Image courtesy of [Teddy Bear (picnic)] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

2013

Julia Sharun

EDUC 5613

1/22/2013

Professional Reflective Journal

PAGE 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) METHODS/STRUCTURES 2

ROUND TABLE 2-3 NUMBERED HEADS/CARDS 4 CONTINUUM LINE 5

2) STRATEGIES/TECHNIQUES 6

ICE BREAKERS 6 TOP TEN COMMONALITIES 6-7 PAIRED QUESTIONS 8 SCAVENGER HUNT 9-10 BRAINSTORMING 11 CLUSTER WEB 11 LISTS 12 DISCREPANT EVENT 13-14 MEDIA K-W-L CHART 15-16 T-CHART 17 OTHER 18 SPONGE ACTIVITY 18 HOT SEAT- 20 QUESTIONS 19 1 STAY, 2 STRAY 20 ENTRANCE SLIP 21 SHIFT IT 22 SMALL GROUP HYPOTHESIS ACTIVITY 23 RAFT 24 POINTS ON A CONTINUUM 25 BIOGRAPHY WEB 26-27

3) REFLECTION 28-43

4) APPENDIX A 44-61

5) APPENDIX B 63-83

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1) Methods/Structures

ROUND TABLE

Basic Function: Express ideas and opinions; Creating a cooperative project;

Facilitate equal participation; Get acquainted with teammates; Brainstorming.

Steps:

Put students in groups (usually around 4).

Each student in turn writes something or adds ideas to a paper and pencil passed

around the group. The sharing circles around the group one after the other. There

usually is very little talking during this activity. Take about 15-20 seconds per

student.

Example of Class Activity: Uncommon Commonalities

Ways you could use this in social studies:

Find out what students know about the War of 1812 by passing around a

sheet of paper and getting them to put responses.

Use to review material.

References:

Keys to Teaching Success at

http://keystoteachingsuccess.blogspot.ca/2009/02/roundtable-and-roundrobin-

both.html

Round Table/Round Robin

http://www.scribd.com/doc/7220236/Teaching-Strategies

A method or a structure is an approach used to organize or

arrange students to ensure variety and to enhance learning

opportunities within the classroom.

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PAGE 4

NUMBERED HEADS/CARDS

Basic Function: Numbered heads/cards are methods which can easily be applied in

the classroom. They serve the function of creating equal, cooperative groups in

which the students can all participate in the task at hand while working with

others they may not typically work with.

Steps:

1) Depending on the desired number of groups and students in your class, you

begin numbering them off starting with “1.” You continue this process until every

student has a number. The process is the same with numbered cards, except the

teacher passes out cards with numbers on them.

For example, if your class has 20 students in it and you wish to have 5 groups, you

would number your students 1 through 4 (or pass out cards numbered 1 through 4).

In the lower grades it would be most efficient for the teacher to number all of the

students; however in the upper grades the teacher could simply start the process

and the students could continue numbering themselves off.

2) Teacher provides a task or assignment for the newly formed groups to work on.

3) Students work cooperatively as a group to complete the task at hand, with

everyone having a voice.

Example of Class Activity: One Stay, Two Stray (after students have been

numbered into groups of 3)

Ways you could use this in social studies: The teacher could divide the students

into their groups and ask them to design a poster demonstrating what they think

are symbols of New Brunswick. This activity would encourage everyone in the

group to offer their opinion and could possibly lead into debate if students have

differing viewpoints. The students would work as a group to design their poster.

References:

Six Creative Ways to Form Groups (used in conjunction with continuum line)

http://www.examiner.com/article/six-creative-ways-to-form-groups

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CONTINUUM LINE

Basic Function: A continuum line serves the purpose of creating pairs or groups in

an enjoyable, active fashion. It ensures easy communication between students and

proves to be an efficient and effective method to organize your class.

Steps:

1) Ask students to line up somewhere in the classroom in a specific order which

varies based on teacher instruction.

2) The variation occurs based upon the significant numbers of ways in which the

teacher could have her/his students line up. For example, line up based upon:

Your hometown (closest-farthest)

Your birthday (January-December)

Number of people in your family (smallest-largest)

Shoe size (smallest-largest)

3) Once the students have placed themselves in the correct order (verified by going

along the line and asking them), pairs/groups can be formed by “folding” the line.

4) To fold the line the students at the ends come together as a pair, and every

other student matches up with their pair at the other end of the line.

Example of Class Activity: Paired Questions (Once the students have folded the

line, have them answer questions together such as “Who is your favourite Disney

character?” “If you were an actor/actress in a movie, who would you be?”)

Ways you could use this in social studies: Have your students form pairs by folding

the continuum line, and then ask each pair to review for an upcoming quiz or test.

Each student in the pair could take turns asking the other questions from their

notes. This would encourage cooperation and self-teaching and would help them

prepare for success.

References:

Silent Birthday and Other Line-Ups

http://www.originsonline.org/educator-help/silent-birthday-and-other-line-ups

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2) Strategies/Techniques

Ice Breakers

Ice breakers are typically used when the students in the classroom are not

familiar with one another. They serve the purpose of allowing students to

become comfortable through enjoyable activities.

TOP TEN COMMONALITIES

Basic Function: This strategy facilitates discussion amongst students and provides

an environment in which everyone can participate equally. Creativity is

encouraged amongst the students.

Steps:

1) Students are placed into a group using a method chosen by the teacher. Each

group gathers at a table and is given a clipboard with a piece of paper on it.

2) The first student with the board writes down something that she/he thinks

everyone at the table has in common. The board is passed around the table

silently; if it is something they have in common a check mark is placed beside the

statement. If it is not a commonality, however, an ‘X’ is placed, ending that round.

Examples of statements may include:

We all have a dog.

We all like Maroon 5.

We all have an allergy to peanuts.

3) Students take turns writing statements on the paper and passing it around until

ten commonalities are found amongst the group members.

Example of Class Activity: Top Ten Commonalities with a Canadian topic.

Statements could include: “We all like poutine,” “we all like the tragically hip,” or

“we all dislike winter.”

A strategy or technique is an activity used by teachers

to instigate movement amongst their students. A task

is generally completed through this process.

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References:

Ten “Hot” Icebreakers

http://connectyourmeetings.com/2009/01/28/10-%E2%80%9Chot%E2%80%9D-icebreakers/

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PAIRED QUESTIONS

Basic Function: To instigate conversation amongst students; to make students

more comfortable in their surroundings; to allow students to learn something

about another member of their class.

Steps:

1) The students in the class are paired up using a method determined by the

teacher.

2) The teacher stimulates discussion between the pair by getting them to ask

questions such as:

Would you rather skydive or bungee jump?

What is your favourite cartoon character?

Who would play you in a movie?

If you had to choose a meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?

3) Each partner takes a turn answering the questions as they are provided.

Example of Class Activity: This strategy can be used alongside the continuum line

method previously described. Once the students have formed their line, the

teacher asks them to ‘fold it,’ creating partners at opposite ends. The teacher can

then begin the paired question technique to ‘break the ice’ between the newly

matched students.

References:

Forty Icebreakers for Small Groups

-Use the Question Web to find example questions for this ice breaker

http://insight.typepad.co.uk/40_icebreakers_for_small_groups.pdf

Icebreaker Questions for Kids

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/ice-breaker-questions-for-kids.html

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SCAVENGER HUNT

Basic Function: A scavenger hunt serves the function of breaking the ice amongst

students who have not spent a lot of time together. It is fun and encourages

movement and communication in the classroom, while allowing students to find

commonalities.

Steps:

1) Teacher passes out the ‘scavenger hunt’ on a piece of paper by placing it face-

down in front of each student.

2) When the teacher says ‘Go’ the students flip over their page and read over the

statements.

3) Once they are comfortable in knowing what they are looking for, they begin to

circulate around the classroom, finding classmates who meet the criteria.

Examples of the criteria could be “Find someone who:”

Is from the same hometown as you

Likes Pepsi more than Coca Cola

Is an only child

Likes country music

Watches reality television

4) The teacher can award prizes to the first three students to finish, encouraging

the children to communicate with everyone and move quickly!

