Sara's Blog!: October 2025

Sunday, October 26, 2025

Civics Lesson!

This lesson we taught about the civics in Mexico and the United States! First thing we did was have students take a pretest, which was a cut and paste activity where students had a picture or short definition and glued it under the correct term! (Link to Pre- and Post-Assessment
). Then we began introducing our tier 3 vocabulary to the students!

The vocab words were hidden by a piece of construction paper, and each student was able to come up with and reveal them! The students still seem to enjoy doing this and get excited to see the next word. Three of our vocabulary words were the different branches of government. We specifically taught the students about the United States version of the three branches first (Legislative Branch, Executive Branch, and Judicial Branch), we wanted to give the students a strong understanding of how our government worked before we began comparing it with Mexico's (Which is actually quite similar!). We did this by giving group work all about one specific branch of government. We welcomed the students to their brand new jobs as workers for the government. They would be split up into three groups, one for each branch of government.

They were given a “Top Secret” folder which contained a bunch of information about their branch in different styles, some were letters, government documents, messages written from congress or the president, or attendance lists from meetings, all aimed to give students facts about their branch. The students first had to find their responsibility and write that down on the sheet of paper, then find three more facts and create a symbol to represent their branch. We just helped the groups as they needed, as they completed this activity. At the end, we tested their knowledge to see how much they knew about their branch in a game called “Who Branch is this?!?”. I would read out a specific job for a specific branch and then ask each student if it was a part of their branch!

They would either answer yes or no, and the correct group would receive their card with their job to add to their folder! The students did a really great job with this; they either knew if it was a part of their branch right away or were able to use their sheet of paper to determine if it was their branch. We then compared our government systems to Mexico. One of the main differences students noticed was the names of the branches (Legislative = The Congress, Executive = The Presidency, and Judicial = The Courts), and we discussed how they had similar jobs but related to Mexico's different politicians. After this activity, we wanted to give students a brain break and they were able to choose to make

either a quill (to write laws like Congress), create a police badge (enforcing laws like the executive branch), or create a gavel (like the judges in the judicial branch). All of the students had selected to make gavels!

They were able to decorate their gavel, and when they were finished, we played another game. Where they would tap their gavel down if they agreed with the law! Some examples were, longer time for recess and extra homework. Next, students analyzed a primary source of a newspaper talking about the Mexican Government. Three parts were highlighted, and students were to determine which branch of government was being discussed (There were two executive and one legislative). After this, the students were ready to vote! First, they filled out a voter registration form.

This was me pretending to check if it was really them, they thought it was funny! After they were accepted, they were given their ballot and they could drop it in the ballot box. This is the link to the voter registration and their ballots: Lesson #3 Voter Registration and Ballot (Mexico). The last one determined what their next brain break could be, and they voted on it! Students gave a drumroll as the answers to their votes were called out, and for their brain break, they voted on playing headbands. They were given a card to hold up to their head, and as a group we worked together to help them guess what their card said (they were related to our vocabulary!). Students did pretty well at this, although many of them struggled to pronounce their words, so they were getting a little nervous to say their answer to the group. Next time I think we will review or practice the words in headbands so they feel more comfortable. Since we were running low on time, instead of writing a reflection students were just asked to share with a partner different ways to participate in the common good. Most students shared how planting a garden could be beneficial for the common good of the community. Then they were given a post-test which they all did really well on and that was the end of the lesson! Overall, the lesson went really well, although they did spend a little longer then we had planned for them to decorate their gavels, so next time we may tell them their allotted time and set a timer for them to see so they know how quickly they have to work so we are able to fit all of our plans in and they are accountable for how they spend their creative time!

Sunday, October 19, 2025

History Lesson!

In this lesson we taught about the history of Mexico! We specifically focused on the Aztec period, from about 1347 to 1522. First thing we did was have students take a pretest, which was a cut and paste activity where students had a picture or short definition and glued it under the correct term! (Link to Pre- and Post-Assesment).

Then we began introducing our tier 3 vocabulary to the students! Again, the vocab words were hidden by a piece of construction paper, and each a student was able to come up with and reveal it! I think it went well and made the vocab chart paper not seem too overwhelming since it was just one new word each time! After each word was revealed we read them together and practiced examples with them or gave background information on the word!

