#sschat is a network of educators, resources, and ideas that started on Twitter, but has expanded to Facebook, an annual NCSS unconference, and more. Join us to chat asynchronously on Twitter or Facebook, or chat with us live on Mondays from 7-8pm EST.
Chris from Bloomington, IN. Teach world history for private online HS affiliated w/ Indiana University. Favorite summer food is probably ice cream. :) #sschat
Hi all! Excited to join today’s chat. I’m Melissa from Atchison, KS. I teach 6-8 Soc Studies, and my fave summer food is heirloom tomato salad! #sschat
Hi #sschat, this is Bill Chapman, a retired secondary social studies teacher, checking in from Berkeley, CA. Favorite summer food is hot, buttered corn on the cob.
Happy summer, everybody! Jason, high social studies department chair from the western suburbs of Chicago. Fave summer food? Anything that can be grilled! #sschat
Hello! This is my first attempt at a Twitter Chat. My name is Tim Murdock and I teach in Elkridge, MD (U.S. History, 8th Grade). My favorite summer food is picking blue crabs. #sschat
Hello! This is my first attempt at a Twitter Chat. My name is Tim Murdock and I teach in Elkridge, MD (U.S. History, 8th Grade). My favorite summer food is picking blue crabs. #sschat
The College Board recently announced changes to the AP World History Exam that take effect at the start of the 2019-2020 school year. Be sure to check out what's changing: https://t.co/McNz0mQwpX#AP#SSChat
#sschat if anyone is interested, I am giving two of these away on Wednesday. Just need to retweet my pinned tweet and follow me. Love the representation.
So before we begin -- full disclosure: I'm doing some work for the PA Dept of Ed, and thought that this platform would be a great way to crowd-source. I will always attach credit. Also, if my questions seem pretty broad, take it however you want it to mean. #sschat
Hi. I’m Michael - one of the #sschat team. I teach US and World History in MA. And my favorite summer food is oysters. It is also my favorite winter food. Also spring.
Hi. I’m Michael - one of the #sschat team. I teach US and World History in MA. And my favorite summer food is oysters. It is also my favorite winter food. Also spring.
A1) In world history, we see some common problems and issues across time & explore different ways they have been addressed. Ss can think about how the problems & solutions are sim to/diff from today's. #sschat
A1:
I include some mastery-learning methods in my history class, so students must persevere to learn the basics of a topic/skill before they get too deep in the weeds.
#sschat
A1:
I include some mastery-learning methods in my history class, so students must persevere to learn the basics of a topic/skill before they get too deep in the weeds.
#sschat
A1: My Ss struggled with stick-to-itiveness this school year, but that all changed last week when I introduced this scavenger hunt review activity. They've gone from giving up easy, to spending up to a few hours negotiating problems & clues... like this one #sschat
A1: Before students can learn to make sense of problems, they must learn to identify/recognize them. We must train students to critically examine the world around them, inside & outside of the classroom to identify things that are wrong and/or do not make sense to them. #sschat
A1: Solving problems is inherently collaborative. Students need to work together and add their own independent input and decision making to truly make sense of the issue. Together, they will perservere. It is known as social studies for a reason... #sschat
A1: one of my favorite ways to encourage problem-solving and “failing-forward” is through digital breakoutedu activities. Students work together to solve clues and keep trying if they don’t get it right away! #sschat
Historical themes, such as cultural diffusion/migration, are all about problem-solving/perseverance. (Plus kids ask fun questions: How did they build new boats & why did no one figure it out first? How did they build cathedrals without today's tools?) #sschat
I agree. Call it sense making if you will. I like the idea of letting students interact with UNSTRUCTURED problems. Or at least building to that over time. #sschat
Discovering some 'breakout'- style activities is one of my summer to-dos. Does anybody have any high school-aged activities they'd be willing to share? #sschat
My students took to digital breakouts so well... I don't know why digital breakouts intimidated me so much. I'm glad I'm over it... my students love them, and so do I! #sschat
A2 For example, the table in the attached image has lots to tell us about the history of the US since 1875. The key is learned to read and use it. #sschat
A1. I think any time current events can be brought in to class gives Ss opportunity to discuss problems and come up w/ ways to think of issues differently & come up w/ solutions #sschat
A2: I think this question fits the curriculum for introductory studies in geography and world culture. For example, students can research the architectural development of Angkor Wat, the development of the Great Pyramids, or even the physical layout of Jamestown. #sschat
A2: maps, charts, and graphs are fantastic for reasoning and problem-solving skills. We evaluate past electoral maps- the discussions happen are great! Lots of “I wonder why the Democrats swept the northern states but not the southern...” it’s awesome! #sschat
One of the things I've found is by hybridizing breakouts you can catch a few of the students who aren't engaged by the other... I have a few Ss who didn't really take to the digital breakout, but boy will they tinker with the locks on the toolbox in the front of the room. #sschat
A2 @SHEG_Stanford has a really cool "Examining Passenger Lists" activity which I modified a bit.
