posting 11

I believe the best way to engage a student in the lesson is to one make it personal and two make it simple.  Because I am a history major I always try to find a way to relate my lesson/topic to today's world.  Or I simply present the topic by probing students to imagine how it would effect them if some similiar change took place.  For example I just taught a lesson on the "Trail of Tears" where the Cherokee Nation was uprooted from their homeland and were made to walk about 1000 miles to a new unfamiliar land.  I oppenly asked students what types of things are needed to have a civilized community.  Ex water, housing, school, form of government, etc..  So I then had them analyze the effects of the "Trail of Tears" on the Cherokee people.  They all showed signs of empathy and I could see that they were thinking or imaging how their family would react to that kind of experience.