Week 7: Digital Citizenship

This week, we were asked to reflect on how to teach Digital Citizenship. For a lot of students, their entire lives outside of school are online. For example, the CDC states that students in middle school spend almost 9 hours a day on average being entertained by screens. That’s an unbelievably high number to me- that’s over half of their waking hours, assuming students are getting a full night’s sleep.

A lot of my classmates shared on the forums that their young elementary school students had yet to fully participate in social media. I’m very happy for their students, but unfortunately that hasn’t been my experience. I think that over half of my workplace’s third graders have their own cell phones, and for context, most of our families are not well-off. There’s one girl who is regularly in tears because of text conversations with her friends. These incidents aren’t cyberbullying- they’re simply the misunderstandings that have happened between friends throughout history. But since they now take place digitally, they’re permanent, and this student keeps revisiting them.

As a result, I’ve come to believe that Digital Citizenship should be a part of SEL, or Social-Emotional Learning, which itself can fall under the Civics strand of Social Studies. Students cannot be good Digital Citizens unless they know how to manage their emotions and how to communicate with others in the physical world. Students should practice these skills and then be explicitly taught how they transfer to digital spaces. For example, just as students are told not to talk to strangers in person, they should be told to be cautious and guarded online. Just because there is less imminent physical danger does not mean that oversharing does not result in very real danger. Children are also taught to walk away or talk to an adult when fighting with friends, but are not always taught to put the device down when engaged in an angry discussion online.  

Fortunately, there are many fantastic resources available both for educators and parents that discuss and even sometimes gamify digital citizenship. Common Sense Education provides lesson plans for students grades K-12 as well as a wealth of family resources. Google has Interland, a game dedicated to teaching students Digital Literacy skills, as well as several resources that will help reinforce the game’s learning objectives. PBS LearningMedia has nearly 100 videos that can help spark classroom conversations around online interactions. 

That said, one should always close out a lesson with a discussion on just what the resource or online tool was trying to teach. Students may try to rush through walls of text to get to a game, or to simply have fun watching a video without truly taking in the meaning. Discussion is needed to make sure that students truly grasp the message. 

This is our class’s final required discussion post. I think I would like to reflect on the blogging aspect of the class one more time, though. So, thanks for reading, and see you next week!

    Mary

Arcay, J. (2022, January 24). Why is Digital Citizenship Important in Education? TASIS England. https://www.tasisengland.org/about/blog/post/~board/blog/post/digital-citizenship 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, January 29). Screen Time vs. Lean Time Infographic. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/multimedia/infographics/getmoving.html 

Common Sense Education. (n.d.). Everything You Need to Teach Digital Citizenship. https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship 

Google. (n.d.) Digital Safety Resources: Tools for the classroom. https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/educators 

PBS LearningMedia. (n.d.). Technological Literacy. https://nhpbs.pbslearningmedia.org/subjects/engineering--technology/technological-literacy/digital-citizenship/ 

Week 6: Difficult History

This week, we were asked to blog about difficult history. I’m glad our class is taking the time to address this topic in this current era, where political tensions are high.

I know that, as one of the original colonies, New Hampshire too has a past shaped by slavery and injustices. That said, it's easy for us New Englanders to think of racist policy and hate groups mostly as problems that other states have. I see questionable educational policies on the news, and I go to work the next day and silently thank my union reps for existing. But this way of thinking is incorrect and lulls us into a false sense of security. 

One of our tasks this week was to explore Learning For Justice, a website filled with resources about hard history and social justice for educators. This site is sponsored by the Southern Poverty Law Center, so, on a whim, I decided to explore their website as well. What I discovered shocked me. The Southern Poverty Law Center has a tool called the Hate Map, which tracks hate groups across America. New Hampshire is a dark crimson. After doing some math, I learned that in 2022, New Hampshire had the fourth-highest rate of hate groups per capita in the country.

With this newfound knowledge in mind, I returned back to Learning for Justice to look for resources that might help. The website features a comprehensive lessons section. Premade lesson plans are available in all four Social Justice domains (Identity, Diversity, Justice, and Action) and sortable by a myriad of subjects, both within and beyond the traditional Social Studies umbrella. Educators interested in implementing the Teaching Hard History framework in their classrooms or schools can simply select a grade level and target subject and be presented with several ways to address the key concepts and standards. For example, this lesson, targeted at kids in grades K-5, asks children to explore pictures in books and then discusses what diversity and beauty they observed. It contains a premade graphic organizer, scaffolds for classrooms newer to discussions about race, and potential accommodations for children who cannot read or write independently. Finally, it provides further connected reading for teachers interested in learning more about the topic. This is just one of the many, many lessons available through Learning for Justice.

