History In The Making: Bin Laden Killed By Navy Seals

On Sunday, May 1, President Obama announced that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by Navy Seals, bringing closure to the family and friends of nearly 3,000 people who were killed on September 11, 2001. Hopefully, it also signals the beginning of the end of the reign of terrorists throughout the world.

Osama Bin Laden was a powerful and dynamic leader of the terrorist sector in the Middle East. He will, thankfully, be hard to replace. With the recent examples of peaceful revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, it is not too hard to believe there are a significant number of people who are tired of the violence and wish to find a more reasonable way to resolve differences. With the death of Bin Laden and the success of peaceful demonstrations in Egypt and Tunisia, perhaps we can look forward to a more harmonious transition into a global society.

Teachers can use this news event to teach students about a significant moment in history that occurred in their lifetime and how it affects our every day life. It provides the perfect opportunity for students to see the many heros who responded to the attack on the World Trade Center. The actions of the first responders is a glimpse into what it truly means to be an American.

Teaching the Revolutionary War

The first lesson I taught as part of my Field Experience in a fifth grade classroom was to introduce the Revolutionary War unit. I found this great Readers Theatre, which I adapted to include more students. In it, the Founding Fathers are discussing all the reasons they decide to declare war against the King and become a country in their own right. All of my students really enjoyed participating in the Readers Theatre and they came away with an interest in learning more about the injustices that create the need for the colonists to rebel against England. The Readers Theatre came from:

Readers Theatre for American History by Anthony D. Fredericks.

Teacher Idea Press, Englewood, CO.

Copyright 2001

ISBN 1-56308-860-6S

Be sure to check it out for other Readers Theatre scripts as well to get your students engaged In American History!!

Growing Pains

The trend today seems to be to eliminate Social Studies from the elementary curriculum. It seems to be as we struggle to become a global society that Social Studies is needed more than ever. As we watch Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya struggle to overthrow cruel and inhumane dictatorships, and try to decide what, if any, support our own country should provide for these rebels, we have to know about their culture and how their struggles within their own countries affect the well being of the entire world. When we toppled the government in Iraq, we did not receive the welcome we thought we would, because we knew nothing of their culture. We did not know how to help in a way that was acceptable to their people.

When we start by teaching our young students how to create a community within their classrooms and build on that every year to reach out into serving neighborhoods, cities, states, nations and the world, we teach our students to become leaders. We need social studies to create leaders who understand the diverse cultures of the world to enable us to survive the growing pains we are now experiencing as we all struggle to become one society working together for the betterment of all.

Teaching the Holocaust

At the beginning of this semester, we watched a movie called "Paperclips" which relates the story of a small homogenous school tackling teaching the concept of diversity. How could they make their students who did not live in a diverse population about diversity and what happens if we don't respect one another. They decided to teach a unit on the Holocaust which led one student to ask "How can we represent six million (the number of Jews killed), I just can't picture six million." They decided to collect six million paperclips. The movie follows them as they collect paper clips from celebrities, from Holocaust survivors, and the letters that come with the paperclips. The project grows far beyond what any teacher could have ever imagined and there is now a monument at the school where visitors come to learn about the Holocaust and subsequent classrooms serve as guides. It was a very moving piece which I believe could be beneficial to every classroom studying the Holocaust. I know I still carry a paperclip with me, lest this event in history slip from my mind.

Last week in our Social Studies Methods class, groups of students presented tradebooks they had read by performing a short skit from one of the scenes in the book. Then we had to be willing to answer questions from the audience, not as ourselves, but as the character we portrayed. The only criteria for the presentation was that it had to address a social studies theme. It was a project I enjoyed both as an actor and as a member of the audience.

How can this be used in an elementary classroom?

Students could perform their favorite parts of the book.

They could perform a scene from the book, with a twist--like a character could make a different choice..

They could each be assigned a segment of the story and perform it in sequential order thus retelling the entire story.

Students could perform a scene from the book as a way to persuade others to read the book.

Students could perform scenes from different books written from different perspectives of a single event in history. It was an extremely enjoyable activity both as an actor and as a member of the audience.

What about students who don't like to perform in front of others?

They could contribute by providing costumes, props, or scenery(A poster to serve as a backdrop).

How would you group students for this project?

You could create random groups--if this not going to have a high point value towards a grade.

You could create groups based on abilities- making sure every group has an equal share of actors vs. non-actors for example.

You could let them list their first, second, and third choices for who they want to work with and then create groups from those lists.

How do students benefit?

They have to read the book well enough to know how to answer questions as their character.

They learn to collaborate.

They learn to speak in front of a group.

They get to learn what others value (if students choose their favorite scene).

They get to learn about other books (if students preform scenes from different books) which will hopefully motivate them into reading the books.

Digital Storytelling

This semester our class was asked to create a Digital Story. We could work in teams or individually to create a story related to any aspect of Social Studies. I chose to focus on civil actions to correct injustices. It was such a great learning experience for me as I delved into the lives of leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Ghandi, and Martin Luther King. They are great role models which are beyond what I can ever aspire to be! They were all humble men and learning their histories and their sacrifices can inspire everyone of us to take a stand against any act of injustice we witness. My learning experience is a great testament to the benefits of allowing students to create their own digital stories. I loved the fact we were allowed to choose our own topic, I have to believe that this leads to more student engagement. I am looking forward seeing the Digital Stories of my classmates!

Which decade was the best?

Our class had a decades project which required each group to present their chosen decade to students at large. Students voted on which decade they thought was the best to live in. Every group dressed in costumes, presented facts and artifacts and some even danced. Students voted the Roaring 20's as the best decade to live in, but I still think living in the fifties must have been a blast.

This project would be a very engaging activity for elementary students to participate in. They have to learn about their own decade and present it to other students PLUS they learn about the decades of all the other groups. It is fun and easy. Teachers may need to assist students with costumes because some of them were challenging to find, but with a little creativity, pre-planning and Goodwill shopping, students in class can have a great time learning all about the decades!