HTCE Activity Recording Sheet- Student 1

Name: Jenna Fenton Section #: 101 Date: 2/8/24

Picture Activity

Was the student able to place the first two pictures correctly in time order? Yes

What explanation did the student give for order placement?

The student could tell photo 2a was newer because the people were wearing nicer clothing. She also said
that the house in photo 1a looked like a house from a long time ago.

When the students placed pictures 3, 4, and 5, did they place them in the correct time order? Yes

What explanations did the student give for placement of the following pictures?

#3- At first the student didn’t know where to put this picture but then she looked at the buildings and
decided to put it in the middle.

#4- The student knew that this photo was the newest because it was in color, and they thought the people’s
clothes looked like something we would wear now.

#5- The student recognized Abraham Lincoln and knew the photo had to be from a long time ago, so she
placed it first.

Did the student think this was easy or hard to do?

The student said it was kind of hard to do.

What things did the student say made it easy or hard?

She said that she didn’t know anyone or anything about the pictures, besides Abraham Lincoln, so she really
wasn’t sure when they were taken. She also thought that the black and white pictures were hard to determine
because they all looked old to her.

Which pictures did the student find the most interesting?

The student thought picture 1a was the most interesting.

Why did the student pick specific pictures?

She thought it was funny that the cow was on the roof and that the people weren’t doing anything about it.
 Based on one picture you chose; how did the student answer this question: How do you think your life
would have been different if you had been alive at this time?

I had her look at photo 1a. The student didn’t think she would be able to go to school in this time period.
She also said she wouldn't be able to watch tv or play on her iPad.

What time period did the student choose for each picture?

Photo 1a- 1880

Photo 2a- 1960

Photo 3a- 1943

Photo 4a- 2015

Photo 5a- 1858

Additional Questions:
Do we have a king in our country? (If students say "yes," ask who it is.)
No
• Who is the president?
I don’t know
• What do you think the president does when he goes to work?
The president makes laws.
• How does someone get to be president? (If students say the president is elected, ask if they know of
any other people who get elected.)
People vote for them.
• What do judges do?
They judge bad people.

Who do you think are the most famous people in history?

George Washington

What can you tell me about him/her?

He was the first president.

• Tell me something about George Washington.

He was the first president of the United States.

• Tell me something about Martin Luther King.

He brought white and black people together.

• Who is the most important woman you’ve ever heard of?

She could not name any important women.

When you buy something in a store, who decides how much the price is?
The workers
 • How do they decide how much to charge for it?
How hard they worked to make it.

• Where does the store get the things it sells? (If students say they buy them from somewhere else,
ask , if you paid five dollars for something at the store, how much would the store have paid for it
when they got it—five dollars, more than five dollars, or less than five dollars?)
They either make or grow stuff that they sell.

• What are taxes? What are they used for? Who decides how much taxes will be?
The student didn’t know anything about taxes.

Have you ever been to a building called a bank? What is it for? Yes, the bank keeps money for people.

• What happens when you put your money in a bank?

They keep it in a safe.

• If you put your money in the bank and then take it back out later, do you get the same amount
you put in, less than you put in, or more than you put in? Why?
The student didn’t know anything about this.

What city do you live in? What are the names of some other cities?
She knew she lived in Staunton. Edwardsville and Hamel were cities close to her.

• What state do you live in? What are the names of some other states?
She knew she lived in Illinois. She named Missouri and Florida.
• What country do you live in? Tell me the names of some other countries.
She knew she lived in the United States of America, and she named Mexico.

• What things are different in other parts of the world? How are they different?
The people speak different languages.

• Where have you learned about other parts of the world?

The student couldn’t remember anything she had learned.
• What is a compass rose?
It tells which direction you are going.
• Why would you use a map?
To get from place to place.
• How do you use a map?
I would use it to find a way to get somewhere.

HTCE Activity Recording Sheet- Student 2

Picture Activity

Was the student able to place the first two pictures correctly in time order? Yes

What explanation did the student give for order placement?

The student could tell photo 2a was newer because the people were wearing nicer clothing. He also said that
photo 1a looked more pixilated to him which meant it was older.

When the students placed pictures 3, 4, and 5, did they place them in the correct time order? No

What explanations did the student give for placement of the following pictures?

#3- The student thought this picture went fourth in the timeline. He just said that this picture was hard for
him because he wasn’t sure what was going on in it and he couldn’t see any people to help him place it.

#4- The student knew that this photo was the newest because it was in color.

#5- The student placed this photo second in the timeline. He thought that the house made of grass looked
like it happened before this picture.

