There are somewhere near 1,000,000 Native American students in school today, most in schools where they constitute such a small minority that they are seldom even noticed, much less served. Most do not have teachers who look like them. Most do...
I was recently talking to one of my college students about her hometown. During the conversation, I asked her what it was near, so she named a couple of other towns – Naperville and Aurora specifically. I still couldn’t figure out...
One key element in teaching – and one that is too often ignored – is to figure out why you are teaching what you are when you are. You can only get to the what and when after you know the why. Of course, in the day of “standards...
Well, it’s that time of year again – Black History Month. As I’ve done before, I strongly encourage you to go to the Teaching Tolerance website.
January is Bill of Rights month. If you are interested in ready-made lessons dealing with such issues, check out this site: http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/default.htm
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Illinois Learning Standard 16.D.3a (US) Describe characteristics of different kinds of communities in various sections of America during the colonial/frontier periods and the 19th century.
A good way to help ensure that...
Illinois Learning Standard 16.A.3b (Middle School) Make inferences about historical events and eras using historical maps and other historical sources.
A good way to ensure that your students meet this state goal is to...
Illinois Learning Standard 18.A.1 says that early elementary students should learn how to “[i]dentify folklore from different cultures which became part of the heritage of the United States.” That sounds like a fun...
It has been said many times that students today are much more “visual learners” than students of earlier days. I don’t know if that’s really true, but I’ve altered my teaching to add a lot more visual material....
Did you ever hear a small child call a cat a “doggie” or a dog a “kittie”? That’s an example I use when I try to teach my students about constructivist learning. When my daughter was first learning to talk, our only...