For my lesson, I provided articles dealing with struggles students deal with in school. I struggled with coming up with an activity so Dr. Smirnova suggested to create a QR code treasure hunt activity for my lesson. I liked this idea because it was a fun activity to get the students involved and active in the classroom. To create QR codes, I used a QR code generator. You just simply type a question and it creates a QR code. You can download it, save it, print it out, and put them all over the classroom. To make it a treasure hunt, students can be given iPhones or iPads and search the classroom for the QR codes. When they find it, they can scan it to figure out the question, record it on their recording sheet, and answer the questions. This is a great activity to get the students out of their seats and provide them an activity to engage the students. I liked this activity because it is entertaining for students yet educational as they are learning about their given topics. 
To start my lesson, I asked my classmates if they got a chance to read their assigned articles. If they didn't have a chance to read the articles, I let gave them a couple of minutes to read it. I also assigned them into groups of two or three. After they read the articles, I explained the activity to them. I also explained how a QR code works and what they were supposed to do. I created three QR codes of questions for each article and set them up in the classroom. I didn't get a chance to spread them all over the classroom so I just placed them on the desks. I also pulled up the articles for my classmates so they can look back for the answers. The goal of this activity is for each group to teach their assigned article to the class. I provided three questions that I felt were important to know for each article. I gave them ten minutes to answer the questions. During this activity, I realized that I should have included one question including their opinion of the articles. After they answered the questions, I had them present their articles to the class. Then, I had them fill out a peer evaluation form to evaluate their performance as a group.
Before this project, I never really knew how important it is for students to be taught current events. By learning about current events, students can be taught global issues and learn how to reflect and give opinions on the issues. Students, when learning current events, can see that topics that they have been taught happen in real-life situations and current events can be meaningful to students. To make current events integrative, I could have integrated geography by having the students research the places these issues took place. I failed to make my lesson challenging but one way to make current events challenging is to have opinion-based questions to establish thoughts on the issues and reflect on them. I made current events active for my classmates by providing a hands-on activity for them to be engaged in. Current events is important and should be incorporated in social studies. As stated in one article we read in the beginning of the semester, "social studies is used to promote civic competence" ("What is social studies"). Current events can also be used to promote civic competence as it introduces issues to students and they can reflect on the issues and understand what is good for the world and what isn't.
Before this project, I never really knew how important it is for students to be taught current events. By learning about current events, students can be taught global issues and learn how to reflect and give opinions on the issues. Students, when learning current events, can see that topics that they have been taught happen in real-life situations and current events can be meaningful to students. To make current events integrative, I could have integrated geography by having the students research the places these issues took place. I failed to make my lesson challenging but one way to make current events challenging is to have opinion-based questions to establish thoughts on the issues and reflect on them. I made current events active for my classmates by providing a hands-on activity for them to be engaged in. Current events is important and should be incorporated in social studies. As stated in one article we read in the beginning of the semester, "social studies is used to promote civic competence" ("What is social studies"). Current events can also be used to promote civic competence as it introduces issues to students and they can reflect on the issues and understand what is good for the world and what isn't.
Overall, I feel like this would be a good activity to use for elementary students. As I mentioned, the only thing I would change is to incorporate opinion-based questions to get them thinking about the article and explain how they feel about these issues. When teaching current events, the questions would be different in each grade level. First grade students would get easier questions but could challenge them well enough. Six grade students would get more challenging questions and instead of having them present their questions, they could create a project to teach the class about their topics. I also would put more students in a group in the lower grades to have more students answer the questions and create opinions on the articles in less time. Also, I would provide articles containing issues that are appropriate for the grade level. Here are three resources for teaching current events. I found these websites interesting as I searched for an activity and I will use these again. I also like Dr. Smirnova's resource she provided for us. I liked this project the only thing I would improve was the selection of dates. My selection for what day I would present didn't process and I didn't know when I would present. I felt a little rushed when I was given a couple of days to create my lesson. Teaching current events can give students a deeper understanding of the topic being taught to them. "When a student has a deep understanding, the can explain in their own words, give examples that demonstrate knowledge, apply the knowledge to a concept that has not yet been studied, justify or support their positions, compare and contrast the material learned to previously studied material, use new knowledge in the context of the general subject area, and make generalizations related to the subject (Perkins. 2003). As a teacher, I would want my students to portray these understanding performances to fully understand the material. This activity can be very effective in the elementary education classrooms and I will use this activity when teaching current events to my students.
Works cited
Perkins, D. (2003). Deep and fragile knowledge. Smart Schools. Retrieved May 1, 2015, from http://www.learner.org/workshops/socialstudies/pdf/session1/1.DeepFragileKnowledge.pdf
What is social studies? (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2015, from http://www.learner.org/workshops/socialstudies/pdf/session1/1.WhatIsSS.pdf
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