Chapter 3

Instructional Planning for Social Studies

Looking AheadWhat problems do teachers have when

planning for instruction?What are your strengths and weaknesses as a

planner? What do you need to be able to do in order to

plan a teaching unit? Are you likely to need to rely heavily on a

textbook? What purposes do other teaching plans serve? Are you planning to meet the needs of all of

your students, including those with special learning needs and those whose cultural background is different from your own?

Can You?Plan an instructional social studies unit?Identify and describe different types of

units?Write instructional objectives?Establish a “set” in a lesson?Identify the steps in a case study?

Do You?Have experience in collaborative planning? Know how to go about choosing a unit

topic? Know how much freedom teachers have

about what they teach? Know what is meant by the term webbing

when referring to planning? Have an understanding of instructional

objectives?

Focus Activity What was the most memorable lesson/unit you

experienced as a student? Why makes the lesson/unit memorable? Discuss the details of experiences and compare

with classmates. Do your educational experiences share

common attributes with others? If so, what attributes?

Do you think these experiences will have an impact on how you plan for instruction? If so, how?

Why is Planning Important? Helps narrow down the large

breadth of information or knowledge.Planning utilizes various resources

to create an environment where learning can be maximized.

Teachers can have a greater sense of accomplishment when their planning comes to life.

Setting the Stage: Creating the Environment What are the predictable hallmarks

for creating a success classroom environment?Sense of AnticipationFeeling of Purpose/DirectionAwareness ContinuityAtmosphere of InvolvementAwareness of Leadership

Why Don’t Teachers Plan?Not Enough TimeFailure to set Time PrioritiesDepending on Previous MaterialProcrastinationFailure to CommunicateExperienceLack of Interest in Content/SubjectLack of EnergyInability to deal with Peer Pressure

Textbook Centered Units What are the instructional

advantages to using textbook-centered units?Common Reading MaterialUnify InstructionsPeace of Mind for Teachers

Types of Planning for Social Studies Units Expanded Textbook UnitsCollaborative UnitsTeacher Developed Units

Deciding on Unit Topics What are the four stages for

deciding on a unit topic?coming up with a menu of possible topics, narrowing the field and finding a broad focus, identifying a particular topic and refining that

selection into a title that adds zest and uniqueness (takes it out of the boring and mundane class), and

deciding on the direction and structure that studying that topic ought to take.

Developing the Unit Plan What are the three types of unit

plans?Resource UnitSketch UnitsTeaching Units

What are the pros and cons to each type of unit plan?

Instructional Objectives What are objectives?Why is language so important when writing behavioral objectives?

Content Outlines and FlowchartsHow do content outlines help teachers?Help teachers and students discover the structure of the topic being studied.

Suggest the order of the teaching itself.

Concept WebsWhy should a teacher utilize a

concept web when planning? Frames the big picture of a unitShows how the various concepts covered

in a unit are linked or interrelatedNear the center of the web are the broad

topics and most important ideasPeripheral layers show the subordinate

and less important ideas

Moving Toward the Development of ActivitiesWhat is the importance of activities?Why do you think this phase is often

referred to as the developmental phase of the unit?

What is the culminating phase?

Finding and Using Prepared UnitsWhere can you find prepared units?

Commercial Magazines: Instructor, Teacher, Learning, or Mailbox.

Professional Journals Social Education, Social Studies and the Young

Learner, The Social Studies, The History Teacher, The Clearing House, Childhood Education, and Social Studies Research and Practice

University LibrariesOther Methods TextbooksConferences

Finding and Using Prepared UnitsWhat are the key concerns when

using prepared units?AdaptationVitality and Motivational AppealAvailability of Resources

Planning for Shorter Instructional SequencesWhat are the similarities and differences between a unit plan and a lesson plan?

What are some necessary components of a lesson plan?

Looking Back Time is a major problem teachers face when

planning for instructionUnit is the term most often used to describe the

long-term planning a teacher does to teach a topic

There are three kinds of teacher-made unitsCollaborative or Team unitsTeaching unitsSketch units

Short-term planning most often takes the form of lesson plans

ExtensionYour principal charged you with a task of

forming a social studies committee.What are the advantages/disadvantages to

having a committee like this in a school? Do you think having teacher input on curriculum

planning/reform would produce better curriculum for the students? Why or why not?

What are the qualities a teacher should possess to be on this committee? Of these qualities, which are the most important? How should these teachers be selected?

ExtensionOnce the committee has been formed and

organized, the teachers get to work. Imagine your group is the committee.

Create a scope (what will be taught) and sequence (when) for your grade level’s social studies curriculum.

Be sure that you meet all required state standards.

The scope & sequence should be detailed and be for the entire school year.

Self-Test1. What are some reasons that teachers cannot

always plan as effectively as they should? 2. What are some of the characteristics of a

classroom where good planning is going on? 3. How do the varying types of units discussed

in this chapter differ? 4. What is a collaborative unit? 5. What are the elements necessary in a unit

plan?

ResourcesFederal Resources for Educational

Excellence – www.free.ed.gov The Gateway to 21st Century Skills –

www.thegateway.org PBS Teachers: Resources for the

Classroom - www.pbs.org/teachers Roberts, P. & Kellough, R. (2006). A guide

for developing interdisciplinary thematic units (4th Edition). New York: Prentice Hall.