Did the student think this was easy or hard to do?

The student said it was very hard to do.

What things did the student say made it easy or hard?

He said the black and white pictures were hard to place because they all looked older to him. He also said
the grass house looked like it should go first in the timeline because he thought the people were from the
oldest time period.

Which pictures did the student find the most interesting?

The student thought picture 4a was the most interesting.

Why did the student pick specific pictures?

He was interested in what the guys were building and why they were building it.

Based on one picture you chose; how did the student answer this question: How do you think your life
would have been different if you had been alive at this time?

I had him look at photo 1a. The student didn’t think he would have had the same mom in this time period.

What time period did the student choose for each picture?

Photo 1a- 1800

Photo 2a- 1946

Photo 3a- 1919

 Photo 4a- 2016

Photo 5a- 1873

Additional Questions:
Do we have a king in our country? (If students say "yes," ask who it is.)
No
• Who is the president?
I don’t know
• What do you think the president does when he goes to work?
The president makes other people do secret stuff. I asked what kind of secret stuff, but he couldn’t think
of anything specific.
• How does someone get to be president? (If students say the president is elected, ask if they know of
any other people who get elected.)
They have to get the most votes.
• What do judges do?
They judge people. When I asked him to explain what he meant, he could not tell me more.

Who do you think are the most famous people in history?

The presidents.

What can you tell me about him/her?

They are in charge of everyone.

• Tell me something about George Washington.

He was the first president of the United States.

• Tell me something about Martin Luther King.

The only thing he knew was it was a holiday that he got a day off school for.

• Who is the most important woman you’ve ever heard of?

He could not name any important women.

When you buy something in a store, who decides how much the price is?
My mom

• How do they decide how much to charge for it?

She pays with however much money she has.

• Where does the store get the things it sells? (If students say they buy them from somewhere else,
ask , if you paid five dollars for something at the store, how much would the store have paid for it
when they got it—five dollars, more than five dollars, or less than five dollars?)
Someone makes it in a factory.

• What are taxes? What are they used for? Who decides how much taxes will be?
The student didn’t know anything about taxes.
Have you ever been to a building called a bank? What is it for? Yes, the bank has money.

• What happens when you put your money in a bank?

They keep it for you.

• If you put your money in the bank and then take it back out later, do you get the same amount
you put in, less than you put in, or more than you put in? Why?
The student didn’t know anything about this.

What city do you live in? What are the names of some other cities?
He knew he lived in Staunton. He named Los Angeles.

• What state do you live in? What are the names of some other states?
He knew he lived in Illinois. He named California and Missouri.
• What country do you live in? Tell me the names of some other countries.
He knew he lived in the United States of America, and he named China.

• What things are different in other parts of the world? How are they different?
The people speak different languages.

• Where have you learned about other parts of the world?

The student couldn’t remember anything he had learned.
• What is a compass rose?
It shows the direction of North, East, South, and West.
• Why would you use a map?
To see where different places are.
• How do you use a map?
I would use it when I’m travelling to get to the place I’m going.

