Teaching history and best practices

Teaching has always seemed to be an individual activity, forcing teachers to figure things out on their own. Using trial and error isn’t necessarily a bad thing when conducting a science experiment but probably not something that works that well when trying to corral 30 8th graders.

And in the pre-internet days, it was difficult for teachers looking for help with instructional practice, resources and strategies to find it.

But with the web, PLNs and digital content, teachers don’t have to sink or swim on their own anymore. There are tons of great lesson plans and ideas out there, conversations that we can have and sites we need to use.

The problem?

Time to find them.

And . . . while I can put links and sites and handy gadgets here at History Tech, it doesn’t really feel like the most suitable place to share in-depth lessons and strategies. So I have created a specific page over at Social Studies Central to share useful things I run across.

The Best Practices page highlights a variety of detailed professional development resources goodies from such sites as the National History Education Clearing House, Edutopia and History Matters. Every few weeks, I grab a few more.

So . . . take off that life preserver, head on over to Best Practices and discover what others have to offer!

The map that named America

I wrote earlier about the map created by Robert Louis Stevenson before he wrote Treasure Island. I especially liked his quote – that maps have:

the power of infinite, eloquent suggestion.

I suggested that we need to use geographic tools and powerful maps to create engaging activities for our kids:

Not one of those cheesy, sad outline maps that comes as part of your textbook’s supplementary materials package. I’m talking about a map with depth and richness and mystery, one full of questions and possibility.

And what should I come across this week but another great map. Several of us were exploring the wonderful MyLOC web site and ran across a lesson plan and materials connected to Martin Waldseemuller’s 1507 world map.

Like the Treasure Island map, the Waldseemuller map is another example a map with “depth and richness and mystery, one full of questions and possibility.” There are several nice tools that you can use with the map:

• a LOC press release with some nice background
• a site with more info on the map itself
• a LOC page with a direct link to downloading the map
• a LOC lesson plan page
• an interactive site that lets you dig deeper into the map

If you’ve not done much with maps before, this is a quick and easy way to dig into a wonderfully engaging tool. If you already feel comfortable with using maps, adapt the lessons and materials in a way that best fits your kids. Either way, students will walk away knowing more!

100+ Google tricks

As an official Google groupie, I am always looking for new and different ways to use Google tools. My PLN hooked me up with a handy site designed for college kids but one we all should be using.

100+ Google Tricks That Will Save You Time in School has some old chestnuts (using Google Search to do calculations and searching for specific file types) but it does have some things that most people probably haven’t tried before.

So . . . find out about some new things or review what you may have forgotten . . . pre-made templates in Google Docs, send invitations, set up a custom search engine or use Knol to find out what other experts are saying. You’ll especially like using Surveys in Google Docs to create simple pre and post tests for your kids!

And there is a whole section just on Google Mobile that provides some nice stuff for smart phone users.

If you’re not a Google groupie yet, this page should convert you!

Kids talking to kids – My History Network

I was told once that in the typical social studies classroom, 85% of the conversation is teacher to student, 10% student to teacher and 5% student to student. (And . . . no, I can’t remember the source so I suppose you can adjust the numbers as you see fit.)

But even if the numbers aren’t exactly correct, the point remains.

We talk too much. The kids don’t talk enough. And we certainly don’t let the kids talk enough with other kids.

When the brain spends time reviewing, repeating, experimenting and talking with other brains, good things happen. We need to let the brains of our students spend more time with other brains.

The problem, of course, is to find ways to help kids structure their conversation around the history topics that you are attempting to teach.

So I like what I see over at MyHistoryNetwork. The site is designed to give social studies students the opportunity to talk with one another.

Where high school history students from around the world come together and share, co-operate, challenge, assist and inspire each other.

The site is new and so David Hilton, the site’s creator, is working to generate a group of students and teachers large enough for quality conversations. But I like what I see. Moderated forums for kids, ability to upload content, personalized pages, place just for teachers and specific groups.

It really looks like a useful place to encourage high-levels of conversation to take place about specific content. You could assign your students to talk with others as part of a larger project or simply encourage the conversations by awarding extra credit. The possibilities seem pretty endless.

One of the biggest problems the site will probably experience is that it is hosted at the Ning network. And because many school filtering systems view Ning as a social networking site, it may be blocked at your school.

Of course, that’s the whole point . . . having kids talk with other kids in a structured, content-based way. I could argue that blocking MyHistoryNetwork because it’s a social network is just another way of saying that we don’t want kids to learn in effective ways.

That would seem petty and inappropriate. So I won’t.

(But I’m still thinking it.)

The census is coming! The census is coming!

According to the timer at the Census in Schools site, the 2010 US Census is only 154 hours, 22 hours, 48 minutes and a few seconds away. And I know that you have been anxiously awaiting the release of Census-related teacher materials, lessons and maps!

Well . . . wait no further.

Travel over to Census in Schools and find a nice selection of grade-appropriate teaching tools that you can use in a variety of content areas, obviously including geography and history. But you can also find stuff for reading, writing and math. The site has a nice interactive page for grade school kiddos and some very nice maps for your older students.

All in all, a nice use of my tax dollars.