Horrible Histories (extra credit)

I just discovered "Horrible Histories," a show that ran on British television from 2009-2013.  The series is based on a series of books directed at (it seems) middle school age kids.  Looks like the show developed out of the kind of things we did in the theater games section of the class.  Anyway, I'm interested in your reactions.  What do you think of "Horrible Histories"?  Would you use it in the classroom?  Here are some segments and complete shows:

English Kings and Queens Song
George I doesn't understand English 
Season One, Episode One

Leading good discussions

Please read TSSFFAP Chapter 8 (How to Get from Chicago to New York without Going through San Francisco: Leading Good Discussions) and do the on-line quiz.

Attend any discussion at NSU and analyze it in terms of the TSSFFAP “good discussion” suggestions. To what extent did the discussion reflect the TSSFFAP “Keys to a Good Discusssion” standards? What kind of things did the teacher do to make sure that students paid attention, enjoyed the discussion, and learned something from it? What did you think went particularly well? What would you have done differently?

Effective Lectures

Please read TSSFFAP Chapter 7 (Herodotus Had it Right: From Lecturer to Story Teller) and do online quiz.

Attend any lecture at NSU and analyze it in terms of the TSSFFAP “good lecture” suggestions. To what extent did the lecture reflect the TSSFFAP “Keys to a Good Lecture” standards? What kind of things did the teacher do to make sure that students paid attention, enjoyed the lecture, and learned something from it? What did you think went particularly well? What would you have done differently? Post your comments here.  

Games and Activities

Please read TSSFFAP Chapter 5 (Gluing Students to Their Seats and Other Fun Social Science Games and Activities) and do the on-line quiz. Also, look through the games on the “Gluing Students to Their Seats” blog:

http://socialstudiesgames.blogspot.com/

Prepare a learning game/activity and play the game with any group of students you choose. If you are doing your junior field experience, it would be great if you could try your game with the students in one of your classes.  If you are having trouble finding a group to play your game, let me know.  I can arrange for my IDL students (or perhaps my History 424 students) to play the game. 

After you have presented your "learning game," post it here and add a description of how the game went.

As if by Magic....

One of the most important keys to good teaching is the ability to create a classroom environment conducive to learning. Consider the learning-environment factors discussed in the Chapter IV of TSSFFAP (Schtick and Tricks: The Easy Road to Teaching Stardom).

Which of these positive-environment-building factors mentioned in TSSFFAP do you think you are/will be particularly good at? Which do you think will be more of a struggle for you?

What about the "schtick and tricks" angle?  Can you think of examples of schtick and tricks that you've seen work well in a high school or college classroom and that you might use in your own teaching?  Do you see any dangers to the schtick and tricks approach?

Planning and Organizing

Few things are more important to classroom success than good planning. Please read TSSFFAP Chapter 3 (Once Around the Race Course:  Developing Effective Social Sciences Curriculum) and do on-line quiz.  Then look at the South Dakota State Social Studies Standards and the National Council of Social Studies Teachers standards in any one social studies area of your choice:

 http://doe.sd.gov/contentstandards/documents/SocialStudies_9-12.pdf

http://www.socialstudies.org/standards

Do you find the material here helpful in clarifying what/how you should teach?  In what ways do the materials here go along with the suggestions for good curriculum planning suggested in TSSFFAP?  What problems do you see with these standards?