* It should be noted that a name can only be used once during the scavenger hunt.

Students need to find someone new to meet every criterion.

Example of Class Activity: In a different way of using this strategy, the students

could go on a ‘Social Studies’ scavenger hunt. This would consist of them moving

around the classroom responding to riddles/statements found at ‘stations’ and

recording their answers on the sheet as they go. At each station the teacher could

have set up a “Canadian item” such as a beaver pelt (just an example, could be

many things). There would also be a corresponding riddle/statement (“Don’t worry

about my two front teeth, this part of me can keep you warm in the coldest

months”). Students would learn about their nation and its history while having

fun and moving around.

References:

Icebreaker Activity- New Friend Scavenger Hunt

PAGE 10

http://712educators.about.com/od/icebreakers/a/scavengerhunt.htm

Icebreakers Volume 2: 14 Activities for the First Days of School (Scavenger Hunt

Bingo variation)

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson074.shtml

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Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a technique used to facilitate discussion and stimulate

ideas/opinions, often without any prior subject knowledge. It is essential to

the inclusion of all students as it offers them an opportunity to participate in

a safe learning environment.

CLUSTER WEB

Basic Function: A cluster web is used to brainstorm and organize ideas in a simple,

easy to create way. This strategy creates a non-threatening environment for

students due to the fact that they can easily offer suggestions to add.

Steps:

1) Teacher assigns a topic or concept (could differ between groups or be the same

for everyone) for the students to focus on.

2) Each group (could be individual or whole class as well) writes the topic or

concept in the center of their page and draws a circle around it.

3) Working together the group brainstorms ideas that relate or represent their

topic and proceed to write these on the page. They draw bubbles around each one

and connect them to the main idea using a straight line.

4) As a class, the teacher facilitates a discussion in which each group can offer

some of their suggestions/present what they came up with.

Example of Class Activity: A possible use of the cluster web in a social studies

classroom could address the topic of citizenship. The teacher divides the class into

groups (using numbered heads for example) and asks them to create a cluster web

brainstorming the idea, “What does it mean to be a good citizen?” In their groups

the students work collaboratively to address this broad concept, adding clusters of

bubbles to their web. It would be an efficient way to begin a new unit surrounding

this topic as it gets the children thinking about it and producing ideas.

References:

Cluster/Word Web

http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/cluster_web3.pdf

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LISTS

Basic Function: A very efficient strategy that is used to stimulate ideas in which

every student in the class is able to participate. No prior knowledge is required to

give an answer.

Steps:

1) The teacher asks the class a question which has many possible answers.

2) The students take turns (by raising their hands) to offer suggestions in response

to the question.

3) The teacher keeps track of all the answers given by writing them down in a list

(one right after the other), either on the Smart Board or whiteboard.

4) When this process is complete, the class will have produced a large list of

possible answers to the initial task/question. As a final step the teacher could ask

them if there are any possible themes/categories that they see in the list, and these

could in turn be highlighted.

Example of Class Activity: An example of a class activity using the ‘lists’ strategy

would begin with the teacher asking the class to brainstorm words that come to

mind when they think about ‘Canada.’ Answers that may be given include ‘hockey,’

‘beaver,’ ‘maple syrup,’ and ‘maple leaf.’ The teacher writes all the answers down

on the board and then asks the class to come up with some categories using the

answer.

References:

Brainstorming With 5-8 Year Olds

http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2008/11/04/brainstorming-with-5-to-8-year-olds/

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DISCREPANT EVENT

Basic Function: To engage students in a new area of study; to help them develop

hypothesis based on information; to solve a puzzle; to develop higher-order

thinking.

Description: A discrepant event presents students with a puzzle, or event, or story

at the beginning of a class. Students ask questions, pose hypothesis, analyze and

synthesize information and draw conclusions.

Application: Usually it is used to introduce a new topic of study and to engage

students with the material.

Steps:

1) Teacher generates a story or puzzle. Certain parts are omitted that creates mystery. Once created the teacher presents the story to the class. Usually the teacher asks a guiding question.

Example:

In 1837, a young boy named John lived on a farm in a beautiful mountainous, wooded

area in eastern Tennessee. His family planted corn and raised animals for meat, milk

and eggs. His father participated in the legislative branch of government. His mother

taught English in a local school. He had four brothers and three sisters. The family

appeared happy and prosperous.

In 1839, the family moved to a treeless, dry, flat prairie, where it was barely able to

raise enough food to survive. Two of John’s brothers and one of his sisters died.

Unable to make a living farming, his father became a member of the legislature. His

mother helped publish the local newspaper; John and his family missed their

beautiful home in the mountains.

Question: Why did John and his family leave their beautiful home in Tennessee and

take such a hard journey to settle in a hot barren land?

2) Students Question the Teacher: Students make note of the facts and then they collect data by asking the teacher questions. The questions must be structured so they can be answered by a “yes” or “no”. Make clear that the questions should be structured so as to infer information and not as a guessing game. Getting to the “right” answer is not the specific goal.

3) Organize and Review Information: Pause and let students organize information they already know or have “discovered”. Process the ideas in a pair or small group.

PAGE 14

4) Formulate a Response: At some point students will arrive at their best answer. Have students state their response along with the rationale for how they arrived at this decision.

Example of Class Activity: A second example of a discrepant event is as follows:

In 1000 CE, the Netherlands, located in the northern Europe, had 8 389 square miles

of land. The people of the Netherlands farmed 5 866 square miles. Today the

Netherlands has 13 967 square miles of land, and they now farm 9 7776 square miles.

The national boundaries of the Netherlands are the same as in 1000.

Question: How is it possible that the people of the Netherlands expanded land base

without changing their borders?

References:

Yell, Michael M., Shceurman, Geoffrey, & Reynolds, Keith. (2004). A link to the

past: Engaging students in the study of history. National Council for the

Social Studies, Maryland.

PAGE 15

MEDIA K-W-L CHART

Basic Function: A media K-W-L chart is used to engage students in a new

topic/lesson of study. Through this type of strategy, ideas are generated without

any prior knowledge necessary. By the end of its completion, students will have

brainstormed, questioned, and learned information about their new topic.

Steps:

1) The teacher opens a picture on the Smart Board (typically a person, place, event,

object, or combination of). The picture relates to the topic/unit about to be

covered, as this strategy occurs at the start of a new area of study.

2) The students begin to address the ‘K,’ or ‘What do I know/see?’ section of the

chart by writing down things in the picture that they observe. The teacher needs to

make it clear that they cannot assume something about the picture: they must

‘know’ it.

3) Once they have written down things that they know, the students move on to

the ‘W,’ or “What do you want to know?” portion of the chart. At this point they

ask any questions that they have about the picture (including any assumptions

they may have drawn). The teacher provides them with this new information.

4) To conclude the activity, the students fill in the ‘L,’ or “What have I learned?”

portion of the chart with this new information gained. By the end of the process

the students should have some new knowledge surrounding their new topic of

study, creating the perfect transition into the unit.

Example of Class Activity: To begin a new unit covering ‘Explorers,’ the teacher

shows the class an old picture of an explorer in Canada (ideally set in a scene

performing some sort of task). The students begin to write down everything that

they know from looking at the picture, then move on to asking the teacher about

what they want to know. Finally, they fill in the “What I learned” column of the

chart with the information that the teacher gave them. This would be an ideal

beginning to the ‘Explorers’ unit as the students would have been able to

participate in the activity without any prior knowledge.

References:

Applying KWL Guides to Sources with Elementary Students

http://teachinghistory.org/teaching-materials/teaching-guides/21806

KWL and KWHL Worksheets

PAGE 16

-includes extension (KWHL)

http://havefunteaching.com/worksheets/reading-worksheets/kwl-and-kwhl-

worksheets/

Media K-W-L

What do you see? What questions do you have? (want to know)

What have you learned? (at the end of the topic)

What do you know/remember about…?

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T-CHART

Basic Function: The basic function of a T-Chart is to compare two ideas/concepts.

Students are encouraged to brainstorm differences/advantages/disadvantages,

engaging everyone in the task. As a result, this strategy is effective at facilitating

discussion.

