At the moment for VA Studies, I am teaching my students about the Civil War in a precise order, starting with what the conflict was about, what significant figures and events transpired during the conflict and the reconstruction, and how did America operate following the war? Owing to the fairly even distribution of racial and ethnic backgrounds in my class, I utilize material on the Civil War to contrast modern culture with that of that period in American history, which included slavery. In the lesson on the Civil War, I mention that slavery once existed, but I’ll also talk about how the North and the South differed in that the South used slaves to support its agricultural economy while the North focused mostly on industrialization and had very few or no slaves. Students will have a greater knowledge of the differences between the North and South as well as the causes of our nation’s divide by the end of the lesson. In addition, students will be able to understand her two economic ideas of the North and South and compare and contrast the economies of the two regions. In addition to learning about economics, explore the true meaning of abolition, the relationship between slavery and the establishment of free states, and the importance of slavery in our time.
For math, I started teaching fractions, where my students learned how to recognize fractions, arrange and compare fractions, add and subtract fractions while simplifying, and identify fractions. As I teach decimals right now, we talk about how fractions and decimals relate to one another. We use a similar pattern when teaching decimals, going over the place values of the decimals, how base 10 blocks relate to fractions, how to compare and arrange fractions, and how to add and subtract decimals. Throughout this lesson, I tell my students the importance of learning about decimals and fractions, which are used in everyday life. One way I teach this material is through small group stations and a set of math proficiency-level classroom layouts to improve differentiated instruction. My groups are divided into four categories: extremely low, low, intermediate, and advanced. My CT and I made the decision to divide the kids into certain small groups since each student in a group moves at a different rate and pace, and some groups require more resources, so we had two teacher tables to provide extra assistance.
In our solar system unit in science, we studied the sun, moon, earth, planets, solar system, and our history in space. The importance of the sun and moon to the Earth required that students learn about them. After the planets in our solar system, we discussed the features of the earth before moving on to other solar systems objects like comets and asteroids. Then, we studied the history of human space exploration, beginning with the Soviet Union satellite and concluding with Neil Armstrong becoming the first person to set foot on the moon. To meet the intellectual needs of each of my students, I wanted to use self-directed learning as a strategy for diverse instruction. Self-directed learning is a process in which students take the initiative, with or without help from others, and over me, to assess their learning requirements, create strategies, use material resources, and put good practices into action to find a solution. To improve their overall educational experience, students also learn the value of looking beyond the obvious and get the chance to reflect on what they have learned, while having the opportunity to collaborate with the class.