Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Methods

1 What Is Social Studies? 2

Defining Social Studies 5

What Is Social Studies? 5

The Nature of Social Studies 6

Social Studies as a School Subject 8

The History of Social Studies 8

Early Purposes of Social Studies 9

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXPLORATIONS 10

Approaches to Social Studies 11

Three Approaches to Social Studies 11

IN THE CLASSROOM: TEACHING ABOUT CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 12

LESSON: IS DRILLING FOR OIL IN THE AMAZON RIVER BASIN WORTH THE CONSEQUENCES? 16

Interdisciplinary Social Studies in School 18

Social Studies and Content Disciplines 20

History 20

Geography 21

Civics 22

Economics 22

Behavioral

Sciences 23

Standards-Based

Social Studies 24

2 Reflective Social Studies Teaching 30

What Is Reflection? 32

Reflection in Action 32

Reflection on Action 33

Reflection Prior to Instruction 35

Personal Subject Matter Interests 36

Focusing on Curricular Subject Matter 36

Reflecting on Subject Matter Misunderstandings 36

LESSON: THE ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS 38

Transforming Subject Matter Into Pedagogy 40

Reflection When Planning for Instruction 41

Reflection During and After Instruction 42

Reflecting During Teaching 42

Reflecting After a Lesson 43

IN THE CLASSROOM: ACCOUNTING FOR STUDENTS’ PRIOR KNOWLEDGE 44

Using Reflection to Increase a Teacher’s Professional Knowledge 45

Professional Development and Reflecting on the Learner 45

Professional Development and Reflecting on Community Needs 46

Professional Development and Reflecting on Curriculum 46

Professional Development and Reflecting on the Purposes of Education 47

Reflection as Inquiry 48

Learning About Teaching from Case Studies 49

IN THE CLASSROOM: A BRIEF CASE STUDY ON TEACHING ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION 50

3 Inquiry in Social Studies 54

Inquiry as Learning 56

What Is Inquiry? 56

Inquiry in Social Studies 60

Emerging Interests: Students Craft the Inquiry Question 61

Clarification: Helping Students Activate Prior Knowledge 62

Examination: Students Work with Authentic Materials 63

Suggested Solution: Students Develop and Propose an Answer 64

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXPLORATIONS 65

Designing a Successful Inquiry 66

Managing Time in Inquiry Activities 66

Managing Subject Matter in an Inquiry 66

Prior Knowledge and Inquiry 66

IN THE CLASSROOM: INQUIRING ABOUT THE TELLICO DAM 67

Supporting and Scaffolding Students’ Inquiries 68

LESSON: A GREAT SCIENTIST IN HISTORY 69

Forms of Inquiry 70

Social Science Inquiry 70

Social Inquiry 70

Historical Inquiry 71

Inquiry and the Curriculum 74

Inquiry-Driven Curriculum and Standards 74

Inquiry, Assessment, and Standardized Testing 74

LESSON: “THAT’S NOT FAIR”: AN INQUIRY LESSON INTO THE MEANING OF “FAIR” 76

4 Standards, Curriculum, and Testing 82

Standards and Curriculum 84

Where State Standards Are Born: Professional Organizations and National Standards 85

Standards and Curriculum: The Starting Point for Powerful Teaching 86

IN THE CLASSROOM: A CURRICULUM UNIT ON ANIMALS 88

Two Models of Elementary Social Studies Curriculum 89

Standards and Testing 90

High-Stakes and Low-Stakes Tests 90

Authentic Learning Connected To Testing 93

Teaching Subject Matter In-Depth While “Covering” the Curriculum 94

Creating Detailed Lessons from Broadly Stated Curriculum 94

LESSON: MAP ESSENTIALS 96

Translating Curriculum into Classroom Lessons: The Question of Depth vs. Breadth 98

Making Decisions Based on Instructional Time,Resources, and Meaningful Study 98

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXPLORATIONS 99

Authentic Teaching with Standards 100

Adapting Standards and Curriculum to Teacher Circumstances 103

LESSON: GO WITH THE FLOW   RESOURCES 104

5 Teaching for Historical

Understanding 110

History in the Schools 112

The Need for History in the Elementary Schools 112

What Do Elementary School Children Need to Know About History? 112

History and the Curriculum 113

Constructing Historical Knowledge 114

Historical Thinking and Historical Understanding 114

Encouraging Historical Understanding through Direct Instruction and Explanation 115

IN THE CLASSROOM: USING HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS 116

