November 14, 2017 · simulations
In the process of teaching (and learning) geography in our third grade classroom, we found that our students were very North America and Europe centric. While eight year olds are naturally egocentric, we wanted an activity to shift their perspectives and push them to realize that there are “real, important people” ALL OVER the world. So we redesigned our beloved activity where we draw people to realize our internalized biases (that we wrote for 5th graders, but have used with adults as well) to make it more geography focused and 3rd grade appropriate. While we were focused on introducing inspiring (and unexpected) people from different continents, we also thought we might uncover some gender and racial biases along the way. We have been learning about world geography starting with the seven continents and five oceans since the first week of school. We started with the continents and
simulationgeographySocial Studiessocial justice educationcurriculum
May 25, 2017 · simulations
An except from a student's reflection homework the night after the simulation. When we start teaching Native American studies, students often refer to Native Americans only in past tense or as peoples who “used to live here.” We correct this misconception and learn about American Indians TODAY, but we also ask our students where they got this idea from and why this so often is the dominant narrative about indigenous Americans. This exploration requires some understanding of history (which remains limited by the literal mindedness of 5th graders) and the reality of extermination, eradication, and (forced) assimilation that native peoples experienced. Before we start learning about boarding schools in detail, we want our students to have an experience they can use as a parallel to forced assimilation. Another student's reflection showing revised thinking! An important disclaimer is that
simulationNative American studies
March 5, 2017 · simulations
Excerpt from a student's reflection homework (after the simulation). Our pom pom simulation is a personal favorite. It simulates privilege, the cyclical effects of poverty, oppression, and more. Students always make new connections and take their reflections to a level we never could have anticipated. This year was no exception! There are 3 rounds to the pom pom simulation. Round One consists of collecting pom poms. You have one minute to get as many pom poms as you can. Pom poms, of course, simulate wealth (and power). There is a catch. Students receive slips of paper with “assignments” on them. These instructions make it harder for some people to gather pom poms than others. Some examples: You can use both of your hands, but you may not move your feet at all. You may not bend your knees. You must wear an oven mitt on your non-dominant hand and use that hand to pick up pom poms. You
simulationsocial classSocial Studiessocial justice education
January 27, 2017 · simulations
"Well in the real world not everyone can get everything and this kind of showed me that not all our decision making processes are fair." Notes on our whiteboard from the students' brainstorming and decision making process. How it Works: Yesterday in Social Studies, we did our Sinking Ship simulation (idea credit: we first read about this here ). We had the students in half groups (when half the class is with us and half the class is with a different teacher) so we only had 13 students at a time. For each group, we started by handing out “assignments” on folded slips of paper. The different roles were: migrant worker senator someone who is currently unemployed child firefighter teacher nurse doctor babysitter college student taxi driver lawyer scientist We then asked our students to get in a circle and told them that they were on a sinking ship, and there were only FIVE spots in the
simulationsocial justice educationproblem solvingcollaborationSocial Studies