The University of North Carolina at Wilmington/Watson School of Education

EDN 334-004

Elementary Social Studies Curriculum and Instruction (K-6) Spring 2009

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Instructor: Georgene Bramley

Phone: 910-350-8979 cell phone

Email: (type EDN 334 on the subject line)

Office: Room 281 (shared office with grad assistants)

Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 3:00-5:00 PM or by appointment

Required Texts:Dynamic Social Studies for Constructivist Classrooms

8th Edition Maxim, GE (ISBN 0-13-171270-5)

AND EDN 334 Methods Course Packet for G. Bramley

Resources:

Books

The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners, Carol Ann Tomlinson, 1999

Why Didn’t I Learn This in College? Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century, Paula Rutherford, 2002

Visualizing Elementary Social Studies Methods by John Lee

Websites

Children’s Literature

The Fantastic Flying Journey by Gerald Durrell

Brother Eagle, Sister Skyby Susan Jeffers

If the World Were a Village by David J. Smith

George Washington’s Teeth by Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff

The Children’s Book of Heroes by William J. Bennett

A Street Through Time by Dr. Anne Millar

Where Have the Unicorns Gone? By Jane Yolen

My Great-Aunt Arizonaby Gloria Houston

The Great KapokTree-A Tale of the AmazonRain Forest by Lynne Cherry

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marion Priceman

Weslandia by Paul Fleischman and Kevin Hawkes

Teammatesby Peter Golenbock and Paul Bacon

T is for Tar Heel by Carol Crane

Beatrice’s Goatby Page McBrier

Professional Conduct

All WatsonSchool of Education students are expected to adhere to the WatsonSchool of Education Standards for Professional Conduct described at

Students with Disabilities

If you have a disability and need classroom accommodations, you must notify Disability Services ((Westside Hall), provide the necessary documentation of the disability and arrange for appropriate authorized accommodations. Once these accommodations are approved, please let me know so we can implement these accommodations.

NCATE Standards Addressed

Standard 2.1 Central Concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of content-

Candidates know, understand, and use the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of content for students across the K-6 grades and can create meaningful learning experiences that develop students’ competence in subject matter and skills for various developmental levels.

Standard 2.5 Social Studies- Candidates know, understand, and use the major modes of inquiry from the social studies-the integrates study of history, geography, the social sciences, and other related areas-to promote elementary students’ abilities to make informed decisions as citizens of a culturally diverse democratic society and interdependent world.

Standard 2.7 Connections across the curriculum-Candidates know, understand, and use the connections among the concepts, procedures, and applications from content areas to motivate elementary students, build understanding, and encourage application of knowledge, skills, and ideas to real world issues.

Standard 3.2 Adaptation to diverse students-Candidates understand how elementary students differ in their development and approaches to learning, and create instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse students.

Standard 3.3 Development of critical thinking, problem solving, performance skills-Candidates understand and use a variety of teaching strategies that encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.
Standard 3.4 Active engagement in learning-Candidates use their knowledge and understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior among students at the K-6 level to foster active engagement in learning, self-motivation, and positive social interaction and to create supportive learning environments.

Standard 4 Assessment for instruction-Candidates know, understand, and use formal and informal assessment strategies to plan, evaluate, and strengthen instruction that will promote continuous intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development of each student.

Standard 5.2 Reflection and evaluation-Candidates are aware of and available for professional learning; they continually evaluate the effects of their professional decisions and actions on students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community and actively seek out opportunities to grow professionally.
Standard 5.4 Collaboration with colleagues in the community-Candidates foster relationships with school colleagues and agencies in the larger community to support students’ learning and well being.
Course Description, Purpose, and Essential Questions

The purpose of this course is to develop an awareness of the nature and purpose for social studies education in elementary schools. Social Studies, as it is conceived in the United States, is the study of human behavior both in the past and in the present. The focus of this course is on instructional design and delivery. The field experience provides the opportunity for applying the material presented. As new teachers, students will have to decide which content elements to emphasize, how to write and organize lessons, which instructional techniques to use, and when and how to evaluate.

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to thoughtfully answer the question, “How will you teach social studies?” You will be asked to develop a philosophy of social studies that answers the following questions:

  1. What is Social Studies? What makes it important?
  1. What philosophies of teaching and learning do you hold that guide your teaching of social studies?
  1. If an interested principal, parent, or fellow teacher wanted to observe in your social studies classroom, what would be the kinds of activities that your students would most likely be engaged in?
  1. What are some ways you will accommodate individual differences in learning abilities and cultures in your social studies classroom?
  1. What types of assessments will you use that will inform your instruction?

