How do you know what to teach as a social studies teacher? Without grade level specific CCSS for this subject, planning your curriculum can really be a challenge. Many districts have their curriculum mapped out by grade. To get an idea about what this may look like, explore some of the following links. It may be helpful to familiarize yourself with what they are and how they are used in the schools around the area.
Appleton
Shell Lake
Bonduel
Rice Lake
Wittenberg-Birnamwood
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
CCSS Shifts
In my last post, I talked about the CCSS Literacy Standards for all subjects. There are six shifts
that the Common Core State
Standards (CCSS) in ELA & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects require
of
us if we are to be
truly aligned with
the CCSS in terms of curricular materials
and classroom instruction. They include the following shifts in curriculum and teaching:
- Increase reading of informational text: to prepare students for reading in college and career-ready texts
- Text complexity: growth in text complexity of reading in the classroom through methods such as close reading more challenging material
- Academic vocabulary: helping students to understand the vocabulary knowledge that is required to be able to read and comprehend complex texts
- Text-based answers: teachers will need to expect answers that are supported by evidence in the text instead of solely on experience
- Increase writing from sources: using evidence to inform or make an argument that is a skill necessary for college
- Literacy instruction in all content areas: using domain-specific texts to support the literacy development of students
Literacy in All Subjects
Hello again! Did you know that there are CCSS specifically designed to integrate literacy across all school subjects? A huge shift in the CCSS is the push to increase literacy skills and activities, such as writing, reading, speaking, and listening, into subjects besides reading and language arts themselves. This will improve students' abilities and help them become better rounded students that are prepared for the literacy demands outside of school. There are literacy standards created for all grades throughout school. It is vital as an educator that we put these standards into our lesson plans and teach accordingly. To find out more visit the handbook for the CCSS- Literacy in All Subjects.
Wisconsin Model Academic Standards for Social Studies
Hey there! Last week in class we took a look at the Wisconsin Model Academic Standards for Social Studies. So far there has not been a published Common Core set of standards for this subject, so as teachers we must still rely on the older Wisconsin standards. Unlike the CCSS, the Wisconsin standards are for what needs to be accomplished by 4th grade, 8th grade, and 12th grade. Each grade has a topic of standards concerning geography, history, political science and citizenship, economics, and behavioral sciences. Here is some introduction about the Wisconsin Model Academic Standards for Social Studies from the DPI's website. Feel free to check out the website to take a look at the standards themselves!
Definition of Social Studies"Social studies" is the title used to describe the study of the social sciences and humanities. Within the curriculum, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study of information, skills, and concepts from the disciplines of history, geography, political science, economics, anthropology, psychology, law, archaeology, and sociology with attention also given to connections among the peoples and nations of the world, the effect of science and technology on society (and vice versa), and the ways to practice good citizenship. Social studies helps young people develop the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed and reasoned decisions as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.
Knowledge and SkillsStudents at all levels should develop skills and understandings in all five strands found in the Wisconsin content standards for social studies. These skills and understandings are embedded in the performance standards. The curriculum in elementary and middle schools establishes the foundation for the entire social studies program. Without this foundation, students cannot develop the attitudes nor acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in a democratic society and understand an increasingly complex world. It is also important to recognize that the designated levels, by grade four, by grade eight, and by grade twelve, lead students to higher and deeper levels of knowledge and skills as they progress through school.
Connections in Social StudiesThe organization of these standards allows the social studies curriculum to be developed as separate disciplines or in an integrated course. In elementary, and middle and junior high schools, the five strands of social studies are usually integrated in a time during the day called "social studies." In high schools, the social studies courses are given names such as United States History, Geography, Global Studies, World History, Economics, Civics, Social Studies, Current Events, Sociology, Psychology, and so on. Courses with these names might include performance standards from one, several, or all of the social studies strands.
In order to ensure our survival as a free nation, students at all grade levels in Wisconsin are required to learn about the principles and ideals upon which the United States is founded and understand the world in which they live.
Definition of Social Studies"Social studies" is the title used to describe the study of the social sciences and humanities. Within the curriculum, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study of information, skills, and concepts from the disciplines of history, geography, political science, economics, anthropology, psychology, law, archaeology, and sociology with attention also given to connections among the peoples and nations of the world, the effect of science and technology on society (and vice versa), and the ways to practice good citizenship. Social studies helps young people develop the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed and reasoned decisions as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.
Knowledge and SkillsStudents at all levels should develop skills and understandings in all five strands found in the Wisconsin content standards for social studies. These skills and understandings are embedded in the performance standards. The curriculum in elementary and middle schools establishes the foundation for the entire social studies program. Without this foundation, students cannot develop the attitudes nor acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in a democratic society and understand an increasingly complex world. It is also important to recognize that the designated levels, by grade four, by grade eight, and by grade twelve, lead students to higher and deeper levels of knowledge and skills as they progress through school.
Connections in Social StudiesThe organization of these standards allows the social studies curriculum to be developed as separate disciplines or in an integrated course. In elementary, and middle and junior high schools, the five strands of social studies are usually integrated in a time during the day called "social studies." In high schools, the social studies courses are given names such as United States History, Geography, Global Studies, World History, Economics, Civics, Social Studies, Current Events, Sociology, Psychology, and so on. Courses with these names might include performance standards from one, several, or all of the social studies strands.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Lesson Plan!
Great news! I just finished my lesson plan that corresponds with my social studies webquest that I posted earlier in March. Take a look to get a better understanding of how I would use my webquest in the classroom. Also, besides using Weebly to create the webquest itself, I also used Google docs to type up the lesson plan! Just another example of how web tools are great resources in education!
