Learning Haven

Category: Social Study Activity

  • Social Study Activity


    Social study activity is a must for all students to develop their mental horizon on a variety of subjects. It not only helps the students to mature but is also the most practical form of teaching. Games and sports are a child’s best friends. Therefore, if a child studies while he plays, you couldn’t have asked for anything better.

    Among the popular games, ‘Botticelli’ is one, which is apt for the students of upper elementary level to high school. As regards the norms of the game, the entire class is segregated into two separate groups equally. The teacher is the moderator who controls the course of the game with a quick response quiz round. This round is subject to the points system followed by the next round of identification challenge. One of the students is appointed as the scorekeeper who keeps a track of the winning side with the most number of points.

    Believe it or not the above-mentioned game not only increases the student’s familiarity with the established materials but also stirs an air of enthusiasm in the classroom.




    On the other hand, “Character Counts” bulletin board display, which is meant for the third and the fourth graders, deals with different characteristic traits like for example respect, trustworthiness, responsibility etc. In class any one of the characteristic aspects is singled out and thereafter examined for almost a week. Each of the students then writes about what they have understood about the characteristic traits discussed in class.

    As teachers, you should ask your students to garner some past information of their parents about their childhood and anything relative. Interestingly, it would result in long discussions and revelations amongst the students and this sharing experience would help them realize that not everything is jotted down in history books.

    Social study also deals with history’s relationship to one’s life, which further proves that history is beyond political and military events since everyone has a personal history subject to their respective times.

    The child puzzle is another such activity, where the students sort the pieces to the respective places where they actually belong. You being the teacher should ask your students that why they pondered that you have demanded from them such a tough task. Apparently, the expected answer would be that history is altogether a puzzle with missing pieces. The only thing we can do is relying on guesstimates and presumptions. Ironically speaking the visible lines of the pieces of the completed puzzle just shows how we still don’t see the real picture of what actually happened.

    It just goes to show how practical and fruitful social study activity can be to the overall mental development of the students helping them to cope up with real life situations.




  • Online Learning Fun


    Internet-based teaching is becoming more and more popular for all those who are seeking online learning fun. With the net becoming an effective teaching medium, it has also turned into the main communication means in distance education.

    There are two main categories of on-line learners:

    1. Students: They are avidly seeking this avenue to undertake lessons from home. The learning process may involve either taking computer print outs or downloading modules.

    2. Executives: The corporate sector has also benefited hugely from web curriculums. The competitive necessity for knowledge-based organizations has been a major factor in corporates stressing on such programs. Since the web is the fastest way of knowing about latest technologies and information updates, it is a smart way of enhancing employee proficiency. Moreover, more and more executives are looking for a quick and easy way to adding to their skill sets, in the highly competitive scenario.

    Online learning packages are of three main types:

    1. Non-formal: This process is as simple as collecting resources for self-study and specialized research, such as for school projects, homework, classroom or corporate boardroom presentations.
    2. Formal: This involves registering for an on-line course with an educational institution. At the end of the course, students add to their qualifications with a diploma or degree.
    3. Online Corporate Programs: Corporate houses generally sponsor such training modules for enhancing the expertise of staff and providing them with latest industry information.

    Some popular on-line courses are:

    1. Preschool games: Cartoon builders and rhyming are some games nursery students enjoy. Kindergarten packages are very popular.
    2. Subject-based games for elementary students: They are great ways of introducing your kids to online learning fun. For instance, math games and history quizzes help elementary school students learn faster and getting over their subject hitches. Various websites allow you to download such games free. It even has ways to teach chemistry equations faster and with complete online learning fun.
    3. Interactive games and activities: This type of online learning fun involves brainteasers, puzzles, general knowledge quizzes, flash cards, word games. Halloween games are another fun activity that is available on the Web.
    4. IQ Tests and Logical Thinking: They help hone students’ learning and reasoning skills. These may include reading, writing, manners, social norms, techniques of friendship and many more topics. 
    5. On-line storybooks: They can help safe guard children’s reading habits.
    6. Stress-buster games: These Internet games give updates on stress factors and ways it can affect you. They have additional features like fun games that help relieve stress. These games are tailor made for executives. 
    7. Card games: This is a favorite among all, from homemakers to corporate honchos. It is the ultimate in online learning fun and there is one great thing it teaches everyone and that is patience.

    Learning online is not only fun but time saving and cost effective too. It’s a perfect solution for busy professionals and students seeking knowledge outside their text books.

