So, I prompted further by having them think about land that was desperate for water; farming tools that broke from overuse; animals consuming crops in the night; crops that died due to sun exposure and drought; and lastly, a store that did not have room to carry all of the crops so they went to waste. Anxiety began to rise in the students as they realized their perfect plan had many roadblocks to overcome. So I let students think on that for a few days. After the unit on specialization and division of labor, I returned to the same conversation with the same students. Did they feel the same? Some, yes. Most, no. Many wished for collaboration to alleviate loneliness. Some wished for additional helping hands to remain young and less stressed. And a few wished for additional land to prove they could do it on their own and better than their counter parts.

Being in control is a need for many people in today’s society (I being one of them). However, what if when you worked with other people it doubled your profit and your happiness? Would you still prefer to work alone? Every student but one agreed. That one student was afraid of risk and the “interdependence” factor we had been talking about scared him to death. How could he possibly give up the control and allow the process to rest on someone else’s shoulders? Although there might be additional benefit, the risk was too great. I have decided to put this issue on hold and follow up in a year as the child matures. Their outlook might change with gained knowledge and personal growth.

For now, the point was we can be something great, but together we can become something greater. We need one another. We depend on one another. That has its downfalls, but most often it is the reason we are a success as a nation. We are individuals who specialize in one area (that makes us unique), but we put those talents together to create something bigger than our self (and that makes us spectacular).

To help illustrate how we are all connected even though we do very different things, I handed things over to my clinical student from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She reminded students of the division of labor topic we had been discussing. Each student wore a name plate around their neck with a  job title. She had them look around the room and imagine what all these jobs had to do with one another. “How could we need each other?” she asked. Students came up with some predictions, but confusion and doubt came over their faces. She began by saying “I am a farmer. I want to work with the store owner so I can sell my goods.” She then passed the yarn to the store owner. He replied, “I want to work with the banker to hold the money I make.” He rolled the yarn to the banker. On and on went the yarn from one job to another. Students began to see a web effect of how we all work together even though we specialize in different areas of work.

This visual opened students’ eyes to the impact one person has on the community, and when that one person is out of a job, how it affects everyone else. This widened their perspective and helped them see beyond just their job and their impact. “The community depends on each and every one of these people, and so should you.” I said.

Students went back to their seat to reflect on this experience. They wrote about their job, who they might work with and why. They told of how important it was to work as a team and not only care about yourself. But the best response I heard was the increase in appreciation for the people of the community they live in because they now understand how important each person and job is to their own success as a person. Wow. Insightful.

Maybe this wasn’t just a Social Studies lesson…

How else could I teach this concept? I’d love to hear your approach!

The post Specialization and Division of Labor appeared first on Always A Lesson.

Man oh man, do I have a post for you today!! I was lucky enough for an email to come across my inbox in the fall. We have limited field trips in my district and so when I saw an email about a field trip I got excited for an opportunity to bring learning to life. Even better was that this field trip came to our school for only $5 per student- SCORE! “The World in our Backyard” has amazing field trip opportunities based  on countries such as Africa, Australia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru and various Native American regions. Here is a quick blurb:

“Mission Statement: The World in Our Backyard programs have been created by teachers, for teachers, in order to provide the following:

A learning environment that has unique and interactive exhibits.

A curriculum that equips you with the knowledge and understanding of different cultures.
A personal experience that forever changes your perspective of the world.

Curriculum: Our in-school field trips were developed to support the NC Course of Study competency goals and objectives and to engage students in a creative and energetic way through the use of photographs, artifacts, cultural costumes and traditional music.”

My team and I decided Africa would be a perfect country as we wrapped up our Black History Month in February. The amount of authentic clothing, pictures, and hand-made items for students to explore were astonishing. Teachers and students were in awe and commented on it being the best experience “of our lives!”

Below are some pictures of the educational fun we had together:

Class Photo Opp

Sporting our new gear!

We all get to dress up!

Practicing her daily duty as a female

Celebration Dance-we love the instruments!

Hand-made and gorgeous

Hand-made and gorgeous x 2

Great photos

What was your best field trip ? Why?

The post In-House Field Trip appeared first on Always A Lesson.

As a child I did not enjoy Science or Social Studies because I had a hard time relating to the concepts being taught. I was disinterested in the content too, I can’t lie! But, as I got older I began to wonder why I thought those topics were so hard to understand. After all, with each progressing grade, the content became more complex. Not only did I still not connect, but I was further away than before. I would look back thinking “why was “citizenship” or “animal habitats” so hard for me? Surely the “U.S. constitution” and “symbiosis” was harder.” I guess it’s all relative. I wasn’t’ ready for any of the topics when they crossed my path so at the time it was considered hard; obviously now it is not. I had no background knowledge, no interest, no connection, and not a teacher to help me grapple giving into a concept ill prepared. I now am always on the lookout for students who are lacking the desire in a topic or who are struggling to make sense of the information. Usually, like me, they are disconnected and lack background knowledge to get hooked. Field trips, videos, and an abundance of visuals can help students strengthen their background knowledge. Vocabulary and complex sentence structure turn a new learner off, so making the content relateable and in layman’s terms eases the content into the child’s memory. It may take a few times before connections start to be made, but be patient…it will come!

