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The First Day
On our first day of class, Professor Pavlak asked us to give a definition of Social Studies. What is Social Studies? That first class my definition of Social Studies was the study and incorporation of Geography, Civics and History. My idea was how people, places, and things changed over time. My idea has changed over time.... -
Kindergarten: Me & My Community
In this first lesson plan, my group chose to do a Geography lesson. The objective of this lesson was to create a map of their own neighborhoods. What i believe worked in this lesson was that we had them turn and talk to their partners about what they think we use maps for/ why they are important/ what information can we find on a map because it involves inquiry and the students to critically think. -
Kindergarten Continued...
I think the gallery walk really worked in this lesson. It allowed the students to show off their own maps (which relates to the unit of "ME.") What i would change going further in this lesson is that i would add more inquiry to it, and instead of having the students create a map of kindergarten, I would have them focus on the map we worked on in guided practice (the classroom) because it would be more focused toward their age group. I would also incorporate more technology into this lesson. -
First Grade: Society & Ourselves
My first grade lesson was a Civics lesson. What was effective in this lesson was that we gave the students a summary of the roles in a community (in initiation) and gave them the sentence starters to think about when discussing each role. I think it was important to give examples of how the roles are important to the community. In closure, we also made bigger and deeper connections to the town, state, and country, which i think was important. -
First Grade Continued...
What i would change going further is that i would look for websites to give to the students, when researching, that were grade level appropriate because they are only in first grade. I would also have them complete the graphic organizer when researching, instead of giving them research questions because it will help them to narrow their focus. I would incorporate more photos when explaining the roles of each person because visuals are important and allow the students to make more connections. -
Second Grade: Making A Difference
During this civics lesson my group created, the students would be able to construct an argument in a classroom debate. What i believe worked is the topic for the debate (recess) is very familiar to the students. I think watching the video we used of a debate & unpacking the video was also very effective because it brings in students' prior knowledge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqE_5Ng4p5w
This debate format was also interactive and allows teachers to scaffold for their students. -
Second Grade Continued...
To improve this lesson, I would say more about how it is inquiry based other then constructing the argument & completing the graphic organizer. I would have the debate happen in independent practice and unpack it together in closure. I would find texts to incorporate at their reading level, and say more about the primary source document. I would look for an explanation of it that is at second grade reading level so the students are able to better understand it and make more connections to it. -
Third Grade: CT & Local History
The objective of this lesson was to identify various resources as human or physical capital, research how this resource has affected Connecticut’s history and present this research. I would split this into three separate objectives next time & state that the presentation of research will be orally. This objective fit in nicely with the common core standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.10. The incorporation of children's literature to explain the different types of resources was unique & worked well. -
Third Grade Continued....
I think that we used inquiry nicely throughout this lesson ("students will begin to think about their resource, what type of resource they think it is, how/why they think this specific resource has affected Connecticut’s history"). What I would do differently is to find a different way to incorporate technology other then for just research. I would look for an interactive resources website where the students could learn about the resources that they are researching. -
Third Grade Continued... (2)
I would try to find physical copies of resources & use them as my primary source so the students could also interact with them & learn about them using inquiry. I would give students more guidance in the research component. I would express what they would specifically be researching and sites that they should be looking at when researching instead of having them find sites themselves. This will help them to narrow their focus and give them a deeper understanding. -
Fourth Grade: US Geography
In this modified lesson, the focus was on geography. My objective was to construct a map in order to analyze the regions of the United States. What worked in this lesson was the interactive Flocabulary video, and my explanation of how it would be inquiry based. However, I would change a lot about this lesson and focus on simply constructing a map rather than analyzing. As a class we will going to be constructing a map of the US, and each student would be given a specific state to construct -
Fourth Grade Continued...
I would show these interactive videos (which will help reach different MI's the students may have): https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/map-skills/
https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/50-states-capitals/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSvJ9SN8THE & give my students a better understanding on what they are expected to do with their maps. I would give them the outline of the entire US without any state in it & allow them to think about the shape and make inquisitions based off what comes to mind -
Fifth Grade: Early US History
In this History lesson, we used a timeline to compare how the life of women and men differed during Colonial America. In initiation we had a good way to frame the lesson by stating that during colonial American the roles that men and women played were very different and have changed over time. Our question of inquiry (Who can remind me of what equality means) was effective because it allowed the students to use critical thinking skills and knowledge to gain a deeper understanding. -
Fifth Grade Continued...
The question i would incorporate to make the lesson more inquiry based is: "Why equality is important." I think that using a visual timeline was a good idea, however next time i would explain and make more clear on how they will compare using the timeline. I would maybe even have them construct the timeline and then create a chart comparing the men and women based upon the events and information they found when doing research. -
Fifth Grade Continued... (2)
I would also give students specific sources to find their research so they are able to narrow and focus their research. This will also be a way to scaffold for students. I think that i would look for more technology to incorporate into this lesson (other then having them research) that is grade level appropriate. I am thinking about possibly using a "Day in the Life," or virtual field strip so the students could pretend they were in this time period and forge deeper connections to the content -
Sixth Grade: World Regional Studies
In this geography lesson, the objectives were: to analyze the different cultural and environmental characteristics of Eastern and Western Europe & compare aspects of Ancient Eastern and Western European culture to present Eastern and Western European culture. The lesson is inquiry based because it involved questioning &gets students thinking about how to analyze, compare and contrast various regions of the world, as well as the cultural and environmental changes or similarities over time. -
Sixth Grade Continued...
The supporting questions were all effective because they based in inquiry (ex: What environmental and cultural factors make Eastern and Western Europe different from one another?) What i would do different is that i would show the students how to analyze different characteristics of the two civilizations so they understand how to best analyze and compare them to the present day. I would show some specific characteristics we'd look at & offer them a couple examples (in modeling). -
Sixth Grade Continued... (2)
In the scavenger hunt, i would also state the guidelines in guided practice so the students know how to be answering the questions when researching. I think using the flocabulary videos worked well in this lesson and the scavenger hunt offered a good way to use interaction, movement and cooperation to this lesson in a unique way. Using the different maps also worked because it showed how the regions changed from ancient times to the present. https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/ancient-greece/ -
The Last Day
Five weeks later, my definition of social studies has changed from that very first day. Social studies is a study of geography, civics, history and economics but goes much deeper. It involves the self and we can use it/incorporate it into every single discipline/content area. Social studies is a fun and engaging subject area that should be full of inquiry, projects, field trips (virtual), literacy, primary sources, technology and deeper connections to life (past and present). -
My Final Reflection
After these past five weeks, i have now gained confidence to teach social studies in my future classes. I have realized that effective instruction is not reached by reading a textbook. It is reached by incorporating multiple aspects&ways of teaching to reach each individual student & the various learning styles they may have. It involve using the constructivist approach of inquiry (asking questions and having discussions.) The CT Framework for social studies reaches each student in each grade. -
My Final Reflection (2)
The scales becomes larger as students become older (ex. in Kindergarten the focus is on "Me," but in sixth grade the focus grows to studying the "regions of the world.") I have learned that social studies can be a fun & engaging subject. By incorporating various teaching techniques (literacy, technology, field trips (virtual), thematic units, primary sources, and experiencing cultures/time periods beyond the text book) one can meet the needs of all students.
