My absolute favorite unit, a “reformer from our history” research paper and campaign, is the only one I’ve done every spring through seven years of teaching U.S. history to eighth graders. It focuses on resilience, activism, determination. It celebrates rather than eulogizes. Through their research, students see themselves in history… Continue reading
Category: Research
“A Social Studies Podcast Project for Right Now,” MiddleWeb
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
“Making Annotations with Less Pain, More Meaning,” MiddleWeb
I’m an annotation geek, and my students know it. Whether in English or history, I’m that teacher: the one who asks students to interact constantly with the text as they read. This could be in the margins if they’re looking at a handout… Continue reading
“How Not to Go Crazy Reading Rough Drafts,” MiddleWeb
Here’s a bit of a confessional. For many years, with major writing assignments, I avoided reading my students’ rough drafts. I thought I didn’t have time – and that if I commented on the rough drafts Continue reading
“Keeping Ourselves, and Our Students, Honest About Sources,” Modern Civics Project
The most effective civic education in my eighth-grade classroom is often the simplest. On Fridays, each student brings in an annotated newspaper article on any topic except sports or entertainment, and then three or four students present and field questions on their pieces. During the rest of the week… Continue reading
“Finding the Best Parts of a Book, Fast,” MiddleWeb
Sometimes I’ve been teaching a skill in such a mediocre way for so long that I hardly realize how much better it could be – until something shakes me from my stupor. For instance, I’ve always known that my students could use actual books more effectively in their research papers… Continue reading
“Ways to Use Tech in Social Studies Classes,” Education Week Teacher
So many social studies topics, from history to civics, pop even more when we add electronic pizzazz. Of course, video clips and photos are easy ways to start, especially for events from the 20th century and beyond. But the best technology… Continue reading
“The Top Skill We Can Teach Our Students: Context,” MiddleWeb
Why do we want to make our students into historians? Not because even a fraction of a percent of them might become writers or professors – but because “doing history” teaches life skills hard to learn… Continue reading
“Teach Students to Read Like Fact Checkers Do,” MiddleWeb
Those of us who have used the Stanford History Education Group’s wealth of materials, from assessments to primary sources, will not be surprised to learn that founder Sam Wineburg’s new book… Continue reading
“Ways to Make Lessons ‘Great,'” Education Week Teacher
It’s tempting to describe the “shiny” lesson: the debate, the simulation, the Socratic seminar. When students connect with each other so loudly the air crackles. Of course I love those lessons. Who doesn’t? … Continue reading