Meaningful Integration

in Social Studies •Work on K-W on how to

integrate other subject areas and technology into Social

Studies

Today’s Agenda

• Book Commercials

• Fritzer

• Meaningful Integration

• Lesson Plan ‘Workshop’

• Don’t forget to sign up for Loewen

Positive Features of Integration

• Enhancing meaningfulness of what is taught

• Save teacher’s time• Teach knowledge and skills

simultaneously• Restore an emphasis on social studies in

climate of standardized tests

Accountability • On the knowledge (ex. Content of a letter

written to representative about legislation)• On the skills (ex. Descriptive writing piece

about a trip to the White House)• On both (ex. In Language arts studying

narratives and in Social Studies studying the American Revolution—writing biographies on key revolutionary figures)

Desirable Integration

• Topics that naturally draw content from more than one subject.– Ex. Maps—geography and

mathematics– Ex. Needs and wants—economics and

mathematics

Desirable Integration

• Skills learned in one subject are used to process or apply knowledge learned in another subject area.– Ex. Pretend you are a Native American on the Trail of

Tears journey, write a series of diary entries describing your feelings, attitudes, and future expectations.

– Ex. In a unit on the Middle East, identify biases and points of view in newspaper articles.

• What other sorts of skills are common across subject areas that we can integrate into Social Studies instruction?

Desirable Integration

• Enrichment activities that help to personalize content, make it more concrete, enhance learner curiosity, or add an affective perspective.– Ex. Using literature (Unit on wants and needs-

read King Midas, Cinderella)– Ex. Integrating art or music

• How might technology play a role in integrating the Social Studies curriculum?

Undesirable Integration

• Activities that lack social education goals– Ex. ABC order of state capitals, making vocabulary

words into plurals.– Ex. Write a research paper on coal.

• Remember that RELEVANCE is important! Projects should reflect specific goals, needs, or desires of the student population– How might a research paper on coal BE relevant?

Undesirable Integration• Cost-Effectiveness Problems-more focus on other

subject area goal rather than social education goal. Time!– Ex. Constructing houses from tropical regions– Ex. Create family members using paper plates– Ex. Role Play-participate in a parade to show

how families celebrate– Ex. Collage and scrapbooking

Undesirable Integration

• Distorts Content• Difficult or Impossible tasks• Feasibility

For Next Time...

• Concept Map Reading Strategy

Lesson Plan Workshop

• Exchange lesson plans with someone other than your partner

• Evaluate the lesson plan for evidence of MEANINGFUL Integration

• Comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the particular lesson

• Work with your colleague to improve the lesson– What suggestions would you make? How might YOU

approach this particular subject matter?