The Elephant in the (Class)Room
Teaching ancient history to middle school students can be a real challenge. “If you look at our textbooks, it’s overwhelming.” says Karen Lefevre, who boasts 18 years of teaching experience. Traditionally, it’s a difficult subject for educators to bring to life for their students--until now.
I use textbooks more as a resource for my own teaching, but not so much as a tool for students to interact with directly.Karen Lefevre, Middle School Teacher, MA
NAME
Karen Lefevre
SCHOOL
St. Joseph’s School
LOCATION
Webster, MA
GRADES
6th, 7th, 8th
SUBJECT
ELA, Social Studies
TECHNOLOGY
1:1, Chromebooks
FAVORITE UNIT
Ancient Egypt
Work Smarter—not Harder
Kids Discover Online is piques the curiosity of Mrs. Lefevre’s students, and gets them excited about the material Using Kids Discover Online gives her and each of her students web-based access to an interactive and engaging library of more than 2,000 articles. With customizable features and virtual Classroom, it’s a one-stop-shop for distributing content and assessing students’ progress.
▲ Discover Map reveals direct and indirect connections across subject matter. Here, students can discover how Ancient Egypt is connected to Mummies, Archaeology, and Language.
As soon as my students see the Discover Map, they’re immediately engaged, and begin investigating what interests them.
Captivating your Classroom—one student at a time
For Mrs. Lefevre, it’s the platform’s Discover Map that really gets her students excited. Designed specifically to promote inquiry-based learning, Discover Map is a virtual concept map that empowers students to discover and explore subjects on their own in a non-linear, interactive way. It makes cross-curricular connections across various subjects, delivering “light-bulb” moments!
Once students have curated content they’d intrigued by, Mrs. Lefevre can assign of one of three Lexile® Reading levels for each student, so the entire class can follow along together--just at their appropriate level.
Keep students’ interest piqued—
even after they leave the classroom
The effective teachers choose activities and assignments that sparks students’ interests. Inquiry-based learning feeds the innate curiosity students have, while taking advantage 21st century technology. So these moments of discovery don’t have to be dictated by school hours or end once the lesson is over.
Kids Discover Online has given Mrs. Lefevre’s students the opportunity to expand their educational explorations. So what are you waiting for? Are you ready to captivate your classroom?