Students have to analyze, interpret, and question 2 manifests from ships that brought settlers from England in 1638.
#sschat
There are plenty of ways to do that in social studies. Census data, Geographic data and Maps can be used for abstract and quantitative reasoning. Saw a great presentation at #oah about using cemeteries for this. #sschat
I'm going to have to do a full blog post about this at some point, but it's a mix of Google Sites, Forms, Slides, physical clues throughout the school with links & QR codes to forms, it's been a wild ride so far. #sschat
Oh yes, absolutely! We look at lots of modern day but also historical Electoral College maps— why did this state/region vote this way? Why did candidates focus so much on campaigning in this state/region? Etc. #sschat#worldgeochat
Q3: In what social studies/historical context can students learn to construct viable arguments & critique the reasoning of others? US? World? Geog? Econ? Psych? Sociology? Gov/Civics? #sschat
A2 Once I've shown students how to construct averages, and how to adjust past dollars for inflation, we compare the inflation adjusted table below with the actual 2016 numbers. We then explore what factors other than inflation have been at work. #sschat
Here's where it all began... See if you can find your way down the rabbit hole to the start of the search for the Golden Skull... https://t.co/oZg2GiTPOS#sschat
A3) Think this is one of the main aspects of social studies courses (or should be). Having Ss study sources and gather evidence to develop & support claims and arguments is a significant part of history courses. @SHEG_Stanford document based lessons are great. #sschat
That should happen in all of those classes. History is an argument. Social studies is about the interpretation of the historical record and the evaluation of those interpretations. #sschat
A3 I think we have Ss do this all the time when looking at historical problems/current issues. Would be great to have them integrate more numerical data! #sschat
A3. Here is the site run by the Census Bureau for teaching statistics in schools. https://t.co/UoiRmY7bfT#sschat Click on grade level bands for sample lessons.
A3
"Here you go, kids: Read a few paragraphs by John C Calhoun or George Fitzhugh as they defend the practice of slavery.... https://t.co/k25nQbMBJl
Now let's discuss why they think what they think ... and why you think they are wrong!"
#sschat#BullyTheBully
A3: Jill Lepore calls history "an endlessly interesting argument where evidence is everything and storytelling is everything else." This is the jumping off point for my class' exploration of history. We're always constructing & analyzing arguments #sschat
Q3: In what social studies/historical context can students learn to construct viable arguments & critique the reasoning of others? US? World? Geog? Econ? Psych? Sociology? Gov/Civics? #sschat
A3) I think any historical context can be used as long as Ss are evaluating, corroborating evidence to create a claim/argument to solve problems or make connections between topics. #sschat
Q3: I just completed a unit on slavery and had students critique the Mudsill Theory proposed by southern plantation owners as a moral defense for slavery. They also negated the states rights vs. slavery arguments of contemporaries as reasons for secession. #sschat
A3 I used to teach this by comparing textbooks from various periods of time, and from various locations. Lots of them on Google books. Kids loved it when they could call BS on a version they disliked. #sschat
A3 As part of 11th grade service learning projects, my Ss have to poll at least 100 people on 3-5 research questions and then analyze the data. #sschat This makes it personal.
