I am a firm believer that teachers need their own website for their class. Our students practically live on the web, so why not provide them with a website from your class? They will visit your site, as long as there is something on there, and I'm not just talking about your lesson plans. Students love going on teacher websites, so let's give them some!
There are many great website builder options out there that require you to have zero programming skills. Website builders like blogger, wordpress, weebly, wix, or many others allow you to make a great, professional looking website with a small learning curve. These are all free website making machines. I use blogger to build/maintain Speartip, but have also used wordpress, weebly, and wix. I think they are all solid options for building a website. Perhaps you will find one that you think is better, such as shutterfly and google sites. Yes, making these websites take time, but I'm here to help! The impact they can have on your classes is enormous. Plus, I think once you start building, you will find that it's fun to have your own website. It's like having your own piece of the internet. I know you all use either google classroom or edmodo, which is great! It is still beneficial to have a website because there are things that you can or want to share that work better on a website. Classroom and Edmodo are management sites. A website is your central location on the internet for all things dealing with your class.
Why it's a good idea to have your own class website:
1. Extend the learning outside of your class time.
2. Post lesson plans
3. Post an "assignment calendar" so students and parents know when things are happening.
4. Create and share interactive assignments, review tools, and learning tools.
5. Gives students the opportunity to share their ideas and thoughts. (blogging comments).
6. Gives you another way of connecting with your students and getting them excited about your class.
7. Provides another (strong) communication channel.
8. Gives students a place to go for anything and everything about your class. They want this.
So what makes a good social studies teacher? In a recent discussion with college seniors, we discussed what makes a good social studies teacher. It was an online discussion so I was able to pull out some interesting statistics about what they said was important. The word "engage" or some form of it was said 30 times throughout all the discussion posts and replies. It was the most mentioned adjective discussed. In second place: Content Knowledge (or some reference to knowing the material)-about 28 mentions. Third place was passion with 10 mentions.
I was excited to see our future teachers mention the word "engage" the most. I couldn't agree more. To teach social studies effectively, engagement has got to be #1. It is our single greatest weapon to defeat the arch nemesis of a social studies teacher/classroom: the word "boring." It seems like social studies/history and "boring" are always grouped together. Well, I want to break that and being engaging is exactly how we do that. Engage the students and you can teach them whatever you want!
Every participant said something about engagement, passion, and/or positive attitude. That's awesome! Those are great things to be discussing when talking about what makes a good teacher. The challenge is to not forget those powerful adjectives or lose sight of them as the years tick by. If you feel like you are getting into a rut, I encourage you to seek out new, fresh ideas. Things you can do or try in the classroom to reinvigorate your teaching. Find something that will spark that passion inside of you once again. When we are engaging, it makes everything better!
Some other keywords that were mentioned in our discussion: connecting, hands-on, variety, challenge, critical thinking, acting out, visual aids, and positive attitude. These are all really good words.
Passion is huge. Hopefully as a teacher, you are passionate about kids (if not, might want to consider a new job). Being passionate about what you teach is also important. However, nobody is passionate about EVERYTHING they teach. I am passionate about Greek Mythology and the Medieval Times, but not ancient India. So what did I do? I would ramp of the enthusiasm for that unit. Passion can not be faked, but enthusiasm can. Enthusiasm and passion will make your classroom come to life!
I found it interesting that so many of the participants mentioned content knowledge. It is important to know the content and to know it well. The more you know, the better/easier it is to think up engaging lessons and activities. However, it is impossible to know everything about the content you are teaching, especially if it is social studies. It's okay for you to say, "I don't know" when a student asks you a question. We are all human, not Google Robots. It's not the end of the world to admit to a student you don't know the answer to a question. Turn it into a positive situation, "Well, I don't know. Let's go find the answer together." Including the student in the discovery of knowledge is a powerful thing. Also keep in mind that you are teaching young kids so you do not need to be a PH.D. level scholar in American History to know what you need to know. The challenge is not knowing the content, it is making it engaging, relevant, and being able to teach it in a "kid friendly language."
Above all, what makes a great social studies teacher is the same thing that makes a great teacher ina ny content area: building positive relationships with the students.
