Bring Back Our Girls - Getting Social Studies Students to Care and Think with Current Events

On CNN Student News there was a clip about the tragedy in Nigeria.  It really had an impact on my 7th and 8th graders - and me.  The discussion and learning that followed was tremendous.  Nobody questioned "Why do we have to learn this?" that day.  Social Studies was not boring.  It made them think about what kind of world they live in and what type of impact they would like to have on it.  What is the role of governments?  What makes the US different than other countries?  What do we (personally and as a notion) stand for?

Before the news clip, they did some basic research on Nigeria.  I have them complete a spreadsheet during current events.  They put in the country in the news that day in the first column followed by the capital, continent, leader, government type, currency, per capita GDP, HDI, vocabulary terms, and a 1 - 2 sentence current events summary.  Most of this information can be found on Wikipedia or the CIA World Factbook sites.  This gives them a chance to do some comparing with other countries we have covered as well as the US that is on there for comparison.  After a few entries, they start using terms like HDI and GDP when comparing countries.  Even economics isn't boring if it is relevant to something in which they are interested!  The fact that it is the 7th most populous country in the world was surprising to most - including me.  The large variety of ethnic groups in the country and the north/south split of Islam and Christianity helped them see some of the problems Nigeria faced after gaining its independence from the United Kingdom in 1960.  That's why the official language is English - like us!

There was some new information that I shared with them about the abducted girls http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/world/africa/nigeria-kidnapped-girls.html?_r=0 I always try to introduce some new vocabulary and have them do some reading to supplement what they have seen.  They do well at this when they have some inspiration for reading.  In this case, we defined the terms "extremists" and "abduction".

The most interesting discussion was over the question of "What should be done about this?"  You have to be careful here.  I'm not trying to convince them of anything, but tell them they need to figure out what they believe.  What should be done?  Who should do it?  How involved should we (the school, country, world) be in protecting these girls or children anywhere?  What is the role of governments?  Do we have any responsibility for others in foreign countries?  Is it our business?  Should it be?

This got them going.  Again, I stressed the fact that we are not here to try to convince others of our views (we will rarely get 100% agreement on most issues), but I would like them each to develop their own political conscience.  What do you stand for?  This needs to be determined in order to find politicians you can support.  But none of this can be done if you don't even know what is going on in the world in the first place.  People need to be aware of issues before anything can be done about them.  This can happen in Social Studies.
 

Using Justin Beiber to Teach WWII - the Ultimate Way to Hook Your Middle Schoolers

When you can connect WWII, President Obama's trip to Asia, Japanese / Chinese relations, the US occupation of Japan, US troops in Afghanistan AND Justin Bieber all in one class period it makes for a fun day of Social Studies.  We watched a news clip of the President's trip and they mentioned a couple of small islands that have been an issue of contention between China and Japan for a few years now.  When they mentioned that the US is siding with Japan in this dispute, many students inquired, "why?".

I directed them to some further reading (Obama sides with Japan) and this led to more questions. We had a 15 minute discussion (and more research) about US/ Japan relations including the Pearl Harbor and the nuclear bombings of 1945.  Most were aware of these events, but did not know about our occupation of Japan and the our involvement in the rebuilding of the country.

We went further and discussed similar plans the US has had for Iraq and Afghanistan.  If we can turn enemies into allies, that would be a good thing.  Most Americans would never have dreamed that we would be allies with Japan 60 years ago - can the same thing happen with Afghanistan?  Time will tell.  But history gives us hope.  If it had failed with Japan, the US's plans with  Afghanistan most likely would be different.  We learn from history!

I also remembered that Justin Bieber was in the midst of yet another controversy during his trip to Japan a few days earlier.  This led to the discussion and more research about war crimes and the relationship between Japan and China.  This was a lot to digest for the students, but that was the point.  Our relationships with other countries are important.  Knowing our past history, and the history countries share with others in crucial to understand if we want to keep these relationships positive.  It is one thing for the Biebs to not be aware of Japanese war crimes of the 1930s and 40s, but hopefully our President and ambassadors know this stuff.  Hopefully, it was taught to them and they understood the importance of learning it.  That is our job as Social Studies teachers.  I tell them that I am preparing them to be a future President of the US - I want them to be more aware of history that Justin Beiber if they get elected.  I hope we can expect that in our future.

