Teaching Social Studies in the Secondary Level 

In Spring of 2019, although Liz will graduate with her certification from birth – sixth grade, she applied for a certification extension to teach history for grades 7 – 12. Though this extension Liz took 3 extra classes during her winter, spring, and summer semesters; Microeconomics, Adolescent Psychology, and Teaching Social Studies in the Secondary Level.

In the Teaching Social Studies class with professor Steffel, Liz learned the purposes, materials, and techniques for effective teaching of the social studies in the secondary school. The course also included a series of structured instructional experiences intended to further students’ first-hand knowledge of secondary schools and schooling.

• New York State City Assignment: Harlem
  • Students individually researched a famous city in NYS and presented the history of that city to the class. They included lesson plans, in class materials, and a homework assignment.
• HAT Assignment: Do Now
  • Individually, each student found a primary source and presented to the class as if we were teaching it to a group of high schoolers. We created a worksheet for students to complete based on the primary sources we found and then opened a class discussion.
• Lesson Plan: New Deal
  • In partners, we drafted, created, and presented two 45 minute lessons on the New Deal to students in John Jay High School. We were then given feed back from teachers in the high school history department and then prepared for the second lesson later that day. Through this assignment Liz learned exactly what it was like to teach in a secondary setting and how to prepare.