Steps:

1) Teacher draws a T-chart on the Smart Board and identifies the two

ideas/concepts to be compared, labeling them appropriately in the columns.

(Students could also create their own on a sheet of paper). An example T-chart is

shown below:

Concept A Concept B

2) Students in the class begin to offer suggestions regarding possible differences

that can be found between the two concepts.

3) The teacher writes these in the appropriate columns, creating a visible

comparison.

Example of Class Activity: The teacher asks each student in the class to draw a T-

chart on a piece of paper, labeling one column with ‘Advantages of Living in a Cold

Country’ and the other with ‘Disadvantages of Living in a Cold Country.’ Students

begin to fill in the columns appropriately, generating a comparison between the

two. The teacher then brings everyone back to attention and as a class ideas and

opinions are shared. This activity would result in students in upper elementary

considering social, economic, and geographical aspects, and therefore working at a

higher level of thinking.

References:

T-Chart

http://www.worksheetworks.com/miscellanea/graphic-organizers/tchart.html

T-Charts

http://www.learninghaven.com/articles/t-charts.html

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Other

SPONGE ACTIVITIES

Basic Function: An extra activity usually used for those students who finish the

main task early. An enrichment activity that is not essential but definitely

enjoyable. Sometimes they can be used as “time fillers”

Example of Activity:

Have an exit slip ready for the end of class with a question or get students to ask a

question.

What questions do you currently have about _________?

Write 3 sentences describing what you learned about _______ this week.

References:

Time Filler Ideas: Timesaving "Sponges" for Substitute Teachers and Homeschoolers at

http://voices.yahoo.com/time-filler-ideas-timesaving-sponges-substitute-

291726.html?cat=25

Sponge and Transition Activities

http://tips.atozteacherstuff.com/407/sponge-and-transition-activities/

PAGE 19

HOT SEAT (20 QUESTIONS)

Basic Function: The hot seat activity is used to teach students the importance of

inferring about a concept or idea in an efficient manner. Thoughtful questions are

generated, records are kept, and new information is gained through this strategy.

Steps:

1) Someone in the classroom (teacher or student) selects a term related to a topic

being covered.

2) Other class members take turns asking questions that must be able to be

answered with a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ response. Their goal is to discover what the term

means, with each person only able to ask one question per term.

3) As the questions are being asked, the participants keep track by writing them

down. This is an important step as the emphasis of this activity must be on the

importance of asking thoughtful questions with a purpose. As a group, only 20

questions are allowed before the term is revealed, so each question must infer

something of value about the term.

4) The round ends when either the term is guessed or 20 questions have been

asked.

Example of Class Activity: Throughout the duration of a unit in social studies

covering Canadian Identity, each student would bring in a term related to this

topic (an example of a term could be ‘Canuck’). Using a pre-determined schedule,

everyone would have a turn at the beginning of a class to be questioned about

their term by their classmates. This would be a fun, engaging way to begin the

social studies time block while at the same time expanding the vocabulary of the

students.

References:

The Question Game

http://www.englishhints.com/question-game.html

Canadian Slang and English Words

http://www.canadaka.net/content/page/124-canadian-slang--english-words

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ONE STAY, TWO STRAY

Basic Function: Allows students to take on a leadership/teacher role; teaches

students to summarize information; encourages effective, efficient note-taking;

allows everyone to participate

Steps:

1) The teacher divides the class into groups of three (perhaps using numbered

cards) and provides each group with information on a person, place, thing, or idea.

2) The members of each group read over the new information, selecting the most

important points to provide in a summary to other students in the class.

3) At this point, one member of the group ‘stays’ to be the note taker while the

other two students ‘stray’ to the other groups in a systematic fashion to teach

about their topic (having about 1 minute with each note taker).

4) Once the students ‘straying’ have taught each group’s note taker about their

topic, they return to their original table. Their own note taker teaches them the

information that he/she has obtained.

Example of Class Activity: Once broken into groups of three, each table is given

information about a certain province (including topography, symbols, and history).

The two students selected to ‘stray’ summarize their information and teach the

other note takers while their own student ‘stays’ and writes down the facts. When

every table has been visited, the note taker teaches their group members about the

other provinces. At this point every student in the class has learned something

new about each province in Canada. An extension of this activity could be to

create a brochure advertising a chosen province, highlighting the information that

they have just learned.

References:

Social Skills and Community Building

http://w4.nkcsd.k12.mo.us/~kcofer/social_cooperative_structures.htm

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ENTRANCE SLIP

Basic Function: An entrance slip allows students to reflect on something they have

recently learned. It also serves the purpose of allowing teachers to see how much

their students can recall about a topic/lesson and offers an opportunity for higher

order thinking depending on the questions asked on the slip (a type of formative

assessment). Students can work on summarizing information, as they will not have

enough time/space to write down everything they know.

Steps:

1) Prior to the arrival of the students, the teacher prepares an ‘entrance slip’ with

questions written about a lesson/topic recently covered or an assignment

completed for homework.

2) When the students arrive in class, they are given their own entrance slip and

encouraged to answer each question with information that they recall. Point form

is acceptable as the key is that the teacher is able to determine if the information

taught has stuck with the students.

3) The teacher reviews the entrance slips when they are handed in to check for

general understanding.

4) If the students recall the information accurately and effectively, the teacher

knows that they likely only need a brief reminder at the start of class; however, if

the students are struggling to explain/recall, the teacher knows that more time is

needed on the subject.

Example of Class Activity: At the beginning of class, the teacher hands out an

entrance slip with questions about the fur trade, such as “In your own words, why

was the fur trade so important to settlers in Canada?” Students take 10-15 minutes

to write down their answers and hand them in to the teacher. When each one is

handed in, the teacher can quickly scan it to see if general knowledge was retained;

if it was, then she/he can move on, but if it was not then the beginning of class

would address this concern.

References:

Exit/Entry Slips: Comprehension and Learning Strategy

http://www.nbss.ie/sites/default/files/publications/exit-entry_slip_-

_comprehension_strategy_handout__copy_2.pdf

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SHIFT IT

Basic Function: Encourages students to use their critical thinking skills, applying

knowledge and then analyzing it. Students also learn how to develop meaningful

predictions, and improve their collaboration skills within groups.

Steps:

1) Choose a book/situation related to a topic being studied (example- a children’s

book about the first explorers in Canada).

2) Divide the class into groups of about 3-4 students using a method like

numbered heads.

3) Hand out to each group a set of cards containing the categories setting/person,

time, and culture. Students begin to play, taking turns drawing cards from the pile.

4) If the setting/person card is drawn, the situation is examined by discussing how

the situation/book would be different if told through a different narrator.

Changing the perspective of the characters, from an explorer to the native

population for example, would lead to a very different account of the events.

5) If the time card is drawn, the students discuss how the situation may be

different if it had played out in a different time period. For example, if the

Canadian explorers had arrived in the 1980s or in a more recent decade, the story

would be much different.

6) If the culture card is drawn, the students discuss how the actions of a character

may have been different if the situation was set in an alternative culture. They

work together to recognize that everything that we do is influenced by our culture.

Example of Class Activity: The students could be introduced to a children’s book

about the industrial revolution, giving them characters and a story to learn about

this event in history from. Once the teacher is sure that they understand what

happened in the book, she/he breaks the students into groups where they use the

“Shift It” strategy to analyze the story in different fashions. For example, in

setting/person the industrial revolution would have been much different if told

from the perspective of a factory worker versus a factory owner.

References:

“Living in the Global Village: Strategies for Teaching Mental Flexibility” by Carol P.

McNaulty, MaryAnn Davies, and Mary Maddoux.

http://publications.socialstudies.org/yl/2302/230221.pdf

PAGE 23

SMALL GROUP HYPOTHESIS ACTIVITY

Basic Function: Encourages students to analyze information and to ‘think outside

the box’; encourages the use of imagination and the application of knowledge to

determine significance of an event in history

Steps:

1) The students are divided into small groups (about 2-3 students) using a method

such as numbered cards.

2) Each group is given a historical document, ideally one that they are familiar

with. If they are not familiar with it, time should be allotted to allow them to read

and interpret the document.

