I believe that current events are an integral part in the learning process. Even younger students should be kept up to date on what is happening around them. Knowledge is power, as the saying goes, so the more students know, the better off they will be as individuals taking on this journey called life.
In my Social Studies classroom, I plan on using current events as much as possible. Students will have the ability to share anytime a current event that they find to be interesting. Based on the content, I may even have the students complete an activity in class on current events. Students will research and look up articles that pertain to the content of the lesson. Students will then share with the class or with a partner what they have learned from their research. By doing this, the students will spread knowledge to the other students. I will then have my students form an opinion of the events and share with the class what their opinion is. This is an important skill for students to learn that can be used for the rest of their lives.
I can't believe this semester has just ended! It flew by. This semester in Social Studies was definitely a tough one, but it taught me a lot about myself. We had a lot of work throughout the semester, but in the end I learned so much about myself and who I am as a teacher. Our fieldwork experiences have allowed us to teach to a fourth grade classroom at Sacred Heart in New Windsor. I have always believed that learning is fun, so getting to show that to the fourth graders was exciting for me. Each activity and lesson that I made made me that much closer to my dream of becoming a teacher. I am looking forward to the future and to see what it has in store for me.
Today, we all came to class prepared to take part in an interview. When I walked in, the administrators were lined up in the front of the classroom. They then introduced themselves individually and what style of teacher they are looking for that would be a great fit for their school. After, the administrators spread out and conducted short interviews with each of the five groups. They asked questions such as: "What is your teaching philosophy?" and "How would you incorporate collaboration into the classroom?"
All of the questions were well thought out and put together. They were real life questions that truly made me think. I pretended to be in an actual interview just to see how I would actually respond. At the end of it all, they hired five new teachers and I was one of them. All in all, I thought it was a great experience and a great way to end the semester!
