Chapter 8- The Methodology of Social Studies: Unit Design Learning Topics Independent Inquiry Units...

Chapter 8- The Methodology of Social Studies: Unit Design

Learning TopicsIndependent Inquiry Units of Study

Combined (Split) Grade Planning for Social StudiesIntegrated Units: Combining Units Around Process SkillsIntegrating Social Studies and Historical Novel Studies

The Power of Story in Social Studies: Using Literature to Compliment the Theme of a Social Studies Inquiry

Copyright © 2011 by Pearson Education Canada 8 - 1

Knowing the Learner

“Students’ learning is facilitated when teachers view them as learners who have experiences, ideas, and home and community resources that can be built upon to help them master new knowledge and skills.” ( Banks et al, 2005)

Social Studies: Innovative Approaches for Teachers


Independent Inquiry Units of Study

• A unit is any related group of learning episodes that are arranged around a theme.

• Units can be aligned with a single discipline and relate to one theme.

• They could also be integrated across subject areas.



Common Elements of Unit PlansRegardless of the type of unit being developed, there are some common elements regarding planning units that should be understood. These include understanding:

The provincial/ territorial requirements for the grade(s)A clear overview of the standards of the disciplineModels for inquiryProcedures for unit development that incorporate the

previous three elements.



Clarify Learning Expectations Before Starting Unit Planning

If specific expectations are not provided for the teacher, the teacher’s planning task is a bit more challenging. In this case, the teacher will need to “tease” the appropriate expectations or learning objectives out of the topic. This can be done by creating a brainstormed “web” around the topic to surface the ideas the teacher has about where exploration of the topic could lead.



Creating a Unit Concept Web

Add Figure 1 Concept Web here



Characteristics of SMART Goalsspecific – Every expectation should say exactly what is to be learned; be written in

terms of what students will know, believe, or be able to do.measurable – Every expectation should be able to be assessed using one or more

approaches to determine if, and how well, students have achieved the intended learning.

attainable – Every expectation should be able to be learned by all students in the class, given appropriate time and support.

realistic- Every expectation should describe precisely what is reasonable to expect of students, given the reality of the time, resources, and other material to be learned.

timely – Every expectation for learning should “fit” neatly into the whole curriculum package being prepared for that class for that year; this allows the skilled teacher to make connections across subject areas and those connections support students’ understanding.



SMARTS = specific

M = measurableA = attainable

R = realisticT = timely

Example: Students will be able to formulate questions to guide research and clarify information on study topics (e.g., What are the effects of physical features on land use? How are goods transported from one province or territory to another?)



SMART Goals This learning goal is specific. It says that the student will “formulate questions”. It is measurable. The teacher will be able to determine if the question(s) asked by the

student is one that will lead to effective, inquiry based research. It is attainable. With the appropriate instruction, support, and resources, the student

should be able to formulate questions. It is realistic. Again with appropriate instruction, support, and resources, the student

should be able to develop and refine questions to guide research. It is timely. The teacher who identifies this as a learning expectation for a student would

be designing research assignments that the students can engage in to find answers for their questions. The questions are being asked for a purpose and are connected to other learning.



INSTRUCTIONAL VARIABLES

Content

Process

Product

These are the three categories of expectations.



CATEGORIES FOR LEARNING EXPECTATIONS

• Knowledge and Understanding ( will include mapping and graphic skills in Social Studies)

• Thinking and Inquiry • Communication and Application



Lining Up the Instructional Variables with Categories of Learning Expectations

INSTRUCTIONAL VARIABLES CATEGORY FOR LEARNING EXPECTATIONS

Content Knowledge and Understanding (will include mapping and graphic skills in Social Studies)

Process Thinking and Inquiry

Product Communication and Application



Samples of Learning ExpectationsKnowledge and Understanding:Students will be able to identify the physical and social needs of residents in an area. Thinking and Inquiry:Students will be able to brainstorm and ask simple questions (e.g., Who? What? Where? When? Why?) to gain information about their local community. Communication:Students will be able to use appropriate words to describe relative locations of various objects or sites within their community. Application:Students will be able to construct a model of their local community to show how a person’s physical and social needs are served within the area.



Unit Development

• Benefits from the orderly and predictable approach to developing a unit.

• Procedures can be adapted if units are integrated.



