Making History Mine Wrap-Up

There is so much more that I could still say about Making History Mine, but I am going to wrap up my comments with a few more favorites. Lately, a lot of my resources have been for younger grades that I consider how to adapt or they are for a broad range such as k-12. I appreciated that this was for my specific grade range because then there were more ideas that I could use directly as they are. Cooper's understanding of middle schoolers is apparent throughout the book and reflected in the types of activities she suggests. I loved this quote, "Part of our job as middle school teachers is to know that our students are works in progress--to appreciate and challenge them for who they are right now, all the while keeping an eye out for who they might become tomorrow and next year and five years from now" (p. 93). This idea of both present, short term, and long term components was a clear goal. Cooper's curriculum is not only targeted to students being successful in their grade level curriculum but also as productive citizens. (This concept is also emphasized in Gallagher's Readicide with Article of the Week.)

I appreciated the framework explained in the text book, as well as all of the practical applications suggested for a wide range of social studies themes. I am planning on skimming back through the book later with my state's social studies curriculum maps and noting example activities as reference so that I will remember which pages to refer back to. Of course, it is set up as a resource to create similar activities with different content areas, but she not only explained the concepts, she also had examples of helpful resources that will help with the content in general that I do not want to forget about.

I expect Making History Mine to have a big impact on my social studies teaching. Now I will approach the year with the concept that my students are historians. I know I will refer back to the book often as I plan this summer and once the school year is underway.