One of the key concepts of Learning for Justice’s Teaching Hard History framework is that slavery existed and was perpetuated throughout America. It can be hard, however, for students in New Hampshire to connect with this fact. Many history classes, especially in elementary school, may mention this in passing, but more emphasis is placed on the Civil War, where we are solidly Union members. The Black Heritage Trail NH is a local resource that educators can use, or maybe even visit. Markers commemorating important sites and people are present across the state, and one can even go on a self-guided walking tour in Portsmouth. Additionally, their website offers many New Hampshire-centric resources, from a local event hub to profiles on little-known Black historical figures.

This issue is too complex to address in a single blog post. But I hope I’ve given you some food for thought, and some good resources to look at going forward.

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!

    Mary

Black Heritage Trail NH. (n.d.) Black Heritage Trail NH. https://blackheritagetrailnh.org/ 

Learning for Justice. (2023, April 20). A Quick Reference Guide to Teaching Hard History: A K-12 Framework for Teaching American Slavery. Southern Poverty Law Center. https://www.learningforjustice.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/LFJ-Quick-Reference-Guide-Teaching-Hard-History-K-12-Framework-WEB-April2023-04202023.pdf 

Learning for Justice. (n.d.). Looking at Race and Racial Identity in Children's’ Books. Southern Poverty Law Center. https://www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/lessons/looking-at-race-and-racial-identity-in-childrens-books 

Southern Poverty Law Center. (2022). Hate Map.  https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map 

Week 5: Deepening the Presence of Social Studies

This week on the class forums, we were asked to research and find ways to integrate social studies content into other subject areas. I think this blog post will be a continuation of that theme.

The main culprit for the limited amount of time dedicated to social studies instruction is standardized testing. Standardized testing took off a little more than 20 years ago when No Child Left Behind went into effect. This federal law enshrined the practice by setting unrealistic goals and implementing harsh punitive measures for schools that could not meet these goals. I was in elementary school myself at the time, and I remember the elevated importance and increased frequency of state testing. We spent precious class time learning how to eliminate answers on multiple-choice questions and practicing filling in little circles just right. As the years went on, schools across the country began to spend less and less time on the subjects that were not tested, including social studies. 

I think educators are finally beginning to reverse this trend by using integrated lesson plans to teach multiple subjects at once. Integrated lessons logically make sense to students. Many people learn best when knowledge is put into real-world contexts, and the real world is very rarely neatly divided up by subject area. 

There are many ways to integrate Social Studies into other areas of the curriculum, including English, Math, Science, the Arts, and even Physical Education. It is perhaps the easiest to connect Social Studies to ELA. Students can analyze books or news articles about any one of the five strands, including Contemporary Issues. They can also research and write about topics such as famous people in history or the qualities of a responsible citizen. I focused my forum post on the integration of Social Studies and Math and found a wealth of strategies. Some of my favorites were asking students to graph the result of an election, measuring the distance between two points on a map, and learning how to calculate taxes and interest rates. In Science, students can study weather patterns between different climates, or conduct experiments and research to find the ideal place to build a public amenity such as a dog park. In Art class, students can learn about a culture and then complete a thoughtful craft that reflects on what they’ve learned. They can also learn about the history of art and architecture. In Physical Education, students can learn about sports from around the world, how to keep healthy, or run virtual races in different locations. At my workplace, students learn about different cultures in gym class by practicing counting in different languages while stretching and sometimes following along to Japanese “Radio Taiso”-themed videos for a warm-up.

When planning an integrated lesson, teachers must be careful to balance both subjects. This is especially true in Social Studies, where inadequate implementation may lead to students forming a superficial or stereotypical understanding of a culture or sensitive topic. Teachers can consult their PLNs for feedback on their plan and to confirm that any selected resources are high-quality and comprehensive. Teachers can also gradually implement integrated lessons- a few well-chosen resources are more valuable than many hastily picked ones. As teachers become more comfortable with building integrated lessons, the process will become more natural.

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!

    Mary

Byram, C. & Sanderman, A. (2023, May 17). Designing Interdisciplinary Units in Elementary School. https://www.edutopia.org/article/integrating-science-social-studies-elementary-school/ 

Klein, A. (2015, April 10). No Child Left Behind: An Overview. EducationWeek. https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/no-child-left-behind-an-overview/2015/04 

Learning A-Z. (n.d.) Interdisciplinary Learning: Combining Social Studies With Other Subjects. https://www.learninga-z.com/site/resources/breakroom-blog/combining-social-studies-other-subjects 

Sizemore, J. (n.d.) Integrating Social Studies and the Arts: Why, When, and How. https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Integrating-Social-Studies-Arts.pdf 

Sorenson, K. (2019) 8 Ideas for Integrated Social Studies, ELA, Science and Math. https://www.wifeteachermommy.com/making-time-for-science-and-social-studies-with-integrated-curriculum/ 

White, J. (2022, April 12). Integrating Math Education with Other Subjects Adds Up to Stronger Lessons. Elmhurst University. https://www.elmhurst.edu/blog/math-education/ 

 

Week 4: Academic Language

This week, we were asked to reflect on how we will support students as they develop an understanding of the academic vocabulary needed to access our mini-units. 

