What are the advantages and disadvantages of an annual plan? Why start with resources in designing units?

Well I should begin by warning everyone that I am a planner. I like to plan. Okay I may not be the best at it and my husband says that I may at times have the tendency to procrastinate but that usually has to do with spring cleaning or making dinner (I love planning it but cooking is not my forte). I love to plan...I was the annoying bride-to-be that had every month and day 12 months before the wedding planned out with my to-dos (Literally, I RSVP-ed our reception site 2 yrs in advance....and confirmed it 360 days out as per recommended). I am the scrapbooker who lays out a page at least twice before I make anything permanent. But keeping that in mind, I am flexible too...because as a teacher I feel that it is important to have a plan THEN you can be flexible when you need to be because at least you have an idea of your goals and where you are trying to go. (Maybe I should start mapping out my blog thoughts ahead of time?)

When it comes to teaching I have found that mapping out a yearly plan gives you direction so that when you are writing your monthly, weekly and then daily lesson plans you are not sitting there tearing your hair out at 3 a.m. in the morning while writing your monthly, weekly, or daily lesson plans because you have teacher's block. (Note: Teacher's block occurs when despite all of the studying, planning, creativity, and content knowledge you may have you still are at a loss on how to implement a certain goal, objective, or idea in the classroom.) When I taught preschool the annual plan was useful for me in making sure I was on track with my monthly and weekly themes when it came to seasons, weather, holidays, and other important events that lend themselves to learning. Also it allowed me to plan out resources I needed to find or materials I needed to start collecting ahead of time instead of the weekend before.

When I student taught social studies in high school it was important to have an annual plan so that my students were not learning about the Civil War before the American Revolution or WW II before WWI. Again it also allowed me to be flexible so that I could touch on Pearl Harbor around Pearl Harbor Day or the class could discuss the importance of Veteran's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents' Day and so on and so forth when it would make more of an impact on the students. Again it also allowed me to assemble materials and resources well in advance so I was prepared, which led to my confidence, when it came to teaching a lesson.

When it comes down to it an annual plan lets you know the what and when you will be introducing or discussing something in the classroom. Of course with advantages comes disadvantages which include extra planning time in the beginning, the school I am teaching at may not support it, my co-workers may not like it, and as we all know things do not always go as planned so it may create more work if there are disruptions and so on. The one thing I would caution on is that if you are so set on your annual plan as a teacher you may miss out on a teachable moment which could have more of an impact on the students then any lesson (no matter how great) plan that you have in store. For me spontaneous teachable moments have become some of my greatest and most memorable teaching moments in the classroom.

As I touched on throughout I believe that resources are an important part of any lesson and that this is an important start to when you a planning a lesson plan because no matter how great a lesson plan is if you, or I, do not have the proper materials to implement the lesson it will not work and it is wasted (valuable) lesson planning time. I for one always like to check out what resources are available where I am teaching in the school, in my classroom, and in the community because usually if you look you can find what you need, someone to help, or an invaluable resource that makes the lesson that much better.

What are the attributes of meaningful, well-planned social studies lesson?

Okay let me first climb on my soapbox...it takes a second stretching still hurts. Alright am I one the right on...oh yes "Social Studies" is written upon it. I guess it is safe to begin.

Throughout my many years in the field of history I would often see people cringe when they asked me what I did and I would say I was a historian or curator. Often times the cringer would follow up with the obligatory, "I hated social studies/history in school. It was always so boring and who cares what dates happened when. How could you like it?" Of course I would just reply that I always loved history and move along with a smile.

When I was in the classroom. student teaching, I always dreaded that groan, usually from students and teachers alike, that Social Studies is met with once it is mentioned. Granted I may be impartial when it comes to having a love of social studies but I truly believe that although every student may not walk into my classroom with a love of social studies it is my duty to make it so that they do not dread the subject and maybe even in the end spark an interest in a topic of social studies.

Social studies does not need to be boring. It is not blank maps that need to be filled in or a timeline that need exact dates at all points. Granted those names on the maps are important and those dates on the timeline need some sort of correct order but it does not need to be done in a fill in the blank, memorize, and drill type of teaching. Instead social studies can be integrated throughout the curriculum, lessons can be hands on learning, exploring and discovering. A well-planned social studies lesson should include an engaging introduction in order to hook students in and spark their curiosity about the subject. It should have an element of exploration and discovery for the class to start together, expand on individually or in small groups, and then come back together to discuss. The lesson should encourage students to reflect on what they have discovered and/or explored and ask questions to develop a deeper understanding of the topic they are studying,

Not every student will like social studies, not every teacher will find it to be their favorite part of the curriculum to teach but it can be enjoyable and if the teacher goes in with a positive attitude and prepared with a well composed lesson, ready with materials then all the students should walk away having learning something, as well as, having had a positive experience with social studies.

Learning to Blog

Okay I must admit that I am not a fan of having information about me out on the web....maybe it is because I am holding out for that secret career of becoming a spy...but so far this is not as bad as I had expected.

It took me 6+ years to agree to go to facebook and even that is hard for me. On facebook I have one picture posted, no one can find me or search for me, and therefore no one can tag me in any photos. The only reason I agreed to facebook was because I have close friends moving back to Germany and it is one of the few affordable ways to keep in touch.

I do not even like that you can google earth my house but I think that this may be useful in keeping up with my cohorts once we start teaching this fall.