Creating Compelling Social Studies Lesson Plans

Written by Kacy Suther. MultiMedia Learning LLC provides social studies lesson plans/a>, world history lesson plans and civil war lesson plans through their unique PowerPointŪ Presentation software. Students learn history through classroom social studies games and engaging technology. Learn more at http://www.multimedialearning.org .
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1: Creating Compelling Social Studies Lesson Plans
2: Golden Jubilees
3: History of the bow and arrow
4: Bai Budhai
5: Prince Aly Salomone Khan

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<h1>Creating Compelling Social Studies Lesson Plans</h1> <br />When it comes to keeping the attention of school children these days, teachers really do have a tough job ahead of them. Today's kids are constantly bombarded by fast moving images, brightly colored ads and so much more. When it takes all the special effects of a video game or movie to keep their attention, how well do you think a single person standing in front of them is going to do? Comparatively, not well. Part of this is a result of their exposure to the media and to technological entertainment. The other part, however, tends to be the presentation that they are hearing. Making class plans, such as civil war lesson plans, is very different for different age groups, and it is important to know what age group you are trying to reach and what they are most likely to be affected by.<br /><br />For younger children, social studies lesson plans that include games or interactive elements are a really great way to keep them engaged. Whether you are dividing them into teams to play some sort of trivia game or you are having them act out historically accurate scenes from history, you are capturing their attention and letting them have a little fun in the process. Kids who are having fun and are actively interested in a subject will retain far more than those who are simply doing their best to pay attention because they know they are supposed to. Think about it- how many times has your mind wandered during a boring board meeting or staff meeting? Now, think about the planning sessions in which everyone is engaged and leaning forward around the table, excited about the new ideas that are coming forth. It works the same way for children.<br /><br />The average person's attention span is only about 20 minutes. For children, you're lucky if their attention lasts that long. Many middle and high schools these days are shifting to an A-B schedule, which means that rather have seven 50 minute classes each day, kids now have four 90 minute classes each day and eight classes total. To begin with, this means you are only seeing your students every other day, rather than on a daily basis. It also means that you have to gain and retain their attention for an even longer period of time. Now, coming up with an hour and a half of world history lesson plans isn't the hard part- the hard part is making sure their minds don't wander off in the first third of class. There are several ways you can choose to deal with this.<br /><br />Halfway through a class, have your students get up and move around, whether they walk around the room or jump up and down in place, it really doesn't matter. This will wake them up and help them to refocus their energy. As you plan your class, be sure to alternate lecture or reading time with activities such as worksheets. Being that you are already mixing things up, these would be a good time for you to see how you can better cater to all of your students' learning needs. Including visual exercises and experiential learning techniques to your lectures might really make the difference for kids with different learning styles. If you run out of steam, don't be afraid to consult other resources to help you formulate your lesson plans. Better to seek a little help than bore your students to tears.<br /> <h2>About the Author</h2> Written by Kacy Suther. MultiMedia Learning LLC provides <a href="http://www.multimedialearning.org">social studies lesson plans/a>, <a href="http://www.multimedialearning.org">world history lesson plans</a> and <a href="http://www.multimedialearning.org">civil war lesson plans</a> through their unique PowerPointŪ Presentation software. Students learn history through classroom social studies games and engaging technology. Learn more at http://www.multimedialearning.org . </a><br><br>Source: <a href="http://www.articledevil.com">Article Devil</a>