3) Once they have an understanding of the document, they are asked to imagine

that the document never existed. As a group they discuss this idea and the

implications that it may have on history and how we live today. What would be

different? Positives versus negatives?

4) Once the students have developed some ideas, the class joins back together and

whole group collaboration begins.

Example of Class Activity: The students could be given the British North America

Act/Constitution Act of 1867 during a study of Canadian history. They would then

be asked to determine what Canada may be like today if this Act had never existed.

To relay their ideas to their classmates each group could design a role play

depicting a scene from present day Canada without the existence of the British

North America Act.

References:

“Suggested Methods for Integrating Primary Sources into Classroom Instruction.”

http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/6707/6707414.pdf

PAGE 24

RAFT

Basic Function: Encourages students to plan and organize their writing prior to

beginning the writing process; facilitates the brainstorming process; can also serve

as a writing prompt; stimulates creativity and imagination; assists students in the

utilization of a specific format when writing

Steps:

1) The students are divided into groups using the numbered head method (or this

can be completed individually based on the preference of the teacher).

2) Each group is given a RAFT template, either blank or filled in depending on

their level of experience with the format.

3) If the template is blank, the students work to fill in the categories (Role,

Audience, Format, Topic) based on the topic or unit prescribed by the teacher; if

the template was given to them, they work to build their ideas based upon the

prescribed prompts.

4) Once the students have developed their RAFT, they can begin the writing

process based upon their brainstorming

Example of Class Activity: The students could be given a prescribed RAFT

assignment that relates to the Grade Four social studies unit ‘Explorers,’ as it

would be their first time working with the RAFT format. The ‘Role’ is filled in as

John Cabot, the ‘Audience’ is other explorers around the world, the ‘Format’ is a

letter, and the ‘Topic’ is the benefits that Canada has to offer as a land. Based on

these categories, the students would brainstorm possible ideas for their letter as a

group and then proceed to write their own individual letters.

References:

“Instructional Strategies Online: What is RAFT?”

http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/raft/

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POINTS ON A CONTINUUM

Basic Function: Allows students to examine and understand real world issues; stimulates rich and powerful discussion; students learn to develop a point of view and defend it; stresses the importance of research.

Steps:

1. The teacher gives a reading or a scenario to the students that offers different positions or viewpoints.

2. As they read their scenario or story, the students use post it notes to record the different positions present.

3. Students then draw a continuum line and as a class they discuss where to place their post it notes (there will be two extremes, one at each end of the line, and then the resulting in-between positions).

4. Once the line has been created, the students debate which position is correct in their own opinion. They must provide evidence to support their point of view.

Example of Class Activity: This strategy could be used in an elementary social studies classroom when students are looking at how to be a responsible citizen. A scenario is developed by the teacher surrounding the importance of voting. Students read the scenario and identify the extreme points as possibly “voting is not important, responsible citizens do not vote” and “voting is the most important thing for a responsible citizen to do.” At this stage they would develop their points in-between, and then a debate could occur. Students could further improve their research abilities by using outside sources to support their point (books in the classroom, internet if available).

References:

Gallavan, N.P., & Fabbi, J.L. (2004). Stimulating moral reasoning in children through situational learning and children’s literature. Social Studies and the Young Learner 16(3), pp. 17-23. National Council for the Social Studies.

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BIOGRAPHY WEB

Basic Function: Creating biography webs allows students to recognize the influences that individuals can have on historical contexts. Students work in pairs to research a historical figure and complete five activities including book covers, timelines, narrative accounts, photographs, and maps.

Materials:

Foam/Bristol Board Photographs

Research Resources (internet, books, autobiographies)

Glue Paper

Scissors Markers

Time Required: 3-4 hours

Steps:

1. A pair of students selects a historical figure to research

2. For the first activity in this five-step process, students design unique book covers, which evaluate the individuals’ significance in history. On the inside of the book cover they write an “I Am” poem, which provides the audience with a look into the life of the historical figure. On the other side of the book cover students include a description of the significance of their book cover design.

3. The second activity involves students creating timelines which identify the events in the individual’s biography. The pair makes separate timelines, which they will later compare. Following this, a third timeline is created which involves a look into the life of another historical individual that either lived at the same time or had an influence on the life of the individual that the biography web is about.

4. Within the third activity the students compare their timelines to find five commonalities to compose a narrative account of the individuals ’ biography. This is done through story telling with artifacts. Five artifacts are chosen that represents the individuals’ life events. The artifacts are listed and described in a table.

5. The fourth activity requires the students to find photographs and images that represent the individual’s life and interactions. Students can also provide small captions describing the photographs.

6. For the last activity, students create maps that trace the individual’s movements to create a sense of historical place.

PAGE 27

Example of Class Activity: This strategy could be used in a social studies class by having the students’ pair up to research biographies of influential historical figures. In pairs the students would create a biography web together. Moreover, upon completion they could present them to their peers in the class.

The below photographs are two examples of biography webs: Louis Riel, and Rick Hansen. These are two Canadian figures that are studied in the upper elementary years within the Social Studies curriculum. Biography webs allow students to learn and reflect on events, beliefs, and attitudes that influenced their life in history.

End Result/Goal

The end goal for this lesson is to allow students to work collaboratively to learn about historical figures. Moreover, students develop problem solving and decision-making skills. This is an interactive approach to learning historical contexts while allowing the students to use their individual creativity.

References:

Fertig, G. & Silverman, R. (2009). Creating Biography Webs to Investigate Individuals’ Historical Contexts. Social Education, 73(5), p. 244-246.

PAGE 28

To be able to interpret an idea or concept and then apply

one’s own thoughts and reactions with purpose.

3) Reflection

January 10th

, 2013

Johnson, Chrystal S. & Thomas Adrian T. (2009) Caring as classroom practice.

Social Studies and the Young Learner (1), pp.8-11. National Council for the

Social Studies.

In the article titled “Caring as Classroom Practice” by Chrystal Johnson and Adrian

Thomas there is a strong focus on the development of students into more than simply

learners of facts and methods; rather, the children are taught to be citizens of the world,

acquiring morals and values along with the necessary information to meet the

requirements of the social studies curriculum. Initially when I looked at the title of the

article and skimmed it over, I will admit that my first thought was, “doesn’t caring come

naturally?” After reading what Johnson and Thomas had to say, however, I quickly

realized my mistake. Caring in the classroom is so much more than learning in an

environment that is welcoming to all; it includes creating a space that students can have

choice, reach goals, work together, succeed, and feel safe, both physically and

emotionally. Unfortunately, for some children school is the one place that they can come

to and feel welcome and cared for, which further highlights the importance of

establishing a caring environment. As a teacher, creating a caring classroom is important

for reasons above and beyond the curriculum; it demonstrates to young children the

significance of healthy, nurturing relationships, both between the teacher and students

and amongst the students themselves.

PAGE 29

Given this understanding, the question arises as to how one should go about

creating a caring classroom for their students. I strongly believe that such an environment

stems from building relationships with your students beyond the information that they are

learning. If you take the time to really listen to what they have to say about their lives

outside of school, you can gather insight into what excites them, while at the same time

they gain understanding that you care about who they are as people. The children need to

mean more to you than simply being another student in another year; instead, each and

every one has something new to bring into the learning environment, and if as the teacher

we can demonstrate care ourselves, it will make it easier for them to do the same.

Furthermore, we can teach them how to collaborate with one another, study

current events, and gain a sense of accomplishment through creative group projects and

interactive learning strategies instead of assigning textbook work. The example from the

article that I really liked suggested that as teachers we could get our students to “put

themselves in the picture.” This would consist of them choosing a picture and trying to

describe how the person in the illustration might be feeling, both physically and

emotionally. A caring classroom could be further created this way, as the children would

be thinking outside of the box, possibly considering aspects such as race, ethnicity, and

socio-economic status without even realizing that they are doing so. Morals and values

will be enhanced and students will feel empowered as they work together and apply

themselves in activities that relate to the world around them. A caring classroom begins

with the teacher, and if effectively established through such methods as listed above, the

students will get much more out of school than simply a knowledge base which meets the

curriculum standards.