Unit Development Procedures Consider the title of the unit as provided in the provincial/ territorial guideline. Create a guiding question to focus the overall intent or “big ideas” in the unit. Create a culminating task that addresses students’ current understanding of answers or ideas related to the guiding

question. Deconstruct the culminating task to identify all of the sub-skills and knowledge students will need to learn in order to

be successful with the culminating task. Identify how you will assess the culminating task. Identify how you will evaluate the culminating task. Brainstorm to identify substantive inquiry based activities you can have students complete to learn about the topic. After brainstorming, check each activity against the initial list of learning expectations that you identified or that were

given in a guideline. Code the activities to match the corresponding learning expectations (e.g., 1, 2, 3 etc.). Generate additional activities to address any learning expectations that were not addressed through brainstorming. Deconstruct each activity to identify sub-skills and knowledge that will be taught to ensure students’ success with each

activity. Identify the assessment strategy you will use to assess students’ learning for each learning expectation within each

activity. Identify the recording device you will use to record students’ achievement in relation to each learning expectation. Order the activities in the sequence they will be completed.



Combined Grade Planning for Social Studies

There are four ways to address unit design for split/ combined classes. They include:

Teach both grades the same content, using the same process, and requiring the same products.

Design process based units.

Use a contract learning approach to instruction.

Plan for “out-of-phase” delivery of instruction to manage two distinct topics at one time. (See Chapter 3 for a review of The Phases of Instruction).



Characteristics of Activities within Units

Activities should: include choice focus on inquiry provide individual, small group, and large group variety get students focused because they are inherently interesting use a wide range of resources allow for centers or activity areas ( e.g., model making) include career investigations go beyond the text book help students learn to manage time effectively be built around strong and well understood routines include talk among students; focused, on-task discussion help students make connections; include mind-body connection opportunities be fun!



Contract Learning: Teaching By Guiding Independent Work

• Contract learning is an approach to unit delivery that emphasizes the products that students are to produce and individualizes the instruction needed to achieve success with each product.

• Contract learning can be a very effective form of instruction in some circumstances. However, there are some components that must be in place first to allow contract learning to work.



Making Contract Learning Work Strong classroom management skills- Students must come to each task with the attitude that it must be handled

seriously, given their best effort, and with the knowledge that they will be held accountable for demonstrating their learning. Promotive interaction is essential among students for contract learning approaches to function well.

Effective procedures – Many activities in a classroom at one time can be chaotic unless the students know and use the

procedures the teacher has taught so that learning time is handled efficiently and with consideration for others.

Instructional literacy skill levels- Students need to have a level of content literacy and information text skills (See Chapter 13) that allows for independent reading and comprehension. Differentiation approaches are a critical part of ensuring that all students benefit from this approach (See Chapter 10).

Task monitoring strategies- The teacher needs to have an overview of all of the tasks that are required by students for

the whole unit (or for some part of the unit that will be addressed through contract learning). It is most effective if this overview is also displayed for students to see, and if they are taught to monitor their progress with completion of all tasks.

Multi-tasking skills – The teacher needs to be able to scan the classroom regularly to see what students are doing and

to identify where closer monitoring and support may be needed.

Clear standards – Students need to have examples of high quality work, in many formats, shown and explained to them so that they understand what is expected when they engage in a task.



In Contract LearningTo manage contract learning, the student needs…• A clear idea of the tasks they are to complete• Self-monitoring skills• Time-management skills• Informational text skills (See Chapter 13)• An understanding of expected standards• A functional level of literacy to address tasks



In Contract LearningTo manage contract learning, the teacher needs…• Strong classroom management• Strong classroom procedures/ routines• Withitness; an awareness of what is happening

elsewhere in the classroom• Task monitoring strategies and multi-tasking skills• Clear standards that they communicate to students

frequently.• The confidence to try contract learning!



Out-of-Phase Unit Example

Add Figure 12 here



Routines to Support Unit Work how to enter the classroom what to do when you’ve entered the classroom how to pass in papers sharpening pencils asking permission to speak getting into groups what to do when you get into groups how to get out of groups how to break for lunch how to exit the classroom how to throw paper away how to use in-class study time how to take a test how to work on computers how to make notes about homework what to do/where to go when you need help and the teacher is unavailable



