Saturday, September 29, 2007
Knowledge Presented in Social Studies
In social studies, knowledge is mainly presented through textbooks but there are plenty of other ways social studies knowledge is presented. Some of these other ways is through reading a nonfiction book or novel concerned with someones real life experiences or a time period in history. There are so many books now especially concerned the wars of the 20th century that is about a soldier who was part of D-day during World War II or even most recent, stories about the first company to set foot in Iraq. Movies are also a way present history as long as they do not fabricate the events, and take trips is almost the best way to learn about history because you can easily go to historical locations such as Gettysburg or Philadelphia where there is an abundance of history and increase your knowledge just by walking around. However, in the classroom most history is presented through a textbook even though there are plenty of other ways for knowledge to be learned.
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3 comments:
Hello Marisa,
I like that you included movies and novels as possible modes for presenting knowledge. In my own classroom, I would like to include magazines, comic books, and songs as well. Since I want to be an ESL teacher, I think these are great ways to get students interested in the language. As a history teacher, you might also want to consider them. In fact, I remember having to do a project with Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" one time. Our class was divided into groups, and each group had to do research and write reports on different parts of the song. I had the 1959 section that started with Buddy Holly.
I also like that fact you mentioned movies. Most people just think of textbooks and government when it comes to history. I would also use music that would go along with historical times, for example swing in the 30's-40's. Using art and many other visual aides could help stimulate interest in history. Put students to re-enact situations in history might give them a better understanding in the subject.
In history and social studies in particular, I think the use of narrative to present information is very powerful. Stories are so central to the ways we learn, especially about other people, and of course they embed a particular perspective -- an important issue to teach students about as well.
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