Verified Document

Social Studies 7 12 Education Application Essay

¶ … Tracking Progress As a social studies teacher, one of my proudest accomplishments is when students take a real and meaningful interest in history. I love hearing students talk about how they enjoyed a historical movie or television series with their family and can identify things we studied in class on the 'silver screen.' I also delight when we have discussions about current events and students can make comparisons between 'then' and 'now.' I was very proud when the class had a group discussion to 'debrief' us all regarding the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The students were able to discuss the situation so compassionately and with such insight. They were able to use the critical thinking tools I have tried to give them as a teacher very well.

Because I have to meet state standards as part of my requirements as a teacher, I try to strike a balance between teaching the core, basic information students must learn and allowing students some creative leeway. Although I use tests and examinations to prepare my students for taking the standardized tests necessary to graduate, I also try to assign fun activities as well to encourage children to feel that the information they are learning is not something they only need to know for a test.

I track student progress using a variety of methods. I do use grades on tests and quizzes to monitor how well students comprehend the material and how hard they are working. I also use these methods of assessments to tell how well I am doing as an educator, to see if I am making the material sufficiently clear to students. However, as well as objective methods to determine student achievement, I also have students compile a portfolio of work that they feel represents their work over the course of a semester. This enables me to take into consideration the trajectory of student improvement as well as measure students...

I appreciate having a second pair of eyes to critique my performance in the classroom. As you observed, this class has been exciting as well as challenging for me to teach. Although the majority of the class is eager to learn, a number of students face personal challenges regarding their attentiveness in class. I have revised the seating assignments accordingly, to ensure that these students do not 'hang to the back' of the classroom and socialize. One of the disadvantages of the size of my classroom is that it is very difficult to monitor students in the back. I will also make more of an effort to meet with students individually who are struggling or who have disciplinary problems. I am pleased that I have instilled in all of the children the importance of writing down homework assignments and going to the next class in an orderly fashion, but performance during class time remains a work in progress for some students. By the end of the year, I am confident that they will have mastered these skills.
I was concerned to read that some of the ESL students appeared not to be listening to the lecture, which indicates to me that they may have difficulty in comprehending some of the assignments. I already try to modify my assignments when necessary for these students by giving these students reading passages with simpler vocabulary until their skills are more on parity with the rest of the class and I define difficult words when teaching the class as a whole. Teaching ESL students with different comprehension levels of English requires a very individualized program for each student. Based upon your concerns and the underperforming of several ESL students on recent quizzes, I have spoken with the director of the school's resource…

Sources used in this document:
Question 4: Objective of my lesson plan

The objective of my lesson plan on "The Progressives" was for students to specifically be able to understand the reasons behind President Roosevelt's plan to end the coal miners' strike of 1901 and to more generally understand the Progressive Movement in the United States. The Progressive Movement is an extremely important part of American history because many of the reforms we take for granted in terms of how workers are treated began as the result of Progressive concerns. Also, the issues important to the Progressives, including women's rights; labor rights; food safety; and the problems that are inherent to industrialization in America, are concerns of many reformers in America today. The problems the Progressives wished to address have not vanished, even though they accomplished many meaningful, concrete objectives.

However, I did not want to simply discuss the Progressives in the abstract, and give the students a list of terms associated with Progressivism to memorize. That is why I specifically focused upon a 'case study' involving President Roosevelt's treatment of the striking miners. This concrete focus also enabled me to deploy more differential instructional formats for students who learn in a more hands-on fashion. To accommodate visual and kinesthetic learners, I had my students research photographs, primary sources, and videos about the strike through the use of the Internet and other forms of technology. Because political cartoons were such an important component of raising awareness about serious issues during the Progressive Era, I assigned students cartoons and photographs to analyze in a critical fashion, to stimulate creative and independent thought. As well as this alternative assessment activity, I assigned more conventional tests and quizzes and used both methods of assessment to determine that the state standards for the lesson plan and the original objectives had been satisfied.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Social Studies Instruction Observations
Words: 585 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

The Social Studies instruction that I observed was in a high school setting with students of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds. The demographic of the class consisted of 12 students, 5 female, 7 male; 3 African-American, 1 Asian-American, 1 Hispanic-American, and 1 foreign exchange student from Germany, as well as 6 Caucasian Americans. The overall demographic of the school is about 75% Caucasian American, 15% African-American, 5% Hispanic-American, and 5% other.

Smartboard Affects Social Studies Core
Words: 1283 Length: 4 Document Type: Literature Review

11) Smart Board technology is still relatively new and not enough time has elapsed to examine the results of any longitudinal studies (if any are being conducted) regarding its effectiveness in the relationship between its use and improved achievement by elementary and middle school social studies students. However, some success has already been reported anecdotally. Byrd (2005) stated "this new wave of teaching is so much more hands-on, integrated and thematic instead

Social Work Exercise the Imaginary Recording Helped
Words: 2118 Length: 7 Document Type: Case Study

Social Work Exercise The imaginary recording helped me to examine the language that I use commonly, and listen for embedded biases. I noticed that I assumed that the client could hear me and see me, rather than acknowledge the fact that the client could be deaf or visually impaired. It might be helpful to establish immediately whether the client requires assistive technologies when understanding the types of services we provide. I also

Social Cultural and Political Influence in Healthcare Delivery
Words: 4282 Length: 13 Document Type: Research Paper

Social, Cultural, And Political Influence in Healthcare Delivery Social, cultural, and political inequalities are detrimental to the health and healthcare system of the U.S. This is because the U.S. is one of the most multicultural, overpopulated, diverse and undergoing rapid economic growth. The federal government has embarked on efforts geared at addressing unsustainable costs of health care in the U.S. With the leadership of the current president, Barrack Obama, initiatives of

Education Budget Cuts Education Is
Words: 2674 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

The state cannot allocate funding that is simply not available. This is also manifest in the funding allocated to the community college system in the state, which would be reduced by $400 million. Leaders from the three higher education systems in the state are, however, particularly unhappy by the cuts, holding that current trends demand a growth rather than a cut in higher education. Importantly from the government's point-of-view, all funding

Education in China: History of
Words: 1683 Length: 5 Document Type: Research Paper

The State has also established a string of both general and specific policies for improving and developing special education and set aside special funds for this purpose. Consequently, just like regular education, special education has also developed rapidly. Although local governments are encouraged to provide compulsory education to children with and without disabilities, the enacted policies do not necessitate that education be provided to all students. Despite the fact that

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now