History Made Fun!

What is the first thing that comes to mind when the word History is mentioned? History is such a complex, yet interesting subject to teach. Although some students may be fascinated with content matter, there are many who may not be able to build a personal connection with it. For many of these students when the word "History" is mentioned all they can think about are boring events that happened hundreds of years ago and no longer have any meaning. These students may fail to see that without these boring events the world as a whole might have not been the way it is now!

I guess the question then becomes, what can teachers do to engage those students into the subject matter? There are many approaches that teachers can use when giving a History lesson. One of these approaches is through the usage of effective visual aids. As I searched for sites that can help teachers engage students, I encountered the History channel website. The site provides numerous resources for teachers and students. It has games that teach students about important times in history, and it also has impressive informational videos. In addition to the games, there is also a This Day in History tab that gives information about events that happened on any given day. There are also articles, maps, speeches, and other fun activities that can be used in the classroom! I highly encourage you to visit the site.

As future educators, do you think this site would be helpful for students? How would you use it in the classroom? What grade levels do you think would benefit the most from its usage? Do you see yourself using this site for personal references?

Website link: http://www.history.com/

Kids Health in the Classroom

The website Kids Health in the Classroom provides educators with health curriculum materials for free! Teacher's can find resources related to health that can be integrated into all subjects in the classroom. It contains a teacher guide for all grades (preschool-12), which comes with activities, experiments, discussions, and quizzes to share with students. I found this site to be really important because health is obviously one of the most important aspects of life, and in America today, health has really declined. This website can help teachers incorporate health activities in the classroom, so students can become more aware of a healthy lifestyle. Do you find this website helpful? Do you think incorporating health in the classrooms is beneficial for students? What do you think of this website? Would you use it in your classroom in the future? I definitely will find myself using this website in a few years, because I want my kids to also learn how to be healthy.

http://kidshealth.org/classroom/index.jsp?Grade=0&Section=welcome 

http://www.teachingheart.net/ Teachingheart.net is an amazing resource for teachers. It includes almost anything one would need to manage a classroom including: behavior management, awards, rubrics, report cards and much more. I think that for all of us who plan to be teachers this site would be incredibly helpful especially in our first year teaching. It is a great guide to use in your classroom and I feel it will prove to be effective. I hope this is helpful in the future.

Facebook is a social networking website that I am sure we, as college students, are all aware of. Facebook is used for a variety of reasons including keeping in contact with family, friends and even co-workers. Facebook has become one of the top 10 websites viewed daily. As future teachers I feel that facebook is a great tool to know how to use. Since I am researching facebook for a paper in another class I have found a variety of articles about parents and teachers using facebook to somewhat spy on their kids. Sometimes teachers will use facebook to check up on their students and see what they are doing. I was wondering how you, as a not only a future teacher but also a current student, feel about this. How would you feel if our professors were able to look at our facebooks and check out the different pictures we post as well as the things we write on each others wall? Also, do you think this could be a good tool in limiting the amount of violence or illegal behaviors among students?

4 Teachers.org

4 Teachers.org is an amazing resource I found while completing a reflection on the Computer Applications course. It provides great tools for both teachers and students that allow the easy application of technology in the classroom!

The site provides a great tool bar that has a bunch of great resources including programs to create rubrics, quizes, online lessons, conduct research, and even set up your classroom in the most efficient way.

Keep it in mind!

http://www.4teachers.org/

Freedom of Speech?

This week, James Corbett who has taught at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo for over 20 years, was found guilty of "disparaging Christians," in his classroom, against the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Corbett is said to have referred to "Creationism as 'religious, superstitious nonsense' during a 2007 classroom lecture," in his 2007 AP Euro class. Student Chris Farnan then filed a suit against his teacher for allegedly "promoting hostility toward Christians" and advocating "irreligion over religion."

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/corbett-religion-court-2387684-farnan-selna

Do you believe that as a teacher, you should have the right to state your beliefs in the context of a classroom lecture? Or, is it our duty as teachers to strive to provide a biased free education?

I was troubled by this question because in the college setting I feel that this would absolutely be a non-issue. What do you think?