Birmingham Public Schools A K-12 Narrative of Social Studies Education in 2015

First Grade Social Studies

First Grade Alessandro is 6 years old. He was born in Central America and Spanish is his native language so he is an ELL learner. He doesn’t understand many of the American holidays, traditions and rules to common recess games. He plays more aggressively than other children which makes partner work challenging. Alessandro, age 6

Conditions First grade alternates between Social Studies and Science. When we focus on SS, it is taught for 40 minutes, 3 times a week. Key Resources: TCI Teachers Pay Teachers: Econonic Unit (Wants and Needs) Pinterest Response: When the materials are hands-on, Alessandro responds well. He likes the sensory input of books, maps, school store, etc. Paper/pencil activities tend to be more of a challenge. It is difficult for him to stay focused. The resources are limitedly aligned with the standards. Materials are not available to cover many sections. Examples are the sections on Public Discourse, as well as, 1-C2.0.2 under Values and Principles of American Democracy (Civics and Government). The Market Economy section also does not have materials. Some of the lessons in TCI do not support the given standard (lesson on how are families special is supposed to teach distinguishing between physical and human characteristics of places). Yes, the resources easy to use for the teacher and student.

Major Units of Study History: Living and Working Together in Families and School: Use historical thinking to understand the past. Geography: The World in Spatial Terms: Use geographic representations to acquire, process and report information from a spatial perspective. Places and regions: Understand how regions are created from common physical and human characteristics Human Systems: Understand how human activities help shape the Earth’s surface. Environment and Society: Understand the effects of human-environment interactions.

Major Units of Study Civics and Government: Purpose of Government: Explain why people create governments. Values and Principles of American Democracy: Understand values and principles of American constitutional democracy. Roles of the Citizen in American Democracy: Explain important rights and how, when, and where American citizens demonstrate their responsibilities by participating in government. Economics Market Economy: Use fundamental principles and concepts of economic activity in a market economy. Public Discourse, Decision Making, and Citizen Involvement Identifying and Analyzing Public Issues: clearly state a problem as a public policy issue, analyze various perspectives, and generate and evaluate possible alternative resolutions. Persuasive Communication About a Public Issue: Communicate a reasoned position on a public issue Citizen Involvement: Act constructively to further the public good.

Foundational Skills & Concepts Concepts/skills that would be most beneficial for students to know: To be able to read Understanding rules at home and at school Understanding that families are different and thats what makes you special Can recall home address

Assessment Strategies More assessments are directly from TCI; however, some rubrics are teacher created. Share if any are common (timelines). As long as the assessment is read to Alessandro, he is able to complete successfully. In this box, share any connections that your social studies curriculum has with… The goals of the Strategic Plan: design a flexible learning environment that utilizes multiple student groupings BPS Learner Profile: Citizens who value local and global perspectives connects with living and working together in families and schools. Solving real world problems is addressed in our standard but it is not in our current resource. C3 Framework (Inquiry Arc): We cover the broad topics of civics, economics, geography and history. Social and Emotional Learning Standards: Our social studies curriculum covers self-managment, self-awareness, responsible decision making and problem solving and core principles, but it does not cover interpersonal skills or social awareness. Character Education’s 11 Principles: The curriculum covers responsibiolities in a democratic society and creating a caring community. NCSS Vision: The lessons are meaningful topics, such as working together in families and schools.