Lewis and Clark

In the article, "Lewis and Clark," Gail Lovely discusses the importance of teaching about the voyage of Lewis and Clark to all grade levels. Lovely points out that there are many other significant figures in our history who discovered different parts of America before Lewis and Clark. However, studying these two men is very important because they were the people who wrote extensive journals about their journey. Through the study of their journals and documentations of America, we learned a lot about our country.
Lovely suggests that grades K-2 need to concentrate on broad ideas because they are at a early level of learning. A good idea would be to focus on teaching the students about the different components of a community. It is important to relay the idea that there are many roles in society and that when put together, create a community that is fully functional. Another idea for this grade level is to focus on Seaman who was the dog that accompanied them on their journey.
For grades 3-6, it is important to engage in deeper activities by opening up discussions for the students. By engaging in debates about the journey, the students will learn about the different hardships that Lewis and Clark experienced. Students at this age are also able to explore different readings about the journey to better understand the time period and culture of the people.
For grades 7-12, students are able to conduct research on their own and form insights on the expedition. Later, they can write reports based on their findings and present their work to their peers. By collaborating together as a class, the students will gain new insights on the different perspectives pertaining the voyage and time period.

1. What age is it appropriate to ask students to write about Lewis and Clark? 3rd grade is an appropriate grade to ask the students to write their own journal entries.

2. How long should a teacher spend time teaching about Lewis and Clark? A teacher should spend about three weeks teaching the students about Lewis and Clark.

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Alexandra Garren & Christopher Adams

Teaching History In Elementary School

    I have always been fascinated with history because the subject matter never changes; but is rather built upon by new events.  Having a concise and clear knowledge of our past allows us to make better choices in the present.  By examining our past, we can learn from our mistakes and improve on how we interact with other people and our environment.  If children are taught the value of learning from our past, they will be more consciously aware that the choices that they make from day to day have the power of affecting the world.  Understanding this concept at an early age is crucial because it will encourage global cooperation and the conservation of our natural resources. There is much to gain by being aware of what has happened in the past.  Hence I firmly believe that children should begin learning about our history from an early age. 

    History can be incorporated into any grade level curriculum.  The depth of the material that is taught merely changes as the students get older and are able to assimilate more information.  By introducing history in Kindergarten, teachers will be able to build upon that knowledge every year.  It is beneficial to view the California Content Standards because the standards for each grade are articulated.  This website provides the content that should be incorporated into each grade level as well as offers ideas for teaching history with affective approaches.  For example, a great way to teach history, especially for younger grades, is to conduct classroom plays.  In this teaching method, the students are all actively involved and allows them to incorporate their own creativity.  Furthermore, other artistic techniques may be used such as having the children write and illustrate historical events and then creating a classroom book with the  collaboration of the students' work.  For more ideas, visit Creative History Lesson Plans.
Written by, Aexandra Garren

    Biography

    I have always been drawn to the idea of teaching because I have always been fond of school and the learning process.  I feel that even as adults, we have the full potential to keep learning and grow as individuals.  Furthermore, as educators I believe we are going to learn as much from our students as they are going to learn from us.  My mother is a kindergarten teacher and for years I have been able to witness how much she has learned from her students.  Even though she has been teaching the same subject for nearly 10 years now, she still learns more with each new class. 

    My personal teaching philosophy is to prepare my students to be model citizens for our community.  I want to give them the skills to question facts and come up with their own conclusions.  I would like to provide a base of knowledge for my students and teach them how to apply what they know to solve  problems in their everyday lives.  Furthermore, my biggest concern with teaching is to have my students really grasp concepts, rather than just memorize procedures.  In order to really learn, students need to know the broad spectrum of how something works.

    Additionally, I firmly believe in teaching students to think independently and to understand that their actions affect more than just themselves.  Ideally, I would like to set up my classroom  as a miniature model of a full scale community.  By incorporating this setting into my classroom, my students will be able to learn to work together as a team and learn how everyone has individual skills that when applied, can benefit the whole.  As teachers, we help shape the people who will become our future generations. Therefore, teachers are given an extraordinary opportunity to practice positive ideals and values,  which may directly reflect in our society.

Contact Information:
Email: garre016@cougars.csusm.edu
Blog Web Address: http://agarren422.blogspot.com/

  

Learning through the Arts K-12

     My main subject of interest is in teaching through the arts. I would like to teach at an elementary level using art to get students thinking creatively in all subject areas. I am also open to teaching Middle School and High School as an art teacher that incorporates high school curriculum into the art lessons. By viewing the California Content Standards you can see how teaching through the arts meets the curriculum that students need to learn. Teaching through the arts has always been around but lately the arts has been pushed into the extra curriculum content and is still viewed as beneficial but not mandatory. Not all students learn in the same manner or at the same pace. When using the arts as a tool for learning, the teacher slows down the learning process so students can think about the subject they are learning and then share their knowledge with the rest of their class through the art's that they produce. When students are in a safe learning environment and they can personally reflect on a production they created by using information from the subject area and share what they know about that subject with their classmates, they will have a firm grasp of the information and remember it. Art gets you thinking creatively and this world needs more creative thinkers. Art also lets you view the world in a different eye and see beyond what is actually there.

