The Great American Dream - Essay Example

Diana Tipton Grand Canyon This paper will focus on creating a social studies topic that will appeal to the students of grade one. Because, a young child can be easily influenced and taught at this age, it seems but natural to focus on the civic duties and responsibilities of the American student. This essay will aim to provide effective and definite means of creating a curriculum that will not educate the child about his rights and duties to his country. And it will also allow the child to fully immerse himself in an interactive process that will remain memorable in his entire life. The Great American Dream The aim of any good social studies book is to help teach and mould the child at the beginning of his life into a model citizen for the future generations. While a teacher can pose to be a role model for the students, it is necessary to back this up with a strong curriculum. As a student who has passed through the various classes of social sciences taught in the education system, it now seems that a good book created the best edifice for a student seeking knowledge. The topic chosen sounds biased and stereotyped yet every citizen understands the significance and motivation attached to the concept of the American dream. By instilling a nationalist spirit in the child from a very young age this topic will remind the child of America and its possibilities throughout their life. It will also help create links with children of different race and ethnicity in the class by uniting them all as one: seekers of the American pursuit of happiness (The Declaration of Independence). The topics covered in this curriculum can be vast and diversified. However by catering to a young reader, this book will cover only the most basic principles related to civic duties and rights. The first lesson plan will address the history of the great American nation and the sacrifices made to achieve its independence and creation. It can be called “Mystery History” to better understand the difficulties students might incur from the topic. Because the names and history can be tiresome and dull for most young students, more interaction can be added to this lesson by playing out the roles of the main characters that fought and finally succeeded in achieving the Declaration of Independence. The teacher can help the students set up a play in class and invite parents for the performance. This will help cover two aspects of teaching: teaching the student with help from the teacher and prompting this guided practice (Hunter). Thus the student will leave the class enriched in the knowledge of his forefathers and the sacrifices made for his safety today. The second topic can cover the Declaration of Independence as this is something that will still be fresh in the youngster’s mind after the previous classes. It will be known merely as “YOU” and will address all the rights passed down by the American ancestors for their future generations. It can talk of the individual’s right of freedom and speech. Two aspects those are important in any successful democracy. To win the attention of the class, the teacher can act out scenarios that will help the students model the given directions (Hunter). However, this chapter must also include the limits to a child’s freedom by ensuring that a section of the essay is dedicated to where freedom of speech can go wrong. For instance, it can show the repercussions to misbehaving with parents in the name of freedom of speech and how this constitutes for misusing the right. Colored comic strips can be drawn to mime the student’s behavior and its consequences. The third lesson will focus on what the student can give back to community. It will be called “Now your turn.” With the help of colorful images the chapter can show pictures of young children throwing garbage in the garbage can and helping old people cross the road. Not only would this instill true civil values in the child but will also assist in modeling him into a self-righteous human being. For this to truly make a mark on the child’s mind a questionnaire can be given at the end of this chapter. The teacher can make the choice of either acting out the scenarios in it or questioning her class directly by reading them out. The teacher can also set a reward for the student who lives up to these civic duties (Hunter). This will motivate children into acting well-mannered and help them understand that no good action goes unnoticed. The last lesson of this book will focus on the most important contribution to any successful nation. It will be named after the famous quote “United we stand, Divided we fall”-John Dickinson. The motto will reflect the true American value of unity. To make the perfect presentation of this the teacher can show a graphic display of how this can be shown in the most basic aspect. The students can be told to collect a number of twigs or sticks from their playground. The teacher can bind all of them into one and leave one stick single. By handing them to two different students they can show the effort it requires in breaking them. To create a greater impact, the lesson can also mention instances in history where unity has led to ample success while disunity can create chaos. It can also reduce the hatred between races and ethnicities. By teaching the students of their victory as a unified group it will instill values of respect for different races in an attempt to gain success. This will be an end to the lesson plan for grade one students. It would have touched on aspects of history, religion and sociology. Because this book is focusing on the very young it is vital to keep the topic generalized so it’s easier to understand. The lessons focus on the basic lives of any young student: family and community. This allows them to relate better to the topic and is the beginning of their teachings as a responsible student. Each lesson will receive an approximate lesson of a week each. Each week can teach a new lesson to the young student. While the history lesson might be a little boring for the student, an interactive class will be a sure-fire way to win his attention. It is also vital to engage all students in the lesson plans as ample class participation and questioning will ensure a better knowledge of the subject. Chapin’s work on social studies books like “Understanding Prejudice” and “Where does your trash go?” are perfect examples of how a social studies textbook should be written. Thus the aim of the social studies project is to enlighten the child and mould him in the person he should be. References The Declaration of Independence, (1176) 13 June 2009, http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm Hunter. M (2004), Some Basic Lesson Presentation Elements, 13 June 2009, http://www.humboldt.edu/~tha1/hunter-eei. Chapin, J. R. (2006). Elementary social studies. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Read More