Strategies
History education in this country lags far behind the other subjects because of the old and archaic methods a lot of history teachers are still using. A lot of history teachers still use lecture as the main teaching method. Studies show that after two weeks, students only remember 5% of what they learned through the lecture method. More importantly, lecture creates an environment that is incredibly boring to the 21 st century learner. 21 st century learners are the technological generation. They have access to tons of videos, knowledge, and all of the social networking that technology has created. It's hard for that type of learner to be involved in mainly lecture methodologies.
Another problem with history education today is the reliance on textbooks. Textbooks are tools of information that force opinions and ideas about the past that is mainly at the author's discretion. This does not allow the student to learn any critical thinking or problem solving skills that are very important to the 21 st century learner. This once again leads to a generation of history students who are uninterested in history class. The unit I am planning is going to be a fun, interactive unit that allows the students to question and form opinions about various people and topics in history.
Students will analyze primary sources from three different areas. They will keep graphic organizers that will allow them to focus on several key topics as we analyze documents from different areas. These key topics are
1. What is citizenship?
2. What is freedom?
3. What is the American Dream?
They will make a new list for every immigrant group studies throughout the year. They will compare and contrast the experiences as each group pursues the American Dream focusing on these questions and the political, social, and economic barriers in the way of those immigrants trying to achieve the American Dream. They will use the graphic organizers as sources when they create a hip hop interpretation of each of the major questions and what it meant to the immigrant group being studied.
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