PAGE 30

January 10th

, 2013

Elder, Linda & Paul, Richard. (2008). Critical thinking in a world of accelerating

change and complexity. Social Education, 72 (7), pp.388-391.

In their article titled “Critical Thinking in a World of Accelerating Change and

Complexity,” Linda Elder and Richard Paul discuss the importance of children using

higher order thinking skills in and out of the classroom. They argue that in a world

rapidly changing and developing, as educators we need to teach our students these skills

with a focus on effectively questioning in order to gain complete understanding of a

social issue. Elder and Paul provide their audience with many of these such questions,

designed to delve further into a task to ensure that students are learning to their highest

capacity.

I do not believe that we encourage critical thinking skills in our schools as often

as we could. It is important for children to gain skills such as the ability to question ideas

and concepts that they are being fed; however, I feel as if it is only students at the top of

the ‘academic ladder’ (should there even be a ladder?) who make it to this level in

Bloom’s Taxonomy. If this is indeed the case one must question, as Elder and Paul would

do, as to why this is? Does it have something to do with biases in social classes through

which educators automatically believe that certain students will not be ‘able’ to do

something? Or is it inherently true that some students simply do not have the potential to

reach this higher order of thinking? I find it very difficult to believe the latter; it seems

much more likely that they are not receiving an education showing them how to question

with purpose. I definitely agree that all students have different strengths and weaknesses,

and that given these some may not be as strong at certain things; however, as educators

PAGE 31

we are responsible for bringing out the best in every child by introducing them to and

encouraging them to use higher order thinking.

Despite all of this, questions surrounding inferences and conclusions, assumptions,

and relevance as suggested in the article seem to me to be most relevant in the upper

levels of education. This does not mean that at the elementary level we should assume

that students are not capable of thinking this way (that would be falling into the trap

discussed above); more so, it is critical that we place priority on the building of a

foundation upon which students begin to realize the importance of and use such skills and

questions. They can take this foundation with them throughout their schooling years and

into their adult lives, continuously building and expanding on it. Elementary school is the

time to introduce them to this level of thinking as we do our part in creating citizens who

do not take things at face value; in a world moving quickly we need our students to be

critically thinking about the social issues around them.

January 17th

, 2013

Chick, Kay A. (2010). Highlights in history: Differentiated instruction in the social

studies classroom. Middle Level Learning 38, pp. M6-M10. National Council

for the Social Studies.

Kay A. Chicks’ article discusses the importance of differentiating within a social

studies classroom and highlights the success that results from the inclusion of all learners.

She explains that educators should take three factors into consideration when designing

lessons and projects for their students: readiness, interests, and learning preferences.

Readiness refers to the use of tiered learning experiences which address all skills and

abilities. If a teacher is teaching to different degrees of readiness, she/he is taking into

PAGE 32

account that not all students are working at the same level in any subject. In regards to the

interests of the students, a higher level of learning will be obtained if the teacher

considers what their children like to do. For example, a student may be below average at

reading, yet may excel at music. To differentiate for this student, the teacher could

implement musical tasks in correlation with reading, allowing a strength and a weakness

to work together to optimize growth. Lastly, a teacher needs to take into consideration the

way in which students learn best. For example, some learn best during hands-on activities,

while others excel when they are working on their own. By taking into account these

three major areas of differentiation, a teacher allows for the inclusion of all students.

When I read this article I was fortunate enough to recognize many similarities

between it and my first internship at Park Street School. On my very first day there, the

principal highlighted these strategies to differentiate as essential to student growth, and

they remained a focus throughout my experience. At Park Street we used flexible

groupings on a daily basis to account for differences in readiness, created projects such as

‘How-To Videos’ to allow students to work within their interests, and attempted to vary

the method of instruction to help students learn as they preferred. There was a great

emphasis on differentiation within the classroom and school, resulting in higher levels of

achievement amongst the students.

Chick provided me with some new ideas for activities in the classroom that I

would love to attempt. For example, I think that the students would love the BINGO

method of learning as it allows them a great deal of choice in the work that they complete

while still ensuring that they learn what they need to learn. The BINGO card could be

modified for an elementary social studies classroom here in New Brunswick by changing

PAGE 33

the tasks to a Canadian theme. One of the units of study focuses on the learning of

Canadian identity, which could be the goal of the projects on the BINGO board. The

entire unit could center on this board as students develop different skills and learn about

what it means to be Canadian through the completion of these activities. This is just one

example of how one of Chick’s ideas could be implemented into a New Brunswick

elementary social studies classroom.

January 24th

, 2013

Hill, Margaret. (2002). Going places: Geography on the Internet. Middle Level

Learning, January/February 2002.

This article by Margaret Hill titled “Going Places: Geography on the Internet”

provides its audience with online resources that can be used in the classroom to teach

geography. Interactive maps such as examples in which the user can place borders, rivers,

and political boundaries are described by Hill, who emphasizes that these online sources

provide a better learning experience. She explains that there is a much better chance that

they are up-to-date when compared with paper maps, and the fact that students can

actually physically make changes is a definite bonus. Furthermore, Hill highlights certain

websites that offer tremendous maps at no charge and with a quick download rate, and at

the same time she recommends some of her personal favourites.

In my opinion there are several very useful ways in which these types of maps

could be used in the classroom. Of course at the elementary level the children need a

knowledge base in regards to geography, so these interactive maps would be a fun way to

introduce this. They could find their home, their city and their province on the map,

eventually expanding their understanding to a Canada-wide extent and beyond while

PAGE 34

using a hands-on approach. I also think that a beneficial use of these maps could be found

by linking them into a current events portion of the day. By selecting one or two current

happenings in the world on a particular day and getting the students to identify and

discuss its location on the map, they could expand their knowledge of geography while

keeping up-to-date.

One concern arises in that it seems to me that these geographical resources would

be most efficient in a 1:1 laptop classroom. While many schools in New Brunswick are

not yet at this point, I feel that this may be a downfall. Of course, as the teacher you could

have the map open on the Smart Board and students could take turns coming up and

working with the map; however, I do not believe this would be as effective because it is

unlikely that every child would have the opportunity every time and therefore their

chances of recalling the information may go down (not as much hands-on learning

occurring as possible). The other main concern that I had when reading this article is that

it is American-based, and consequently some of the resources listed were strictly

American. While I am sure that we could find some very strong Canadian resources, this

appears to be a weakness of Hill’s writing from my point of view here in New Brunswick.

Overall there are many possibilities that arise in regards to the classroom use of these

tremendous interactive geographical resources; however, we must always remain aware

that there are potential drawbacks as well.

January 24th

, 2013

Page, C. Steven. (2010). Racing around the world: A geography contest to

remember. Middle Level Learning 38, pp M11-M12.

PAGE 35

After reading Steven C. Page’s article titled “Racing Around the World: A

Geography Contest to Remember,” I find myself very excited to at some point attempt a

project like this! The article almost represents a type of lesson plan in which Page

describes the process required to create and run a classroom version of “The Amazing

Race.” In his version he had his students figuratively racing around the continents of Asia,

Africa, and Australia answering questions he had created and using resources provided.

Students were given play money, passports and other necessary travel material to use

throughout their race, making their experience as life-like as possible and giving them a

project that they would never forget.

In regards to the New Brunswick curriculum, I feel that a race similar to the one

that Page created would be most appropriate for high school given the areas of the world

being focused on. Despite this, the race could definitely be adapted for younger grades.

At the elementary level students in the upper grades could complete a race across Canada,

stopping in the major cities of the provinces gathering information about each one as they

go along. This would be a fantastic way to teach young students about the country that

they live in, while also integrating other subject areas into the learning process. For

example, the use of the play money would make certain that students were working on

their mathematics, counting their money and ensuring that they have enough to go on

their flights. While interest rates on borrowed money are a concept likely too advanced

for this stage, a set amount of money could be subtracted every time they needed to

borrow. Not only curricular goals would be met, but life skills as well due to the fact that

students would be practicing team work, organization, and time management as they race

around the country. Steven C. Page’s article demonstrates an idea that has unlimited

PAGE 36

potential in the classroom in my opinion, as the children are learning and working

efficiently throughout the experience while having a blast!

