How would events like Constitution Day and National History Day enrich the curriculum and stimulate increased student interest in history and government? Did you find the Constitution Day presentations at Northern valuable? Any of the other Constitution Day activities worthwhile?
What kind of activities would *you* be most likely to use for a Constitution Day celebration? What would be the advantages/disadvantages of having your students prepare History Day projects?
Events like Constitution Day and National History Day can stimulate student interest in history and government they both present the opportunity for students to use hands-on learning. For Constitution Day, students can read the Constitution and learn more about each of the Founding Fathers. For National History Day, students learn more about a historical event by creating a project or presentation. This would all be classified under project based learning and it is proven that project base learning is really successful.
ReplyDeleteI went to Dr. Shaff's presentation and found it very interesting. He brought up the question of who keeps our laws up to date: The judicial branch or the legislative branch? This was something that I really have never thought about before, but is something that is very important because Americans in 2014 live in a much different world than Americans in 1789.
For Constitution Day, I would want my students to learn more about the Founding Fathers. I would have them read the little biographies about one Founding Father on the website and have them present some information about how that Founding Father contributed. The advantages of having students participate in National History Day would be that they would really become familiar with the topic that they chose by using project based learning. If you have them work in groups then the use of teamwork would also be advantageous. A couple disadvantages would be a lack of time perhaps, as well as maybe having to stray away from your curriculum to complete the projects.
An easy way to incorporate Constitution Day into the curriculum would be to simply use the day to study the constitution reguardless of where you are in the curriculum at the time. Reading through the constitution, doing projects on the founding fathers, or talking about certian aspects of how the constitution applies to life today. National History Day would be benifical because it would allow students to do research on a variety of topics and present it to their classmates, allowing for a variety of topics to be learned. History Day would be a good way to get students interested in history because they could research a topic interesting to them (within limits obviously). They would have a stronger drive to work on the project and learn about it which could spark and interest in history over all or in certain aspects of history.
ReplyDeleteI went to Dr. Schaff's lecture about the Constitution and I guess I found it to be a bit of repitition of stuff we covered in American Government, with a bit more information. What I ultimatley got out of it is there are two ways to interperate the Constitution and depending on which way you interoperate it determins how the laws look to you.
One of the issues I see with History Day is that there is not a lot of time do work on it during class. It's almost primarily "homework" or an out of class project that has to be done in order to particiapte. Like I said earlier however it allows students within limits to find something that interests them and that will encourage them to actually work on the project. For Constitution I would probably have students do a quick project about the founding fathers and present it to the class and each's impact on the Connstitution.
Greetings all,
ReplyDeleteI attended the 8:00 PM presentation from Lt. Col. Lindberg of the national guard. His presentation focused on the 2nd Amendment's establishment of having a "well organized militia." Col. Lindberg proceeded to lecture on the founding of the militia (national guard), their roles and responsibilities, how they are utilized by the national and state governments and their importance in today's stretched out military.
As a whole, I though his presentation was well done. I would have liked to have seen some sort of comment or discussion on how the 2nd amendment morphed from the "well organized militia" to the more recent loosely interpreted amendment that we see today.
Nevertheless, I think his presentation would be beneficial for my high school class to attend. I think people in today's society quickly forget the intent of the 2nd amendment and his presentation reinforced what I believe was the founder's original intent.
I would have my students attend similar presentations and do various projects regarding the Constitution. As we have learned, nothing gets a student thinking better than a project based learning exercise. Constitution day would be a great opportunity to have students learn about our Constitution, what worked, what didn't and what we have learned about America through the various amendments.
Constitution Day and National History Day, enriches the curriculum and stimulates an increased student interest in history and government, by promoting learning. These days foster learning by promoting discussion of key aspects, of our nation’s heritage. The constitution for example is one of our nation’s prominent pieces left of our great nation. Many students could care less what is in the US Constitution, however on a day that is designated for this prominent article, maybe kids would learn an retain information, as they can view it on their own or with the class. It gives students a chance to you finds new aspects in history that peak their interest, and isn’t just assigned for them. National history Day allows for a broader discussion as students can pick at topic that interests them, and are not grounded to one topic. When given a project over history, students might fare better in presenting to the class something that they have a passion for.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution Day presentations at Northern were valuable. I sat in on Dr. Schaff’s lecture. I found it interesting in that it went further in depth then my American Government class. I loved how the discussion went, and the points other faculty raised. Interpretations are key when trying to understand our rights provided in the constitution, and the limits on free speech.
I would most likely to use for a Constitution Day celebration, similar presentations, and maybe ask the school to provide a public speaker for those days. The advantages of having your students prepare History Day projects, is that they might actually learn something. The disadvantages are that these activities will take planning. Though when faced with the facts the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and really besides time out of your curriculum, you are not losing much. It gives students a different dynamic in which to learn from. These days are a benefit.
I think events on Constitution Day and National History Day would be good to get more students involved in history. It would also be a nice supplement to the curriculum. The events could be a way to showcase how history is fun and how it relates to us today. I did think Dr. Schaff's lecture was interesting, as are most of his lectures. Lectures like that are something that would be nice to have at a high school, if one could get a professor or guest speaker to come in on Constitution Day or National History Day. For Constitution Day, besides a guest speaker, I think it'd be interesting for students to study the lesser known Founding Fathers. Have them research people like John Blair or Rufus King; people they wouldn't recognize. For History Day Projects I think it would be cool to have a science fair type project where students do research on a topic or person and then show them off to the public with a poster board of what they found out, etc. It would also be a good way to get the community involved.
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