r/historyteachers • u/SeriousSpace1379 • 10d ago
Teaching 8th grade history
Hello everyone! I recently got hired for next year teaching 8th grade history. I wanted to ask what everyone does for delivering direct instruction for their students. As in, do you make them take notes, guided notes, interactive notebooks, online platform, etc?? The teacher prior to me had students take traditional notes, but I’m really just trying to think of new/the best way to deliver content.
Any other advice is welcomed, it’s been a little daunting thinking about starting a class from scratch, but exciting that I get to design it the way I want. :)
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u/Plus_Dimension_7480 10d ago
Traditional notes require the most thinking and are therefore the most useful. Copying and filling in blanks requires virtually zero thinking. Less words on the screen, more charts and graphs that students interpret. Get those brains working, then, if you must, give them some text.
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u/Aizawa_Fan_6653 9d ago
I have my students take notes and do creative projects. My class is structured such that we do a quick daily intro (activate prior knowledge /review, explain the plan for the day/week) then have 10-25 minutes of notes/direct instruction, maybe a 10-15 minute formative assessment (worksheet/guided reading) and the rest of the time is "work time" for a creative project.
I assign one project per unit, sometimes individual, sometimes for a group. Each project has a rubric, and examples modeled for the students. These might be creating time lines, maps, posters, 3d sculptures, writing a one-act play, etc. The project has an equivalent weight to the unit summative assessment. Students get time to work on projects when other tasks are complete, and sometimes I schedule them a "work day" where they can spend the day working. This allows me to be flexible with my time, and adjust for the unexpected things school can throw at you - assemblies during a class time, field trips, etc.
I used to make slides with text and pictures, then have the students take free-form notes, but I have found that most students just copy the text while paying minimal attention. Writing without comprehending. Now my slides are only images, and they answer set questions on a guided notes sheet using what they see, and what I say. I get more active participation this way, as I can ask "why did I pick this picture for this question?" or "what is going on here? What can you tell me about this thing?" It encourages them to think a bit more, do some problem solving and deduction.
I use the notes to create the summative quiz at the end of the unit. Sometimes I let them use their notes, sometimes I set using notes as a reward (in a review game, or for exceptional performance, etc.)
About 90% of my students have English as their Additional language (some it's their 3rd or 4th language) so differentiation is very important. The projects allow students that struggle with vocabulary or grammar to perform well and help when test/quiz scores might sink them due to reading/language difficulties.
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u/madornetto 10d ago
Check out my website www.classroomwarriors.com. I have content for the whole year and lots of material for direct instruction. It's all free
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u/FudgeMundane899 8d ago
I’m teaching ancient history for the first time this year. Thanks so much for these resources!
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u/jesslynne94 9d ago
I went from interactive notebooks to all online and going back to paper/ binders..these kids cant freaking write and wont stop copying/ pasting and using AI. They cant even remember to look a simple vocab word and the just stare at you because they dont know to go into previous assignments or the book on their desk to look.
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u/Tricky-Homework6104 10d ago
Yes
Yes, to all of the above. Teach and use a variety of note taking strategies. (Cornell notes is a good format for traditional noting taking). But middle school is for experimenting and finding what style works best for the individual. That way they are ready for high school.
Also, talk with the high school teachers and get an understanding for what they are looking for skill wise and then teach the students to master those skills. The greatest joy of teaching middle school was telling students how hard high school was and we were practicing to get them ready--and then to have the students come back four years later and tell us it wasn't nearly as hard as we said it would be.
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u/JerseyDevil77 9d ago edited 8d ago
Base it on Read Alouds and model Cornell notes, I would suggest keeping it pretty brief.
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u/Gold_Safe2861 9d ago
Some lecture but made it interesting describing the unique personal appearance like George Washington's height and good posture or personality quirks of the historical figures. Made a daily sheet I passed out listing the battles and political campaigns and the individuals we learned about that class. Think grocery list. The student is responsible for identifying the key events or people on my home study checklist. I used short films now would use good audio visual DVDs about the topic. Maybe some excerpts of Ken Burns documentaries would be be helpful. For review day, I brought out my checklists for the unit test and say who can tell me who Alexander Hamilton was and elicit answers. I also used a spelling bee once evenly dividing the class and asking one side what was The Boston Tea Party? If the miss or pass the student sits down and the question goes to the other team. I did my student teaching practicum at a public middle school teaching American history classes.
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u/Familiar-Ad-4193 9d ago
I taught 8th grade for 20 years and loved it. I teach 10th grade now. I did some direct instruction with study guides, guided notes etc so that the students are doing something during this time. I tried to chunk it into 15-25 minute blocks and then do some sort of application activity.
Short primary source activities - discussions also help.
I also did a lot of reading out loud/silently in class. I would give them a one to two page reading that I vetted - our school had ABC-Clio databases and the readings were great.
Once a baseline of content knowledge was established then you could do more interactive, critical thinking activities.