January 31st, 2013

Von Heyking, Amy. (2004). Historical thinking in the elementary years: A review of

current research. Canadian Social Studies 39(1). Retrieved from

http://www.educ.ualberta.ca/css/Css_39_1/ARheyking_historical_thinking_cur

rent_research.html

Amy Von Heyking’s article “Historical Thinking in the Elementary Years: A

Review of Current Research” offers a perspective of the changing role of social studies

and history in the classroom of young students. She examines the way that history was

commonly portrayed, and then offers ways (based on research) that these methods and

viewpoints could be improved. For example, Von Heyking informs her audience that

history has traditionally been taught as simply a source of data for solving the current

issues in the world, focused on current social, economic, and political trends. She offers

the argument that children have not been believed to be capable of understanding history

because they are not exposed to it until much later in school; in contrast, she identifies

that in reality students are in fact exposed at an early age through language, culture and

media sources such as the television.

Von Heyking moves on in her article to inform her audience of the six major

elements that create a framework for the study of historical thinking: significance,

epistemology and evidence, continuity and change, progress and decline, empathy and

moral judgment, and historical agency. Through her description of these elements, she

explains why they may be viewed as a challenge for young learners and then offers

solutions for these challenges. For example, in her explanation of progress and decline

PAGE 37

she identifies that young children seem to believe that history has always been about

improvements and getting better; they do not realize that there have been drawbacks as

well. Von Heyking explains that this could be solved simply by having the students

interview an elder about how a historical event improved but also worsened their country,

which in turn teaches the students that history is more complex than they initially believe.

In my opinion, the traditional views surrounding the teaching of history and social

studies seem to stem from a very limiting view towards children. Even young students

are capable of thinking critically and analyzing information, and although they may

struggle to really capture the big picture, they can be aided towards this feat through the

use of strong guidance. In my own classroom I would apply the information learned in

Von HeyKings’ article by attempting to develop self-efficacy in my students; if they

believe that they have the capability to complete or learn something, progress will be

made! Offering them different types of sources, and introducing broad themes and

questions will hopefully spark their desire to learn, and in turn thoughtful citizens can be

created.

As teachers, I believe we need to teach towards the strengths of our students,

offering them choice when we can and attempting to foster their historical creativity

through engaging learning opportunities. Young children are more capable than we have

traditionally believed, as identified by Von HeyKing, and if they are taught that the

actions of the people in the past are affecting us today, they will come to realize that their

actions will have an impact on people coming after us. I agree with Von HeyKing that

this is an important message for students to take away from their time in the social studies

classroom, and therefore I hope to have it as a focus in my own leaning environment.

PAGE 38

January 31st, 2013

Kirchner, Jana & Helm, Allison & Pierce, Kristin & Galloway, Michelle. (2011).

History + mystery= Inquiring young historians. Social Studies and the Young

Learner 23(3), pp. 14-16. National Council for the Social Studies.

“History + Mystery= Inquiring Young Historians” is an article that suggests an

alternative way to teaching history, varying from the traditional method of lecture and

worksheets. The authors introduce to their audience the idea of a ‘mystery’ strategy in

which a question is presented to the students. This question should have several possible

answers to encourage critical thinking skills and the students should have clues to solve

the mystery. The clues can take the form of text, audio, or hands-on stations around the

room, or simply whichever way the teacher wishes to set it up. In groups with designated

roles the students maneuver around, solving the mystery while collaborating with their

group, an important aspect of 21st Century learning.

This strategy has many positive elements; in my opinion the most significant

impact that it could have on students in a classroom in New Brunswick is that it would

make social studies fun! I feel that many students have a negative view of social because

of the fact memorization that they have been forced to endure for years. By allowing

them to participate in hands-on exploration with a focus on themes and broad questions,

they are much more engaged and curious about their learning, capturing children at a

young age and turning them into life-long social studies learners.

Another powerful aspect of the mystery strategy is that it teaches students about

primary and secondary sources. The children are encouraged and taught how to study

these sources and learn about their origins, which I feel really prepares them for their

upper years of school at a young age. As they move along through social studies, and

PAGE 39

especially in high school and university much of the focus is on primary sources.

Students use them to develop and support arguments, and even learn about their

credibility, strengths and weaknesses. By exposing grades four to six students to these

sources, they are introduced to a new way of studying and learning about the world

around us at a young age, benefitting them in the present and in the long-run.

Finally, the article concludes with a discussion surrounding the challenges of

primary sources in combination with differentiation. The authors state that text forms of

primary sources can be very difficult for struggling readers and that a possible solution is

to modify the source. In my opinion, there are other ways around this obstacle, ways that

I would wish to attempt in my own classroom. Instead of altering a primary source, I

would attempt to provide these students with more audio sources, such as video footage

or objects from the time period (if possible, may be difficult to get). By stemming out to

different learning preferences such as auditory and kinesthetic, more students are able to

engage in the activity and apply their own critical thinking skills in a 21st Century

classroom.

February 7th

, 2013

Burstein, Joyce H. & Hutton, Lisa. (2005). Planning and teaching multiple

perspectives. Social Studies and the Young Learner 18(1), pp. 15-17. National

Council for the Social Studies.

Joyce H. Burstein and Lisa Hutton’s article “Planning and Teaching Multiple

Perspectives” summarizes how to teach elementary-aged students social studies through

the use of multiple perspectives. It explains how to do so and also stems into some

advantages of accomplishing this task. The planning process begins with the teacher

PAGE 40

themselves delving into the material and learning it using a variety of primary, secondary,

and perhaps tertiary sources. Reliable background knowledge is essential for the teacher

so that she/he will be able to recognize credibility issues in the books the students are

reading.

The next step in the process as the teacher is to combine your new knowledge of

the content with your existing knowledge of different pedagogy to help your students

understand what they are being introduced to. This is followed by the analyzing of books

in the classroom to determine what viewpoints they take so that alternative viewpoints

can be brought in to compare. The process of planning to teach multiple perspectives

concludes with the students actually becoming engaged, studying sources and books to

learn about variation and credibility within the social studies discipline. They are able to

tell ‘their story,’ which the authors point out that students love to do and therefore we

should give them the chance to do so!

Burstein and Hutton identify the multi-cultural picture book as a great source to

have in the classroom to introduce multiple perspectives. This is definitely one way in

which I would incorporate the strategy into my own teaching, as picture books offer

opportunities of success for a wide variety of learners. Students who struggle with

reading can decipher the pictures, which is also an important skill to have. I would also

try to incorporate other methods of teaching about multiple perspectives such as by

bringing in guest speakers when available and incorporating the concept into other

subject areas. Literacy would be an effective area to integrate multiple perspectives as the

students could, for example, interview someone with a different cultural background and

write a report on it with illustrations to support. These are just a few examples of ways

PAGE 41

that I could incorporate multiple perspectives into my classroom, utilizing the concept in

a way to engage the students.

February 7th

, 2013

McNalty, Carol P., Davies, MaryAnn, & Maddoux, Mary. (2010). Living in the

global village: Strategies for teaching mental flexibility. Social Studies and the

Young Learner 23(2), pp. 21-24. National Council for the Social Studies.

One of the strategies identified in this article is referred to as “Shift It.” The basic

function of ‘shift it’ is to encourage students to use their critical thinking skills, to teach

them to apply and analyze using their knowledge, and to improve collaboration within

group work.

To begin this strategy the teacher chooses a book or a situation in history that the

students can gain information from. Next, the students are divided into groups, perhaps

using a method such as numbered heads. Each group is given a set of cards with the

categories setting/person, time, and culture and students begin to take turns drawing cards

from the pile.

If the setting/person card is drawn, students begin to discuss how the

situation/story in the book would be different if it were told through a different narrator.

By changing the perspective of the characters, an alternative account of the events is

developed. If the time card is drawn, the students brainstorm ways that the situation/story

in the book would change if it were set in a different time period (for example in the

1980s or in the present time). Lastly, if the culture card is drawn, the students discuss

how it would be different if it was set in a alternative culture or place.