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Museum Box
Hello! This week I sharing a resource with you called Museum Box. This site provides the
tools for you to build up an argument or description of an event, person or
historical period by placing items in a virtual box. What items, for example,
would you put in a box to describe your life; the life of a Victorian Servant or
Roman soldier; or to show that slavery was wrong and unnecessary? What if you
lived during the English Civil War, what items would you include to make a case
for, or against, the parliamentarians? And what if you were an abolitionist and
wanted to show that slavery was wrong and unnecessary, how would you create
your evidence? Museum box provides the tools for you to do just this. It allows
you to build up an argument or description of an event, person or historical
period by placing items in a virtual box. You can display anything from a text
file to a movie. You can also view the museum boxes submitted by other people
and comment on the contents. This resource could be used to have students in a social studies classroom research a person during history and create a museum box to show what they learned. It would be a fun way for students to display their knowledge about a topic and allows them to view and comment on their classmates' projects as well.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
iPad Apps for the Classroom
Hey there! This week I spent time researching different iPad apps that can be used in the social studies classroom! Technology is a an awesome way to get students involved and excited in social studies. I came across some fun, interactive, and educational apps that can be applied in the classroom in great ways. Here are a few of them that I really like! If you want to see more that I found, feel free to visit my wiki page!
2014 World Factbook
The complete CIA World Factbook at your fingertips, including extensive information on more than 250 countries and locations throughout the world. Whether you're an avid traveler, a busy student, or someone who just likes to stay informed, this is the app for you!
Stack The State Lite
Stack the States™ makes learning about the 50 states fun! Watch the states actually come to life in this colorful and dynamic game! As you learn state capitals, shapes, geographic locations, flags and more, you can actually touch, move and drop the animated states anywhere on the screen. Carefully build a stack of states that reaches the checkered line to win each level.You earn a random state for every successfully completed level. All of your states appear on your own personalized map of the United States.
United States Puzzle Maps
Do you know USA map?Do you want to challenge the puzzle map with fun game?How about your kid?United States puzzle map game will help you to learn the map’s shape and name of every state. In main game, touch state map you can see the full name; You need to drag the state map to the correct position, when you drag all state maps to its position, you win. Trivia game is designed for you to memorize better the states’ map name and shape.
My Congress
MyCongress is a portal to detailed information about your elected U.S. Congressional officials. Track their news, video and Twitter feeds. Look up their official Open Congress profile or contact them directly. MyCongress helps you get in touch with your government.
Constitution for iPad
Senator Sam Ervin pulled one out of his pocket during the Watergate Hearings... Now prepare to own any legal debate with a copy of the US Constitution on your iPad!
Civil War America's Epic Struggle
CIVIL WAR: AMERICA'S EPIC STRUGGLE features over 1,000 high-resolution photos, more than an hour of multimedia presentations, in excess of 100 authentic maps, dozens of first-hand accounts, and numerous text articles and biographies. The program provides instantaneous access to information on every aspect of the Civil War. The app automatically optimizes images and text depending upon the display: iPad, Retina, or iPhone; portrait or landscape orientation. With 18 different easily navigable categories, CIVIL WAR: AMERICA'S EPIC STRUGGLE provides a moving experience of the history of the Civil War for both the casual browser and serious history buff. The zoomable black and white photographs are very high resolution and bring the text and narration to life. This reference work includes most of the notable photographs in the "Matthew Brady Collection." In addition, over 100 period maps illustrate the progress of various campaigns geographically.
2014 World Factbook
The complete CIA World Factbook at your fingertips, including extensive information on more than 250 countries and locations throughout the world. Whether you're an avid traveler, a busy student, or someone who just likes to stay informed, this is the app for you!Stack The State Lite
Stack the States™ makes learning about the 50 states fun! Watch the states actually come to life in this colorful and dynamic game! As you learn state capitals, shapes, geographic locations, flags and more, you can actually touch, move and drop the animated states anywhere on the screen. Carefully build a stack of states that reaches the checkered line to win each level.You earn a random state for every successfully completed level. All of your states appear on your own personalized map of the United States.United States Puzzle Maps
Do you know USA map?Do you want to challenge the puzzle map with fun game?How about your kid?United States puzzle map game will help you to learn the map’s shape and name of every state. In main game, touch state map you can see the full name; You need to drag the state map to the correct position, when you drag all state maps to its position, you win. Trivia game is designed for you to memorize better the states’ map name and shape.
My Congress
MyCongress is a portal to detailed information about your elected U.S. Congressional officials. Track their news, video and Twitter feeds. Look up their official Open Congress profile or contact them directly. MyCongress helps you get in touch with your government.Constitution for iPad
Senator Sam Ervin pulled one out of his pocket during the Watergate Hearings... Now prepare to own any legal debate with a copy of the US Constitution on your iPad!
Civil War America's Epic Struggle
CIVIL WAR: AMERICA'S EPIC STRUGGLE features over 1,000 high-resolution photos, more than an hour of multimedia presentations, in excess of 100 authentic maps, dozens of first-hand accounts, and numerous text articles and biographies. The program provides instantaneous access to information on every aspect of the Civil War. The app automatically optimizes images and text depending upon the display: iPad, Retina, or iPhone; portrait or landscape orientation. With 18 different easily navigable categories, CIVIL WAR: AMERICA'S EPIC STRUGGLE provides a moving experience of the history of the Civil War for both the casual browser and serious history buff. The zoomable black and white photographs are very high resolution and bring the text and narration to life. This reference work includes most of the notable photographs in the "Matthew Brady Collection." In addition, over 100 period maps illustrate the progress of various campaigns geographically.
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