Tuesday, February 7, 2012 How do I engage students in meaningful social studies lessons? Agenda: Review Learning Cycle Lesson Plan Pedagogical Knowledge for Social Studies Jigsaw with Tradebooks Types of Lecture/Direct Instruction

Learning Cycle Lesson Plan Exploratory Introduction –Recall/Relate Prior Knowledge –Gather Data/Make Observations –Open Question Lesson Development –Experience with idea –Explain –Model, provide examples, practice skill Expansion –Transfer to real world events –Apply new idea in new contexts *Questions to ask yourself p.39

Pedagogical Knowledge for Social Studies (PCK) Methods – Similar to methods used in other subjects. –Cooperative Learning –Role Playing Simulation –Inquiry Based –Guided Discovery –Direct Instruction –Games –Learning Stations –Questioning –Writing * The key is to match instructional methods appropriately to the meaningful social studies content focus.

Cooperative Learning Cooperative Learning v. Group Work Important to keep objectives in mind: –Lesson Content Learning Objectives What social studies objectives are all students supposed to meet. Will they ALL meet these through cooperative learning. –Behavior Learning Objectives Why am I having students complete this activity in groups. What skills do I want them to practice? How can I organize the activity so they actually practice these skills.

Tradebooks Jigsaw NCSS Recommendations for Tradebooks in Social Studies

“Lecture” “Input” –Doesn’t match constructivist approach BUT does seem necessary at times. Remember part of PCK is picking the right method/strategy for the content. –Deserves only a small portion of social studies instruction *I want to address some strategies/models to help as you begin developing your lesson plans. These methods will help traditional “lecture” be more engaging and meaningful for students.

Feedback Lecture Lecture Break Out Groups with questions Debriefing using Socratic Method

Guided Lecture Students given objectives Lecture from outline Students individually fill in info they recall Break out group to reconstruct big ideas, concepts, facts in outline. Debriefing to expand on missing or incorrect information

Responsive Lecture Students ask question about set topic. Teacher lectures to answer. While answering, teacher asks why each question is important to them.

Pause/Proceed Lecture Lecture from outline of big ideas, concepts, facts. Every 5 minutes have students share notes to collect and correct information. Debriefing at the end. Teacher calls on students to respond to prepared question.

Think/Write/Discuss Lecture from outline. At least 4 key questions are planned at pivotal points in lecture. At each question, teacher pauses to allow students to write down their answer. Debriefing: After lecture, students share answers in order and teacher relates them to the big idea of the outline.

Pause Proceed Example Venn Diagram

U.S. and Canada “Great Neighbors!”

Life in Canada Developed Country Most people speak English or French Canadian Dollar Urban Areas: Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton Rural Areas: In the north.

Debriefing with prepared questions

Guided Lecture Example Maps help us understand information about our world.

Types of Maps –Maps serve different purposes

Road Map

Weather Map

Growing Season Map