PAGE 42

This strategy could be applied to social studies teaching in New Brunswick

through the study of Canadian history. A book could be read to the students about the

first explorers to Canada and then they could break into groups to use the ‘shift it’

strategy to analyze their new information. For example, through the setting/person card,

they could discuss how the arrival of the explorers would have been viewed differently

by the explorers themselves versus the native people already on the land.

National Archives and Records Administration. (2003). Suggested methods for

integrating primary sources into classroom instruction. Social Education 67(7),

pp. 414-415. National Council for the Social Studies.

One of the strategies in this article is referred to as the ‘Small Group Hypothesis

Activity.’ The basic function of this strategy is to encourage students to analyze

information and to think ‘outside the box.’ It encourages the use of imagination and the

application of knowledge to determine significance of a particular event. To use this

strategy, the students are divided into small groups of about 2-3 students using a method

of the teachers’ choice. Next, each group is given an historical document, ideally one that

they are familiar with. If they are not familiar with it, time should be allotted to allow

them to read and interpret the document.

Once the students have an understanding of the document, they are asked to

imagine that the document never existed. As a group they discuss this idea and the

implications that it may have had on history and how we live today. What would be

different? What would be positive changes and what would be negative changes? To

conclude the activity, the class joins back together and whole group collaboration begins.

PAGE 43

This strategy could be applied to social studies teaching in New Brunswick

through a focus on Canadian history. The students could be given the British North

America Act/Constitution Act of 1867 to analyze. They would then be asked to determine

what Canada may be like today if this Act had never existed. To relay their ideas to their

classmates each group could design a role play depicting a scene from present day

Canada without the existence of the British North America Act.

PAGE 44

APPENDIX A

CHAPTER TOUR

Basic Function: Guide students through the reading of a chapter in a textbook.

Provide students with step-by-step directions on how to successfully read each

chapter of a textbook, drawing their attention to the important features of the text.

Steps:

1. Preview a chapter of a textbook, making note of important points and features that students may overlook and what you feel is important for the students to take away from the reading.

2. Create a chapter tour for students’ that highlights the important features of the chapter for the students to use as they complete the reading.

3. Have students read the chapter, following the directions on the study guide. This can be done individually or with a partner; by working with a partner, students will be able to express their findings orally and on paper.

4. Adapt your chapter tour for following chapters depending on what is essential for student learning in each chapter.

5. Eventually, students will be able to successfully read chapters in textbooks and create their own chapter tours without the step-by-step directions.

Example of Class Activity:

Chapter Tour: Japanese Traditions

Reading a textbook can be overwhelming for many readers, especially if you have

no background information. Sometimes we can miss the main points of a text and

get hung up on small details. Use this step-by-step guide when reading the chapter.

1. Write down the chapter title in your notebooks. Reflect on what you think the chapter will be about based on the title.

2. Write down one sentence describing the main topic of the reading (the title usually indicates the main topic).

3. Write down all headings found in bold, leaving space under each heading. 4. Write down at least 3 important points under each heading. This should be

in point-form and in your own words. 5. Pay special attention to any words in the text that are italicized or in bold.

Write these words down and provide a definition of explanation of each

PAGE 45

word. To find the proper definition for the words in bold refer to the glossary at the back of the book.

6. Look closely at the pictures and read the captions (bold and italicized) to find out more information about the picture.

7. Determine the heading each photo belongs under. Under the proper heading, write a short description of each photo (based on what you see and what you read in the caption).

References:

Chapter Tour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJzVFvybOiw

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VENN DIAGRAMS GET BIG

Basic Function: To have students compare and contrast two themes or subjects by

using a graphic organizer.

Steps:

1. The Venn diagram has three sections, one section for each topic and an over lapping section to place the similarities of the two topics

2. The Venn diagram looks like two circles slightly overlapping 3. Write, or place the appropriate information on cards and get students to place it

under the correct section 4. Have students justify why they placed certain facts in certain sections

Example of Class Activity:

Hula Hoop Venn Diagram: Teachers could set up over lapping hula hoops on the

floor, label each circle at its center and get students to place word cards in the

correct section.

Human Venn diagram: Using rope create two overlapping circles in a large space,

label the circles at their center, provide students a card with information on it and

get them to stand in the appropriate sections

Ways you could use this in Social Studies:

Students could use the Venn diagram model to compare two explorers such as: John Cabot and Jacques Cartier, this will highlight the difference and similarities between these two explorers.

Similariti

es Unique

Characteristics

Unique

Characteristics

PAGE 47

References:

Graphic Organizer: Venn Diagram

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/graphic-organizer-venn-diagram

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MANY MEDIA, SAME MESSAGE

Basic Function: Students are given a topic and asked to represent what they’ve

learned using five different forms of communication: a written factual description,

map or diagram. pictogram or comic a written puzzle, mystery or quiz and a

pantomime or dance.

Steps:

1. Students are given a topic. 2. They write a factual description about the topic. 3. They create a map or diagram concerning the information they learned. 4. Next, students produce a pictogram or comic about the same topic. 5. Students get creative and write a puzzle, mystery or quiz. 6. Now it’s time to perform a dance or pantomime.

Ways you could use this in Social Studies:

This strategy could be utilized in many different ways in the Social Studies

classroom. Educators could use it to teach geography, culture, explorers, etc. Its

possibilities are endless.

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Y STRATEGY

Basic Function: Best used in a grade 1 or grade 2 classes, but can be used at any

level. Helps students identify dilemmas and moral problems as well as distinguish

the difference between cause and consequence (effect).

Steps:

1. The student starts with two large ‘Y’’s’ 2. The ‘Y’ becomes the thinking prompt and the writing structure. 3. The student first identifies the perceived problem 4. The first ‘Y’ is used to list potential causes or choices of action 5. The second ‘Y’ looks at outcomes or consequences 6. The students use each stem of the ‘Y’ to write their three causes (on the first

‘Y’) and three consequences (on the second Y) 7. More than three causes and consequences probably exist in the text, so

student answers will vary. This will stimulate conversation. 8. Students then discuss in pairs, small groups, or with the entire class. 9. Helps students clarify what constitutes a problem and expands their view of

the world around them.

Example:

Ways you could use this in Social Studies:

Use this strategy to integrate social studies (moral judgment benchmark and citizenship unit)

It is important to integrate Social Studies into literacy as there is so little time given to the You and Your World Curriculum.

Some example stories you could use include: o Brave Irene, Enemy Pie, Mr. Lincoln’s Way, Sister Anne’s Hands, Why?

Cause 1 Cause 2

Cause 3

Perceived Problem

Consequence

1 Consequence 2

Consequence 3

Perceived Problem

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References:

“Stimulating Moral Reasoning in Children through Situational Learning and

Children’s Literature”

http://publications.socialstudies.org/yl/1603/160317.pdf

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WORD SPLASH

Basic Function: Best used to connect a group of facts and words into a larger

framework for student understanding. It also helps the teacher assess students

leaning at the end of a unit. It is a good visual representation of what students

have learned in the unit and helps them to make connections.

Steps:

1. Teacher looks at the curriculum documents and identifies key words, information or concepts. Selecting 20-25 words that represent important people, places or ideas that can be connected to one another.

2. The teacher then creates the words splash by organizing the words into two columns in such a way that a word in one column can be connected to a word or concept in the other.

3. At the end of the unit students can then draw connecting lines between the words to show that they are related. They can also write a statement to explain how and why they are connected.

4. This can be used for group discussion by pairing students up to discuss the connections they have made.

5. The teacher can also create an overhead of the Word Splash and students can come up and complete with the class.

Example:

Urban Prejudice

Atlantic Region Democracy

Stereotype Rural

Government Provinces

Ways you could use this in Social Studies:

In a grade three Social studies class this activity can be used to when talking about Provincial Identity. The teacher can choose words in the different units that they can connect at the end so that students can see the long-term connections over course of the year and throughout the units.

References:

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HISTORY FRAME

Basic Function: The basic function of a history frame is to help students extract key

concepts in a block of text and then organize that information.

