Social study activity is a must for all students to develop their mental horizon on a variety of subjects. It not only helps the students to mature but is also the most practical form of teaching. Games and sports are a child’s best friends. Therefore, if a child studies while he plays, you couldn’t have asked for anything better.
Among the popular games, ‘Botticelli’ is one, which is apt for the students of upper elementary level to high school. As regards the norms of the game, the entire class is segregated into two separate groups equally. The teacher is the moderator who controls the course of the game with a quick response quiz round. This round is subject to the points system followed by the next round of identification challenge. One of the students is appointed as the scorekeeper who keeps a track of the winning side with the most number of points.
Believe it or not the above-mentioned game not only increases the student’s familiarity with the established materials but also stirs an air of enthusiasm in the classroom.
On the other hand, “Character Counts” bulletin board display, which is meant for the third and the fourth graders, deals with different characteristic traits like for example respect, trustworthiness, responsibility etc. In class any one of the characteristic aspects is singled out and thereafter examined for almost a week. Each of the students then writes about what they have understood about the characteristic traits discussed in class.
As teachers, you should ask your students to garner some past information of their parents about their childhood and anything relative. Interestingly, it would result in long discussions and revelations amongst the students and this sharing experience would help them realize that not everything is jotted down in history books.
Social study also deals with history’s relationship to one’s life, which further proves that history is beyond political and military events since everyone has a personal history subject to their respective times.
The child puzzle is another such activity, where the students sort the pieces to the respective places where they actually belong. You being the teacher should ask your students that why they pondered that you have demanded from them such a tough task. Apparently, the expected answer would be that history is altogether a puzzle with missing pieces. The only thing we can do is relying on guesstimates and presumptions. Ironically speaking the visible lines of the pieces of the completed puzzle just shows how we still don’t see the real picture of what actually happened.
It just goes to show how practical and fruitful social study activity can be to the overall mental development of the students helping them to cope up with real life situations.