TE 402: Teaching Subject Matter to Diverse Learners: Social Studies

January 20, 2011Laura Andresen

The Purposes, Content, and Representation

of Social Studies

Education is growth and knowledge development- a transformational experience

Learning is a process to understand and construct knowledge. Once a person becomes conscious, they have the potential to go beyond their boundaries and proactively pursue the disintegration of oppression. To do this one must, “reverse their starting point” (Freire, 1973, p. 95); to have clarity, perspective, and vision. Freire maintains that students have potential as a major agent in their learning, to affect hope for the future.

AgendaI’m In Activity News articleTeaching is like an iceberg Questions- Syllabus & Assignments For Next Time…Base groups

Activity

I’m In

Essential questions for today

Why do we teach what we teach

to whom we teach

The purposes, content, and representation of social studies/Social studies as citizenship education: diversity and democracy

Newspaper Article

Think- How would I teach the issues in the article? What concepts need to be explained to /understood by students?Large group- say out what your topic is

Share- your thoughts and collaborate Large group- say out ideas

Focus on the FieldFirst Days of School:–

How do teachers set up their classroom?

Set norms for classroom routines? How do parents prepare their children? What are children’s excitements and

fears?

Teaching is like an iceberg…What’s below this?

Teaching is like an iceberg…

There’s the visible…and the invisible…

The VISIBLE

The HIDDEN( What’s not visible)

Teaching( What’s visible in the

classroom during a social studies lesson?)

Teaching ( What’s not visible in the

classroom)

1. What problems/challenges teachers face in planning to teach social studies

2. What teachers must know and be able to do in order to plan, design, and enact lessons that help students learn the social studies

3. How teachers make informed, professional decisions about what they teach and how they teach, and what methods they use to determine the impact of their teaching

My Instructional Challenges/Problems

Think about the “problems” I as the instructor had, and how I designed activities to respond to these “problems”

Instructional Problems (these are not problems in the negative sense)

For example, one “problem” I had was that I didn’t know you, you didn’t know me, but you knew each other. So I needed to design a getting to know you activity

What We Did Why We Did It?

IntroductionsEstablishing Classroom NormCharacteristics of CitizensCourse Overview

Teaching( What’s visible in the

classroom during a social studies lesson?)

Teaching ( What’s not visible in the

classroom)

1. What problems/challenges teachers face in planning to teach social studies

2. What teachers must know and be able to do in order to plan, design, and enact lessons that help students learn the social studies

3. How teachers make informed, professional decisions about what they teach and how they teach, and what methods they use to determine the impact of their teaching

?Questions?

SyllabusAssignments

Lesson Plan

For next time . . .

Brophy and Alleman, Chapter 2 – regarding

Learning Community Corwin (coursepack)Michie (coursepack)Read through lesson plan part I Sign up for one of readings on wiki

What is social studies?

If you were in charge of designing social studies curriculum on a state level how would you do it?

How NCSS defines social studies

NCSS is the National Council for Social Studies – a professional organization founded in 1922

Social studies is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence. Within the school program, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology, as well as appropriate content from the humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences. The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.

How would YOU propose teaching social studies education……in an organized manner?…that is age-appropriate?…that is substantive and draws upon

important content and skills in the disciplines?

…that relates to children’s lives beyond school?

…that builds from one year to the next?Draw a picture, diagram, create lists to

How have the NCSS (and states, textbooks, local districts) decided to represent powerful and meaningful social studies?

The NCSS divides social studies into 10 strands. The strands are thematic in nature and provide the basis of social studies. I. Culture II. Time, Continuity, and Change III. People, Places, and Environments IV. Individual Development and IdentityV. Individuals, Groups, and InstitutionsVI. Power, Authority, and GovernanceVII. Production, Distribution, and ConsumptionVIII. Science, Technology, and Society IX. Global ConnectionsX. Civic Ideals and Practices

What disciplines correspond with each of these strands?

Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations: What are the ways content is organized here?

Disciplines – what are they?HistoryCivics (Political Science)GeographyEconomics

Scope and Sequence of Social Studies in the Elementary Schools

The question is how to place thematic strands and disciplines in a logical sequence for the grades

Currently in U.S. public schools, “expanding environments” provides the sequence

K: Me

Expanding Environments

K: Me

1st Grade: Family and

School

K: Me

1st Grade: Family and

School

2nd Grade: Local Communities

K: Me

1st Grade: Family and

School

2nd Grade: Local Communities

3rd Grade: Regional Communities

K: Me

1st Grade: Family and

School

2nd Grade: Local Communities

3rd Grade: Regional Communities

4th Grade: States

K: Me

1st Grade: Family and

School

2nd Grade: Local Communities

3rd Grade: Regional Communities

4th Grade: States

5th Grade: the United States

K: Me

1st Grade: Family and

School

2nd Grade: Local Communities

3rd Grade: Regional Communities

4th Grade: States

5th Grade: the United States

6th Grade: Western Cultures*

•Sometimes Eastern Hemisphere

Criticisms of the Expanding Environments Approach?

Boring; covering material with which children are already familiar

Traditional and focused on stereotypical middle-class experiences and values

Does not allow children to experience the long-ago and far-away

Alternatives? E.D. Hirsch and cultural literacy; history and literature focus

How does NCSS recommend trying to make social studies “powerful”?

MeaningfulIntegrativeValue-BasedActiveChallenging

What do each of these mean?

Hands on → Understanding ← Minds on

“Hands on” means? • “Minds on” means?

The strongest activities are “minds on” because they are based in powerful ideas which have enduring understandings. Therefore, the learner remembers the activity as part of a larger idea.

Example: Mock congress connects to the larger idea of representational democracy in action.

Base Groups

Team LCC Lindsay Babinski Carly Cooper Christine Corcoran

Team Sparty Chelsea Mcdonald Sharnae Hayes Autumn Sellers

Team Exclamation Katherine Scott Chrissy Osbach Mike Rodriguez Kara Erickson

The A teamo Kim Sedlmeyero Janae Burcho Jordan Sardero Liz Adams

Team Elementary Education o Clinton Lafayetteo Jessica Watsono Nicole Sidge

Gallery Activity

Fold paper into quarters

Post around the room to share with the class

View gallery

About Me Things I like doing

My hopes and fears (can be related to this course)

Special things I’d like to share about me

Base Groups

Negotiate a team name

Exchange contact information