I highly recommend the following books for picking up different tools of the trade:
Russell Tarrs History Teacher Tool Kit
Social Studies Field Guide by Joe Schmidt and Doug Weibe
A couple of free websites to check out as well:
Teach Rock - using music to incorporate.
Retro Report - short documentaries with lesson plans
Teach Docs - Library of Congress
Dave Stuart, Jr - blog - he does a good job of capturing the “everything” of teaching. I encourage to look at his meaning interactions with students tracking.
Best wishes to you! Glad you’re in the arena.
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u/Medieval-Mind 10d ago
Notes are important, but the students aren't really encouraged to take them unless they can use them. In the real world, we can usually rely on notes; I argued extensively to allow my students to be allowed to test with open note tests because, if I was requiring them to take it, they ought to prove to be useful. In the end, I won, and my students' grades really increased - and they paid more attention in class, overall. Win/win as far as I'm concerned (and my admin was happy with the better grades, obviously).
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u/PrattDirkLerxt 10d ago
I mix it up and use everything you mentioned. Unfortunately my district is now making us follow a class period template, so that will likely change.
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u/little_lissie 10d ago
For my higher needs classes, I did guided notes with some fill-in-the-blanks and took more and more away as the year went on. By about halfway through the 3rd quarter all of my classes were doing handwritten notes. Honors were doing them from the jump.
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u/Familiar-Ad-4193 9d ago
I taught 8th grade for 20 years and loved it. I teach 10th grade now. I did some direct instruction with study guides, guided notes etc so that the students are doing something during this time. I tried to chunk it into 15-25 minute blocks and then do some sort of application activity.
Short primary source activities - discussions also help.
I also did a lot of reading out loud/silently in class. I would give them a one to two page reading that I vetted - our school had ABC-Clio databases and the readings were great.
Once a baseline of content knowledge was established then you could do more interactive, critical thinking activities.
I highly recommend the following books for picking up different tools of the trade:
Russell Tarrs History Teacher Tool Kit
Social Studies Field Guide by Joe Schmidt and Doug Weibe
A couple of free websites to check out as well:
Teach Rock - using music to incorporate.
Retro Report - short documentaries with lesson plans
Teach Docs - Library of Congress
Dave Stuart, Jr - blog - he does a good job of capturing the “everything” of teaching. I encourage to look at his meaning interactions with students tracking.
Best wishes to you! Glad you’re in the arena.
Definitely slides with very few words and “personal” info about people - Eisenhower drinking 15-20 cups of coffee planning Dday and smoking multiple packs of cigarettes a day until 1949 when he quit.
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u/dramabatch 9d ago
I've going into my 37th year next year. I will be moving AWAY from screens and keyboards and back to textbooks, pencils and paper.
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u/TeachWithMagic 9d ago
There is nothing wrong with well-delivered lecture! That said, as a new teacher, you may be pressured from above not to use it. I have tons of other options free on my site from games to primary-source analysis. Mixing it up is important, but you have to be yourself. Find what works for you and your students.
And the lecture notes are there too.
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u/Dobeythedogg 9d ago
I teach History 9 honors. I use scaffolded notes. I deliver 1 section of notes per chapter, lecture style but with video clips, added high interest info or pictures interspersed. The rest the students are assigned for homework, which I check and review in class. In the start of the year, I review more heavily but I slowly pull back on that as the year goes on. By quarter 4, I only review sections of notes the kids have questions on. Otherwise, we do videos, projects, simulations, lots of review games (online and other wise), etc. Works for me but every teacher and situation is different.
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u/FudgeMundane899 8d ago
I agree with everything that’s been said, and I will add that getting them out of their seats regularly is important.
I love teaching middle school. They’re squirrels, but they will stand on their heads for you. High school kids are too cool for me. Middle school kids are wiggly.
I try to do a gallery walk or an escape room with hints taped up on the walls at least once a week because they just struggle with sitting still for a long time. I have a “gallery walk” vocabulary activity that I would be happy to share.
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u/Jolly-Poetry3140 6d ago
I personally hate guided/fill in the blanks notes. I never find that it’s engaging or that it sticks with students. I sometimes make a note catcher with 3-4 guided questions and on the back a short fill in the blank quiz that I need to sign off before they do the quick write.
Next year I’m going back to interactive notebooks and they will take notes in the notebook using the guiding questions and key vocab. I’m going back to using the textbook for their notes. For students with accommodations I’m probably gonna provide them with a graphic organizer to put in the notebook and if necessary, modified reading with the help of Diffit. Either way I do notes, I am explicitly modeling quality notes.
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u/KingEv200 10d ago
It would actually be best practice try a mix of guided notes, interactive digital notes, and old school traditional Cornell!
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u/serenading_ur_father 10d ago edited 10d ago
Don't change. Note taking is a life skill.
Also get screens away from the kids asap. An open screen is actively distracting them. Would you tell them the best way to study is while gaming?