K-12 Social Studies Unit Development Training

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Part II

Part II: Purpose & Expected OutcomesYou will be able to:

Develop generalizations to support a unit.

Make modifications to strengthen generalizations.

Write guiding questions that lead students to inductively arrive at the generalizations.

Learn how to develop performance tasks to assess understanding.

Identify the non-negotiable components of effective concept-based instruction.

Determine next steps for your district/school to begin designing concept-based units of instruction.

Guiding/Essential Questions

• Guide student thinking through the factual material to inductively arrive at the generalization

• Can be factual, conceptual, or provocative (debatable)

• Engages student interest and intellect

• Promotes discussion and debate

• Promotes inquiry

• Each generalization should have 3-5 questions

• A unit may have 2-3 provocative questions for the entire unit.

Factual QuestionsLocked in time, place, or situation

These questions can transfer over time and space.

These questions have no right or wrong answer and should stir debate.

Conceptual Essential Questions

Provocative Essential Questions

An Example – KindergartenUnit Topic: Who are we?

Conceptual Lens:

Culture and Change

Unit Overview:Who we are is ultimately a reflection of where we come from, what we are raised with, and the experiences that change our lives. In this unit, students will learn about the factors that shape their young lives and the ways that people, places, and things can change over time, remaking who we are.

Generalizations: Who we are is shaped by our culture and can change over time.

1. What is a timeline? (F)

2. How does environment impact culture? (C)

3. Is it important to always be the same as everybody else ? (P)

4. What is the relationship between environment, culture, and community? (C)

5. How is your culture the same as and different from other people’s culture? (F)

6. What are some ways that people can change who they are? (F)

An Example – 6th GradeUnit Topic: Historical Foundations of Contemporary Societies

Conceptual Lens:

Patterns and Influence

Unit Overview:A variety of factors influence the way that people lived and interacted in the past. Events and ideas from the past continue to shape contemporary societies. Those events and ideas often form patterns that help us understand not only the past, but the present as well. In this unit we will examine the historical foundations of contemporary societies around the world.

Generalizations: Exploration, innovations, and inventions often bring regions into contact with one another and result in the movement of people, goods, and ideas.

1. What innovations and ideas enabled European nations to engage in trans-Atlantic exploration? (F)

2. In what ways can economic goals affect government actions and individual rights? (C)

3. What is the economic impact of emigration on a society? (C)

4. In what ways does demand for natural resources fuel exploration? (C)

5. Why was gold such a desirable resource for nations of Europe during the Age of Exploration? (F)

6. How is the need for oil affecting the way that nations in South America and Europe participate in the global economy? (F)

An Example – AH2 Unit Topic: Everybody Wants To Rule The World*Note: The content of this unit is the Cold War and Its Effects.

Conceptual Lens: Power & Conflict

Unit Overview: This unit will focus on the elements of the foreign policy known as containment and the major conflicts that shaped the Cold War. Students will begin to look at how containment affected domestic policy and American life as well as the U.S. position as a power in the global world.

Generalization: Democratic governments seek public support and use propaganda to influence issues of national security and domestic policy issues and debates.

1. In what ways did the U.S. use emotional response to generate public support for the search for communists and anarchists in American government? (F)

2. How might fear affect political or government action? (C)

3. Is the restriction of civil liberties ever justified? (P)

4. How have both the Red Scare and the Patriot Act impacted the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens? (F)

8

Steps 8-9

Begin with the end in mind (KUD) and

work toward assessing for understanding.

• Identify the desired results (KUD – Know/Understand/Do).

• Design meaningful performance tasks that meet critical KUD’s.

• Develop effective criteria to evaluate the results.

Assessing for Understanding

K

U

D

Step 10

Developing The Performance Tasks

Student Performances:

• Reflect the most important Understand (Generalizations), Know (Factual Knowledge), and Able to Do (Skills) of the unit.

• Student Performances are the assessment evidence of mastery. Student Performances are not simple “activities.”

Performance Tasks: Provide students with opportunities to actively demonstrate understanding of concepts, generalizations and content in the standards and unit.

The Components To Developing Performance Tasks

Performance Task Template

[What] Topic

[Why] Generalization(s)

[How] Student Performance

Here’s A Performance Task ExampleWhat: As one of a team of cultural anthropologists, analyze the

interactions of the early European settlers and American Indians.

Why: In order to understand that: Interaction between different groups ma lead to cultural diffusion.

How: Research one aspect of early Native American Indian and European culture (history, arts, religion, government, daily living, land use...) before and after the interaction between the groups. Drawing from your research, write a case study describing the obvious impacts or

influences that these merging cultures have had on each other over time. As one member of the anthropological team, present an insightful and powerful speech to the state historical society, using visuals or multi-media, detailing the positive and negative lessons to be learned from the historical study of merging cultures.

R= Role

A= Audience

F =Format

T= TopicsS= Strong verbs and adjectives

WHAT:__(Unit Title)________Why:__(Enduring Understanding(s)_____________HOW:_Performance (RAFTS)___________________

III. Implement the design in a lesson.Ask:

What LEARNING EXPERIENCES and INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES will enable students to achieve the desired results?

What enabling KNOWLEDGE (facts & concepts) and SKILLS (processes, procedures, strategies) will students need in order to perform effectively and achieve desired results?

What ACTIVITIES will equip students with the needed knowledge and skills?

Developing Learning Experiences & InstructionStep 11

Developing Learning Experiences

1. Determine the knowledge and skills that students will need to be successful in independently completing the Culminating Performance Task; then…

2. Design Student Learning Experiences to prepare students with the knowledge and abilities to be successful on the Culminating Task.

3. Do the Correlations of Student Learning Experiences, by number, to the GENERALIZATIONS, KNOW, and KEY SKILL components developed earlier in the unit. This correlation makes certain that the unit has coherence as well as adherence to what you want students to KNOW, UNDERSTAND, and be able to DO.

Developing Learning Experiences & Instruction

Suggested Learning Experiences/Instructional

Activities

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.Endur.

Unders.

Know

Key Skill

Correlations

Page 4

Research Skills

Know cultural diffusion – other key concepts & voc.

How to write a case study

Expose them to various visuals with Public Speaking SkillsTeach how to use multimedia presentations

Teach how to use graphic organizers – especially using vocabulary

Developing Learning Experiences

Using the previous performance task, Make a list of learning experiences that a teacher will need to teach and students will need to learn in order to effectively complete the performance task.

Planning Your Next StepsOn the wiki, pull up these data documents • DPI Recommendations• Fidelity Check• Action Plan