History Comes Alive

MiddleSchool

UpperSchool

General

1/13/2020

"As a teacher, I find that classroom simulations cultivate high order thinking skills," stated Mr. McElhannon, middle and upper school history teacher. Read more about his interactive classroom experience!

History came alive in Mr. McElhannon's grade 7 World Culture and grade 10 World History classes. In order to educate students about the Colonial Expansion Age, Mr. McElhannon created an interactive simulation project that divides students into teams representing a variety of colonizing countries.

"As a teacher, I find that classroom simulations cultivate high order thinking skills," Mr. McElhannon stated. "My students learned resource management, decision making, and long term strategy skills because of their high participation when they were able to create their own colonial expansion."

Students were tasked with running their developing country which included establishing a military force, aiding scientific discoveries, and keeping world tension low. It was a high wire balancing act for students that was followed up by conversations in each class as to the ethical, political, and economic lessons learned about the time period.

"After our Colonial Expansion Age project, I learned how difficult running a country really is," stated Randale Pete, grade 10. "Now I know why governments are not always perfect."

At Westminster, we believe in cultivating an environment that challenges students to think resourcefully and critically. We are thankful to have excellent teachers such as Mr. Elhannon who strive to bring this environment to life in their classroom activities.