

“Social Studies Instruction in the Age of the Coronavirus,” Education Week Teacher

May 15, 2020May 31, 2020 Sarah Cooper

This has been one of the most difficult moments I can remember to encourage students to follow the news. As two 8th graders said recently in a Zoom chat:

  • I don’t really bother to look because it is all about the coronavirus.
  • There’s not much about anything else… Continue reading

Posted in Civics

“A Social Studies Podcast Project for Right Now,” MiddleWeb

April 19, 2020December 14, 2020 Sarah Cooper

Rarely has it been so clear that a unit needs to be scrapped and started over from scratch. In my eighth-grade U.S. history and civics class, which has a lot of curricular flexibility, we focus on… Continue reading

Posted in Civics, Research

“The Do’s & Don’ts of a Quick Shift to Remote Learning,” Education Week Teacher

March 25, 2020March 29, 2020 Sarah Cooper

Here’s how my second meeting with one class started last week, when three students opened up a chat on Google Meet:

1:16 PM

can i go to the bathroom

1:16 PM

we didn’t have to turn in a current event today right… Continue reading

Posted in Civics

“What Students Can Learn by Writing to Politicians,” MiddleWeb

February 10, 2020March 23, 2020 Sarah Cooper

Writing a letter to a politician is about as “civic” an assignment as we can do within our classroom walls, and it feels especially relevant in our polarized political climate. For the first two years that my U.S. history and civics students wrote these letters, though, I didn’t quite… Continue reading

Posted in Civics, Writing

“Seven Ways to Bring Current Events Into the Classroom,” Education Week Teacher

January 26, 2020March 23, 2020 Sarah Cooper

We can link current events to what we teach in the classroom in at least two ways—through content and through character. With content, teachers sometimes wonder how they can justify adding current events to their lessons… Continue reading

Posted in Civics

“How iCivics Helped Me Refresh the Constitution,” MiddleWeb

December 7, 2019March 23, 2020 Sarah Cooper

In my 8th grade U.S. history and civics class, which I’ve taught for seven years, our unit on the Constitution has always challenged me because it raises so many questions about curriculum planning… Continue reading

Posted in Civics

“Taking the Declaration in New Directions,” iCivics

November 19, 2019 Sarah Cooper

Every year, teaching the Declaration of Independence daunts me. The possibilities for modern and historical connections are vast, and I wonder if I could be doing more to cement the favorable concepts from this founding document into students’ minds… Continue reading

Posted in Civics

“Staying Close to Home,” CivXNow

October 21, 2019October 25, 2019 Sarah Cooper

Immediate interest. Personal relevance. Uncontroversial subject matter. These aren’t always the first phrases teachers and students might think of when discussing current events in class. But if we head local… Continue reading

Posted in Civics

“‘The Hate U Give’: Learning How to Teach Controversial Topics,” MiddleWeb

October 7, 2019June 17, 2020 Sarah Cooper

It has taken me a year to write this post, and I still feel inadequate. I’m writing about this experience because I want to take something from it – to understand better how I can prepare to teach, and then lean into, difficult topics… Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Civics, Social Justice

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