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 An 8-year-old male that performs below average in class. He is knowledgeable in
each student some aspects of social studies because of his previous school back in Indiana teaching social
studies as part of its core curriculum. He enjoys talking about social studies but does not
seem to engage with content concerning it outside of school.

Student #2 A 7-year-old female that performs slightly below average in class. She does not
have prior knowledge in social studies but engages with other core subjects in school like
reading and math with some enthusiasm. She enjoys talking with her peers but is shy and
reserved with adults.
Conclusions #1 with evidence
Students are not engaged with current events in school curriculum.
Students could not accurately identify the president of the United States, or if we had a king
as the ruler. Current events were used in classrooms previously to tie in relevancy of some
lessons, like science lessons occurring around the time of a solar eclipse. However, current
events seem to be left out of elementary curriculum entirely.

“Without the experience and knowledge obtained with time, many students are left
overwhelmed and unsure of what they represent. To many kids, these events seem like a
blur of chaos, and the only explanation they receive is from their parents, who have been
feeding them information from their own personal biases for their lifetime.”

Current events are only taught in civics or government courses are the high-school level, not
in elementary grades as a core topic.

#2 with evidence
Students have a lack of knowledge regarding geography.
When prompted, both students were unable to accurately answer what their hometown
was, their state was, and their home country was. Students were unable to accurately
identify other cities, states, and countries, and lumped names of different locations they had
heard together when prompted to answer questions about cities, states, and countries. One
student admitted she did not know what a city was.

“Way back in 2005, NCES reported (on the basis of a transcript analysis associated with
NAEP) that 31 percent of American high-school graduates had taken a course in “world
geography,” up from 21 percent in 1990. That respectable increase was the good news. The
bad news was that geography was by far the least taken of six social-studies subjects.”

In some parts of the United States, geography is not even offered as an AP course in high
schools.

#3 with evidence
Students do not possess much knowledge of economy.
Basic economical information, like taxes, banks, and profits, are not taught to students until
 at least high school, if at all. Students struggled with defining how prices are set in stores,
and where goods come from.
Student financial literacy test scores have not improved.
Most education on the economy starts with personal finance, not a broader understanding
of the systems of economy.

Instructional Conclusion #1
Implications for each Integrating current events into everyday curriculum, such as weather and solar events for
conclusion science, provide child the opportunity to connect current events to a subject. Discussing
historical contexts for current events going on, such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black
History Month, is important for curriculum and societal awareness in students. Interactive
discussions can be held in class which teaches students the importance of valuing others’
opinions and developing tolerance of different beliefs. Guest Speakers and Experts can
come in to talk about current events-related curriculum. Projects and technology can also
be used to reinforce learning and understanding current events going on.

Conclusion #2
Interactive map activities, online or physical, can help students understand the importance
of maps and give them an understanding of locations and scale. Geography games allow
students to practice geographical knowledge in a fun and exciting way. Field trips are
another exciting way to show students geographical ideas and provide them real-life
experience, such as taking a class to the Cahokia Mounds in Southern Illinois. Along with
this, the field trip to Cahokia Mounds can teach children about the history of the Cahokia
people and their lives in Illinois.

Conclusion #3
Simulation exercises are an excellent way to practice financial literacy and skills taught in the
classroom. Students also practice speaking and listening skills when roleplaying things like
managing a business or budgeting. Students also gain insight as to how different jobs and
markets work, such as the difference between a clerk at a grocery store and a teller at a
bank. Students can also read and analyze current events surrounding the economy, like bills
passed about taxes, stock market changes, and global markets and industry changes.

Paragraph Directions: Along with this template, please provide an introductory paragraph which describes 1) what you
think will happen in the interview, along with 2) a description of the teaching of social studies in your field experience
classroom. After the interviews, write a closing paragraph which describes what you 1) personally learning through this
experience and 2) the actions that you need to take to be a teacher of social studies. These should be “take aways”
describing your growth as a teacher.

Before going into the interview, I expected the students to possess more knowledge on current events-based content,
such as the president, and less knowledge about economical content, like taxes. I was surprised in many different ways
by the responses I received from students. In my experience in each of my field placements, I have not seen any time
allotted to the teaching of social studies but once. During my first placement, we read the “I Survived” book series,
specifically the books on Hurricane Katrina and the Titanic. These books allowed the teacher an opportunity to talk
about the history of the events and how those events impacted our world today. However, in my placements since
then, I have not seen teachers have the time to incorporate a quick lesson about current events, not even so much as a
Scholastic News.

My biggest takeaway of teaching social studies in elementary education is that as a teacher, I must be intentional about
the time management in my classroom to ensure all students are provided access to all the subjects they should learn
about at school. Students are not provided access to social studies content at the rate in which they should be, which
leads them to miss out on important skills. Especially in social studies, students do not learn debating, discussing, and
tolerance skills that often come with the teaching of the subject. The home environment in which students come from
can completely dictate a student’s understanding of the world around them. While all learning begins at home, learning
should not stop there, especially now with social studies. I will be sure to incorporate social studies topics and specific
social studies lessons in my time as an elementary school teacher.