No Shortcuts in Social Studies - Hard Work, Knowledge,and Experience Necessary

Last week we discussed the ebola outbreak in the country of Guinea.  The students were not sure where this country was so we did some research.  We found that the country's motto and anthem are in French even though most of the people of the country are from African tribes (Fula, Maninka,..).  This led to more questions and research about the history of Africa - the colonization by the British in the 1800s, independence in the 1900s for many countries, and the current issues facing much of Africa today (diseases, wars, famine, poverty, hunger).
I showed them a few maps and charts showing the countries that colonized Africa and the dates of independence for many of the countries.  Another map showed the distribution of many African tribes.  Many questions were raised by these maps, including "What is the purpose of having colonies?"It really turned into a good lesson.  We connected US History, current events, African history, civics, economics, and European history - quite a bit for one class period.
I really felt there was good learning going on that day.  I've taught African colonization before, but the students this year seemed to be more interested and involved in the lesson this year.  I really believe by starting with current events (real world relevance) the students are more receptive to the historical connections - things are happening now because of things that happened before.
The toughest part of doing this is preparation and flexibility.  I teach the colonization of Africa each year, but instead of an ordered checklist given to the students on the same day each year ("Why do we have to learn this?"), teachers need to have the freedom to connect these lessons to world events.  This is not easy.  It takes knowledge, planning and work.  It can be stressful at times not knowing what direction you may be heading each day.  But when the students really start making connections and are engaged in the classroom, it is worth the effort and time.  Students see that historical events do have relevance for us today.
I don't think I could have taught this way early in my career.  I did not know the content well enough, I was not as aware of current events as I am now, and did not have the confidence as a teacher that comes with experience.  Hard work is necessary, experience is invaluable and knowledge is priceless in the teaching profession.

Linking Current Events to Ancient Mesopotamia

I have been teaching my 7th graders about Mesopotamia and the Middle East.  This week, President Obama visited with Mahmoud Abbas, and met with Benjamin Netanyahu a few weeks ago.  We did some research about the history between the Palestinians and Israelis (this map is a good discussion starter).  Peace talks are scheduled between the two, but appear to be at an impasse.  Each year this is in the news and it is important to link the history (beginnings of Judaism and Islam, creation of Israel, etc.) with the current issues going on there.

Linking the two gives students a way to see that events are connected to past events, and the past history people have with one another effects how they relate to each other now.  They don't care much about the history if they don't think it has any impact on something going on in the world today (and I don't blame them for feeling that way).  They are also more interested in current events when they know some things that led up to the event and know some of the history.  They go hand in hand and compliment each other.  It makes it more interesting to teach, and for the kids to learn.

Crowdsourcing Flight MH 370 (Geography Lesson Ready Made)

Students have been fascinated by the Malaysian flight missing for over a week.  I read about the Tomnod site that allows people around the globe to view satellite images of the area.  They want to use crowdsourcing to find the missing 777.
It was the easiest day of teaching ever - the students were glued to the images and asked question after question about the flight, satellites, and geography.  Alas, nothing was found, but they are all pretty familiar with the geography of SE Asia.
They did not seem too familiar with crowdsourcing (I was surprised that I was familiar with a tech term they did not know) but some have heard of Kickstarter.  I told them it was like teachers passing out papers to students and having each student grade a couple so the teacher does not have to grade them all.  They understood that.

Genius Hour (OK, maybe 15 minutes to start)

I just read about Genius Hour (time given to Google workers to explore something they are passionate about during work hours).  Teachers have been using this concept in Science classes to give students time to explore what interests them.  I love the idea.

I decided to try it with Social Studies today.  The students watched CNN Student News, then I gave them time to do some research on their chromebooks about anything in the news that they wanted to know more about.  Some students tried to find out more about the Malaysian plane crash, INTERPOL, Eric Snowden, a new dinosaur species, or an interactive Pizza Hit table.  It was 15 minutes of students researching something in which they are interested.  Good use of time, I'd say.

The students had to submit a few paragraphs to me to show that they learned something new and they gave me feedback on their interest levels during class.  I learned a lot from reading their posts and I feel they recognized what I was trying to do and they appreciated it.  7th and 8th graders should have some time to explore interests and start to figure out what they might want to do in life.  How much do people earn?  What requirements are needed for certain jobs?  What colleges offer what I need to study?  These are individual questions that I can't answer for everyone.  They have the devices to find information - give them some time to explore what interest them so they can become interesting and productive citizens.

Developing Students' Historical Consciences - the Future Depends on It

I discussed the Ukraine with my 7th and 8th grade students today.  They are becoming experts on Eastern Europe since we have been reading about it since the fall.  There were a few good articles that we read today.

Ukraine Demographics

Ukraine Ramifications

The first shows how the Ukrainian population is divided east/west by language and ethnicity.  It also gives a little history of the Crimea.  It was ceded by Ukraine from Russia in the 1950s when they were both part of the USSR.  Now that they are independent countries, Russia wished they never let it go.  I had the students imagine if Michigan ceded the Upper Peninsula to Wisconsin (it might not be a big deal if the states remain part of the US).  If ten years later the states became independent from the US, Michigan might want that territory back.

The second article explains how this crisis may affect the world economy (already the US stock market has taken a hit).  The students need to understand the potential impact of events in other parts of the world.

Also, I  tried to explain to them that all events they experience and learn about will become part of their understanding of the US.  These experiences will help them form their opinions in the future that may affect the US.  Adults today use events like Vietnam, the Gulf War, Korea, USSR/ Afghanistan, etc, to help them make decisions today - or at least we hope they are using past events and understanding of our relationships with other countries to help guide their decisions.  We also hope that individuals from their generation are paying attention to these things as well.

I related it to them being asked over to someone's house.  To decide if they would like to go you must take into account your past history with this person and what you know about them.  If this person beat you up a few months ago and spent last week in jail you would use this information to make an informed decision.  Hopefully, someone knows the past history of other countries and the US's relationship with them before making decisions.  My students might be future presidents and military leaders - they need to pay attention.