Principle 1:

Making content meaningful
The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and creates learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.

Example: Role Play
Many history students have difficulty identifying with people or events
that happened so long ago.  A role play is one way to make potentially
abstract ideas and events meaningful to every student.
Audio Sample of Mock Interview with FDR regarding the New Deal

Example: Connections
History is often seen as a huge number of events most of which totally
unrelated to one another.  This is not true.  Connections can and must
be made to make history easier to understand and easier to remember.
Here is an example of one lesson where I connected students prior
knowledge of an event in Chinese History (this was in a school in China)
with a seemingly unrelated event in American Indian History.

Boxer Rebellion - Lakota Ghost Dance Link Lesson Plan



Back to Principles