After we had our background knowledge of the Aztec period, we began to explore our primary sources! These primary sources were codexs written by the Aztecs 500 years ago. First, we looked at a small frame of these codexs and had a student, using the I see, I think, I wonder chart to try and figure out what was going on in the picture! We had four frames, and students were pretty successful at figuring out that they were fishing. Finally, we showed them a complete codex, and students using the chart worked in pairs to try and decipher what this codex was used for! After exploring these codexs, students were tasked to create their own. First, they made their own animal hide covers like the Aztecs did, only they were construction paper, and the students drew animal prints!

This is an example of a student's crocodile cover, and another's zebra and giraffe cover!
This codex for future lessons will be used for students to write their reflections and other writing prompts throughout the remainder of the lessons! When they finished assembling their codex, adding their map from last lesson and lined paper, students were asked to write about their day, similar to how the Aztecs used to recount their day (the four frames we had

shown them the first primary source). After all of the students' hard work, we had a movement break! Students were given five popsicle sticks and eight pipe cleaners and were tasked to create the tallest pyramid in four minutes! This connected to the Aztecs pyramids who had the world's largest pyramids.

Then we read aloud, Montezuma and the Fall of the Aztecs by Eric Kimmel, this discussed how the conquistador Cortes led to the fall of the Aztecs. It worked well to prep the students for the timeline as they had a general understanding of the cause and effect relationship between the Cortes invasion and the Aztecs' battles and losses against Cortes.

Next, we began to construct our time. Each student was given their very own year of the timeline, and a bag of secondary sources and photographs that explained different events that had happened that year. Students were asked to look through their sources and pick out two facts they would like to include about that year, and include at least one picture. Students did really well choosing two facts and including a picture, many of which included more than one picture! A student and I discussed how she had not wanted to draw because she did not enjoy it, and we worked out that as long as she could identify what was happening in her photograph then she would not have to add it. Then we combined the years together to create a timeline of the Aztec period! We also came to an agreement that we would no longer make it mandatory for drawing to be included in our work.

I have really noticed how important it is to give students a few choices in how to complete work. I think there will still be requirements for certain parts of lessons that students must complete, but I think for the creative part of lessons students could have different options of how they want to complete it! Up until now, I have only worked with kids who dive for the opportunity to color, but every student is different and it is good for students to have different choices of how they think their strengths would work best on an assignment!. Going forward, drawing will be a choice but not mandatory and we will formulate other ways for students to have options to participate creatively rather than just free hand drawing! We want all of the students to feel comfortable while still getting the chance to practice creativity! In the end we were really proud of all the students' work and they were proud of what they had created while still feeling comfortable!

Sunday, October 12, 2025

Geography Lesson!

For this lesson we taught students about the Geography of Mexico! We began our lesson by handing out passports and adding each student's picture and name, along with a pencil box suitcase and travel brochure. After, a pre-test which was a matching activity was given to the students.

Next, we focused on vocabulary! We started off with explaining geography, and had students look outside the window from examples of what we may be looking for if we were to study geography. Then we broke down regions and chose three major regions in Mexico to touch on. Finally, we explained two key map tools, one the legend/key. Students turned their attention to the large Mexico map on chart paper. Here we began applying our knowledge of how we should use a map key. Students were tasked with creating a symbol to use for various physical features, such as (canyons, mountains, deserts, rivers, and pyramids), then one would be selected to come up and add their symbol to the map key and add it to the map! Then students learned about the other important map tool the compass, students then created their own compass and one student added that to the large map as well!

Students were then given a current map of Mexico and together we worked to complete an I see, I think, I wonder chart together. After that students were given an older map of Mexico (from 1846) and were asked to complete an I see, I think, I wonder chart with a partner. We walked around and helped the students as needed and at the end we had students share their findings and see if there were any similarities or differences.

