Page 316 - Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students 4th Edition

288 Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students
6. If you work in a district where the textbook is viewed as the curriculum, use it as one of many sources. For example, ask students to read a section and ask, “What could be added?” or “How does the idea or issue relate to our lives?”
Time Allocation
1. Work within local mandates for allocating instructional time to different subjects. If you lack sufficient time to teach social studies because inordinate time is allo- cated to literacy, use social studies texts and literature selections as the content base for some of the literacy activities. This is likely to improve test scores in both subjects.
2. Along with primarily oral whole-class and small-group activities, include frequent opportunities for students to work independently on written assignments, especially assignments that call for formulating and writing extended text in response to questions calling for higher-order thinking. If your district is obsessed with test preparation, your students probably will get more than enough practice responding to multiple-choice tests in literacy and mathematics, but not enough opportunities to develop and apply higher-order thinking skills.
Testing
1. To minimize scoring costs and complications, the tests used in high-stakes testing programs typically follow multiple-choice formats and emphasize memory for spe- cific information rather than higher-order thinking skills. Consequently, see that your students receive sufficient experience with these standardized test formats so that they are not unnecessarily stressed when they take the high-stakes tests.
2. However, make sure that your teacher-made assessment tools reflect the full range of your instructional goals. Include questions calling for higher-order thinking as part of your larger effort to go beyond minimal requirements.
3. In general, provide all students with sufficient experience working independently on assignments and tests to ensure individual accountability, communicate high expec- tations, and build test readiness.
Quality of Curriculum and Instruction
1. Assume responsibility for designing a powerful social studies program that reflects the five qualities of powerful teaching emphasized in the NCSS Position Statement (NCSS, 1993; 2008) as well as the 12 principles outlined below.
2. Recognize that although standards identify expected content and skill learning, they do not delineate the curriculum as a whole, and especially not the quality of the classroom discourse and the learning activities. The how of teaching is up to you! As the teacher, you are the key to the depth and quality of your students’ learning. You can make the difference in their level of interest in social studies—and their motivation to learn.
How Some Teachers Have Coped
Case studies reported by Wills (2007) illustrate both the challenges and some of the potential coping strategies brought on by high-stakes testing pressures on the social studies curriculum. Wills observed in middle-grade classrooms in an elementary school
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