Leaning Process Blog 1

In reading Takaki’s book I found it very useful to highlight the quotes and facts that I found most significant and useful. As a reader I seem to forget a lot of the information I have read about a day or two after reading it. So, by highlighting the things I have found important or note worthy, I am able to bring back the information much faster. These small highlighted sections also help me to make connections with some of the other information that I had read in the book.

I think that in teaching I will have to work extra hard for the area of social studies. It has never been one of my strong points because it is an area that I feel takes a lot of memorization. After I learn something particular in the subject area, many times it doesn’t get used in any other aspect of my life and so it flies right out of my head. I hope to have myself organized enough in terms of bringing back the information quickly. By highlighting the important things such as I do in Takaki, I think that a method like this would help when teaching social studies.

At my practicum school social studies is taught 4 times a week. So far I have only seen it taught a few times because it is the first area to be sacrificed if there is a change in the schedule. The teacher brings all of the children to the carpet and reads the text book along with them. She has explained that reading it along with them makes if easier for the students to understand. I agree with her thoughts on this and think that the questions that she asks between the paragraphs help the students to focus and make connections to prior knowledge and personal experience. I think that it is very important to make the personal connections, especially in social studies because I feel that at times the content can be really dry.