Any student can learn and love history/social studies, as long as they are given the appropriate instruction and see the relevance of the material in their own lives.

I would introduce myself, but be sure to give the student the chance to talk about themselves. Share their views on history, interests, and ways they learn best. This way I can build a program that is right for the student.

I think the best way to help a student become an independent learner is to build within them an interest in history, but also to teach them reading skills to help them better pull information from articles and other sources.

Success breeds success, so I would try smaller formative assessments to allow students to see gains to motivate them to build off these gains.

I look for ways to relate the concept to their lives. I think analogies are one of the best ways to help students connect to concepts they struggle with.

In my school district, we use the "Talking to the Text" strategy, where students highlight and notate words and ideas they don't understand, main ideas, and summarize paragraphs to gain a clearer picture of content. I would start with that strategy.

Use of analogies to relate content, as well as using examples (primary source - cartoons, document excerpts, etc.) to help students see the history are strategies I use regularly.

Relating a subject to a student’s everyday life is one of the best ways to get students excited. When they realize the life lessons then can get from history/social studies, they place greater value in it.

In my classroom, I use project based learning and simulations, in addition to plenty of formative assessment to be sure students understand the material.

By putting small assessments into instruction, this gives students the opportunity to feel success regularly, and this builds their confidence. Then, you have to build off of material they've shown they understand to make connections and continue building student confidence.

Regular assessment combined with keeping and analyzing data helps me keep tabs on what areas students are strong in, and what areas students need further help in.

Use of student reflection and formative assessment allows me to see where students need help, and allows them to better understand their needs.

Lecture, primary sources (documents, cartoons, AV clips), and secondary articles (secondary sources, articles, etc.), simulations, and small projects.