(Whole Class)

Old Map (1846)

https://www.loc.gov/item/2012593321/

New Map (1988)

https://www.loc.gov/item/2011586147/

(Partner Activity)

Read Aloud: The Daughter of the Light-Footed People by Belen Medina. Students were asked to pay close attention to the illustrations within the book as it showed a lot of Mexico regions. This reading follows Lorena Ramirez, a marathon runner from Mexico as she who only runs in traditional Mexican clothing. We asked students to share any interesting findings they saw! They mentioned how she looked like she was in the desert and canyons!

Then, we explained to students how the Earth is actually a sphere unlike the flat maps we have been looking at. We found Mexico on the globe, then found the map key and compass on the globe.

Making Their Own Country!

Finally, we concluded the lesson with having students create their very own country!

We modeled sprinkling rice on a sheet of cardstock and tracing it to create the border of our country. Then, they name their country and give a name to the country's capital. They then picked from a deck of flashcards prompting ideas of what they could add to their map, students were informed that they had to have at least three different map features and a capital. After that, they colored their map in and were given a short two-question post-test.

The checklist (found here) allows us to document scores and notes relative to the achievement of the SLO that helped us track if the objectives were met by each student (formative assessments) and students score on the summative assessment. Each student had met the objective, except for one because she was absent that day.

I noticed that a lot of students really engaged with the material they were learning if there was a physical aspect they were able to take part in. They each were able to draw on their whiteboards ideas of symbols and then add it to the big map. I noticed they were even excited just to reveal what the vocabulary word they were going to be learning was (I hid each vocabulary word behind construction paper to try and not overwhelm them with a bunch of words on a piece of chart paper, and I had a student each time come and pull one off). I was a little worried it might be a waste of time to have them get a chance to pull it off, but it seemed that it really had its benefits, students were excited to see what word and picture was about to be revealed. So I think I learned that it's okay to use a little more time for students to be hands-on with their learning because it can help them become more engaged!

I think it will influence my professional identity to be patient while teaching other materials. I think it is important to be efficient but not at the cost of making the lesson uninteresting for the students. In the future, it may be beneficial to get creative with different aspects and not worry over the little extra time it takes because it is more likely that we won’t have to go over it again if students have a more solid understanding from learning in an engaging way!

This will influence how I plan/teach/assess in the future, for me to look for ways for students to interact with parts of lessons that they may not normally interact with. Just lecturing to students about different vocabulary words would most likely not hold their attention, now I see there is a clear benefit to have students get up and interact with materials and ask them questions that relate to the vocabulary. It takes a little longer but it really solidifies what is being taught!

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Importance of Primary Resources

In my future, I believe would like to work as a general education teacher in an inclusion classroom. I am interested in both general education and special education, but I really enjoy the idea of having one group of students who have varying levels of needs. So far, I have enjoyed every grade I work with! Usually, in my practicums, I have been placed with third-grade students, but I really enjoy the younger grades as well. Personally, first and second grade were my favorite to work with, but I think I could enjoy any grade level.

Primary sources are the raw materials of history that were created during the time period of study. Primary sources are important to incorporate into our teaching because they are authentic. Authentic materials help students connect learning to the real world and their own lives. Primary sources are not interpreted by another, so students must engage in inquiry to work through their own understanding. Primary sources open the door to a student's own interpretations. When choosing what primary sources to incorporate in your lessons, you want to be sure that the primary sources fit your lesson rather than trying to fit your lesson around a primary source!

Primary sources include multiple perspectives as students are looking at documents through the lens of the creator. Students can put themselves in the creator's point of view or imagine who the audience may have been and what they may have felt when they saw it. For our advocacy lesson, we plan on introducing the students to José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican graphic artist who created political graphic art, through a read-aloud, and then we will share with them a real primary source of his artwork. Some of the questions we plan to ask are: What do you notice in the background of this photo? Does it make you have good or bad emotions? Why might the artist want you to feel that way? As a way to launch inquiry and have the students think from the perspectives of those around this primary source.

I think that the value of incorporating the Teaching with Primary Sources pedagogy (TPS pedagogy) in our teaching is expanding our knowledge of how to incorporate primary sources. Everyone has so many ideas to share that I think we can use other ideas and modify them to fit our plans.

Here are a few of our other primary sources we are including in our ELED 436 Social Studies Unit on Mexico:

Geography Lesson:

Old Map of Mexico (1846) Current Map of Mexico (1988)