I love history; that is the good news. It would make my days of teaching much harder if I did not enjoy the subject that consumes my life for ten months of the year. I do not enjoy the frantic pace required to cover all of US History in-depth before the students are subjected to an end-of-course standardized test that will determine whether they pass or fail in some cases and if they will have an A or a B in others. History needs to meander, to stroll, at times it needs to have a seat and just ponder the complexities of what just happened. There is not time though to do this, so I'm back to try to discover the perfect US History lesson plans.
My passage rate for the EOC last year was 66%. I do not say this proudly. It's just factual. I want a 100% passage rate. This is also a fact. I have tried to focus on only what the state tells us to focus on... I feel we have lost the beauty of the story of history and 34% of my students still did not pass the EOC. Different year, different tactic. I'm going to teach history, not a test and see if that creates the perfect set of plans. Who is with me?
My day 1 this year is not going to be the frantic center based day of last year. We are going to focus on what the students already know. 4 Facts I learned in Elelmentary School and expand from there. All students should know that Columbus discovered America , the story of Jamestown from a standpoint of John Smith and Pocahantas, the Declaration of Independence, and George Washington was our first president. Activating Prior Knowledge is a best practice afterall. Plus, even the lower students will feel successful which will lead to a positive image of the class which should lead to buy in which should lead to success in the class. It's the circle of learning. I'll let you know how it goes... what works for you?
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