Wordle+Reflection

=Wordle Reflection =

When I was first thinking of this assignment I was pretty lost. So many different words and phrases came to mind that it was hard to think of a list of eight to ten that best answered "What is Social Studies?" I first tried to think of all of the different information we have gone over this semester and all of the different aspects of Social Studies we have looked at. Then I decided to just start writing down some words and phrases and edit it as I went along. My final list of words includes: Life, Humanity, Identity, Education, "Past, Present, and Future," Service, Exploration, Origins, Contributing Members of Society, and Family.

Life: I chose this word because social studies is life. It is the everyday living of people all over this world and studying how life changes in terms of social growth. With social growth comes other areas like economy, politics, etc. Life is an ongoing process that has a history, a past, present, and future. Life is grand and diverse. It can also be subjective based on who you are and how you live your own life Education: I chose the word education because Social Studies is all about making students educated citizens and members of society. Social Studies should also help to instil a want to become a lifelong learner about everything, but especially in learning about our ever changing world. Life is not a static thing. It is constantly changing and because of that we have to be willing and able to continue learning and adapting to the world around us.

Past, Present, Future: I chose this phrase because it is I feel it perfectly encompasses the majority of all Social Studies. It is our past or our history. All of the important dates, facts, battles, royalty, discoveries, ancestors, etc. It is also our present. Social Studies happens everyday. Everyone has a family structure and a community. Everyone is living through the current world struggles with other nations. Everyone in the United States is apart of the current Presidential Election which will one day be "history." Because of all of this and much more, Social Studies is also our future because life goes on. There will be more people, more families, more communities, more presidents, more struggles, more suffering, more celebration, and so on. However, it is up to the current generation to use their knowledge of the past and the present to make our future worth waiting for and worth living.

Service: Before this course, I would never have added this word in this final assessment. However, after being in class and working on the "What ELSE is Social Studies?" project, I feel as though it definitely belongs. Service in terms of Social Studies can mean several different things. It can be community service or service learning. However, I feel as though it can also simply be helping others out. In our families and in our communities, service is an important aspect.

Identity: Learning Social Studies, specifically about different cultures, communities, and family structures can help a student or an individual in general learn about their own identity. By studying these aspects, one can build knowledge of themselves and their family as well as compare and contrast this to others. This can help them to develop a cultural perspective as well as build a personal connection with the material that is being taught. Origins: Without Social Studies and history, we would not really have a way of knowing where we actually came from. Because history has been recorded, we are able to trace our ancestors, see the beginning and fall of several different civilizations, and learn from history. Origins and knowing where we come from help students to develop a sense of identity as well as a cultural perspective.

Contributing Members of Society: I chose this phrase because through Social Studies education our young people should become contributing members of society. That is the main goal overall. By teaching this subject from the very beginning with the basics, we are giving our young people the knowledge and background that they need to succeed in this world. We are telling them about history, of those who came before them, how civilizations rose to power and crumbled. We are telling them about the birth of our nation and everything that we have been through up until this very point in life. With all of this, they are being given the knowledge and tools to be able to make something of themselves in the world and to be able to take a stand on an issue and understand why they feel the way that they feel.

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">Family: <span style="color: #008080; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">I chose the word family because it is so important in studying Social Studies. Looking at family structures and different roles can help one to understand different cultures and why other people may be different around the world. This also allows for the individual to look at their own family and see that it is okay for families and the roles played within the family to be different and diverse from the "mom, dad, siblings, etc" model that is so common. Family and the bonds within a family are very personal as well. Learning about them can help a student make a very important personal connection to the material. I also chose this word because to me, everyone in this world is one very large, family. We all coexist in our "home" also known as the earth. We have to work together in order to maintain the life and the constant changes that are happening.

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">I still feel as though many other words could be added to this list. I also feel like this is very subjective based on what an individual's experience with both Social Studies and the world has been. I also decided to add some music to my page even though I did not do the playlist assignment. All of these songs speak to me about Social Studies in different ways. I think the one that stands out the most to me is the John Mayer song, "Waiting on the World to Change" because it speaks to many different aspects. This song shows the importance of being educated--specifically in Social Studies--so that you do not have to wait on the world to change, you can change the world yourself.

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