     Incorporating the arts into your classroom can be done in many ways, its not all just drawing an painting. Teachers can use dance, music, sculpture, drawing, drama and other personal performance driven activity's. Some examples of these activity's being used in lessons can be found at Teaching Core Curriculum Content Through the Arts. There is also a great program, Learning Through The Arts, who make it there business to promote learning through the arts. They have a vast amount of information to help teachers wishing to incorporate the arts into their curriculum including free lesson plans to get you started. The best lessons are the ones you create yourself, knowing your students ability and interests your lessons can be more personal and creative and help the learning process. It is always a great idea to use art's from your community. There are some fantastic artists out there that can guide you through a medium and help you create a wonderful learning activity.

Written by Christopher Adams

Biography

    My name is
Christopher Adams. I was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and I moved
to the United States when I was eleven. I am an artist and I like to
create sculptures and drawings at home and I try to take at least one
studio type art class each semester.I have worked for the Poway Unified School District as an Extended
Student Services Assistant for over four years. This job involved me
working one-on-one, and in group environments, with students after
school. I was in charge of thirty to fifteen students depending on the
time of the day. I worked on-site at Adobe Buffs Elementary School. A
typical day involved helping the students complete their homework, and
have the students involved with educational activity's throughout the
day. I have created, planed, and implemented many educational arts,
sports, and games for my groups. I have also presented some of these
projects that I have created to the rest of PUSD ESS program at their
annual district wide meeting. The grade range I worked with was
Kindergarten through fifth grade, the grade I was primary responsible
for was forth and fifth grade. Additionally I have over twenty hours
certified participating in the Tutor Connection program, a Community
Service Learning Project. I tutored an "At Risk" youth in Foster Youth
Services. I have also put on a professional puppet show at CSUSM for
first graders. I also have given an in class presentation on teaching
through the arts for a classroom at CSUSM showing many of the
activity's I have used with my students.

    I am going into teaching because I enjoy working with
children, I also enjoy creating educational art activity's for them.
One of the earliest forms of communication was cave paintings and early
humans used those paintings to tell story's to their decedents. I feel
that even in this modern world we need to keep the arts as a crucial
part of our teaching method. Creativity and imagination are fantastic
tools of the human brain and we need to reinforce there use if we are
to have a brighter future. Teaching through arts gets your students
brains working no mater what type of learner your students are. Art
also get you focused on a subject, you will lose students if they are
constantly lectured. When students personally interact with the subject
mater they hold onto that information easier and remember it.

    You can contact me by e-mail and you can also look at my blog in which I write weekly reviews of educational journal articles that use technology as a teaching tool.

Written by Christopher Adams

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Lights! Camera! Science?

In the article, "Lights! Camera! Science?" Donna Ross, Randy Yerrick, and Philip Molebash discuss the benefits of incorporating the use of technology during science lessons. The biggest benefit that technology can offer is a second chance for students to observe their experiments. For example, the authors described a class who were experimenting with making their own bottle rockets. After completion, they were able to shoot them off and observe how high and fast their rockets went. After their initial observations, the students were suppose to make adjustments on their rockets in order to improve the height and speed.
I found this interesting because I remember doing this exact experiment in my seventh grade science class as well. The problem that we found was that we didn't have enough time to observe the height and speed of the rocket after launching it off because of our position and the time limitations. In this article, the authors described how the students in this class, solved the problem by setting up a tri-pod and filming the rockets being launched. After they experimented with them, they were able to take the video tapes inside and view the launching in slow motion. Doing the experiment this way, allowed them to successfully pin point what they needed to do to increase their rockets' height and speed.
The authors continued to explain how different classrooms used videos and laptops to aid them in their scientific experiments. Using technology as a tool in the classroom greatly increases the amount of exploration. Students are able to document their experiments initially and then can later look at their results through their video tapes. This is an excellent way for students to gain the most from their scientific experiments.

1. Is it worth it to use up more time by filming science projects? Yes, because the students are able to gain more from the exercise by filming their experiments.

2. Will students become too dependent on technology to finish their assignments? No, the use of technology will only further enhance their learning capabilities.

Journal Reading and Blogging Assignment-Chatting It Up Online

Chatting It Up Online by Pamela Livingston

 

         This article is about how now children have the opportunity to speak with the author of the books they read in class online. The author, Pamela Livingston, first discusses how classes find the chat they want to participate in and what they have to do in order to participate. Livingston then goes on to tell how the program was, and the details involved with the chat, such as rules, protocol, and etiquette, such as not using all capital letters (which is considered shouting in online chats). After this, she moved on to talk about her school's participation in the program, the pros and cons they felt, and their overall satisfaction level. After reading this author, I thought, why is it a positive addition to a child's education to allow them to speak with the author of the book they read? I feel that encouraging children to read is one of the best things a teacher can do, and I believe this program would greatly encourage children to read. Also, being able to ask questions to the actual author instead of just a teacher will help children further understand the reading. I also wondered if this program is available and affordable to every school, considering the cost of computers and Internet access can be costly. This program is a great idea, but I think there are many schools that do not have adequate funding in order to participate. I actually saw a commercial yesterday for a new donation program for schools, wherein the public can go to a website and choose specific programs at schools that they wish to donate to. This way people can feel like they are actually making a difference, instead of just feeling like they are paying taxes. Some of our taxes go to schools, but many people do not see immediate results that they would like, so this program allows them to see those results.