EQ: What do You Need to Know to Teach Social Studies?

After the past few week looking through the content all social studies teachers are
supposed to know, all I can think is, wow. I am, now, incredibly nervous about taking the OAE
next year because that determines whether I truly have a firm understanding over all the content
and whether or not I will become a teacher. Even though this is terrifying, it is something every
teacher has to do. But, after teachers pass the OAE, the real thing that counts is how they present
their knowledge to their class. My supervising teacher at Saint Ursula Academy in Toledo, Ohio,
fills me in on what each class of hers is learning that day and what she needs to do to stay on
track. She always discusses with me about keeping on task while in the classroom to make sure
all the students are getting the information they need before their tests and before the end of the
year. Sometimes, she is stressed out because of how much content needs to be taught but always
tries to keep a calm face. The class that I work most with is an 8th grade class who is learning
about American History. The field experience has been very exciting because this year my
supervising teacher has given me the opportunity to teach in front of the class. I have gotten to
learn so much about the girls and how their school schedule flows. While observing my teacher
and teaching myself, I have thought about this question and have come up with the following
supporting questions: Does understanding your students lives make you a better social studies
teacher? Do class projects help the students and even the teachers learn more about a certain
topic in a social studies classroom?
Does understanding your students lives make you a better social studies teacher?
Social studies is a very broad subject that contains many different topics such as history,
government, geography, economics, and many more. That is a lot of information to have to
know, understand, and teach to students who usually have no idea what any of it actually means.
Every school is also very different with a variety of students that come from different cultures.
Social studies can be a difficult subject to teach because of what teachers have to teach such as,
religion, culture, countries, government, and history. Many of these topics can be touchy to
some students. In my 8th grade classroom, there are girls that are Indian, African-American,
Mexican, and White. So, the community within the classroom and the school is very diverse.
Knowing about these different cultures can help the teacher teach the students about American
history. It is also good to know information about different cultures and the students home life,
to be able to give them the education they need and want. My current teacher at St. Ursula is all
about getting to know her students which makes her a participatory teacher according to the
article, Beyond personally responsible: A study of teacher conceptualizations of citizenship
education, by Nancy Patterson, Frans Doppen, and Thomas Misco. This article found that,
The knowledge they focused on was more theoretical, with a theme of concern about awareness
of diversity and inequity in the larger culture (Patterson, Doppen, & Misco, 2012, p. 200). She
knows every single thing about every one of her students so she can help each one the best she
can. When a girl with an Indian heritage came to their school, her father filled out her form and
put none in the slot of her middle name because Indian culture does not include middle names
in their actual name. When the girls were being called for attendance, a teacher read her name
with none being her middle name with an accent. The little girl was upset because first of all
she didnt have a middle name and second of all it wasnt none. My supervising teacher
quickly corrected the teacher and went down to the office to fix this problem. She also tries so
hard to get every one of her students to do well in her class. She frequently talks to parents and
her students to make sure all of them are understanding the information being covered. A student

was having a hard time in school so the teacher instantly went to the parents to make sure
everything was okay at home and in school. Until the student was able to get her grades back up,
she was able to take assignments and tests home to have her parents help her. Those are two
examples of why my supervising teacher is a great social studies teacher. Not only does she
focus on the content the course requires, but she also pays special attention to all of her students
to make sure they are getting the education they need.
Do class projects help the students and even the teachers learn more about a certain topic in a
social studies classroom?
We all know that as prospective social studies teachers, we will always be learning new
things. We also know that social studies and can be very boring and uneventful when students
are constantly forced to read books, right down names, facts, and dates, and do worksheets, so
why not spice it up a little bit? As we found out from the article Why Kids Dont Like Social
Studies by Mark Schugg, Robert Todd, and R. Beery, students felt that they spent too much
time learning trivial details, memorizing facts, or experiencing routine, predictable teaching
methods. Typical responses about routine methods were, We just take notes, take tests, and
watch the news, or It was just read the chapter, do a worksheet, take the test (1984, p. 52). If
I had to sit still for a whole class period and just listen to lecture, I would get bored too. Trust me
I know because I have had many teachers that do that. So, instead of teachers only lecturing,
have the students do a class project instead. While many students complain that they are bored
in class and they dont care about social studies, maybe they would start to enjoy it and learn
more if they did more activities. My supervising teacher right now, is all about projects and
activities. Since I have been there, she has had the 7th grade students build a pyramid or a
sarcophagus and write a brief report on their pyramid or their mummy that they recreated. She
also allowed the 8th graders to create their own colony and a story to go along with it. Her next
idea is to have the 8th grade draw up political cartoons. Not everything she does are projects, she
also creates skits and has the entire middle of her classroom open for the students to perform
these skits. Since the content in the 7th grade classroom revolves around the ancient world and
the 8th grade classroom revolves around American history (early American historyreconstruction) these projects and skits were very suiting. I have asked her if these projects and
activities really helps the students learn the content and every time she says yes. It gives her the
chance to see how well the students understand the content they need to know. She thinks that
everyday notes lose the students concentration but when teachers add in these little things, the
students pay attention more and enjoy the class more. Although written reports on the projects
also give her great insight on what the students know, they also teach her some information that
they might have found that she didnt know. This is just a great idea of what to do with the
content you know.

References
Patterson, N., Misco, T., & Doppen, F. (2012). Beyond personally responsible: A study of teacher
conceptualizations of citizenship education. Education, Citizenship, and Social Justice,
7(2), 191-206.
Schug, M., Todd, R., & Beery. R. (1984). Why kids don't like social studies. Social Education,
48(5), 382-387.