Contextualization can be a deceptively easy skill for students. Many default to information overload instead of thinking through which historical facts or developments are the best choice for revealing historical insight about their topic or argument. Structure is needed.
Teaching Resources
Making the First Day in AP World Count
Start the year with something engaging that will help establish a positive class culture. Be the unique class that breaks the Day 1 stereotypes of syllabi and class rules and show students that inquiry and historical thinking can be fun.
National History Day Workshop Take Aways
The month of March was one of the busiest I have had in a long time. Despite my frenzied to-do list, one of the highlights of the month was a two-day workshop run by Lynne O'Hara and Kim Fortney from the National History Day organization. The workshop was filled with some great tools and insights about teaching historical thinking and helping students create stronger NHD projects.
ChatGPT and AI Tools for the Social Studies Classroom
I have been playing around with some ideas on how to use AI tech tools in class. I don't want to use a tool just for the purpose of trying something new, but want to find a creative way of adding value for my students. Most of what I have explored recently has been a result of purchasing a premium subscription to ChatGPT. The additional GPTs that this offers access to are incredibly useful.
Building Inquiry Units with the C3 Framework
The 9th grade course I teach, Geographic Cultural Studies, is meant to be a mixture of geography and history with a bit of economics thrown in as well. The first of three major inquiry units guided by the C3 Framework is on Latin America. This post explores the structure and content of this unit.
The Industrial Revolution and the Urban Game in AP World History
This is not a particularly insightful post. It's just a resource for the OER Project's version of the Urban Game that I am using this year instead of the traditional longer version.
Continuing with the Harkness Method in Social Studies
The last couple weeks I have been doing Harkness discussions in all my classes, 9th, 10th, and 12th graders. This has been an expansion from last year, where I just used it in my AP World History classes. I have continued to appreciate how Harkness discussions provide opportunities for engagement, application of learning, analysis, and student voice.
Preparing for National History Day China 2024
NHD is the best social studies style program I have seen that gets students to apply their knowledge and skills to a real world question, and engage with the wider community about their research and passions.
4 More Review Ideas for AP World
Review activities for AP World History Modern
Historical Thinking begins with Primary Sources and Evidence
The use of primary sources has become increasingly common in history classrooms. Educators and researchers have been broadly pushing for this years. Specifically, this has been part of a call for the explicit teaching of historical thinking skills alongside prioritized content. Interestingly, the largest barriers to increased use of primary sources in the classroom that I have witnessed are not student reading ability, but a lack of teacher training and experience as well as access to materials.