Starbooks Cafe and the OCSS

Starbooks Cafe and the OCSS!

Have you ever attended or presented at the Ohio Council of Social Studies conference?  I am excited to say that I have!  It was a fantastic learning opportunity. I learned so much from all of the great educators attending as well!  State conferences like these do so much to restore the energy level of educators.  Being around people who are so passionate about the content focus of the conference propels learning to another level.  

I met another fantastic educator, Colleen Boff, during the conference and found that we share a passion for literacy and books.  After my session took place at the conference, we collaborated on writing a proposal to present at another conference and it was accepted. We then presented on the same topic at another conference.

I was so happy to be able to share this literacy cafe format and promote delicious book tasting with other educators. There truly is nothing better than a cuppa joe and some great picture books.

To set up your cafe, choose 20-30 book titles (depending on the number of participants who will be book tasting).  A great resource to use is the NCSS notable trade book list-a yearly published resource that include title specific to Social Studies concepts or strands.  And tell participants to choose a book to taste-tasting is previewing a book, checking out the cover, end papers, and then read as much as you like until the 5 minute timer goes off-then you switch books and start the process over again.  It's a great way to learning about a lot of books in a little time.  You may also want to set up a tool for keeping notes of books you've reviewed so you can track specific titles you'll want to utilize at a later date.

Place-based Education and My University Class

 The Fall of 2022 was a busy time for me.  I had the opportunity to lead a group of undergraduates in a new class called "Teaching Social Studies for Primary Teachers".  It was truly and amazing opportunity to learn and grow as a professional educator.  I truly enjoyed learning with my scholars.  They showed so much perseverance and learning each week in class.

I arranged for them to have a special opportunity to make a connection with experiential learning and place based education.  We toured Stan Hywet estate and participated in quests to learn about how they involve learners from the community to gain a historic perspective of the estate.  The students gained much knowledge about the history and impact created by the FA Seiberling family.  A special shout out to Toivo Motter and his willingness to help us grow and learn about the estate.

Power of the PBL

 One of the most exciting opportunities and challenges in 2022 was the powerful PBL created with The Akronauts, Myers School of Art from the University of Akron, and the Curated Storefront.  The Akronauts needed our scholars to design a mission patch for the launch of their rocket, The I Promise Project.  The project was a smashing success and we celebrated our scholars' work with a recognition banquet.

I was so proud of the way our scholars showed their habits of promise (problem solver, perpetual learner, perseverance, partner and perspective).  You can see their excitement in the pictures shared here and the final outcome of the patch the Myers School of Art artists designed for the Akronauts.

I believe our scholars learned the value of hard work-perseverance and will always remember this special day when they saw how a "challenge" can be solved when we work together to reach new heights!