Page 301 - Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students 4th Edition

CHAPTER 13
How Can the Curriculum Be Expanded and Made More Powerful through Homework? 273
volunteering to help in the classroom is important, there are also more authentic ways for parents and other family members to become involved with their children and the social studies curriculum. These opportunities can serve to keep families informed about what is happening in the classroom and at the same time enhance their children’s skill development and ability to apply content learned in school in meaningful ways that relate directly to their lives outside of school.
For example, despite at least four curricular opportunities to learn about the states and capitals and at least three U.S. history courses included in K–12 education, students often do not know the capital of their own state, where the largest state is located, what states border their own, the states that comprise the original thirteen colonies, the causes of the Civil War, when the United States declared its independence, and so forth. A possible cause of the problem is the isolated “book learning,” “do school” manner in which the material is covered. One way to overcome this hurdle may be to provide families with sim- ple maps, timelines, and simulations/games (either real or virtual) to be used at home. By providing some of these resources, accompanied by instructions for activities, teachers can build learning opportunities into family discussions that include locating in time and space local places and events as well as those seen on television. Timelines could also be used to anchor family discussions about how old family members are, when their ances- tors were born, or what significant historical events occurred during their lifetimes.
Plot on the timeline when family members were born.
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Plot in green significant events that have occurred in your family.
Similarly, activities such as planning vacations or discussing news events could focus on appropriate maps to enhance discussions of current events. Outline maps can be lam- inated and used as placemats to spark discussion. Students can begin to see that the world is dynamic and changing, that things that impact our lives occur every day, and that significant events often happen around the world simultaneously. Students can also begin to understand and appreciate that events such as wars, floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters and political events that happen on the other side of the world impact our lives. With technological and communication advances, people across countries and conti- nents are becoming increasingly interconnected and interdependent.
Social studies is also rich with opportunities for involving students with family members and the community in collaborations that can be mutually satisfying and stimulating. Par- ents, older siblings, babysitters, family friends, neighbors, business owners, and politicians can be great collaborators for learning—and without special preparation. The key to success is careful selection of homework experiences that reflect the goals of your lesson or unit.
One of the goals of a unit on communities might be to become aware of what is being done by local citizens to ensure that the community is safe and clean. Another goal might be to pave the way for students’ participation in purposeful citizen action projects. Students could survey family members or other local people to determine what they personally are doing—or would be willing to do—to have a safe and clean community. The results could be shared in class, and students could follow up by developing a plan of action. The plan could include a map of the community with a legend depicting unsafe/ unclean areas and using designated symbols to indicate particular problems. Students could use the data to inform the community of current conditions. They might elect to conduct an after-school campaign to encourage people to take positive action. Some might volunteer to work with adult community leaders on projects to ensure that the area becomes a more healthy and safe place to reside.
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