Social Studies for Secondary Schools: Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach by Alan J. Singer: Chapter 6 (How do you plan a social studies curriculum?) and Chapter 7 (How do you plan a social studies unit?)
The two chapters I read this week were fairly relevant to my coursework, particularly that about planning a social studies unit. The big things I take away from this is to be intentional and very clear in my curriculum and unit plans. The more clear that I make it for myself and the more time I really spend preparing and doing my research, the better the unit and lesson plans will be as long as I keep tabs on where students are at with their understanding and make necessary judgments as I go along.
Three Things I want to Remember
That our unit and lesson plans aren't the end of planning. We have to adjust during lessons, after lessons, before our next one, etc. We are constantly planning. And just because we put something into our lesson and unit plans it doesn't mean it has to happen. If it's no longer appropriate or necessary to include something, then we shouldn't spend class time on it. If we realize that something isn't going to work, then we don't do it. This is something that I know I struggle with in my lesson plans currently, and I need to be aware of it going into my teaching.
One of the questions that is listed to consider while unit planning: "Does this unit build on previous work and understanding?" Starting with this question will be huge because it really defines the time and scope of the unit from the start. If a lot of the unit is building off of skills that students have already become nearly proficient in, then we know we probably don't need to spend nearly as much time teaching those skills. Unless we are pushing them a lot further, then we don't need to spend quite so much time on that unit than we would with a unit with all new skills and proficiencies. It gives a great starting point.
Finally, one thing I want to keep in mind is the result of a lesson I recently taught. I recently had students read parts of the Constitution with the intention of having them find examples of natural rights and a separation of powers. Some students were able to complete the assignment, but others really, really struggled with it. This text gave me a good idea. "Sometimes, I provide students with differentiated text, activity sheets with a series of documents that were originally written, or have been edited, so that they offer a range of academic difficulty" (111). This would have been a great idea for my lesson, and it's something that I want to remember for the next time that I have students analyze potentially difficult historical documents.
Two Disagreements/Controversial Ideas
While this isn't something that I disagree with or personally find controversial, it is something that would certainly be controversial in some areas of the United States. On page 97, Singer mentioned one call "for a sweeping reorganization of the social studies curriculum because of is overwhelmingly male context. She recommends introducing women's culture into social studies by focusing on social interaction and human relationships, family and community building, the role of love and caring in different cultures, and movements for world peace." This change wouldn't be welcome to some individuals and this feminist approach probably would not be adopted in conservative areas.
Also in the curriculum chapter, there was discussion on a sample curriculum calendar. In the sample calendar, "at that time New York City had semiannual reorganization in high school, so social studies teachers had to have their classes in roughly the same place at the end of the semester in January" (99). To me, this is a terrible idea. Not every student learns at the same pace, and there is absolutely no way that every class in New York City public schools would be learning at a similar pace. That means that the curriculum is going to be slowed down for some groups that should be moving through content more quickly. Even worse, the curriculum is going to be moving way too quickly for other students when it should be slowed down so they could actually comprehend the content and skills that are being taught. By forcing them to be at about the same place, so many students are being cheated of an education that would be appropriate for them.
One Question I Have
I recognize that units focusing on content make chronology clearer for students as they go through a unit, but how do we make sure that students are able to make thematic connections between regions at the same time? The organization of content-focused units is appealing because there is a clear sequence of events, but just having an understanding of the order of events isn't enough for students in my opinion. How do we foster those skills if we have to teach in a content-focused unit rather than thematic?
" "Does this unit build on previous work and understanding?"" You will get to apply this when you develop your student teaching unit since you will have a context for it, unlike this practice unit.
ReplyDelete"Sometimes, I provide students with differentiated text, activity sheets with a series of documents that were originally written, or have been edited, so that they offer a range of academic difficulty" (111).
Your response to the sample curriculum calendar echoes mine completely. I've worked with schools in VT that have tried to accomplish this, too :(
I always taught thematically with a timeline that circled my room. We would add the events we learned about thematically on the timeline so that we could see where things fit chronologically. It worked well. I'm sure you could do something similar, but with technology these days.