Social Studies & Science
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?
About the author, Gretchen
I am a teacher trainer and coach. Working elbow to elbow with teachers and teacher leaders to ensure instructional proficiency and student achievement soar lights me up. We have a real need in our nation for strong educators to remain in the field. My blog, book, podcast, courses and instructional materials are geared towards empowering teachers (and those that lead them) to receive the support needed to grow and thrive today, tomorrow and always.
I absolutely did not enjoy or do well in social studies/history/geography! I thought it was insanely boring and could not memorize anything for the life of me. I didn’t have a hard time memorizing things for other subjects, so I’m pretty sure it all had to do with how disconnected I was with the content. Now, I find history really interesting and love going to see reenactments and museums. Like you I’m trying to find a way to get the kids in my class to love it as much as I do now, not how I felt about it then.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful response. It sounds like our experiences were very similar. I can only imagine how many other people out there can relate to this unfortunate scenario. I am happy to hear you are doing your best to not let it happen to your students. 🙂
I was terrible at writing (grammar) & hated to read the assigned novels. Cliff notes was my best friend. TERRIBLE! Now, I still am not very good at writing (however I DO use the proper forms of your & you’re!), but I love to read & actually got my masters degree in reading & literacy!
My kids at school…. they are complainers. And I just tell them to get over it because they’ll be glad they did it after they succeed. The old “you’ll always have to do things you don’t want to do” speech works sometimes too! 🙂
Grammar is a hard one- I’ll give it to you! I feel bad for those individuals learning English…we are so inconsistent with our grammar rules!
I’m happy to hear you are teaching perseverance to your students. They will be better off for the struggle. We all are stronger as a result of the journey.
Thanks for sharing!