1. Exploring Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) in K-3 Social Studies
February 25, 2017
Use the index cards on the table to make a quick sketch of you in your classroom with your students during a Social Studies lesson

2. Welcome and Introductions
Share around the room:
Who are you?
Where/ What grade level do you teach?
Two words that describe your illustration (NOT words about the artwork, but words around the content)

3. What is the purpose of Social Studies
What is the purpose of Social Studies? Helping “young children make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse democratic society in an interdependent world.” NCSS 2001

4. What is our purpose today
What is our purpose today? To experience, inform, and discuss DAP and curricular choices for K-3 classrooms

5. Best Practices in Primary School What do we Know
Balance children’s need for focused instruction with their need to build on what they already know
Provide beneficial concrete, hands on experiences
Make necessary visible connections, especially across subjects
Allow for integration of curriculum which fosters connections and is fun for kids
Provide explanations, illustrative information, direct instruction on new words, concepts or events, and opportunities to practice new skills

6. What is a teacher’s role in Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)
What is a teacher’s role in Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)? (NAEYC)
Creating a Caring Community of Learners –ENVIRONMENT/RELATIONSHIPS are key
Teaching to Enhance development and learning –TEACHER TOOLBOX/STRATEGIES (how of lessons)
Planning a curriculum to achieve important Goals
CONTENT – Rigorous/ interesting/ standards based
4. Assessing children’s development and learning –
APPROPRIATELY Performance/Project based
Establishing reciprocal relationships with families –
THROUGHOUT, responsive
Use the DAP star

7. What can it look like? Picture is video link

8. What did you see/hear/notice?
At your tables, please note those things that were more traditional vs less traditional?
Identify those things that you already incorporate
Identify struggles/barriers you might have with this type of model
Share a most important idea or comment with the group

9. What makes this lesson DAP?
Using a collaborative inquiry process (around a Social Studies theme)
Teachers guide students to construct a compelling important question and in developing supportive questions which help arrive at the knowledge to answer the compelling question
Compelling Question: What makes a community work well?
Supporting Questions:
How do people support our community?
Who makes the laws in our town?
Why do we need laws?
Where does our school get money?
Why do we have parks?
How can I do this?

10. Implementation: With the Standards in Mind
Look at your curricular mapping (which standards when)
Look at your students’ interests as related to the standards (How can you “hook them”?)
Look for holistic thematic ways to teach reading, writing, speaking, listening, math and social skills in the process
Look for ways these standards will develop self regulatory and executive skill function (inhibitory control, focus, persistence etc)
These have to be big picture ideas as they require big investments!

11. Informed Inquiry--4 steps
Develop Questions and Plan Inquiries
Applying disciplinary concepts and tools (in the areas of civics, economics geography and history)
Evaluating sources and using evidence
Communicating conclusions and taking informed action
For what benefits?
Meeting Standards across content areas
Keeping relevance
integrates curriculum (longer thematic units)
Increases retention of concepts
involves families in meaningful ways

12. Phase 1 – Questions and Planning
Using Social Studies Standards and student interests, help students identify a problem (or people or SS topics) in their community that are relevant to them ex: (How to make crosswalks safer)
Develop a Compelling topic question that must:
Be important and significant for student learning
Be meaning and relevant to students
Offer abundant opportunities for students to meet the standards in multiple ways
Have the potential for a rich investigation with many sources and materials that students can access

13. Phase 1 – Questions and Planning
KWL (Know-Want to Know-Learned)or SQUiNK (Schema – QUestions – I Now Know).
THE QUESTIONS form the Supporting questions of study for the Big Idea (Compelling Question)!
Keep and revisit this list to remind students of what they are learning as well as to record new questions

14. Phase 2: Investigate and Represent
Students learn more about the topic and investigate
Possible answers
Possible solutions to problems
Questions they have posed
Students learn about and apply disciplinary concepts and tools by
Reading information and Completing activities that help them understand and use concepts and tools from geography, history, economics and civics
Listening to guest speakers/ taking field trips/ exploring environments

15. Phase 3: Evaluating Sources and Using Evidences
With guidance and support from teachers, students evaluate sources of information they have found
With guidance and support from teachers, students use evidences to find answers to their questions
Students generate a list of possible solutions to problems and/or answers to compelling and supporting questions (Many times this leads to additional reading and investigation
Students demonstrate what they know through a variety of performance options, meeting their standards in multiple areas as they explore and record investigations

16. Phase 4: Concluding the Study (Communication and Action) pg1
Typically a culminating event
Communication through (interest)
A report
Power Point or other multi-media opportunities
Writing/performing a play
Multiple project opportunities
Communication to (motivation):
School Admin
Families
Community Stakeholders
Other classes

17. Phase 4: Concluding the Study (Communication and Action) cont.
Communication by (Persuasion):
Share entire project with audience from compelling question to culminating event
Projects may be informational documents for taking action
Communication About (Standards Mastery):
Student evidences of learning will provide learning in not just Social Studies but in reading, writing, speaking, listening, the arts, and likely math
Use artifacts but capture digital images as well

18. Real Class Examples

19. Real Class Examples

20. Examples to Share First Grade Presidents Day
Third Grade Civil Rights Movement

21. In short
When teachers use academic thematic units based on Science and Social Studies standards, students can achieve higher language development gains, be more motivated, and be better able to to apply skills in new contexts.
Additionally, student self-confidence and self-efficacy blossom.
Supporting Students, Meeting Standards Article
Process and Planning Time

22. A Closing Thought