Although I try to make my course material as relevant as possible in order to make it personal, I often feel like my subject matter is too abstract for the students to ever feel any real personal connection. My course material focuses on ancient civilizations in the eastern hemisphere, which is difficult for two reasons: 1) the students find it hard to connect with something so long ago, and 2) the students find it hard to connect with something so far away. A good part of my lessons is spent on geography alone, because of students' lack of background knowledge in that area. We can talk about Egypt, but do they really know where Egypt is? Do they know that it still exists today? Do they know that Mesopotamia no longer exists?
I try to combat their lack of geographical knowledge which comparable situations or scenarios which they can relate to. For instance, if we're talking about a war, I'll ask them why they think people start wars, or why they think we're currently in a war. That way, even if they don't remember which ancient societies were involved, they might remember the reasons why people go to war in general. This may not be all they need to know for class, but it's a skill that they can use in life. I've also started a routine where every Friday we focus on current events related to the culture or society which we've been studying, that way the students can relate it to their present day lives.
Second, i find that my students have a really hard time with social comprehension. Every now and then I get work turned it with text language or slang terms and it becomes clear to me that they may not know how to write a school appropriate paragraph. Overall, i try to correct this behavior, but I've also incorporated it into my lessons. When we studies hieroglyphics I used text language to show how hieroglyphics used ideographs and pictographs in the same way as texts. This made the material a little more relevant for the students.
Kelly, I can see how teaching your curriculum must be a big challenge. When I decided to do a little foray into history the other day by showing two clips from "Marie Antoinette" in order to analyze the effect of music on mood in the scenes, I gave a very brief intro about context: Queen of France, 1770s. I told them the film was made in 2006. One of my really bright students asked, "Wait, so the film we're watching was made in 2006 or...back then?" I asked, "Do you think they had movies in the 1700s?" and before I could even exercise wait time, there was a strong chorus of "Yes"s in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI think having the larger discussions about war and connecting the material to the present day by talking about current events is essential. It sounds like you're doing a good job working with what you have. Keep it up!