I teach 7th grade social studies, and I was wondering how you would incorporate Whole Brain Teaching strategies in the social studies classroom. When I want kids to get the information from the textbook, I turn the heading into a question that they write down in their Cornell notes. The students then read the small (1 or 2 paragraph) section sort of like the crazy professor. One student reads, and the second student has to paraphrase using gestures. They write down information that answers the question they wrote down. We then come together as a class and discuss the information. We then move on to the next section and do the same thing. Any new ideas on spicing it up?

Similar fashion, but what if you used a different spin, and gave each group or pair a section of the text to become experts on. They could read it, teach it to each other, then come up with gestures and examples/notes to use Whole Brain Teaching to teach it to the class. It might take some practice but I am sure 7th graders could do it!

Hello...this may be coming to you...I don't know, may two years too late...but if you haven't already done so, check out the Crazy Professor strategy on the home page. It takes a bit of tweeking, but I use it with my middle school social studies all of the time. Once they get over their fear of being "uncool" they do really well with it!

How do you tweak it for social studies?

YES, I guess a specific example of "tweak" would be helpful, sorry! I guide my students in a couple of different ways before implementing the "Crazy Professor". First we have already discussed the vocabulary words, so as they read they are to look for the definition or usage within the context of their reading. And if there is a specific concept that is addressed in a section of the text, I prompt them to read to seek the answer. I hope that helps!