The three articles that you read from the SSYL introduced a couple of interesting approaches to teaching social studies. Each lesson (and the materials that accompanied them) expected students to first learn basic skills in a familiar setting (e.g., establishing technologies we have today that we did not have 'long ago' or having students use color construction paper to represent population) and then apply those skills in a novel, authentic manner. By the end of the collection of lesson (i.e., unit of instruction), students were accomplishing sophisticated tasks. Based on this, answer the questions below.
- What was the most interesting aspect of these articles/lesson ideas?
- Describe the structure of the lessons - how did the teachers slowly/methodically develop students’ skills?
- Explain how the organization mirrored the structure of the 4 categories of human interaction and 3 major areas of emphasis
I thought it was very interesting that such young students could do something like this.
ReplyDeleteThe teachers first began with establishing the information with the students and then the students applied their knowledge, following Bloom's taxonomy.
The lessons allowed the children to see the importance of being a competent citizen - this, in turn, allows them to be globally aware, learn about the history of people, and use reflective thinking. These four areas have to include the three major areas of emphasis: knowledge, skills, and values.
1) The fact that students could actually accomplish harder task's than I would have thought.
ReplyDelete2)They started them out with what they already knew and gained their self confidence, then grew into new material and finally creating and evaluating their new knowledge.
3) It is a direct relationship with the 4 categories of human interaction, it is a great way for students to really understand that what they are doing in the classroom is the same process they will go through once they grow up and are in the real world.
I said last week that the four categories seemed to be sequencial, which mirrors the way teachers were implamenting social studies instruction in the articles. Students can achieve higher levels of thinking very easily if giving the proper scaffolding right from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteMost Interesting:
ReplyDeleteI loved how the lessons were very much connected to real life. It was interesting to see how such young students were able to complete such complex lessons. It was also nice to see how much they really enjoyed the lessons. It was interesting to see the different techniques used during the lessons (charts, graphs, pictures etc...)
Structure of Lessons:
I think these lessons used scaffolding a lot which I think was necessary to get the points accross. Also the teachers connected it to the students' real life and the world around them which made them invested in the project.
How did it mirror:
These lessons teach the students what it is to be a good citizen, at first of their own community then building on that to introduce them on how to be a good citizen of the country then the world.
The most interesting aspect of these articles was that even at a young age children were able to complete and understand the lesson based around the cenus.
ReplyDeleteThe teachers developed the students' skills by starting out with small easy tasks and as the lesson went on they were able to increase the hardness of the task which helped the students increase their skills as well as their knowledge of the lesson.
We like how the teacher let the students make their own decisions in their groups, and then would base the next phase off of their decisions. It made the students active participants throughout the entire unit.
ReplyDeleteThey gave the students some background information, and would kind of set the tone. They would use real life examples that the students were familiar with - hands on activities.
It mirrored the 4 categories and areas of emphasis by giving the students the knowledge and teaching them the skills, which later made them develop their own values in their groups.
The most interesting thing about the article is the fact that first graders were doing these tasks.
ReplyDeleteThe teacher slowly building them up to doing higher level tasks. They started with things that were easier for them like recognizing and naming then slowly advanced until they could actually evaluate what they were learning.
They could understand what they were learning because they could relate it to real life experience.
1.The most interesting idea from the articles was the way that the lessons allowed students to see the topic in a real world context.
ReplyDelete2.The teachers began by scaffolding the lessons, students also worked together.
3.Students were given information and then asked questions. Then later asked to apply the information. Information was given to the students in small amounts, students were asked to defend their position which led them to creating new ideas.
I think they are both creative ways to incorporate different disciplines into social studies. They both all students to make connections between the different subjects they are studying in school. They were also interesting because the lessons connected to real life.
ReplyDeleteBoth of the lessons start out simply with allowing students to apply, understand, and recall important information. Once students have mastered these activities, they moved on towards more challenging ways of thinking and creating.
Students are able to make connections between the classroom and the real world. What they are studying in these two lessons can help them become a citizen in the real world.
I thought that the most interesting part of the articles was how the teacher made the content engaging. Social studies should be fun and the teacher who dressed up as a king gets props from me for doing it.
ReplyDeleteI was also surprised that students so young were able to understand the content being presented. I mean the students in my classroom are having a hard enough time wrapping their minds around tally marks. However, the teacher was willing to break the information down into smaller chunks on their level and worked up to the more challenging portions.
Teachers, especially in the younger grades, are going to have to be able to break down big concepts into smaller chunks. Teach a portion one day and then consistently build from there. These lessons taught students in the area of social studies but it was also easy to bring in another subject areas such as math. These lessons used the emphasis areas to teach the broader categories of human interaction.
I think the most interesting thing about these articles is the how involved the activities are and the students ability to stick with it.
ReplyDeleteThe first day is made up of gaining the general information so they can understand the information as well as the following activities. As the week progresses, the activities get more and more involved allowing for the application of the information they learned.
They are connected to the 4 categories and 3 emphases. They are taught their responsibilities as citizens. Their role is built upon by by moving into what happens in the world around them due to their actions. The lessons also emphasize gathering the knowledge, then giving them the skills to complete the task at hand.
1. The most interesting aspect of the lesson was how the lessons were related to real life situations. When the students use prior knowledge it's easier for he/she to understand.
ReplyDelete2. Building information on top of one another. Yesterdays lesson builds on todays lesson.