I was excited to dive into these readings for two reasons. First, I think that, overall, the vocabulary instruction in the curricula that my workplace uses is lacking. While the students’ textbooks do incorporate SoR-aligned strategies such as teaching word parts and practicing common spelling patterns, they rarely revisit taught terms. I’ve noticed that the students I work with often need refreshers on even common terms throughout the course of a unit. For example, I administered my preassessment on Gods and Myths at the very end of a unit on Ancient Rome; however, less than half of all students were able to tell me that ‘goddesses’ are female- even with prompting. The second reason I looked forward to these readings is because the personalized assignment I’ve chosen for this semester also relates to vocabulary instruction. Last semester, I received a comment on my observed lesson that I had not reviewed all relevant terms at the beginning of my lesson. As proper introduction and scaffolding of content and process vocabulary is a vital part of the college’s intermediate-level lesson plan rubric, I wanted to take the time to review it before teaching my first observed lesson at this level. 

I honestly anticipate my students to struggle with mastering all of the vocabulary. To combat this, I plan on reviewing the most vital terms, such as (predictably) “God” and “Myth”, at the very beginning of every lesson. By the final class, students should feel secure in their understanding of both terms.

The Marzano reading stated that, while no process is foolproof, there is a wonderful six-step framework for vocabulary instruction that is supported by research to support academic language acquisition. I think that it is so valuable that I want to quote it here:

1. Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term.

2. Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words.

3. Ask students to construct a picture, pictograph, or symbolic representation of the term.

4. Engage students periodically in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their vocabulary notebooks.

5. Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another.

6. Involve students periodically in games that enable them to play with terms.

(Marzano, 2009)

Simply reading this framework makes me feel more confident about how to introduce vocabulary. I live for formulas like this- especially as this one manages to be both structured in its first three steps, yet more fluid in the latter half. Unfortunately, I already am very limited in my time to execute my lessons- I have only a half hour for each. I know I will not be able to fully incorporate it this semester. That said, I’m going to try and touch on as many steps as I can. I think that it will be easy to include steps 1, 2, and 5. I can partially include step 3 by adding simple images to my slideshow. Steps 4 and 6 are not possible because students do not maintain vocabulary notebooks and I will not have time for a game. Finally, I’m absolutely saving this for future reference, when I can include all steps to the fullest. 

The Fisher & Frey reading suggests a myriad of strategies to help support student vocabulary acquisition, including interactive read-alouds and collaborative text-based discussions. I plan to heavily incorporate both of these strategies into my mini-unit. In fact, my first two lessons are entirely these two strategies- I will introduce vocabulary, it will be used or referred to in the reading, and finally, students will collaboratively fill out a digital graphic organizer.

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
   Mary

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2014). Content Area Vocabulary Learning. The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 594–599. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/common-core-standards/articles/content-area-vocabulary-learning   

Flynt, E., & Brozo, W.G. (2008, March). Developing Academic Language: Got Words?. The Reading Teacher, 61(6), 500’502. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/vocabulary/articles/developing-academic-language-got-words  

Kolling, D, & Shumway-Pitt, K. (2019). Academic Language. Lesson Planning 101. University of New Hampshire College of Professional Studies Pressbooks. https://pressbooks.usnh.edu/lessonplanning101/chapter/chapter-five-academic-language/ 

Marzano, R. J. (2009, September 1). The Art and Science of Teaching / Six Steps to Better Vocabulary Instruction. ASCD. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/six-steps-to-better-vocabulary-instruction  

Week 2: Strands of Social Studies: Spotlight on World History and Contemporary Issues

    This week, we were asked to spotlight one of the five strands of Social Studies used in the state of NH. The five strands are Civics and Government, Economics, Geography, US/NH History, and World History and Contemporary Issues. I have researched World History and Contemporary Issues, which will be the topic of my three-lesson unit. 

    Five overarching standards for World History shape the grade-level standards. They are SS:WH:1: Political Foundations and Developments, SS:WH:2: Contacts, Exchanges & International Relations, SS:WH:3: World Views and Value Systems and their Intellectual and Artistic Expressions, SS:WH:4: Economic Systems & Technology, and SS:WH:5: Social/Cultural (NHDOE, 2006). Not every overarching standard applies to every grade. For instance, students in grades K-2 do not have any standards under SS:WH:2 or SS:WH:4, while students in grades 7-8 do not have any standards under SS:WH:4 or SS:WH:5.