Social Skills for Primary and Junior Children

• staying on task• contributing to the group task• developing, expanding, or building on, each person’s ideas• accommodating or assimilating ideas• speaking to others with respect• expressing opinions in a way that will be attended to by others• using appropriate body language• taking turns speaking• ensuring that group members can hear what is said• requesting clarification• rephrasing• ensuring group understanding of the task• ensuring group consensus on the approach to the task• coaching other group members to ensure common understanding• checking task progress, including using task check points, against a schedule for completion• in their group• providing evidence to support an idea or opinion• setting performance standards for the group• praising



And…• explaining ideas with examples• suggesting more effective wording• motivating others• providing genuine praise• planning against group timelines• developing organizers that will help group members visualize the task• using eye-to-eye contact during discussions• obtaining and sharing task materials• keeping materials and working space organized for efficient work• sharing input time• requesting clarification or rephrasing• understanding and using the strengths of different group members to complete tasks effectively• group evaluations of the process of working together• group evaluations of their products• goal setting• checking for understanding and agreement• group editing• summarizing ideas• initiating reflection on group work and products• responding positively to negative behaviour



Using Stories to Compliment Social Studies

• Local libraries and commercial book stores often have extensive holdings of books that relate to Social Studies concepts in the primary/junior curriculum.

• Book store staff is often very familiar with the books and can be helpful in selecting books that relate to themes in courses. Using these resources will help teachers to conserve learning time and integrate learning across subject areas so that students can make connections within their learning. Teachers should be sure to evaluate the reading level of any books that are being used to supplement the curriculum to ensure ease of access for learners.

• Multiple literacy approaches should also be considered and optimized as approaches to using story in Social Studies.

• Literacy through media, text, photographs, artifacts, activity, and interaction, alone or in any combination, should all be considered when the teacher engages in unit planning.



Decision MakingThe final skill in the sequence of Topic Elaboration is decision making. Decision making is focused on addressing questions such as “What could/ should/ might/will be done about it?”

• This is a very useful skill for students as it draws abstract ideas towards ownership and emphasizes each student’s role in contributing to our society in responsible and socially just manners.

• Cultural responsiveness is dependent on students’ age appropriate internalization of skills that lead to responsive and sensitive multi-criterion decision making.



Teaching Decision Making to Young Children

• When using this very mathematical approach to decision making, students will need to have several exposures to the process to develop comfort with identifying decisional questions, identifying options, and stating relevant criteria for the question.

• They will also need to understand that there are many types of decisions and a process such as this is only suitable for more complex decisions when many criteria and many options or perspectives are relevant to making a good decision.

• Students will need to be taught that they may use such a process and arrive at a decision mathematically but the decision may not “feel” right to them. In this instance, they will need to understand that there are other criteria that are important to their decision that were not identified before they applied the procedure.

• Role playing and cooperative learning structures such as 4 corners and inside-outside circles (See Chapter 3) can be used as strategies for having students identify criteria so that the results of the mathematical process are also satisfying emotionally.



Procedure for Decision Making• State the decisional question. (Note: Students will need to be taught the

difference between a decisional question and an informational question.)• State the options. (If only two choices are possible, these are called

alternatives rather than options.)• State the criteria.• Identify the relative importance of each criterion by assigning a number

value (weight) to it (from 1 to 3 with three being the most important criteria).

• Evaluate each option against each weighted criterion and assign a number.• Total the columns.• State the decision. When two totals are close and a split decision is

possible, consider that possibility.



Example of Decision Making Chart

Add Figure 16 here



A Decision Making Chart can Form a Plan for an Argumentative Essay

• P1= Introductory/ Opening Paragraph: - The opening paragraph will state the question, and the options

(neutral, Confederation and join the US) and explain the criteria that will be considered and which criteria might have more weight in the decision.

• P2, P3, P4, and P5 = Body Paragraphs: - Each option is explained against each criterion in a separate paragraph.

• P6= Closing Paragraph: Students state their decision and explain the other options that were considered but discarded. They react to their feelings about the decision and explain other interesting reactions to the decision (e.g., next steps for action).



Procedure for Writing an Argumentative Essay

Opening Paragraphs1) State the topic.2) State sub-topics/options.3) State criteria.4) Explain each weighted criterion in relation to each option.

Body Paragraphs4) Write opening sentence for each paragraph (1 per option)5) Write sentences to explain that option against each criterion.

Closing Paragraph 6) R and R (review and react). Students might also be taught the popular

responding phrase for examining stories (RETELL, REFLECT, REACT) and use that sequence to guide writing for the closing paragraph.



Chapter 8- The Methodology of Social Studies: Unit Design Learning Topics Independent Inquiry Units...

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