Page 274 - Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students 4th Edition

246 Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students
this chapter (NCSS, 1993; 2008). We believe these five qualities should serve as principles for evaluating activities. No one activity needs to meet all five qualities, but each activity should represent some of them, and the activities you use collectively should represent all five qualities.
Meaningful. The teacher emphasizes authentic activities that call for using content for accomplishing life applications. Critical-thinking dispositions and abilities are devel- oped through policy debates or assignments calling for critique of currently or histori- cally important policies, not through artificial exercises in identifying logical or rhetorical flaws. Students engage in cooperative learning, construction of models or plans, dramatic recreations of historical events that shaped democratic values or civic policies, role-play and simulation activities (such as mock trials or simulated legislative activities), interviewing family members, and collecting data in the local community. Such activities help them to develop social understandings that they can explain in their own words and can apply in appropriate situations.
Integrative. Powerful social studies activities are integrative and cross disciplinary boundaries. For example, an activity that addresses multiple content goals might use one or more literacy genres. A group research project might draw from mathematics, literacy, and even include a science-related activity. See Chapter 12 for more on integration.
Value-based. If the content goals focus on appreciation, activities might include ones that promote critical and analytical thinking, consideration of other perspectives, empa- thy, sensitivity to cultural likenesses and differences, and so on. If the content goals focus on understanding, application, and appreciation, activities might focus on core demo- cratic values such as justice, equality, liberty, and the common good.
Challenging. Activities need to be intellectually challenging, not simple paper-pencil worksheets that require simple recall. Generally, more challenging activities will meet multiple goals. They typically involve higher-order thinking, including synthesis, analysis, application, and evaluation, and require sustained and thoughtful discourse.
Active. Typically, “active” is associated with “hands-on” learning. This may or may not be appropriate depending on the content goals. For example, if students were studying shelter and the goal was to develop understanding and appreciation for the steps and chal- lenges associated with construction, having students build gingerbread houses would not be appropriate. Visiting a construction site, observing the workers, and/or studying a series of photographs accompanied by an interactive discussion would be far more mean- ingful. “Minds-on” activities including prompts such as “think about,” “listen for,” and “observe” are examples of activities that are active yet do not include physical movement.
Technology Tips
The Internet offers a wealth of lesson plans and resources. Many historic sites (e.g., Colonial Williamsburg at www.history.org/) and newspapers (e.g., The New York Times at learning.blogs.nytimes.com/) offer rich lessons drawing upon pri- mary source materials. However, sometimes plans and resources on the Internet are not high-quality, nor do they meet the principles we suggest for designing, implementing, and evaluating activities. Find a lesson plan you might use in your classroom and apply our principles. Does this lesson need modification to meet more of the principles before using? What would you modify?
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