I love history. I love everything about history and social studies. I love relating the world around us to both the past and future.  BUT many of my kids do not share my passion, which is why I wanted to become a middle school social studies teacher.

I am also language arts and science certified, so I incorporate literacy and science into my STEM classroom every single day. This summer externship has provided me with many different opportunities for curriculum in my classroom.

First off, I have learned so many new science vocabulary words related to immunology and salmonella that I never knew before. I have understood where my students have been when they have struggled through concepts and vocabulary in both a social studies and science context. I have a better understanding of explaining confusing concepts to them now because I understand what I needed explained when I was confused.

Secondly, I have been able to see an even better correlation between science and social studies. At my STEM school, I will be able to bring an even better cross-curricular, project-based learning environment to my own team and the whole school community.

Lastly, I teach ancient history. I have had many conversations with the people in my lab about bacteria and immunology. We have discussed how the science has changed over time, including medicine. Things are very different from the Black Plague days of Europe to now. My greatest goal is to bring back more knowledge about viruses and bacteria that have infected our earth. My students, through hands-on experiments, can learn about how our immune systems have adapted from the cavemen days to the present day.

I am striving to make my social studies classroom even more hands-on.