History Through a Child’s Eyes Report Template

Based on your interview with 2 children, please share your conclusions, their evidence and actions that need to
be taken to help children better understand Social Studies content and purpose. You will submit this template,
your interview record, an introductory paragraph and conclusion paragraph (see notes below for what to include
in these paragraphs).
Indicators Descriptions
Information about Student #1:
each student The first student is a 9-year-old female. She is a third grader at Staunton Elementary.
She does very well in school.
Student #2:
The second student is a 9-year-old male. He is a third grader at Staunton Elementary.
He struggles in school and sometimes need extra support.
Conclusions #1 with evidence
 Students do not know about important women in history. Neither student could name
any women who they knew were important. I am guessing that they have not been
taught about women in history at school.
#2 with evidence
Students need more information about current events happening in the U.S.
government. The students could not name the current president, and they told little
about what he does on a daily basis. When asked questions about the president, both
students said, “I don’t know.”
#3 with evidence
Students need more information about banks and the banking process. Student #1
said, “banks keep money for people.” But that is all they could answer. Student #2
said, “I don’t know” to all banking related questions.
#4 with evidence
Overall, I found that students are interested in learning about history. Both of these
students were excited to place the pictures and answer the questions. This excitement
showed me that they do not receive enough social studies lesson in school.
Instructional Conclusion #1
Implications for 1. Teachers can use Women’s History Month as a way to teach students about
each conclusion different women in history.
2. Teachers can have students read articles or watch different videos on different
women. Teachers can also read to the students about what each women did
that was so important.
3. One woman can be chosen to focus on per week of the month. This way
students are getting enough information but not too much at one time.
4. Teachers can print out coloring pages so students can see what these women
look like.
Conclusion #2
1. Teachers can implement current events into everyday instruction by finding a
source that has age-appropriate videos for students to watch about events
happening in the U.S. For example, Scholastic News has a social studies
website for students to watch daily videos on news from around the world.
Beck and Parker state, “The first major purpose of teaching current events and
public issues at the elementary school level is to promote the habits of
awareness and interest in current events and social studies” (p. 92).
2. Time magazine also has a kids website for students to read articles about what
is happening in the U.S. government. I would say this website is for students
in the upper grades.
3. Teachers can create a scavenger hunt type lesson where students can move
around the room. The teacher can post facts about the presidents, and their
work. The students can be given clues to match up the presidents to the facts.
Conclusion #3
1. Students need to understand money and the value of each coin and dollar.
Teachers can start by showing the students what each coin and dollar look
like. Then teach them the value of each. Teachers can bring in real money or
fake for the students to count different amounts to find the money value.
Students should also understand that people can put their money into the bank
and the bank will keep it safe for them.
2. It is important for students to understand all of the vocabulary that goes along
with banking. For example, account, savings, checking, debit, credit, or
balance. Teachers can explain the meaning of each word and play different
games so the students can practice with the words.
 3. If possible I would like to take students to go on a tour of a bank. I think that
the best way for students to learn about the processes of banking is to see it
happening in person. If a field trip is not an option some banks have virtual
tours for students and teachers to explore.
Conclusion #4
1. To get students interested and ready to learn about social studies, Beck and
Parker suggest to set up a democracy in the classroom. Students can have
different classroom jobs and they can run to get these jobs. Other students can
vote on the candidates for the jobs.
2. In the classroom, student democracy meetings can be held for the teacher and
students to discuss topics. For example, rules that need changing, student jobs,
or what the students want to learn more about (p. 57). This activity not only
gets students to see how a democracy works but it also gets them engaged to
learn more about concepts in social studies.
3. History lesson can be taught about the state or area students live in. This can
be a short lesson to get students interested and to start integrating social
studies in the classroom.

Introduction and Conclusion Paragraphs

When I am first looking at this assignment I do not think the students will know the answers to most of
the questions. I think that the questions look kind of hard for elementary students to answer. During the
interviews I don’t think that students will be able to answer these questions and they are going to tell me “I
don’t know” a lot. The picture activity also looks like it will be challenging for the students. I think that students
will be able to tell that picture 4a is the most recent because of the color in the picture. I am hoping that the
students will recognize Abraham Lincoln and be able to place it as the oldest picture. In my field placement so
far I have only seen two social studies lessons being taught. One of the lessons students were learning about
pioneers. The teacher and class read an article about pioneers. After they finished the article, the students were
asked to answer questions from the article. In the second lesson, the students were learning about the history of
Illinois. They were taught about who settled on the land first and the different capitals over time. Again the
students were asked to answer questions after the teacher was finished with her lesson.
During this experience I learned that elementary students know a lot more about history and social
studies than I thought they did. The first student I chose placed all of the pictures correctly and gave great
explanations of why she placed the pictures there. I was so proud to see her accomplish this. When asking this
student the additional questions she had an answer to most of the questions. She did not know the answer to a
couple of questions that I thought were more challenging. The second thing I learned during this experience was
that even if students don’t understand the main answer to a question they can problem solve to find an answer. I
saw this a lot in the second student I interviewed. He struggled with the picture activity and took some time to
place the pictures. In the end he got a few mixed up but had good reasoning to why he placed the pictures where
he did. For example, one of his reasoning was because the picture looked more pixilated, so he thought that
photo was one of the oldest ones. This proved to me that even though he wasn’t sure what was going on in the
picture, he could use other clues to help him. I think the first action I want to take as a teacher is to get students
interested in social studies. Activities like having a classroom democracy, like the textbook suggest, is a great
way to get students engaged. Then I want to assess the students to see what they know and what knowledge
they are lacking. I can then reteach what the students need me to. When all students are caught up, the standards
can be taught for their grade level. Implementing different activities and trips is something that I hope I am able
to do while teaching social students to keep students interested.
 Sources

Beck, Terence A, and Walter C Parker. Social Studies in Elementary Education. 6th ed., Person
Education, 2022.

Social Studies Videos, Articles, and Games for Grade 3 | Scholastic News Edition 3

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