Four Ways to Think Historically 118

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXPLORATIONS 119

Forms of Historical Understanding: Timelines, Stories, and Empathy 121

Historical Understanding as Chronology 121

Historical Understanding as Story 122

Historical Empathy 122

Understanding What Is Significant from the Past 124

Understanding the Relationship between the Past and the Present 125

Three Approaches to Teaching History 126

Direct Learning in History 126

Active Learning in History 126

LESSON: THE FIRST THANKSGIVING 128

Learning in History Using Authentic Resources 130

6 Teaching for Geographic Awareness 138

The Need for Geographic Awareness 140

What Is Geographic Awareness? 140

Geographic Concepts and Ideas for Elementary School Children 141

How Children Relate to Places 144

Geography as the Starting Point for Social Studies 145

Learning How to Use Maps 147

How Children Develop Geographic Awareness 148

Human and Cultural Geographic Awareness 148

IN THE CLASSROOM: UNDERSTANDING PHYSICAL AND CULTURAL PLACE 150

How Children Understand the World around Them 151

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXPLORATIONS 152

Elements of Geographic Understanding: Spaces,Places, and Systems 154

Spatial Understanding 154

Places and Regions 155

Human Systems 155

LESSON: POPULATION DENSITY 156

Physical Systems 164

Using Maps to Teach Geographic Awareness 166

Using Maps and Other Geographic Representations 166

Developing Spatial Reasoning Skills 166

Using Geography to Understand the Past 166

7 Teaching for Civic Competence 174

The Need for Civic Competence 176

Why Do We Need a Competent Civic Body? 176

What does it mean to Possess Civic Competence? 177

How Do We Achieve Civic Competence? 178

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXPLORATIONS 179

Forms of Civic Awareness 180

Respect for Authority and Respect for Others 180

Patriotism, Good or Bad 182

IN THE CLASSROOM: CIVIC ACTION: SETTING CLASS RULES 183

Knowledge of Social Issues 184

Conversation, Discussion, and Dialogue in a Democracy 186

Elements of Civic Competence 187

Understanding Rights and Responsibilities 187

Understanding the Role and Processes of Government 188

Democratic Reasoning and Multicultural Understanding 188

LESSON: TINKER V. DES MOINES AND THE FEDERAL COURTS 190

Participating and Taking Action in Democratic Communities 192

Promoting Civic Competence 192

Using Stories to Communicate Civic Values 192

IN THE CLASSROOM: THE STORY OF CÉSAR CHÁVEZ 194

Developing Civic Knowledge 195

Engaging in Civic Activity 195

Social Studies Content, Teacher and Student Opinions, and Ideology 196

8 Direct Teaching and Learning 202

Direct Instruction and Teacher-Directed Instruction 204

What Is Direct Instruction? 205

What Is Teacher-Directed Instruction? 205

A Comparison of Direct and Teacher-Directed Instruction 207

IN THE CLASSROOM: TEACHER-DIRECTED INSTRUCTION—LEARNING ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT 208

Factors Influencing Teacher-Directed Instruction 210

Subject Matter and Teacher-Directed Instruction 210

Teacher-Directed Instruction and Active Learning 210

Curriculum: When to Use Teacher-Directed Instruction 212

LESSON: USING TEACHER-DIRECTED INSTRUCTION IN A LESSON ON AN IMPORTANT INVENTION 213

Types of Teacher-Directed Instruction 214

Direct Explanation 214

Storytelling 215

Taking It Apart: Higher-Order Thinking Skills 216

Other Teacher-Directed Activities 216

Whole Class and Independent Teacher-Directed Instruction 218

Whole Class Teacher-Directed Instruction 218

Independent Teacher-Directed Instruction 218

IN THE CLASSROOM: DECISION MAKING 219

LESSON: HOW MUCH SPACE IS ENOUGH? 220

North Carolina

South Carolina

Florida

Georgia

Alabama

Mississippi

Louisiana

Texas

Alaska

Juneau

Honolulu

Phoenix

Sacramento Carson City

Santa Fe

Austin

Oklahoma City

Denver

Salt Lake City

Olympia

Salem

Helena

Bismark

Pierre

Lincoln

St. Paul

Des Moines

Madison

Boise Lansing

Cheyenne

Topeka

Little Rock

Jackson

Jefferson City

Springfield

Nashville

Montgomery

Atlanta Columbia

Raleigh

Tallahassee

Indianapolis

Columbus

Charleston

Richmond

Harrisburg

Albany

Montpelier

Augusta

Concord

Boston

Providence

Trenton

Dover

Hartford

Annapolis

Frankfort

Baton

Rouge

Hawaii

Arkansas Tennessee

Virginia

West

Virginia

Kentucky

Illinois Indiana

Michigan

Wisconsin

Minnesota

Iowa

Missouri

Kansas

Nebraska

South Dakota

North Dakota

Montana

Washington

Idaho

Nevada

Utah

Colorado

New Mexico

Arizona

California

Oregon

Wyoming

Oklahoma

Ohio

Pennsylvania

New York

Vermont

New Hampshire

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Connecticut

Delaware

Maryland

New Jersey

Maine

9 Interactive Teaching and Learning 226

What Is Interactive Instruction? 228

Defining Interactive Instruction 228

The Structure of Interactive Instruction 229

Assessing Children’s Knowledge When Planning for Interactive Instruction 231

LESSON: INTERACTIVE LESSON ON STATE GEOGRAPHY 232