A2 sorry I’m late - was putting my *chickens* to bed - we use census data for occupations in our local history unit - shows decline of farming over time. Fits with photographic, mapping data to make argument. #sschat
Q3 It'd be great to have Ss also look at how data can be presented in a way to support a point. Ss tend to think that because it's a number, the information presented can't have a bias. #sschat
A3 I believe students should learn how to express their view, explore evidence and logic. Argument should also be done respectfully and practiced often. #sschat
Thank you! I'll just be over here reading and seeing how I can work this into class as we look at Reform Movements & the lead up to the Civil War. #sschat
A3 - all of them but the hardest part is critiquing claims of others. Most topics/issues have such a large historiography it’s hard to start. I like using an easy “straw man” to argue against. Guns germs and steel is a good one to critique w/evidence #sschat
In Civics and Government Ss can use a variety of sources to construct their own arguments about current issues through current events assignments. They can evaluate the arguments of their classmates as well. I use the question feature in Google Classroom for this. #sschat
Q3: In what social studies/historical context can students learn to construct viable arguments & critique the reasoning of others? US? World? Geog? Econ? Psych? Sociology? Gov/Civics? #sschat
Q3: In what social studies/historical context can students learn to construct viable arguments & critique the reasoning of others? US? World? Geog? Econ? Psych? Sociology? Gov/Civics? #sschat
Mr. Stevenson, I created a website about John Brown's involvement leading to the Civil War. Feel free to check it out: https://t.co/23w8AqfXe8
I also have an organizer that goes with it. #sschat
And I believe argument should be recursive. We should return to our arguments and critique them over time to help hone and refine them. Learning this skills requires you to reverse yourself once and a while. #sschat
Okay, you're going to need to help me here. I understand the basic idea that the info helps open locks. But how do you get from Gast to a code to open a lock? I'm new to this #sschat
A3 - there's also value in showing students the diff between causation and correlation when making and critiquing arguments. Learned much from listening/reading @Freakonomics books & podcasts. #sschat
It's like an escape room. You're using the puzzle to help engage Ss with the content. American ??? above the image in bold is obviously the title... what's the title of the painting? Notice also "??? is the key," try PROGRESS #sschat
A3: I have my Ss do a white paper - analyze an issue, give the historiography, partisan stances, polling data and lobbying efforts on a policy and then make recommendations on that policy. #sschat
A3. When we do current event write ups Ss need analyze their article’s source, and make an argument about how the source’s political leanings affects the types of quotes, infographics, statistics, etc., used and how that furthers the article’s thesis. #sschat
A3 The book Weaponized Lies is a fabulous resource for learning how numeric and textual messages can be manipulated to deceive. #sschathttps://t.co/mFpYyyo9iy
Q3: In what social studies/historical context can students learn to construct viable arguments & critique the reasoning of others? US? World? Geog? Econ? Psych? Sociology? Gov/Civics? #sschat
Huge value in this. This is a major thing that many adults do not understand, which means we need to do a better job teaching kids about it.
Correlation does not equal causation. #sschat
A3 - there's also value in showing students the diff between causation and correlation when making and critiquing arguments. Learned much from listening/reading @Freakonomics books & podcasts. #sschat
We were all new at one point. One of the things you'll find is there's almost always someone on twitter willing to lend a hand, show you what they know, listen and try to help. Stick around a while... EduTwitter is amazing! #sschat
A4: Have the Ss do research on the legislative process, then use that to find laws related to their major or career. For example, HIPAA for those going into health care, FERPA for those going into education or OSHA regulations for engineering or technical trades. #sschat
I like to create custom Google search engines for evaluating bias too. We create conservative and Liberal engines, then create unbiased ones to see what results we get when we search. #sschathttps://t.co/V8k854BpSC
Thank you everybody for making my first chat informative and entertaining! You have inspired me to join future chats! I hope all of you have a great day/night and an end to the school year. Take care.
#sschat
We are here every Monday at 7pm Eastern. Final Monday of each month is combined chat with English Ts (#engsschat). Looking forward to see you in #sschat again soon. :)
A5) I think search strategies and using databases could be one form of using appropriate tools strategically. Could also relate to tools for organizing evidence, data, etc. that they find. #sschat
A5: A recent situation in my class -- using a photo or text as a primary source. Which one would serve your purpose best and provide most compelling support? #sschat
Great learning with all of you today! Think I'm missing some tweets because @Twitter seems to be going haywire. Hope you all have a nice night! #sschat
A5: one of my fave websites is “Your Logical Fallacy Is...” and the book “You Are Not So Smart” - learning to dissect others argumentation in order to logically argue their own position. All communication is situational and require different strategies. #sschat
A5: I always tell my students about the importance of presentation. How you present information is as important as the information itself. If you present information poorly, even if you have the best information, it will not be received as such & be ignored. #sschat
Thanks for everyone who joined #sschat!
Next Monday we'll be back with special guest host and author @kennethcdavis to discuss another interdisciplinary topic:
"The 1918 Flu Pandemic: Lessons from History"
Tell your friends!!
Giving students the facts of cases that have already been decided and having them debate the issue before studying the result is fun and a way to do a simulation with real world examples. Understanding precedence can be tough though. #sschat
