To understand the past, the present, and the future, knowledge of social science is very important. It is one of the main academic subjects that help learners to gain knowledge of the world, its components, and the society in which we are living. To understand democracy, the ruling bodies and become responsible citizens of the country we live in, learning social science is important. History, economics, political science, and geography are the main division of social science subjects.
But many students are not very fond of these subjects as they find them lengthy and detailed. However, with the right teaching techniques, teachers can make this subject interesting for the students. And yes, using motivational quotes for the students in the classes is a great idea too. Now let us discuss effective social science teaching techniques.
Teach social science interestingly: steps to follow
- Use technology
Using technology for teaching is the best way to make classes interesting and engaging for the learners. Sometimes, textbooks are not sufficient for effective teaching. The technology of using modern audio-visual aids for teaching and learning is very helpful. While teaching geography topics or history ones, visualization must be used. Some of the main technical aids of teaching are
- Attractive Presentation and modules.
- Educational videos on YouTube
- Pictures cards, flashcards, and animations.
- Fun-filled quizzes, and riddles
Today many applications are also available for this purpose. The most convenient form is the mobile teacher app. Students understand better with the help of pictures and lengthy subjects like history can also be made fun with the technical teaching aids.
- Organize field trips
Field trips can be very beneficial for making history, geography, and political science interesting for the students. Only textbook readings are not enough to make social science interesting for the students. Outdoor visits are engaging for the learners. In the case of online teaching, virtual trips can be organized for the students. Teaching about civilizations, Indian history, independence, and geographic topics such as wildlife, flora, and fauna, ecosystems can be taught more effectively by taking students to the places such as
- Zoological parks
- botanical gardens
- Planetariums and museums
- Wildlife sanctuaries
- monument visits etc.
- Read aloud in classes
Reading the texts and lessons is very important for teaching this subject effectively to the students. To ensure that everybody is involved in the reading practice, teachers can ask all the students to read turn by turn. Also, teachers should read the lessons aloud in the classes. It is a helpful technique to engage students more in social science classes. During the reading, you can ask students to undermine and highlight the important definition, times, dates, and places. Turn by turn reading will keep all the students attentive in the classes.
- Interesting assessment technique
Writing lengthy question answers of social science is not enjoyed by the students. Replacing them with interesting processes can help to make social change interesting for the students. In this regard, teachers can organize online quizzes and riddles for the students. This will make learning fun and quick for them. Also, replace lengthy project making by giving some practical or experimental projects to the students. This will help them to explore and interact with others more.
Other Activities for social science classes
Other than the teacher explaining the social science texts, lessons, and students listening, some activities are also necessary to boost student interest in the classroom. Teachers while organizing these activities should keep in mind to ensure hundred percent class participation. Tell students the benefits of interaction, collaboration, self-effort. Using motivational quotes for students for this purpose can be of great help. Let us discuss some interesting activities to foster student interest in social science classes.
- Debates: we all know social science is a subject that provides many topics to debate. Many political science topics such as democracy, unity in diversity, advertising a boon or curse, and many others. Making groups of students and encouraging healthy debates is a great social science classroom activity. It not only engages students in the class but also boosts their self-confidence to carry healthy discussions.
- Poster making: poster making is also a helpful social science activity especially for the students of elementary classes. It can be done in a group or by students individually as well. Encouraging students to focus on social science can be encouraged by this activity. Geography topics are the best for poster-making activities. Some of the examples are
- Conservation of natural vegetation
- Save water, electricity, wildlife, etc.
- Reduce deforestation, hunting, poaching, etc.
- Posters on ecosystems, food chain, topography, crops, and agriculture.
- Current affairs: history, geography, and political science are the subjects that are interlinked with general knowledge to a great extent. Once or twice a week, teachers can organize this activity for the students where they can solve the current affairs related to social science topics. Using apps, especially the mobile teacher app, can be very beneficial for this activity. Many apps regularly upload current affairs and since there is easy access all the students and teachers can use them for learning purposes.
- Prepare and present: this activity can be used for student assessment as well. Teachers can give any topic to the students, related to the syllabus. Asking them to prepare and later present in the class can be an interesting and beneficial activity.
Conclusion
Social science is a very important subject. For good academic performance to achieve success in future jobs and careers, good social science knowledge is important for the students. All the above-mentioned techniques are helpful to make social science classes interesting for the students. By adopting and practicing these techniques in teaching patterns, teachers can overcome the boring factor of learning social science. By this, students will be more engaged and interested in learning social science as an academic subject.
