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If you would have asked me what subject and grade I was interested in teaching at the beginning of the year, I would have answered “4th grade. All subjects.” Specifically, if you would have asked me if I felt comfortable teaching middle school, you would have heard, “Probably not.” For whatever reason, the challenge of middle school really scared me. I imagined confused, pubescent teenagers with complex problems and a disinterest in learning. My mission has been from the get go, “Get to them when they’re still excited and open about school! Help them continue forward to be the best students possible.” I still very much feel that way. But guys? Middle school is not that bad. In fact, it is kind of awesome.

If I were a middle school teacher, I would be excited and inspired to teach English. I just want to get that statement out of the way, because it’s absolutely true and is something I’ve assumed I could try from the get go. The more important new line of thinking for me,  however, is how much I am starting to see myself as a middle school Social Studies teacher. It’s a scary thing to think about, given how Social Studies is currently being treated in the classroom (not very well). It’s largely ignored because of standardized testing, which focuses heavily on Math and English. In the elementary years, it often gets left off the curriculum for half the year, or is relegated to being taught just one day a week the way that Gym is. And often it is the middle school Social Studies teacher that loses their job. All of these things kept getting an endorsement in Social Studies off my radar. But then came our Social Studies class.

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On day one, we had to rank subjects based on importance. We all had similar views on different subject matters, but Social Studies tended to be deemed not as important as things like Math and Reading. Since that discussion, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about how very crucial all of the subjects that Social Studies covers are to helping students become well rounded, empathetic, knowledgeable and active citizens. The excellent thing about Social Studies is that it can easily be integrated into other subjects. Geography and Math pair well together. Any reading for Language Arts can have a Social Studies theme. Even understanding changes in Technology can pair well with topics in Science. The point is that a good teacher helps students link all these big ideas together, but most of the big ideas we want students to walk away with come from the Social Studies standards. It’s essential, and I want to teach it.

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These feelings were largely validated when Cherise and I taught our Hunger Games lesson plan. In two short hours we had students:

• Reading chapters from the Hunger Games to highlight examples of character strengths
• Brainstorming lists of character attributes for Rue and Katniss
• Explaining the development of each character attribute to where the characters lived and how they were raised
• Connecting the characters similarities and differences through a Venn Diagram
• Creating a pictorial language artwork that showcased their own strengths that have developed from being a citizen of Chicago
• Reviewing and selecting a teammate for the Hunger Games based on the strengths reflected in their classmates pictorial language artworks.

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The students we worked with were able to dig deep into the content. They made connections we didn’t see. In two hours, we were able to show growth in learning by having them complete pre- and post-lesson journal entries about the characters and about themselves. It was an extremely rewarding life experience, and I can imagine myself doing that every single day. And by teaching Social Studies, I become an advocate for the content knowledge it gives kids. It’s a really exciting thought.

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