Sarah Cooper

Welcome!

Thanks for visiting! This is a place to find my writing, both education pieces and personal essays. I teach history and do academic administration at an independent school just north of Los Angeles. I’ve also written two books about history teaching, Creating Citizens (Routledge, 2018) and Making History Mine (Stenhouse, 2009), and write a regular column for MiddleWeb’s Future of History blog. In my free time, I like to run, cook, play piano, listen to Broadway musicals, search for good bakeries and spend time with my husband and two sons. I’ve also taught English and love young adult fiction. @sarahjcooper01

“From Couch to 5K, For Real,” Well-Schooled

May 26, 2019June 15, 2019 Sarah CooperLeave a comment

This is not one of those stories in which I show myself what I’m capable of or master a feat I’d never imagined accomplishing. Well, it’s sort of one of those stories — but really it’s a story about coaching, mentoring, and teaching. About how our seemingly small comments and actions can accrue to become… Continue reading

“Changemaker Questions Spark Student Learning,” MiddleWeb

May 8, 2019June 15, 2019 Sarah CooperLeave a comment

When I walked into a one-hour session at the most recent National Council for the Social Studies annual conference – a mega-gathering with ideas and fellow teachers spilling from every corner, not to mention a celebrity sighting of Constitution USA guru Peter Sagal – I didn’t expect to walk out ready to transform… Continue reading

“Ways to Use Tech in Social Studies Classes,” Education Week Teacher

May 5, 2019June 8, 2019 Sarah Cooper

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

March 25, 2019June 20, 2019 Sarah Cooper

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

“Elton John’s Hidden Curriculum,” Well-Schooled

March 22, 2019May 26, 2019 Sarah CooperLeave a comment

When I’ve attended concerts in the past — all artists decidedly from a previous generation — I’ve carried motifs as well as melodies back into my life. With Billy Joel, storytelling laced with a tinge of regret; with the Indigo Girls, social change and righteous indignation; with Bruce Springsteen, evocative yearning for just about everything. Yet until recently, I’ve never… Continue reading

“Teach Students to Read Like Fact Checkers Do,” MiddleWeb

February 11, 2019June 6, 2019 Sarah Cooper

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