How do I help ALL students engage in MEANINGFUL SOCIAL STUDIES?

Objectives: • Identify and apply strategies to modify social

studies instruction for various types of learners.

But first…

• Civic Education? What do you think about it? What new concepts and generalizations have you constructed? How attainable is your reflection for action? How important does it seem?

• Webquest? What did you like about it? What didn’t you like about it? How could you use one in the future?

• Evaluating each others’ work? How did it affect you as a writer? How did it affect you as an evaluator? Would you use this strategy in class? Why or why not?

Differentiation

• What is it?

• Differentiation is ensuring that “what a student learns, how he/she learns it, and how the student demonstrates what he/she has learned is a match for that student’s readiness level, interests, and preferred mode of learning”. Ellis, Gable, Greg, & Rock, 2008, p. 32),

• How much do we agree we can do this? • Definition we are comfortable with?

General Modification Guidelines

• Modify Goals (do not take out all higher order thinking goals)

• Modify Assessment• Modify Tasks/Instructional Strategies• Modify Resources

Is this time consuming? Yes!Is it worth the time? Yes!

What is effective for Special Populations is generally helpful for all students.

• Visuals• Cooperative Learning• Interesting• Active• Activity Based• Related to Everyday Life

*These are all things you should see yourself doing in your lesson plans!

Modifying for ELLs

• What do you anticipate being challenging about modifying social studies instruction for ELLs?

• Use ESL teachers as a resource• Conversational English v. Academic English (BICS and CALP)• Know your student• Status Equity• Challenge of Resources

– High Interest Low level Readers

Modifying for students with Special Needs

• What do you anticipate being challenging about modifying Social Studies instruction for students with Special Needs?

• Know your student• Follow IEP• Use the Resource teacher as a……RESOURCE!

If our goal is to help ALL students experience Meaningful Social Studies, our consideration of the instruction doesn’t end with Sped and ESL students…..CULTURE MATTERS!

Cultural Influences on BehaviorInteraction styles

• Degree of directness— In some cultures, it is preferable to “get to the point” or “say what you have to say” in the most unequivocable manner possible, without concern for the other person and how they will feel. Other cultures this style may be considered rude and preference is given to less direct communication styles that include more elaborate introductory or intervening and thoughts about the message and how it is received.

• Level of emotionality-- Some cultural exists in the extent to which outward signs of emotions are displayed in interactions with others. Some are dramatic with voice volume and tone and gestures and facial expressions. Cross cultural interpretations of the intensity of emotion can be difficult

• Degree of motivation and vocalizations- Some cultures it is not uncommon to only have one person speak at one time. In other cultures it is seen as rude. In some a higher level of physical activity and verbal exchange may be natural and others there might be a compartmentalization of activities.

• How consideration of others is shown– Some cultures consideration of others is shown by refraining from behaviors that may offend the sensibilities of others. Others consideration is more often shown by being tolerant of the behaviors of others

• Attitudes towards personal space– This varies from culture to culture. Two feet is the accepted space. Some cultures fail to recognize this.

• Attitude towards sharing– ideas about personal ownership vary by culture. This influences the idea of sharing. Some emphasize communal property—what’s mine is yours ad what’s yours is mine. Others are less inclined to embrace this philosophy.

Responses to authority figures

• Perceptions of authority figures– Some cultures all adults are authority figures to students in others it goes strictly by gender and position. Some cultures only look to one as an authority after it is earned not by status or position

• Manner in which respect is shown to authority figures– Some show respect of authority figures by not making eye contact and in others the opposite is true. Some cultures questioning authority would be considered disrespectful and in others it is valued and a part of critical thinking.

• Response to varying management styles– some cultures permissive management styles are viewed as a way to encourage the child’s individuality and self-expression. Other cultures this would be seen as a weakness or lack of concern

In addition to behavior

• Research shows Culture affects students prior knowledge and perception of new content.

• Culturally relevant teaching can increase all students engagement in Social Studies.

• What does culturally relevant teaching mean?

Strategies for teaching culturally diverse students

• Emphasizing verbal interactions—activities that encourage students to respond verbally

• Teaching students to use self talk—learn new info by verbalizing it to themselves

• Facilitating divergent thinking—teach students how to brainstorm

• Using small group instruction and cooperative learning—brings about peer interactions and peer tutoring

• Employing verve in the classroom—high energy and enthusiasm for teaching and learning with choral responses and lots of movement

• Focusing on real-world tasks– relate to their home, school and community

• Promoting teacher-student interactions– ask frequent questions and affirm student responses

Multicultural Education

• Recognizing, accepting and affirming a broad view of human differences and similarities.

• Two Goals to promote educational equality for all

students, male and female, minority or majority, abled or disabled

To enable all students to learn and develop the knowledge skills and attitudes needed to successfully participate in and contribute to an increasingly diverse society (Banks 2002)

Banks’ Five dimensions of Multicultural Education

• Content integration –teachers use examples, data and other info from a variety of cultures to illustrate concepts etc

• Knowledge construction -- teachers help students to understand, investigate and determine the implicit cultural assumptions within a discipline that influence the construction of knowledge

• Prejudice reduction-- focuses on the characteristics of children’s racial attitudes and on strategies that can be used to help students develop more positive racial and ethnic attitudes

• Equity pedagogy– teachers use techniques and teaching methods that facilitate the academic achievement of students from diverse racial and ethnic groups and from all social classes.

• Empowering school cultural and social structure– need restructuring of schools so that students from diverse racial ethnic and social class groups will experience equality and a sense of empowerment

Articles

• The textbook chapter (which you were supposed to read for today) stresses the importance of providing Powerful Social Studies instruction for ALL students. It touches on ability, language learners, and multicultural teaching

• You have the rest of the time in class to read 1 of 2 articles– Detracking in the Social Studies– Social Studies: Culture Matters

*Fill out Graphic Organizer for class on Thursday. You will be discussing the articles you read with your group.

For Thursday

• Bring in one of your lesson plans.• You will be working with a partner to modify

your lesson plan for a particular student.• Grades