Characteristics of Interactive Instruction 234

Active and Meaningful Learning during Interactive Instruction 234

IN THE CLASSROOM: LEARNING ABOUT CIVIC LEADERS 235

Dynamic Instruction and Active Learning 236

Interactive Instruction and Challenging Subject Matter 237

Types of Interactive Instruction 238

Solving Problems Together 238

Making Decisions Together 238

Putting Things Together 240

Other Approaches to Interactive Activities 241

Grouping Strategies 243

Why Group Students? 243

How to Group Students 243

Specific Grouping Strategies 243

Interactive Instruction and Learners 248

Collaboration and Interactive Instruction 248

Adapting Interactive Instruction 248

IN THE CLASSROOM: AN INTERACTIVE APPROACH TO LEARNING ABOUT SOCIETAL RULES 250

10 Literacy in Social Studies 256

The Importance of Literacy 258

Defining Literacy 258

Literacy, Society, and Decision Making 259

Reading in Social Studies 262

General Approaches to Reading in Social Studies 262

Reading and Instruction 263

IN THE CLASSROOM: USING LITERARY RESOURCES IN A LESSON ABOUT TRANSPORTATION 264

Specific Approaches to Reading in Social Studies 265

Determining Reading Levels 267

Using Textbooks in Social Studies 268

Three Approaches to Using TextbookS 268

Textbook Structure and Analysis 270

Limitations of the Textbook 270

Using Authentic Texts in Social Studies 271

Authentic Intellectual Work 271

IN THE CLASSROOM: AUTHENTIC LEARNING ABOUT CUSTOMS 272

Authentic Learning Materials 273

Writing in Social Studies 275

Writing for Social Studies 275

Writing for Learning 276

LESSON: USING WRITING SKILLS TO ARGUE ALTERNATIVE ENERGY POWER 278

Literacy and the Social Studies Curriculum 280

Literacy in the Curriculum 280

Literacy, Social Studies, and Language Arts 282

11 Planning for Active Learning 288

Active Learning in Social Studies 290

Goals for Active Instruction 291

Active Learning and Authentic Social Studies 292

Active Learning and Subject Matter 292

LESSON: WEATHER AND THE EARTH’S MOVEMENTS 294

Initial Considerations for Instructional Planning 296

Reorganizing Knowledge: Content to Subject Matter 296

Transforming Subject Matter into Pedagogical Ideas 296

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXPLORATIONS 298

Planning Instruction for Active Learning 302

Developing Procedures for Facilitating Students’ Learning 302

Selecting and Using Resources 305

Choosing Meaningful Assessment Techniques 306

Lesson Plans and Reflection 307

Writing Lesson Plans 307

Reflection 309

12 Teaching Social Studies in a Diverse Society 314

Teaching Children in Diverse Environments 316

Forms of Diversity 316

Diversity in School 318

Diversity in Society 319

Diversity in Learning: Intelligences and Learning Styles 320

Cultural Diversity and Social Studies 322

How Does the Social Studies Curriculum Reflect Cultural Diversity? 322

Cultural Diversity and Instruction in Social Studies 324

Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning 324

IN THE CLASSROOM: TEACHING ABOUT CALENDARS 325

Individual Diversity and Social Studies 326

Diversity and Individual Learning Personalities 326

Accounting for Individual Diversity When Teaching Social Studies 328

IN THE CLASSROOM: DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION IN A LESSON ABOUT PIONEER LIFE IN AMERICA 329

Teaching in Schools with Homogeneous Social and Cultural Characteristics 330

General Considerations for Teaching in Homogeneous Settings 331

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXPLORATIONS 332

Curriculum and Homogeneous Cultural Settings 333

13 Assessing Learning 338

Types of Assessment 340

What Is Assessment? 341

Formal and Informal Assessment 341

Formative and Summative Assessment 344

Assessment as a Part of Instruction 346

Assessment in the Teaching Cycle 346

IN THE CLASSROOM: ASSESSMENT AS INSTRUCTION 348

Planning for Assessment 349

Implementing Assessment 349

Using Assessments to Improve Teaching and Learning 351

Assessment Results and Effective Teaching 351

LESSON: THE DEATH OF TUTANKHAMEN 352

IN THE CLASSROOM: A NEW METAPHOR: CHANGING METHODS FOR EXPLANATION DURING A LESSON 354

Reteaching and Remediation 355

Assessment Case Studies 356

IN THE CLASSROOM: AN ASSESSMENT CASE STUDY 357

Designing and Using Rubrics 358

Purpose of Assessment Rubrics 358

Components of Assessment Rubrics 359

Uses of Assessment Rubrics 360

14 Promoting Student Learning with Technology 364

Using Technology in Social Studies 366

What Is Technology? 366

The Why and When of Technology Use 367

Guidelines for Using Technology 368

Developmentally Appropriate Technology 370

Technological Applications 371

Finding and Using Web-Based Resources and Information 371

Technology, Democracy, and the Human Experience 372

Instruction and Technology 376

Planning for Teaching with Technology 376

LESSON: TECHNOLOGY TIMELINE 377

Using Computer-Based Games 378

IN THE CLASSROOM: GAMES AS INSTRUCTION 379

Appendix A 385

Appendix B 401

Glossary 403

References 409

Credits 411

Index 415