Past to Present

The Studebaker block then and now

  In class, we looked at maps over the course of time, comparing the past to the present. Looking at different intersections in South Bend, we were able to discuss things that remained the same over time, but were also able to see many advancements that were made.
    
     This in-class activity reminded me of a time that I had gone through old photographs with my grandmother. It was amazing to be able to see the old-fashioned clothes, hairstyles, and so on. It makes me wonder what things will look like when I'm the grandmother showing my granddaughter photographs. I'm sure that in the future, children will think that what we thought were "cool" fads seem ridiculous the way that I feel when I look at bee hive hair dos.

     I think that showing photographs of differences in time periods is beneficial in the classroom because it allows students to make valuable connections with the images presented. Looking through the standards for 3rd through 6th grade, I can see many examples of ways I could use this type of activity in my future classroom. For example, students can compare photographs of old phones to new ones, computers, letter writing to emails, and horse and buggies to the cars we now have. Dicussing things like these with children allows them to realize that although they see a car as a necessity, people in the past have had to walk, or ride a horse, in order to get from one location to another. As time goes on, many things change, and social studies is an important subject that helps children better understand these concepts.

Who Enjoys Learning About History?

      On our first day of E-325 (the class I'm writing this blog for), we were asked the question, "Who enjoys learning about history?". I was surprised to see that I was one of the only students in my class that raised their hand! I can recall learning about history in school, and I very much enjoyed the subject. However, as I talked to my peers some more, I came to find out that many of them did not have as enjoyable of an experience as I did.

     Honestly, I'm not sure why I enjoy history more than most people. I know that my father loves history (the history channel, nonfiction books, documentaries, etc) but my mother openly hates the subject. And it's not that I'm extraordinarily smart when it comes to memorizing facts, or anything like that. I just know that learning history was fun for me.

     Looking back on my experiences in the social studies classroom, I remember the learning of
 history being an active process. The students were encouraged to get up and act things out, allowing ourselves to become engaged in what we were talking about. We also had some speakers come in and talk about their personal experiences, we read books about children who had lived in important eras, we visited museums, and we did a lot of research on finding things that related to what we were learning in class. Of course, my teachers did lecture at times, but the information that was being presented was always done so in a way that was appealing to the students.

     Obviously, whatever tricks or techniques my teachers used in teaching me history worked. I may not still remember all the facts I was taught, but I have a basic understanding of the key concepts. I hope to be able to teach my students in the same way that my teachers taught me. Since I now know so many of my peers that disliked learning history, I know that I will have to find many strategies to ensure that my students enjoy history more than they did. And you better believe that I am definitely looking forward to the challenge.