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Nichole Bailey Farris
farris02@aol.com
Artifact Analysis:
My favorite historical artifact is this memorial United States flag. This flag was presented to me by the U.S. Army at my mother's funeral. It represents how far this country has come in appreciating the efforts of its female and minority veterans. It also represents by design the many changes of the United States since its birth in the late 1700s.
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Resume
East Middle School - 8th Grade Social Studies
B.A. in Education/Social Studies Middle School Endorsement
Essays
I am the right person to be teaching U.S. History because I enjoy learning about and teaching the past. History is fascinating for me because I get to learn about people, events, and cultures in the past. As a result of this new knowledge, I learn to make connections and find similarities in the actions of people. The most important part is being able to look at some of the events in history and seeing how they apply to the present and the future. I can pass on my joy for the subject in the form of motivation and enthusiasm to my students. If I teach them that History can be fun, then perhaps my students will be willing to give it a chance and discover a whole new world of knowledge for themselves.
Teaching U.S. History in Waukegan
With my 8th grade students, I always try to find ways to connect the material with their everyday rationale. We had been working on a unit about Foreign Policy and WWI. I started off by asking the students to identify some instances when it is okay to get in other people's business. They came up with a list of about seven reasons. As we continued to work through the time period, the students were frequently asked to take the event, for example, the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand, and figure out which of the reasons on their list applied to the situation. Th students were then put into groups and asked to retell the beginnings of WWI in their own words and using the reasons they created in class. It was very interesting to see how they took the situation and translated it into their own world. They were able to explain the gist of the time period using references from their own experiences.
With the help of McRah, I now feel prepared to address the following challenge in my teaching: lack of student motivation in Social Studies. Social Studies has held a reputation for not been an important part of the student curriculum. Unfortunately, a large part of this view is being held by the students. They have been subjected to boring and repetitive methods of teaching the subject. With the help of McRah, I now have more creative ideas for teaching. I know how to make use of artifacts and primary sources. I have also been trained in ways to tap into higher level thinking skills, so that the students are not participating in mundane methods of learning. I also have a full list of resources available for use that includes written documents, literature, and actual field trip sites.
Students in their middle school years are at a unique stage in their lives. Many of them are still struggling to find an identity for themselves. They are constantly reconstructing their relationship with their families, friends, and communities. Understanding their history is key to putting them on the path to defining who they are. They can establish connections with everyday people and learn from their decisions. Teachers are taught to take a subject and try to relate it to the lives of the students. This is a task that can be helpful when trying to help middle school students determine their status with themselves as maturing and intellectual people. In the past, I have tried to teach the material using examples from their lives to enhance understanding. I plan to employ the same methods this year as a tool to teaching the material to my 8th grade students.
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