Current Events

The current events cooperative learning project was very helpful in developing needed skills for social studies instruction. My group’s current events project focused on note taking strategies, and identifying the 5 W’s of the given article. Our lesson was designed surrounding the article "Creating 3-D maps anywhere, and quickly, with smartphones," and was created on a PowerPoint presentation. I thought that using note taking strategies was a great way to teach a current events topic because it encourages students to use listening skills, and to identify the 5 W's of social studies simultaneously. This idea was adapted from one of the sample lessons that was used in one of the previous Social Studies Methods sections. We decided to use the note-taking strategies aspect of the lesson to take a different approach to the project than some of the other groups. I was very happy with the ability of my group to collaborate to complete this project. Google drive made the collaboration manageable between a group of commuters, residents, and full time workers. Under these conditions it can be very difficult to collaborate however, I can say that we all contributed in some way to complete this project, and the final project was something that we all could be proud of. 

Sunal and Haas (2011) write "Many teachers at all grade levels use current events to illustrate the importance of history and social sciences to the lives of people today" (p. 196). Based on this assertion, I would like to include current events studies into all elementary grades. A good way to do this is to include current events activities for a very small portion of every day. For example, if teachers brought in a newspaper every day and choose an article to discuss briefly, this would help the students to have an understanding of hat current events is, and how it is something that is always happening around them. The first step in developing a students' understanding of social studies is showing it to them in a way they understand. By going over daily, local news articles, they may find more connection to current events than if non-local events were discussed. If I was teaching current events to the first grade, I initially would like to start with local articles to spark the students' interest. After some time, I would begin to introduce topics that have to do with other areas of the world because as Sunal and Haas state, "local problems can be linked to similar problems in other areas of the world" (2011, p.196). By introducing topics that are local, and of interest to the student, these concepts can be generalized to include problems, and events happening in other areas of the world. For a 6th grade classroom, the similarities between local events, and events in other areas of the world can be discussed. Instead of making a reference of local events to global events, sixth graders could be responsible for making these connections on their own through a research project, or presentation on a specific current events topic.

            Current events is a great way to engage students in the 5 powerful elements of social studies instructions By discussing social studies topics that are local, or of particular interest to the students in the students, a meaningful relationship with current events can be developed. A good way to do this is to introduce activities that are based on prior knowledge or experiences because this allows students to make meaningful connections in order to expand their pre-established viewpoints and knowledge. A good way to incorporate the integrative element of social studies is to give students projects that do not simply ask to reiterate events that happened in an article, but rather reflect, write or speak about what was learned in the articles. From the Common Core State Standards, the "Research to Build and Present Knowledge" standards for grade 3 writing would be an appropriate standard that integrates ELA into the social studies lesson. For example, if students were asked to examine a current events topic further with a research project, they would be implementing standard Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic. This would relate to the Common Core State Standards topic of “Research to Build and Present Knowledge” for 3^rd grade writing with the standard 3.7, “Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic,” and standard 3.8 “Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.” By including activities that help promote ELA instruction as well as social studies, the lesson can be integrative.