  • Social Study Lesson Plan


    If you are looking for a social study lesson plan, here is an effective and popular method: Medaline Hunter Lesson Design Model. However, before we get into the details, let us briefly know what social study is all about. The study of subjects like history, geography, civics, sociology, economics and a few other social science subjects is collectively known as social study at the primary and secondary school level. At some post-secondary and tertiary schools, it is identified with the study of certain facets of human society.

    There could be a difference in subject matter but generally it includes both pure (sociology, psychology and linguistics) and applied social sciences (business, economics, criminology, and mass media). Some North American social study courses also include earth sciences and climatology. In New South Wales, Australia, the public school system defines social study as the education of “Human Society and its Environment.”

    Whatever its subject matter, planning is very important. The Madeline Hunter Lesson Design Model is one of the most popular for direct teaching methods. Named after Madeline Hunter, noted educational theorist, it is an 8-point lesson plan.

    Preparation: This is a warm-up activity that introduces the student to the lesson and attracts attention before class begins. It can be in the form of a leaflet, an example problem, or a question-answer session.

    Aim: Plan the purpose of that day’s lesson. As a teacher, you must give tips on how students will benefit from the class and what they will learn.

    Input: This includes the vocabulary, skills and other concepts a teacher refers to in the classroom. Briefly, it is the instructions necessary to learn the lesson.
     
    Display (show): Show and prepare your students how to learn their lessons easily and proficiently.

    Effective guidance: This involves the trimodal approach, or see/hear/do method of instructions. Here, you show your students how to move step-by-step in order to master the skills emphasized in this method. Say for instance, you show the students how to work out a problem, as they try to solve it on their own.

    Check progress: This tip is a great way to find out whether your students have really grasped the lesson. Always ask for their feedback and pace your instructions according to their progress.

    Self-help: Let your students complete some lessons on their own, helping whenever they are stuck. This is to ensure that each student knows what to do.

    Conclude: At the end of it all, ask your students to recall the lessons of the day.

    If you apply these tips from elementary school level, you can turn social study into one of the most interesting subjects. On the other hand, students who follow this method carefully are sure to do well. Proper social study lesson plan can boost your overall performance as well.

  • Easy Projects


    Easy Projects are a fun filled way of ensuring all round development of kids. These projects can help realize their creative potential in a productive combination of entertainment and education. 

    They can be a great way to engage your child during holidays and in weekends as a lively break from the monotonous routine of school and homework. Research ascertains the fact that such Easy Projects are almost essential in honing the cognitive ability of kids.

    We have always known that indulging in art and crafts can help teach some vital basic lessons to children. Now, it has become an important teaching tool through fun, togetherness and the best use of children’s creative aptitude.  

    Some handy tips for turning Easy Projects into fruitful learning aids 

    1. Concrete props and visual aids are an effective means of initiating students to such creative classes.
    2. Concise instructions are essential for quick communication of ideas.
    3. A combination of actions and words while imparting instructions for Easy Projects can help teach faster.
    4. Demonstrations with a student acting as a model can help convey ideas faster.
    5. Create every project out of things that the kids can identify, not something remote from their surroundings.
    6. Do not use too many workbooks and writings during such sessions.
    7. Always include some clay, water and sand crafts to motivate physical object management. These projects help develop the 2- way logic necessary by the next learning phase.
    8. Discussions and interactions are vital during such activities.
    9. Easy Project sessions should include routine fieldwork, followed by discussions on their experiences and feelings during such trips.
    10. The package should encourage and challenge students to enjoyably use their cognitive skills.
    11. They must not be mentally taxing, difficult to grasp, over instructive and boring.

    Some popular Easy Projects are:

    1. Paper crafts like Origami (ancient art of paper folding)
    2. Snow craft parties
    3. Making gifts for Easter, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day etc
    4. Fingerprint art
    5. Making animal cracker jewelry
    6. Making homemade bubble solution or sidewalk chalk
    7. Drawing and coloring with crayons, markers, watercolor and colored pencils
    8. Making bookmarks
    9. Frosting windows
    10. Egg writing
    11. Potato prints
    12. Clay modeling
    13. Sewing projects such as making drawstring bags for the pool
    14. Beach crafts like making sand castles
    15. Creating decorations for the kids’ own rooms like Popsicle light switch covers, Popsicle picture frames, tabletop birdseed feeder etc.

    These and many more such creative tasks are vital for the mental development of your children. So go ahead and introduce your child to the world of Easy Projects early on.