Course Objectives

This course will introduce participants to a variety of methods and strategies for teaching social studies as well as opportunities to reflect and evaluate in order to become effective decision makers for selecting and implementing appropriate materials and methods for instruction. Participants will also explore national standards and NC objectives for elementary social studies. The following course objectives will challenge participants to become problem solvers by analyzing his/her practices. Through class discussions, projects, readings, group work, and field experiences, participants will:

  1. Locate and evaluate a variety of resources for social studies education and describe trends in the filed relevant to teaching in our changing information age society.
  2. Describe and demonstrate logical ways of sequencing social studies strategies to promote productive learning.
  3. Develop lessons, individualize materials, identify appropriate assessment strategies, and learn how to plan a unit of study.
  4. Demonstrate knowledge of the content of the social studies disciplines.
  5. Plan strategies to differentiate instruction to accommodate the diversity of students and learning needs found in elementary classrooms.
  6. Use technology and the Internet as a tool for communication by using specific web sites and software, lesson plans created on Task stream, and other web sites with lesson and unit ideas. (e.g. StandardCourse of Study for a specific content area and grade level) Create a list of useful Internet addresses. Incorporate materials selected from web sites in the course for lesson designs. Become familiar with Digital Storytelling and use of Smart boards.
  7. Become familiar with the national content standards in history, geography, civics, and economics and use these standards in lesson development.
  8. Become familiar with the North Carolina Course of Study for social Studies use these objectives in lesson development.
  9. Connect and integrate social studies with other content areas.
  10. Demonstrate practical and relevant strategies using a constructivist teaching approach to engage student learning.

Course Requirements

Class Attendance and Participation (70 points)

It is very important to be in class.More than one absencewill result in one half-letter grade reduction for each class missed. Please plan to attend each class on time. Arriving late or leaving early will affect your participation grade. Be sure to email me if there are circumstances I should know about that make your absence unavoidable. Participation is an important part of class. Please be respectful listeners and active participants in discussions and activities. In order to maintain a professional environment conducive to learning, talking while others are talking will adversely affect your participation grade.

You should be prepared for class with all required assignments and materials. Required reading and assignments will help demonstrate your understanding of the course content. Assignments should be submitted in hard copy at the beginning of class on the due date.

Save all assignments in electronic form for possible use during your internship and for your PDP. (Professional Development Portfolio)

Assigned readings (50 points)

You will be asked to reflect on assigned reading from the text and articles through responses in class, M.V.P’s (Most Valuable Points) typed take aways, and exit tickets.These will help assess what you have learned.

Projects (100 points)

You will be asked to complete three projects. Directions and a rubric or checklist for grading are in the course packet.(InterestIsland Map, Flat Stanley, and Fold a Person)

Lesson Plan (30 points)

Submit one social studies lesson plan using the N.C. 6 Point Lesson Plan format found on Task stream. Please complete this lesson and submit a hard copy on the scheduled due date at least one week prior to teaching the lesson during your field experience. The deadline for submitting lessons is April 6th. I will be happy to help you with your planning and preparation.

Field Experience Requirements (100 points)

  • Complete your Field Experience priorto April 20th, 2009.
  • Observe as many social studies lessons as possible- 1 formal observationtyped. (See guidelines for writing observations and reflections in course packet and on web page) Observation dueby April 6th, 2009.
  • Teach as many Social Studies lessons as possible- 1 typedlesson using the NC 6 Point lesson plan on Taskstream is due by April 6th. Be sure to submit this lesson to me for feedback prior to teaching thelesson.Discuss your lesson ideas and show your partnership teacher your lesson plans several days before you teach.Try to apply some ideas, strategies, and techniques we have practiced and modeled in class and strategies you have observed when you are planning your lesson. Refer to the NC Social Studies Standards as you plan your lesson. Use technology, interesting books, primary sources, and other resources to make your lessons interactive. I encourage you to integrate your lessons with other content areas, but you may only count the formal lesson you teach for one methods class.
  • Type a one page reflection after the lesson you teach. Your reflection should state what went well, what you might do differently, what you learned, what evidence of student learning took place. Refer to the lesson observations and reflections guidelines in our course packet and on my web page. Your lesson reflection is due by April 20th, 2009.
  • Type a one page summary of your overall experience stating specifically what you learned. This is due by April 20th.
  • Spend a minimum of 10 hours in the school. Keep a log of all dates and times spent in the school with the teacher’s signature. This is due by April20th.
  • List all lessons observed and taught with a brief, 2-3 sentence description of each. This is due by April 20th,
  • Hand in a hard copy (found in our course packet) of the teacher’s evaluation of your experienceby April 27th, 2009.
Taskstream account

Maintain an active account on TaskStream by adding evidence of your class work to your PDP (Professional Development Portfolio) Submit one lesson on Taskstream for feedback and approval according to the class schedule.

Midterm Exam (50 points)

At the midpoint in the semester, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate what you have learned. The midterm exam will consist of multiple choice questions, fill in the blanks, and short answer questions.

Final Presentation (100 points)

Your have a choice for your final project.You may create either a PowerPoint presentation or a digital story of your field experience. Follow the rubric found in our course packet for both projects.

Grading

The focus of this course is on learning, not on grades. Please do not allow grades and minimum requirements to become your motivation. In order to facilitate positive learning goals, if an assignment is not completed at a level deemed appropriate by the instructor, you will be asked to re-do the assignment. Remember torefer to our class attendance and participation expectations that will affect grading. Grades will be earned according to the table below:

Class participation / 70
Assigned readings / 50
InterestIsland Map / 40
Flat Stanley Project / 30
Fold a Person Project / 30
Lesson on Task stream / 30
Mid Term Exam / 50
Field Experience Assignments/evaluation / 100
Digital Story or Field Experience PowerPoint / 100
Total points possible / 500
Grading Scale / 460-500 A to A- range
400-459 B+ , B, B- range
351-399 C+, C, C- range
299-350 D+, D, D- range
Below 299 F