Social Studies Lessons-"Simulations and Presentations"
David Harms, Grades 7-12
History Simulations
I was introduced to my first simulation while I was student teaching in Forest City,Iowa in the Spring of 1992. There were six fictitious countries that had a dispute that either ended in war or it was resolved. When I got my first teaching job in Alden Iowa, I wanted to take that simulation to the next level. So I drew a map with all the countries involved in WWI. Then I created historical objectives for each country to follow- based on that countries self-interests. Students were so excited, they were literally running to class to declare war. Over the years I have tweaked and enhanced the game to the point now that it goes all the way down to the end to determine the winner. Then I applied some of these same ideas to WWII and the Cold War. Later, I developed the Civil War Simulation as well.
PowerPoint and Keynote Presentations
Japan's Pacific Campaign
One of the "visions" I had as a student teacher, was a huge tv monitor that would have presentations displayed. Maps and graphics would enhance your lessons and help students understand. Today, I use Apple's Keynote program
to develop Presentations in Keynote and PowerPoint. Keynote is by far
the most advanced presentation making system I have ever seen. Creating
animations and designs that move and help students see historical
material in a different way. I design most of the graphics and maps
myself.
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