1. A Description and Sample Lesson of TCI Curriculum Materials
Social Studies Alive!
A Description and Sample Lesson of TCI Curriculum Materials

2. Sources
All information included in this presentation is from the TCI website ( and TCI materials included in Geography Alive! curriculum

3. Part I: Rationale & Description

4. TCI “Social Studies Alive!” is created by TCI
Created by Bert Bower, PhD
Interactive instructional approach that is intended to help students of all ability levels and learning styles succeed

5. Lessons are based on five theories:
Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe)
teaching for deep understanding must begin with planning the big ideas students should learn. (essential question)
Nonlinguistic Representation (Marzano)
teaching with nonlinguistic activities helps improve comprehension. (Graphic organizers and movement activities)
Multiple Intelligence (Gardner)
address Gardner's seven intelligences: verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, body-kinesthetic, musical-rhythmic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal.
Cooperative Interaction (Cohen)
cooperative groupwork leads to learning gains and higher student achievement.
Spiral Curriculum (Bruner)
students learn progressively — understanding increasingly difficult concepts through a process of step-by-step discovery.

6. Multiple Intelligence Teaching Strategies
Visual Discovery
students view, touch, interpret, and bring to life compelling images as they discover key social studies concepts.
Social Studies Skill Builders
students work in pairs or small groups on fast-paced, skill-oriented tasks such as mapping, graphing, identifying perspective, and interpreting primary sources
Experiential Exercise
Through the use of movement and introspection, students capture a moment or feeling that is central to understanding a particular concept or historical event.
Writing for Understanding
The experience becomes a springboard for writing, challenging students to clarify ideas, organize information, and express what they have learned.
Response Groups
students work in small groups with thought-provoking resources to discuss critical thinking questions among themselves.
Problem Solving Groupwork
students work in heterogeneous groups to create projects that require multiple abilities so that every student can contribute.

7. Social Studies Alive Series
Middle School Series include:
History Alive! The Ancient World
History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond
History Alive! The United States Through industrialization
History Alive! The United States Through Modern Times
Geography Alive! Regions and People
High School Series include:
History Alive! World Connections
History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals
Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You
Econ Alive! The Power to Choose

8. Lesson Elements Standards-Based Content Preview Assignment
Dynamic lessons build mastery of state and national social studies standards.
Preview Assignment
A short, engaging assignment at the start of each lesson helps you preview key concepts and tap students' prior knowledge and personal experience.
Considerate Text
successful reading of expository text involves four stages: previewing the content, reading, taking notes, and processing the content or reviewing and applying what has been learned.
Graphically Organized Reading Notes
Comprehensive graphic organizers used to record key ideas help students obtain meaning from what they read.
Processing Assignment
Processing assignments encourage students to synthesize and apply the information they have learned in a variety of creative ways.
Assessments to Inform Instruction
encourage students to use their various intelligences to demonstrate their understanding of key concepts while preparing them for standardized tests.

9. Government Alive Lesson #9: Public Opinion & The Media
Part II: Sample Lesson
Government Alive Lesson #9: Public Opinion & The Media

10. Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:
analyze the role of the media in shaping public opinion.
evaluate the extent to which the media act as a free press.
analyze the influence of media coverage, political advertising, and public opinion polls on
local, state, and national elections.
identify persuasive techniques and their application in U.S. campaigns.
write position statements about the influence of political advertising on voters.

11. Lesson Preview What details do you see?
According to the poster, why should people vote for Stevenson?
To whom is this poster designed to appeal?
Do you think such a poster could actually influence people’s views in an election?
What other kinds of political media messages have you been exposed to? Did they have any influence on your political views?

12. Text Introduction
Next, students read the introduction part of the chapter and then consider the essential question.
Government Alive Chapter Nine
After discussing the Introduction & Essential Question, then students read chapters 2-5 [possibly for homework] and take reading notes using the specific directions in the notebook worksheet [guided reading questions, graphic organizer, etc.]

13. Essential Question
To what extent do the media influence your political views?

14. Experiential Exercise
Students will experience media campaign materials.
Techniques used in political ads:
Name-calling: using personal attacks on the opponent
Transfer: using unrelated symbols that evoke strong emotions
Bandwagon: giving the impression that everyone supports him/her
Testimonial: using a famous person or expert to support him/her
Plain folks: shows candidate as a regular person you relate to
Card-Stacking: presenting facts or statistics on only one side
Glittering Generalities: vague, sweeping statements that appeal to voters emotionally but don’t say anything really specific

15. Experiential Exercise
Around the room, you will find placards of political advertisements.
Each table will be assigned a placard to begin with.
Please look at the placard and discuss with your group which is the primary tactic being used in that ad.
Please write down your answer.
The instructor will let you know when it’s time to rotate

16. Experiential Exercise
Now we will watch some video clips of campaign ads and discuss which strategy/ies are being used in each one.
Eisenhower
Kennedy
Mondale
Bush
Clinton
W. Bush
Livingroomcandidate.org has tons of campaign videos!

17. Processing Activity
Students write a position statement on the reliability and effectiveness of campaign advertisements.

18. Analysis of TCI

19. Positives and Negatives of TCI Program
Student action and interaction
Connects new material to existing knowledge & experience
Based on MI and Spiral Curriculum theories
Meets standards including common core
Expensive to acquire materials
Assessment still takes form of multiple choice test (not MI)

20. Please take out a piece of paper, write your name, and then comment on each of the following points. You will not be graded on your opinion, so feel free to be honest.
1. What I learned in class today
2. What I need more clarification on
3. High point
4. Low point
Please leave your paper on your table. You may leave when you are done.
See you next week!