This week’s readings provided helpful tools for my future education journey. Items like unit maps, lesson plans, and exit tickets are important to effectively teach standards in the classroom. Another important topic discussed in the readings is that of uncoverage versus coverage. This means that instead of trying to broadly cover topics teachers should focus on the deeper meaning of those events. They should think about how it impacts history and the current world today, instead of just memorizing facts. The idea of uncoverage is something I agreed with and believe that if you take the appropriate amount of time diving into a topic that the lessons you learn could be enough to help you understand the big themes of history. This means that if you took a deep dive into the Industrial Revolution that you might learn enough about American identity and attitude and it will be easier to understand topics like WWII. Something else that I found very important to education was in the document on Unit Maps https://i2hssed.rwanysibaja.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/unit-plan-design-ascd.pdf. This document mentions how important it is to time out big grades like projects and exams. If they are placed too close to the quarter mark or the end of semester mark then the students may be less motivated to work as hard. Some may already have an A and say why bother, while others are so far behind they are scared to even try the huge project. This is something that we as teachers must think about when making our unit maps. This week’s readings also helped me understand lesson plans, and gave a helpful example to help us formulate our own. What stuck out to me from that article was the discussion of the two different french teachers in the beginning https://i2hssed.rwanysibaja.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Lesson-Plans_-The-Basis-for-Instruction.pdf. One of the teachers was strict and rude while the other was engaging and kind, but both achieved the same result, the student learned the material effectively. This story is important because it shows that there is not one specific method or way to teach, and that each teacher finds their own unique way to effectively teach.
I also agree that developing a better understanding of this idea of “coverage” versus “uncoverage” could benefit a teacher in a classroom. Making sure that your students get a good mix of the broad picture while also including often overlooked individuals and their opinions provides a well-balanced mix of information. History, as you said, builds on itself, so making sure a good foundation is created leads to further growth in knowledge throughout the course. To ensure beneficial progress, it is key to have clear and usable maps and plans for your units and lessons. Teaching can very well be done differently and it is up to you to figure out what works best for you and your class!
Details are important but the smaller details surrounding the big ones are also very important. History needs these supplementary details to work period and to flow right. As well as like Evan says build upon the previous information.
Uncoverage is an essential part of truly understanding history. I think that many people do not know history outside of the memorization of facts as you mentioned. As teachers, we should prioritize the meaning behind history and its relevance to modern issues. Doing so will require more time and effort, however, which is why I think spacing out large pieces of content as you mentioned is paramount.