As an adult I find both subjects to be amazingly interesting. As I’m teaching, I’m filling in the holes in my own background knowledge and its lighting a fire inside me. My kids can see the excitement in my instruction and get hooked as I now am. I wish I had enjoyed Social Studies and Science more in my elementary years. I wish my teachers realized I was not “getting” it and helped me figure out what was missing. I wish all my students could fall in love with these subjects NOW and not later. I wish…

For now, I have to  to find time to teach both subjects…thanks to the gods of integration I can weave it in to literacy a few times a week!

Is there a subject you failed to identify with as  a student?

How do you help students engage with an unfamiliar topic?

The post Social Studies & Science appeared first on Always A Lesson.

I have come to this realization with my class  this year. As a child, I never liked Social Studies or History classes. I could not identify with the content. It seemed so foreign; a bunch of dates and wars that I could not connect with. Luckily, at the third grade level, the content is based more on being a good citizen and contributing to a greater society. (Now that, I can handle!) My enjoyment for teaching Social Studies has grown as I look at concepts I originally thought were foreign as a child, like supply and demand, and now teach it in a way that makes it easier to understand for my students.

One specific assignment I am passionate about in particular are Current Event projects. Man, oh man, did I detest this assignment when I was in school! Why did I care about what was happening around the world? It surely did not affect me in my bubble where all I thought about was who I would sit next to on the bus and what delicious dessert I could have that evening. I almost apologized to myself as a child for placing on children something I myself hated. But, let me tell you something: It is not foreign. It is happening right NOW. It affects ALL PEOPLE. And there are lessons to be learned from these “stories” written in the newspaper and on the internet. Children need to know!

This took a bit of convincing on my part in order to encourage and motivate my students. I did what I always do: make a personal connection. I explained my hatred of the subject and my students could not believe it since I am so animated during Social Studies lessons. But, they enjoyed hearing they had something in common with me. I then discussed the importance of choosing an article to report on that you are interested in- why torture yourself? Once students realized the newspaper had more to offer than boring dates and wars, they got really excited to see what was happening around town. In fact, they taught me a few things! For example, a student reported on an article that stated my school district’s Superintendent was allowing students to bring technology, such as ipads and cell phones, into school to enhance their 21^st century skills. The students were proud when they got quite a shocked reaction out of me while reporting on that article. I didn’t even receive an email about this topic until later that afternoon from the Superintendent. They LOVED knowing something I didn’t. Many students even chimed in with details creating an entertaining flow of dialogue!

Above are some current event projects I have received towards the end of the year. The first project we did completely together by browsing a newspaper, choosing one article, and reading it aloud. It took lots of discussion and a sequencing graphic organizer to help students understand the story line completely. We then followed the rubric as we did our write-up to ensure we answered all questions and sections. Students held on to this example to help them complete their monthly assignment. At first most reports were handwritten, but as students understood the expectations (the rubric never changed, and they could refer to it all month long), they began to create projects with cover pages, a bibliography, and images from the article. Students enjoy presenting their article to the class and see the reactions on their classmates’ faces; especially on topics such as  car accidents or bullying.

The rubric is posted on my class’s website as well as stapled into their daily agenda. Students know to turn in the assignment any time before the last day of the month. This routine helped students perfect the assignment. Grades began at the lower level of a “1” and have climbed to not only perfect scores of a “4”, but additional extra points have been awarded for above-and-beyond additions such as typing, ribbon binding, and pages of additional images. There are many templates to use for a current event that I found on the internet. I chose what I liked from the various examples and created the one I now use. Above is the expectation and rubric.

Some students are not the best planners and need some guidance. So I typed a cheat sheet that they can refer to weekly and check off as they complete each section:

Now you K-2 teachers, don’t think this post does not apply to you! I presented at a staff meeting linking this assignment to the Common Core objectives and also helped staff brainstorm how to alter the assignment based on student age/ability level. 5^th grade teachers added assignments to the research sections. Kindergarten decided to choose a small article as a grade level and incorporate the whole-class assignment during morning meeting.

Getting students involved in the community requires them to know what is going on in their environment. Not only have students grown as reporters (writers, readers, and public speakers), but they have matured in their knowledge of their community. That makes me proud that I helped them see the importance of events so that they can better themselves while bettering the community.

Do you implement Current Event projects in your own school? If so, how?

Is there something similar you have your class complete?

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