Some helpful blogs

I decided to search for blogs that would help me in my student teaching at this moment.  So two are for high school social studies teachers and two are from student teachers who have been through what we're going through right now.  When I reviewed social studies blogs, I looked for content, lesson plans, and for creative approaches in teaching U.S. history at the high school and junior high level.  When I looked at student teaching blogs, I looked for tips on classroom management and just dealing with the sometimes-overwhelming feelings of becoming responsible for a class.  Here's what I found:

Social Studies:

U.S. History Teachers Blog
http://ushistoryeducatorblog.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-12-04T05%3A35%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=15

     This blog is full of useful lesson-planning tips.  I've already gotten tips for planning my classes which start in February.  One links to a site which has an entire year's lesson plans which you can pick and choose from!!  I really need this because I'm having to create my lessons from whole cloth since textbooks can only be used in the classroom!  My mentor teacher uses them only as chronological reference.  So, this site gives me a place to go where lessons have been tried and reviewed.
     I especially like the organization of the site.  The blog's archives list the topics of each blog so I can quickly find old blogs which might be helpful for a specific lesson I'm working on.  The links are also great - they include finished PowerPoint presentations.  This is especially helpful since I find making my own are eating up a huge amount of time.
   Social studies teachers, check this one out!

Social Studies and History Teachers Blog
http://multimedialearningllc.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/beginning-of-the-school-year-activities/

   Everything I said about the 1st site goes for this one as well.  However, this has one downside:  some of the links fail.  But I have used this for a couple months now and the content, especially the ability to search by subject matter, outweighs the downside.  Most links work and the content is especially useful. 

HippoCampus Blog
http://hippocampushistory.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-06-24T07%3A46%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=5

This site is a bit different than the first two - a bit more personal.  But I found it very interesting.  Though she includes a lot of specific lesson plans, she also discusses topics on teaching in general. For example, in one blog, she gives a specific lesson plan outline using current events linked to history; but the next is on how to write good assessments.
I also like the links on the side.  Most are to her own blog posts, divided by topic - useful for sure.  Because this includes both teaching hints and focuses on my subject area, it could be my favorite blog so far. 


Student Teaching

The Life of a Student Teacher
http://mschambersstjhs.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=15

    This is a blog that is not longer maintained.  But, I found starting at the first entry and working my way forward was very useful.  She takes you through the experiences we - in cohort 19 - are just now beginning:    meeting the field supervisor; planning real class units; trying to make sure one still has a life, outside of student teaching.  She seems to have written them as they happened, so her emotions are real and it is interesting to see some of her plans for dealing with issues that are sure to arrive for all of us. 

I'll be following these blogs from time to time to see if their initial promise holds up!