  • Social Studies

    The subject Social studies is a miscellany of all disciplines. This term refers to the study of almost all academic fields. It does not focus on a particular topic rather provides an insight into the past and present human life and society. Subjects incorporated in the social science include history, geography, government, sociology, psychology and culture.

    Purpose

    Incorporation of social studies into the syllabus of all classes has broadened and widened the world of knowledge for students of all ages. The chief end of teaching this subject is to make students understand their existence in relation to the past and the present. They learn to relate themselves to their surroundings, neighbors, relatives, environment, society, country and the world. It imparts them knowledge of the past to understand the present.

    Teaching social studies is effective in making much of student’s life. It endows them with all requisite skills such as problem-solving skills, decision-making skills, future-planning skills, communication skills, thought-processing skills and value-assessing skills that are of the essence to live a sociable life. It also teaches them how to be a good member of the family, inhabitant of locality and citizen of the country.

    Reading social studies improvises the curiosity of young children, makes them imagine the vast expanse of nature and helps them to interact with their surroundings. They learn to see the world in broad and wide perspective. Life becomes larger than the universe to them. It gives them both scope and space to expand themselves. It also gives them a look into the future and teaches them to weigh the pros and cons of an action.

    Social studies is a vast resource of general knowledge. Young children cannot integrate new experiences that they acquire from their observation of the inner and outer world with their theoretical knowledge due to lack of certain skills. Reading this subject helps them blend their theoretical knowledge and practical experience. It builds their concept of the world that is outside the circumference of their personal world.

    The study of the society and its daily events through newspapers, magazines, T.V. programs, news channels or radios is also social studies. Young children can develop their knowledge of the society and its life through these media of social studies. It is an incomparable means for upgrading themselves.

    You should teach your child or students this subject in a planned way, with a constructive approach. You can develop their inquiry skill, critical thinking and refine their knowledge. This way, they can develop a positive concept of the self. They can evaluate themselves into better and more responsible human beings. They get a hang of the universal truth that interdependence between the society and social beings is the key to the existence of life on earth. In brief, social studies is a penetrating study of the world and its several wonders.

  • Social Studies Projects

    Social Studies projects include lessons on economics, psychology, history, religion and government. Social Studies projects are extremely fun and interactive way of acquiring knowledge about different facets of society. For instance, when you are teaching a group on Kindergarten students about ancient Egypt it can be very interesting. Kindergarten students who have just learned how to write will find Egyptian style of writing or hieroglyphics quite interesting and exciting. On this context, you can also show the children pictures of ancient Egyptians, the pyramids, and the Nile and tell them stories like “Once upon a time there was a country known as Egypt and it had a king….”

    At times, the subject Social Studies tends to become very boring with textbooks, comprehension questions and worksheets. However, to make the subject more interesting you can add several projects to it. Projects are fun for children, as they can learn and apply their skills at the same time.

    Social Studies projects on Geography

    • You can ask the children to make a globe with balloons, paper mache and poster paints.

    • They can even make posters to explain about crops, exports and other things of a foreign country.

    • Children can even make maps of the neighborhood.

    • They can even put together travel brochures of a country they have recently studied.

    Social Studies Projects on Politics

    • You can ask the students to demonstrate a mock debate of a particular political issue.

    • The students can also go for research and analysis of several political issues.

    • They can even make posters on their favorite politicians.

    Social Studies Projects on Economics

    • Make the student go through an economic website and then ask him to write a review on it.

    • You can even ask the student to draw a comic book where he can explain the subject economics in his own particular style.

    Social Studies Projects on current events

    • First, you can ask the student to collect new and up to date reports on any current event and then make him put all the information together for preparing a complete report on the issue.

    • Just give the student some time for preparation and then ask him to deliver an oral report on any current event.

    Social Studies Projects on History

    • Make the child prepare a newspaper article about a particular historical event.

    • The child can even make a poster explaining a historical event.

    • The student can also make a handmade book on a historical event.

    • He can write a song on a historical event and add music to it.

    • Make the child select scenes from a historical event and draw them. He can then label the details of the scene.

    • The child can even write a play based on a historical event.

    • He can even arrange for a puppet show on a historical event.

    The benefits of Social Studies Projects

    Social Study Projects can benefit a child in a number of ways. Such a project helps a child learn how to observe things, teaches him how to separate the relevant information from the irrelevant ones, and helps the students to learn how to organize the details in the most appropriate way so that the facts can be presented systematically.

    In short, social studies projects not only make a student learn, but it also helps the students to handle and present the subject in the best possible way.