Let’s face a fact here – the average reader of The Educator’s Room isn’t your average teacher. These are the teacher-leaders of this profession. They work hard. When the public accuses our profession of working minimal hours, we look at the piles of awesome writings, projects, and own curricular material they’ve written on their own […]
social studies
Posted inFeatured, Interviews, Series
Inspirational Educator – Melissa Seideman
Teachers take note – Melissa Seideman is changing the way you think about our profession. This social studies instructor from upstate New York has iron in many fires – from being a co-director of #sschat to using technology in her classroom almost daily to hosting a Gilder Lehrman Reconstruction workshop this summer, she is as […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Social Studies
Vampires, Honest Abe, and the Future of History Instruction
America loves its heroes. From the earliest inspirational days of explorers sailing the ocean blue and “discovering” an unruly wilderness that would become the United States, to Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, to the canonization of Steve Jobs (notably by Ashton Kutcher is this film). Without a doubt, many of these heroes deserve their limelight. […]
Posted inCommon Core, Elementary School, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Middle School, Social Studies
Social Studies: The Not So Ugly Step Sister
With implementation of the Common Core across the US, classrooms are seeing a shift in reading, writing, and math standards. Science is also getting a spotlight with STEM and STEAM integration. Social Studies, however, seems to get pushed into the corner. There is an importance in learning from our past and thinking about changes in […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, School Improvement, Social Studies
Teacher Education Programs Through the Lens of History Educators
On Sunday, April 13th, I attended the final session time of the Organization of American Historians Conference in Atlanta. Sunday is very quiet with many attendees heading home. I decided to attend the Educating Future History Teachers session. I wanted to see what was being done to prepare teacher candidates now compared to my program […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Social Studies
Irish & African American Struggles for Freedom: Day 2 at the Organization of American Historians Conference
On Saturday, April 12, I again attended the Organization of American Historians Conference 2014 in Atlanta. Saturday was a very busy day as there were more people there than on Friday. I arrived to the conference around 10:00 AM and explored the exhibition hall. Several of the publishers represented there were giving away their stock […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Middle School, Opinion, Social Studies
It's Not Just a Classroom; It Could be a Museum
I think every teacher has been asked the following question: What does your ideal classroom look like? I know some teachers think about the answer to this question every day. Some answers include an interactive whiteboard, a few computers or tablets – preferably iPads and MacBooks or Chromebooks, and round tables over desks. In a […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Middle School, Social Studies
My first day at the Organization of American Historians 2014 Conference in Atlanta
April 11, 2014: I am excited to be at this conference. I am a huge history nerd, so of course going to a conference that helps fulfill that love is nice. I am also an educator so I am interested in how this conference of historians could relate to my and other’s educational practices. My […]