麻豆传媒入口

All too often, teachers feel pressed to meet district- or school-designated benchmarks and effectively prepare students for standardized exams. These benchmarks and exams don鈥檛 always include the experiences and perspectives of people from a range of cultural backgrounds, but social studies teachers can support student exposure to perspectives from outside the dominant narrative, or what is typically taught, through a series of 鈥渄o nows.鈥澛�

A 鈥渄o now鈥� is a brief, seven- to 10-minute activity that serves two purposes:聽(1) captivate students鈥� attention and get them focused as they walk in from another class or break time, and (2) review a concept already learned or capture their interest in upcoming material. Harvard University describes a 鈥溾�� as an activity that is 鈥渆ffective across educational settings, although mostly in primary and secondary classrooms鈥� an excellent technique for classroom management鈥� and facilitates 鈥渟tudent motivation and engagement.鈥� In the 麻豆传媒入口 article 鈥�Engaged Teaching: 鈥楧o Now鈥� Activities for Your Lessons,鈥� Maurice Elias describes a multitude of purposes a 鈥渄o now鈥� can serve.聽

Before beginning the use of 鈥渄o nows鈥� as a space for exploration of diverse perspectives, it鈥檚 ideal for students to have a good idea of the term identity, and the many forms in existence, in society. An initial 鈥渄o now鈥� could utilize Facing History and Ourselves鈥� . 

What Kinds of Materials Can You Use?

As a classroom teacher who knows your students, you can find the best material for their 鈥渄o now.鈥� Since the activity takes only a short amount of time, it is important for the source given to students to be modified and excerpted down to the essential concept that you wish for the students to grasp. The sources for a 鈥渄o now鈥� can and should take multiple forms, including video, audio, and visual arts.

Resources such as the Library of Congress鈥檚 and the Getty Museum鈥檚 curriculum provide teachers with sources and prompts that support student comprehension and analysis of an array of source types.

Excerpting and modifying sources does not have to be a complex process. As Wineburg and Martin explain in 鈥�,鈥� text-based sources should be excerpted to 200鈥�300 words, with difficult language and sentence formation modified and the font enlarged. This strategy can be applied to secondary sources and any other type of text, and the concept can be used to show clips from a video. The site provides useful steps to modify a variety of sources while also maintaining their integrity. 

Which 麻豆传媒入口 Work Best?

Selecting a topic for 鈥渄o nows鈥� can come naturally from reviewing sources that you already have in place and then determining people, topics, events, regions鈥攂asically anything鈥攖hat are historically relevant but marginally mentioned. 聽

Here are six examples that you could use in a humanities or history class:

• could be used during a unit on colonial Virginia to illuminate for students the harsh conditions of indentured servitude that Europeans endured in the mid-17th century, before the enslavement of Africans became the norm. 
• While learning about colonial New England, students can consider the Puritans鈥� participation in the transatlantic slave trade through shipping Native Americans to be enslaved () in the Caribbean during and after the war. 
• A resource on sending to the Caribbean for the enslaved to eat could also be used. 
• Students can read excerpts from to learn about the ways that she dissented and fought against the Puritan hierarchy. 
• During a unit on the American Revolution, students can reflect on , who did not wish to separate from England or choose a side, respectively. 
• When studying enslavement in the United States, students can learn about and how this practice was possible. 

Each source referenced above can be excerpted and modified to fit into the 鈥渄o now鈥� model.   

How Many Questions Should be Used?

One to two questions accompanying the source for the 鈥渄o now鈥� would be best鈥攚hether they are focused on reading comprehension or are primarily analytical. These questions support the student鈥檚 focus and encourage them to connect the material with the class content.

An analytical question could ask students to consider, How does this information complement or complicate your understanding of this part of history? At the end of a unit of study, the 鈥渄o now鈥� space could be used for students to reflect on a digital or paper sticky note that could be posted in the classroom. For another option, students could draft a text box that could be added into a textbook chapter on the unit鈥檚 content, to increase its inclusiveness. 

Once students get the hang of this type of activity, they can spend the time during selected 鈥渄o now鈥� sessions generating perspectives and identities that they identify as missing, or they can search and find sources that they feel could provide a needed experience or viewpoint. 

All of these examples can contribute to students鈥� awareness of the diversity of perspective, cultural, and life experiences present in society, as well as their ability to spot when one might be in need of representation.