Another excellent website

Website: Animatedatlas.com

The website animatedatlas.com portrays large chapters of American History quickly by animating maps and geographic features for school, home, and genealogy use. It is colorful and stimulating and is broken up into sections that are extremely user friendly. For students, I think this website would be extremely useful because it utilizes and partners with websites that students are familiar with, such as youtube.com. The various maps are animated and give children a visual representation of the growth and development of our nation in an interesting and exciting manner. Students can click on any of the many animated maps and be taken to a digital movie of how America grew over the course of History.

One particular link is entitled “Growth of a Nation” and is a ten minute presentation illustrating the growth and change of the US from the original thirteen colonies to the present day. Students can play, pause and rewind as the video moves through a clear timeline on the bottom of the map, and watch the expansion of the US through land grants, the Revolutionary War, the Louisiana Purchase, concepts such as manifest destiny, and the exploration of Lewis and Clark. The entire video is narrated that explains how each expansion of the nation acquired new states and when each state was admitted into the union. It also discusses how states were admitted as free or slave states and covers government policies on our official borders and land acquisitions. Because the video is short and to the point, students will get a clear overview of the important events that led us to our current nation without getting bored.

I would enjoy using this website in my class curriculum, and I think the students would enjoy it as well. It is very interactive and user friendly, and breaks down important historical events with accompanying visual aids that are really useful. There is also a teachers guide to help plan lessons and develop study guides for the students to use.

Cool Website! Love it!

Website: www.socialstudies.com

The website www.socialstudies.com is an excellent resource for teachers who want to supplement their educational materials with multimedia, primary source guides, posters, power points, and other curriculum based materials. The setup of the site is similar to websites such as amazon.com, but is more efficient for teachers looking for only social studies materials. Teachers are able to browse by subject or by featured media, and there are several links that provide instructors with ideas about how to reverse plan, differentiate instruction, and vary instruction so as to make the subject interactive and exciting for students. There is also a featured link to the weekly specials, which are discounted kits or other supplements that cover various areas of social studies.

I particularly like the link to the supplement for a unit called “Hungry Planet,” which is a complete kit that covers the topic of what the world eats. It compares and contrasts different ethnic foods around the world, shows statistics on how different families around the globe participate in the ritual of meals, discusses different cultures and asks students to think critically about the opportunities and choices that define peoples lives based on their access to food sources. The package includes posters, power points, books, writing prompts, photos, and critical thinking questions that help students understand how all people in the world share similarities when it comes to eating.

I would use many of the resources available on this website in my class. The books, DVDs, CD’s and other objects very thoroughly cover the plethora of subjects that involve History. I especially like how diverse the material is, and quite a bit of it focuses on multiculturalism, the role of women in history, and how our history is connected to us in the present day. I also really like the fact that much of the material provides teachers with ways to differentiate instruction for both advanced and remedial students.

Argument essay lesson plan

I had this idea for a lesson plan a while ago, and I've been trying to figure out the best way to implement it effectively. I have a loose outline for what I would LIKE to do, but I could use some ideas on how it could be improved. The main focus is generating ideas in writing, taking a position, and making an effective argument. Let me know what you think so far!

Argument Essay class activity:

Put a statement of two or three sentences on the board and have students agree or disagree. As a class for a few minutes, discuss why or why not. Ask students at the beginning how many ideas they think they can generate for each position (5-10? 20? More?). Make that one of the goals.

The teacher makes two columns on the board: agree/disagree, and has students add to each column with supporting short phrases or single words. Start the list with only 5 or so ideas for each.

Divide class in half so that half agree and half disagree.

Have students copy the original statement and then write two or three sentences to embellish the original statement, putting in why they agree/disagree.

Partner with someone from a different perspective and argue/discuss your point of view, adding anything new to your short essay (can be in note form). Add as much as you can.

Have students switch essays, and return to his or her half of the classroom.

For the conclusion, have the “agree” students share the perspectives of the “disagree” students and vice versa. Add to the list of generated ideas on the board.

Lesson outcomes

Did the class reach their goal of generated ideas? Why or why not?

Did anyone change his or her mind during the course of the lesson? Why/Why not?

Did anyone hear an idea that was new or different that helped strengthen his or her position?

Did anyone hear an idea that weakened his or her position? What can you change about your idea to make it stronger?

Can you name one thing you heard that you were not aware of before?

Below are some statements I could use for the lesson.

Agree/Disagree statements

--Being a teenager today is more difficult than at any other time in history. Teenagers of today have a far greater amount of problems and obstacles than teenagers in the past. In addition, adults don’t think teenagers have any problems at all, and don’t understand what life is like for the modern teen, which makes being a teenager more difficult.

--People are never satisfied with what they have. They always want something more or something different. Therefore, no person can ever be truly happy.

--There is nothing that young people can teach older people. The older you get, the more opportunities you have to experience and learn. Therefore, young people should always listen to what older people have to teach them.

Again, any input for how to improve the lesson or possible obstacles in teaching it would be greatly appreciated!

SED 514

My first blog (well, for SED 514 that is... I have another). Can't wait to start adding new posts!