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Showing posts from January, 2017

Role-Playing in Social Studies (Introducing "The Most Dangerous Man in America")

Yesterday I planned a role-playing activity for my Social Studies 400 students. We've been studying the First Amendment- Freedom of Press the past week and a half. I'm planning to show "The Most Dangerous Man in America" and although I've lectured on the topic of the Pentagon Papers and New York Times v. United States, I still felt it would be beneficial to review the "cast" of individuals involved in the story as well as their relationship to the story. I found an engaging role-play activity on the Zinn Education Project Page. Despite having a small class yesterday (four kids absent), the activity was a success. Each student played the part of a key figure involved in the story. Each student was given a short biography, a photo of the person they were role-playing (you could also have your students create a mini cardboard cutout of their individual; I have done that in the past and it's added a bit more "authenticity" to the activity), a n...

March: Book One & Two (Critical Thinking Questions, Comprehension Questions, Task Cards and Activity)

As an Alt-Ed teacher I am constantly looking for new ways to entice my "reluctant readers" to read. One genre many of my students enjoy are graphic novels. I was first introduced to graphic novels as a college student. A history professor introduced me to Art Spiegelman's Maus . This book was one of the most powerful books I had read on the Holocaust. After reading Maus I remember thinking, "if I ever teach history, I am definitely including this book in my history curriculum." I kept that promise and have been using Maus ever since. A couple years ago I introduced another graphic novel into my history curriculum; March: Book One. The book was so successful with my students, I've expanded my classroom collection to include books two and three as well. This weekend I updated my original lessons for Books One and Two . I also added a new activity based on a tried-and-true activity I have been using as a final assessment with my history students the past t...

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