For many secondary students, social studies class can feel very dry. When I was in middle and high school, we mostly read out of the textbook and/or the teacher lectured while we took notes. I was a great, hardworking student, and I have always loved history, but I even remember almost falling asleep several times in my high school history classes. I cannot remember doing any interesting activities.
This unfortunate stereotype is what many students will be carrying in with them when they come into my class. However, I will make sure they are never bored in my class. I love the storytelling and excitement of history. There are so many fun activities I want to implement with my students, that will really engage them with the content. Basically, I want to create an environment where students look forward to coming into class everyday to learn more history.
That’s a great perspective for starting a career. Students certainly expect boring lectures and are pleasantly surprised when you can make history come alive. Here’s a collection of sources for US history and world history.