Focus: Ch.5

Social studies is a subject that I think often gets put on the back burner. There isn't always a great curriculum provided and teachers have to often invent the path. There's so much focus on math and reading that social studies instruction becomes a small part of your instruction. I often feel that I don't get time to teach social studies effectively or consistently. One of my favorite parts of teaching 4th grade is teaching then Oregon Trail. I've completely made up a unit and I enjoy every second of teaching it and my students love every minute of the unit. I easily integrate it into my reading and writing instruction and I need to start doing that with other pieces of social studies instruction as well. That's a goal of mine! I think it is so important for students to reflect on how far our world has come in time and gain a better understanding of it.