    I was initially surprised that concepts of World History and Contemporary Issues were linked together instead of simply establishing six strands of Social Studies. I decided to study the state standards for more information. The NH DOE’s description of this strand was the longest, and I thought it was very well written. The justification for connecting the two concepts was that “knowledge of past achievements and failures of different peoples and nations provides citizens of the 21st century with a broader context within which to address the many issues facing our nation and the world” (NHDOE, 2006, p. 39). This is a fantastic point. It reminded me of the very famous quote by George Santayana, that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. It makes me happy to hear that the state of New Hampshire wants students to be well-informed about the past and to be able to connect that information with current events. Additionally, one must always remember that contemporary issues will someday become history. It will not be too long before students learn about the global pandemic in a textbook.

    I think it is also important to note that the state of New Hampshire considers high-quality curriculum and instruction as one that teaches “important concepts, broad themes, major issues, and significant movements, rather than a lengthy and fragmented list of people, places, events and other facts” (NHDOE, 2006, p. 39). I agree that this is a much more engaging way to teach history to people. I remember taking Art History as a college student, where it’s very important to memorize the names and dates of relevant pieces. Even though I loved history, I struggled in this course because the data did not always feel connected to the sentiment of the piece. 

    My lessons will be centered around gods and myths. I picked this strand for my third grade Social Studies lesson for two reasons. First, World History seems to be the most prominent strand in the third grade curriculum that my school uses, and I wanted to build a set of lessons that relates to what they’ve been seeing and hearing in class. Second, I’ve always loved history, and in particular ancient history. I don’t, however, know very much about mythology. I’m excited to learn more as I continue to build my lessons. I will also incorporate Theme E: Cultural Development, Interaction, and Change and Theme J: Human Expression and Communication into my lesson plan. 

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
    Mary

The New Hampshire Department of Education. (2006, June). K-12 Social Studies New Hampshire Curriculum Framework. The New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/standards-socialstudies-framework.pdf 

Week 1: Why Should Teachers Blog?

    Hello! My name is Mary and I’ve worked as a paraeducator in a K-5 elementary school since 2019. I’ve been all over my building, but this year I’m in third and first grade. I’m pursuing dual certification in Elementary Education and General Special Education, and my current goal is to be a resource room teacher. In my Spring III course, Using Technology to Teach Social Studies, students were asked to maintain a weekly blog. This is that blog! Welcome!! I’m not at all confident in my blogging skills, so thank you in advance for taking the time to read my posts for the next 8 weeks. 

    Our first topic was to reflect on how blogging can be a valuable tool for teachers. Glancing at the posts completed by my classmates, I can see that many others are also feeling overwhelmed and a bit confused by the idea of maintaining this online presence. I know I feel that way, too. Although I’m sure we’ve all taken advantage of the wealth of extremely useful information available online, actually participating in the conversation is an entirely different question. I’m quite honestly not sure I have anything new or interesting to add to the conversation, at least not yet, as a teacher candidate. 

    One article we read was “From PLN to Practice: Tips from 5 Educators on Personalizing Your Professional Learning”. This article interviewed several teachers who are active in online PLNs on Twitter. They answered questions about the benefits of using social media to connect with other teachers and gave some tips for beginners.

    Some of the teachers’ replies to these prompts fueled my fears. Lisa Dabbs stated that “ideally, [online PLNs are] a safe place where questions can be presented without judgment.” I am not sure I think that this is a realistic statement. What is posted online stays online, for better or for worse. Inner-circle PLN members may respond to a question supportively, but who is to say how others in outer circles may react? I think instead that one must always be very cautious while posting online.

    That said, I found other sentiments to be relieving. Steven W. Anderson acknowledged that those who are new to online communities may find it tough to speak up. He added that “there is power in lurking and consuming information because you can be exposed to great knowledge.” This is much, much more my speed. I did not even consider that by simply quietly reading posts and gathering resources, I have already started to build my PLN. Anderson’s perspective makes this next step of starting a blog feel a bit more manageable, like it is not so far from what I’ve done in the past.

    I am hoping that this semester, I can gain more confidence in my writing skills as well as in expressing my point of view through this weekly practice. When I post to the class forums, I always worry that my wording is too muddled or that my ideas are not unique enough. It always takes me a very long time to write, and I’m often still not satisfied with what I submit. I reassure myself by saying that at least it will be gone in a couple of months. But, a blog post won’t go away after the class disappears from Canvas. I will have to be even more sure of my point of view every time I submit something here. 

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
    Mary

References

Knutson, J. (2017, June 25). From PLN to practice: Tips from 5 educators on Personalizing your professional learning. Common Sense Education. https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/from-pln-to-practice-tips-from-5-educators-on-personalizing-your-professional-learning