The main topics for discussion this week was diversity and culture. Here are a couple activities that really stood out to me that I would use to teach these topics:
The book Henry's Freedom Box by Kadir Nelson is a really effective book to teach students about slavery, the underground railroad and social inequalities. It is also deeply embedded in the Social Studies curriculum! Two of the strategies that really stood out to me were the Theatre in the Round and the Soundscape.
Here is a Youtube video of the novel that can be used as a read aloud:
Theatre in the Round was an effective strategy to summarize the story and to add emotion and life to the characters. The class was split up into 6 different groups and each group received a different scene in the book. We each had to do a tableaux and then transition into a tableaux with words and actions - like coming to life. I found this to be a really effective strategy so that students can grasp the different emotions, feelings, settings and main events that took place in the book. Then, once the class each came up with their tableaux, we came together and performed it in the order of the book. This would be a great strategy to incorporate into Social Studies and even in Language Arts! To the right is an image of one of the groups who were portraying the scene where Henry is rolling tobacco.Soundscapes are another effective drama strategy that can be integrated into the classroom to teach social studies. Soundscapes are essentially creating an atmosphere using hand movements, friction, instruments to add life to a story. I think that this would be an effective strategy to teach students about biodiversity, about life systems, historical time frames etc. This is a very versatile activity that can be integrated into the classroom to teach a variety of different subject areas! During the presentation, we each got to make a sound of what we thought Henry would hear from inside his box. I made the sound of the train transporting him to Pennsylvania whereas others made the sound of the water or of people talking. This activity really allowed us to be creative and imagine what was happening in the world of Henry. This activity is also very effective in teaching students how to take on a different perspective, which is one of the strands in Social Studies!
This week's theory was the Multimodal Theory which basically states that students should be able to communicate and express themselves through a variety of different ways. For example, students should be given the opportunity to respond through verbal cues, body language, eye contact etc. As a teacher, we should be providing students with these opportunities in every class they attend. It is also important, as teachers, to plan our lessons and units through Backwards Design, remembering to identify the desired results, determine the acceptable evidence of learning and to plan activities with the end in mind.Two other strategies that stood out to me this week were:
1. Alter Ego: where a character sits in a seat and then two other individual argue the "angel" and "devil" side on either shoulder. Essentially, one person is arguing FOR and one person is arguing AGAINST the topic. This would be really effective to teach students different perspectives and how to create an argument that is convincing. As I was watching this being done in the class, I thought that this would be a great activity for debates or grade 5 social studies where the students discuss the government and democracy. This could also be very effective to teach students about social justice issues, rights and responsibilities, healthy living and many other topics!2. Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down: This is a simple but effective activity that teacher can do to consolidate learning or even as a minds on activity. This can serve as a formative assessment tool to see what the students know prior to the lesson or it could be used at the end to make sure students understood what they learned or what needs to be repeated again. I will definitely use this in my future classroom and I think it is effective in any subject area!
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