Category Archives: Curriculum

Teaching Social Studies: Why? How?

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Written by Dr. Jeff Wiechman

Is your social studies classroom lifeless? Was your social studies classroom lifeless as an elementary school student? Students describe social studies classrooms in this way still today (Grant & VanSledright, 2014). Why? Perhaps it’s the pressure to give more and more time to the teaching of reading and math, forcing a subject like social studies into a dimly lit corner of the curriculum. Standardized tests only look for low level, factual information in social studies. Maybe you never liked social studies as a student, and this dislike has carried over into your attitude in teaching it. These are issues with which we all must contend, and yet we know the potential for better instruction in social studies exists. Continue reading →

Is There Room for the Common Core in Lutheran Kindergartens?

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Written by Rachel Arnold

Like it or not, we live in a world where graduation requirements have been raised, where academic content has been pushed downward, and where teachers are expected to cover more advanced material in developmentally appropriate ways.  No amount of complaining about push-down academics and bemoaning the influence of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) will change that reality.  Our question should not be “Can play and push-down academics co-exist in the kindergarten classroom?”  Rather the question should be “How can we as teachers ensure that play and push-down academics co-exist in the kindergarten classroom?” Continue reading →

WELS Schools Must Teach Evolution

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by Mark Bergemann

Evolution with its billions of years is a lie that has shipwrecked the faith of many. Why must we teach it? To prepare our students for a life in today’s world. Specifically:

  1. To blunt the temptation of evolution for students.
  2. To aid students as they minister to other Christians tempted by evolution.
  3. To give students a pre-evangelism resource for leading certain people to listen to the gospel message (Bergemann, 2015).

Continue reading →

Is Good Penmanship Important Today?

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By Arvin Jantz

The answer to the title question is a definite YES. It is as important today as it was in the day when our grandparents learned to write. It seems that good handwriting is a lost art today, but still everybody enjoys good handwriting. Good writing, not too long ago, was a necessary art. Business colleges required it. It has been said that you know a doctor by his writing. But who can read a doctor’s prescriptions unless you are trained to read them? If that saying is true, possibly more should have been doctors instead of teachers. Just why must Johnny be taught to write well? Continue reading →

Will We Instruct or Indoctrinate?

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By Professor David Sellnow

Mr. Scribner stood in front of his sixth-grade classroom. He had prepared a SMART Board presentation titled, “Major Moments of World War II.” At a touch, he brought up descriptions of what happened at various places on the map.

  • Munich . . . an agreement allowed Hitler to keep parts of Czechoslovakia that he wanted for Germany.
  • Poland . . . German blitzkrieg (“lightning war”) marked the beginning of World War II in Europe.
  • Dunkirk . . . British and French troops escaped when they were losing the battle in France.

A student interrupted with a question:  “Why did the Hitler guy want pieces of Checkerslavka?” Continue reading →

Best Practices for Inclusion of Disabled Students in the Music Classroom

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by Dale A. Witte

The WELS Elementary and Secondary Music Teacher and Inclusion

Most WELS teachers do not have the luxury of having a special education teacher in their building with them, let alone having one in their classroom (Enser, 2013). Recent graduates of Martin Luther College have had the benefit of access to special education course offerings in which they are taught about students with disabilities and how they can best be served in the WELS Lutheran elementary or secondary school. Future graduates of the recently announced MLC special education major will be much more prepared to educate children with disabilities than veteran teachers have been. Continue reading →

Expanding Curricular Offerings to WELS Schools through ALHS Online

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By Dr. Jim Grunwald

Imagine being able to attend a course taught from a Scriptural perspective no matter where you live. With ALHS Online, you can do just that. But what is ALHS Online, how did it develop, and what is its future?

It all began in 2010 when the WELS Association of Lutheran High Schools (ALHS) created a committee to explore the possibility of WELS high schools sharing online courses and instructors. It was felt that this might allow each school to expand their own curricular offerings in a cost-effective manner, and thus strengthen each school’s individual program of instruction. Hence, a two-year pilot program was launched in 2011-12, with three courses offered the first semester and two the second. Tuition costs were kept as low as possible at $150 per student, per course, per semester. Continue reading →

Lutheran Schools Need to Get Parents Involved

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By Julianne Foelske

Many Lutheran schools are interested in improving student achievement, building trust between families and the school, and helping students make greater academic gains. An increase in parental involvement has been shown to achieve all of these goals. Lutheran schools should develop a parental involvement plan for the benefit of their students and families. Continue reading →

Science and Nature in WELS Elementary Schools Part 2

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Part Two: Teaching Nature of Science and History of Science

Written by Paul E. Lutze

Purpose: While science uses human reason to explain the world in which we live, our WELS schools focus on Christ. We use God’s Word as the absolute truth in all we teach. Immediately, a red flag goes up. Can Lutheran schools adopt national or state science standards and still remain Lutheran? Continue reading →

Science and the Bible in WELS Elementary Schools Part 1

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Part One: Science Professional Development for WELS Elementary School Teachers

Written by Paul E. Lutze

Purpose: During the past three decades, I have seen a shift in science attitudes among our staff, students, and families in our small WELS school in the Midwest. Students have been sheltered from science’s glaring errors. Students (and teachers) have ridiculed certain aspects of science only to become themselves the object of ridicule when they move on to high school and college. They graduate from our school not really knowing science or how to defend their Christian beliefs. The Bible has been unintentionally turned into a science textbook using human reason to explain how Scripture verifies or rejects a scientific idea. And attempts are made to use science to verify the Bible. Questions and doubt arise as to what God really said and did in Genesis. Scripture tells us in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (NIV84). Continue reading →