3. The teacher structred the lessons using scaffolding.
The most interesting thing about this article was actually reading about the children doing adult things and actually "getting it". They had intellectual conversations about what they were fighting for or wanted.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the lesson they just started researching and learning about what they were going to be doing. Then the next day they builded off of that and started researching and actually doing what they talked about. This will help in the long run when they grow up and will actually have to do this in a real life situation.
This connects with the four categories and 3 emphasis's because they are exactly what they are going to be doing when they get older. It teaches them the responsibilities of being a good citizen and what they need to do and what lengths they need to go too..
The most interesting part of the articles was how involved the students were in their own learning. It seems that in every subject, students learn better by "doing" instead of explicit teaching every day.
ReplyDeleteThe teachers began the lessons with the students working with basic concepts and practice so they can build their prior knowledge for the following days. The students were able to recall their experiences from the prior days in order to continue with the lesson and develop a deeper understanding of the unit concept.
Students developed knowledge, then used skills with their knowledge in subsequent days, then used both to help develop a concept of the values inherent in the lesson.
The most interesting fact was to see them applied in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteTeachers developed students' skills by building on the previous lessons.
1) That they could accomplish such a hard lesson, and that all of the students got into the activities and really enjoyed it. You could tell by reading that the students were actually learning information and were engaged.
ReplyDelete2)On the first day there learned the information, facts that were needed to know how to complete the activities. Each day the activities got more involved, where the students learned even more information through doing the activity.
3) The students were able to make real world connections. They were able to gather information then apply it later
The most interesting part was tha the students were able to make their own choices and that they were connected to their lives.
ReplyDeleteStudents were given background information and finding out their previous knowledge. The teacher then moved them on to more engaging activities.
I thought that it was very interesting that students were able to accomplish such higher level of thinking with the simple use of drama and/or mathematics.
ReplyDeleteIn the First Grade Lesson the content of the subjects built upon each other starting out with a simple concept like "Long Ago and Specific Jobs" to "Immigration and Budgeting."
They are connected to the 4 categories and 3 emphasis because students are growing in their knowledge of the "US Census" and "Government/Taxes" as they discuss how people gather and use different information (Skills) in addition to creating their one opinion upon the subject (Values).
The best part of the articles was the ideas and the lesson plans that we could adjust to use in our own classrooms.
ReplyDeleteThe lessons were structured from a small group inside the classroom then expanded.
Because the organization continued from small group to large real world application the students could easily progress from the bottom to the top of Bloom's Taxonomy.
1. The most interesting thing about the articles was that they were able to break down the idea of teaching the census. They also gave great examples of types of activities/lessons to teach. The lessons had a lot of involving qualities, such as integrating mathematics into the lesson.
ReplyDelete2. They started with the activity and had the kids jump into that before starting to explicitly teach them the facts/ideas. For each lesson they showed how it related to the children and that it's not just an "adult" form.
3. The lesson involved mainly the reflective thinking and problem solving as well as the citizenship education and understanding. As far as the three major emphasis they were given the knowledge and they acted out the skills (starting to understand the reasons) and they were able to acquire the values by the end.
I thought the most interesting aspect of the article was the level of complexity of the activities that the students were able to complete. This back-up the idea that if you plan rigorous activities and expect a lot from your students they will rise to your expectations.
ReplyDeleteThe activities start with the very basic levels of Bloom's taxonomy and progress throughout the levels as they become more comfortable with themselves and the content.
It is important to build the knowledge, skills and values of young children so they can learn how to interact with others in a positive manner.
I think the most interesting aspect of the article was that the teacher was able to relate the content to real life and made it more interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe structure of the lessons started with less information and as the week progressed, the lessons were more involved.
The students were taught how they should serve as a citizen and what their civic duties are.
I thought the most interesting part of these lesson ideas was that they took something intended for adults and modified it to be relevant to young learners.
ReplyDeleteThe teacher assessed students prior knowledge and each lesson and each day built on the previous.
Students become aware of the importance of the being competent citizens. The end result mirrored the 3 areas of emhpasis because they now have the knowledge and skills to value participation in our government.
The most interesting aspect was how the students challenged themselves to do the lesson and the outcomes that came from their hard work.
ReplyDeleteThe lessons were scaffold so they built upon one another as each day went. At the beginning of the week they were learning basic knowledge and by the end of the week they were applying that knowledge to real world situations.
They connected to the 4 categories because students were responisble for learning about how the government works and how to be a good citizen. They were also expected to problem solve throughout the lessons. They connect to the emphases becuase they were given the knowledge at the beginning of the week and then they used that knowledge as well nasw skills to create values and beliefs about how things should work and where money should be spent.
The most interesting things about the lessons were the student responsibilities and collaboration. The activities were connected to real life senarios. The lessons went beyond the text and brought in new ideas based on a traditional concept.
ReplyDeleteThe lessons started off with samll ideas or numbers for the students to build understanding and use their previous knowledge.
The lessons were organized to have students use their previous knpowledge through graphic organizers. Teacher expalined the basic concepts for the students to build from. The teachers used real life situations to have the students get more involved.
The most interesting aspect was getting these lesson ideas and I liked how the lessons really get the kids actively involved
ReplyDeleteThe lessons began with students learning about and thinking about more basic knowledge. In the drama lesson article they began with imagination and exploration and worked towards higher level thinking where students would use the previous learned ideas to help them make decisions.