Steps:

Students are given a text to work with. They will read the text and then are asked

to fill in the different parts of the history frame

1. They will fill in the title of the event (this is not necessarily the title of the book).

2. They will then identify the participants and key players within the text. They will want to identify who played major or minor roles within the story.

3. Students will identify where and when the event took place and what clues or hints the text provides to indicate setting.

4. The problem or goal of the main character (or the motivating incident within the story). What set the main events in motion?

5. Key episode or events, student will discuss some of the most important incidents or actions that influenced the story.

6. Resolution or outcome, how was the problem resolved or the goal achieved (or was it?)

7. Finally students will identify the main theme or lesson from the story. What have students learned from this story and what does it mean to them.

Ways you could use this in Social Studies:

History frames are a great way to organize importation and simplify complicated event for students. We could use this in social studies if we were studying important events in history (wars etc.) to help students understand important aspects and the reasons why these events might have happened. Another way you could use this would be in a unit about explorers and the reasons why people came to settle in Canada. We could give them information packages and students could identify key players, motivating incidents etc.

References:

History Frames/Story Maps

http://www.readingquest.org/strat/storymaps.html

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K.I.M. CHART

Basic Function: For students to synthesize and interpret new information and

make it their own by writing a definition and drawing an image for key ideas in a

topic.

Steps:

1. Students read, independently or in groups, the article being used to glean key ideas.

2. Students create a three column chart with the headings “Key Idea”, “Information” and “Memory Clue” (hence the title K.I.M. Chart).

3. Under the “K” column, students write a list of key ideas from the article or topic.

4. Under the “I” column students write a definition for each respective key idea.

5. Under the “M” column students draw a picture to serve as a memory prompt for the key idea.

6. Students can share their ideas and/or use this activity as a review for the topic.

Example:

Grade 5 students studying the topic of ancient Egyptian civilization may read an

article and glean the following key points from it:

Key Ideas Information Memory Clue

K- Pyramids

I- Large stone buildings built as a tomb for pharaohs when they die. They were

often buried with the resources that could make their next life more comfortable.

M- Pyramid drawing

Ways you could use this in Social Studies:

At the end of a unit to evaluate what students have learned about a particular historical events.

Ideal in the primary years in You and Your World to help them grasp challenging concepts.

Reference:

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GRAPHIC NOTES

Basic Function: Graphic notes incorporate the various multiple intelligences we

will encounter in our classrooms and utilize a visual approach and incorporate text

boxes and arrows from these text boxes in order to simplify the note taking process.

Furthermore, graphic Notes can be used as a reference for review later in the unit.

Steps:

1. Students are provided with a text and a rich visual that compliments the text.

2. Using the visual as a prompt, students will pull the important points from the text.

3. Students will create a text boxes that group the important points in the text into similar categories.

4. The text can be written in point form and contain questions that arise from the reading.

5. The student will draw an arrow from the visual to their shortened and simplified text, connecting their main ideas to the visual.

Ways you could use this in Social Studies:

If students are learning about Ancient Egypt the Graphic Note strategy could be employed.

Provide students with a text about Ancient Egypt as well as a visual representation of this text.

Have students read the text and categorize the main points they take away from it.

Once students have decided upon their main points, have them connect these points to the visual representation using arrows.

Students can share their creations with the rest of the class in order to discover what classmates determined as important.

Students can keep their Graphic Notes in their binders to return to when studying later in the units.

References:

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QUOTE WITHOUT COMMENTARY

Basic Function: Using literature to stimulate critical thinking and reasoning skills

in a non-threatening environment. Strategy that focuses on the identification of

issues and students provide reasons to support, or not to support particular

actions/issues in a book. Helps to promote clear communication and provoke

critical thinking. This strategy removes peer pressure and is a respectful approach

to situational learning. It is best used in large groups in upper elementary classes.

Steps:

1. Students sit in an open circle, facing each other. This allows students to have equal participation to be seen and heard.

2. Before reading the story, students listen to a brief description of a conflict and record their initial thoughts and feelings

3. After reading the story, each student has 5-10 minutes to write down a statement about the conflict. The students can focus on the characters, plot or the dilemma.

4. Beginning at any point in the circle, one at a time the students share their statement, other students are not allowed to comment or respond. This is repeated until everyone in the circle has shared his or her statement. No one is allowed to pass.

5. The teacher starts a group discussion, and a second round is started following the same format as the first round. Students are allowed to pass in this round. In this round around the circle, students are allowed to react to a previous students statement, or respond. This round continues until the students have nothing left to comment on.

6. After completing this, students make a list of commentaries for group members, or they can write a self-assessment statement.

Example:

Ways you could use this in Social Studies:

Reference:

Fabbi, J. And Gallavan, N. (2004) Stimulating Moral Reasoning in Children

Through Situational Learning and Children’s Literature. Social Studies and

the Young Learner 16(3), pp 17-23.

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CINQUAIN

Basic Function: Students become familiar with the cinquain form, and are able to

draw out important facts about a given subject.

Steps:

1. Students are given a topic and resources regarding the topic. 2. They create a concept map of their information 3. From the concept map they gather words/ideas they could use in their

cinquain. 4. Create cinquain

Cinquain Form:

Line 1: Noun

Line 2: two adjectives describing the noun

Line 3: three verbs showing the action of the noun

Line 4: Four-word statement telling about the noun

Line 5: repeat the noun or use a synonym for the noun

Example:

The following is an example of a cinquain on Explorers. It follows the format of a

cinquain as stated above.

Explorer

Brave Determined

Travels Helps Loves

Explored the Canadian Arctic

Discoverer

This cinquain was based on the explorer John Rae.

Ways you could use this in Social Studies:

The use of a cinquain can be applied in the Social Studies classroom with any topic as a way for students to pull out important facts in a simplified poem.

Specifically this can be used for a Grade 4 Social Studies classroom when

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studying explorers. It helps the students develop the ability to condense information, and determine what is relevant and what’s not.

References:

Composing Cinquain Poems: A Quick Writing Activity

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/composing-

cinquain-poems-quick-51.html

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CORNELL SYSTEM (TWO OR THREE COLUMN NOTES)

Basic Function: A guide for students to organize notes when reading a text.

Steps:

1. Students are given a text to read and a Cornell system note taking page to guide them through it and help students identify the key points.

The guide is split into two or three columns

The first column is where students record the key points/major ideas

In the second column, ‘Explanation’, students explain the key points. In a two column system, the second column is used to add details.

The third column is where students provide details about the key points.

2. Students divide paper into two or three columns depending on choice of system

3. Students label each column appropriately 4. Students read text and make notes 5. Students write down key points and details in the appropriate columns

Example:

Key Points Explanation Details

Provide students with articles on famous explorers and give the class a set amount

of time to read and create Cornell system notes on it. Teacher has the option to ask

students to present their findings to the class or in groups.

Ways you could use this in Social Studies:

As a review sheet

As a way for students to organize thoughts

As part of a research project

A way to summarize texts

As notes for a presentation

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To introduce students to note-taking

For individual and/or small group work

References:

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READ-TALK-WRITE (READ-DRAW-TALK-REVISE)

Basic Function: Students are able to read a text, formulate questions based on this

text and discuss with a partner. It also gives the students an opportunity to draw

what they read in the text and to write about it.

Steps:

1. The students read the text given to them by the teacher 2. Pair up students, have them each discuss what they have read without

repeating what their partner has said (also practicing not interrupting their partner)

3. Students write down what they remember from their discussion and what they have read.

4. The students reread the passage they wrote to see if there is anything that can be added (after speaking with their partner)

5. This should be timed so that students get to work right away and don't waste their time reading too much and missing out on the discussion portion.

*Variation: Students can draw what they have read and formulate questions to

discuss with their partner based on this drawing.

Example:

Reading a passage about the people of ancient Egypt

Read a passage of a primary source story instead of a factual passage (the

deportation of the Acadians)

Ways you could use this in Social Studies:

Allows students to explore diverse perspectives of a passage

Builds on comprehension

Collaboration with their partner

Good tool for building memory

Learn how to revise a text and build on a text

Easy to differentiate

Help students to put information into their own words

Increase listening and speaking skills

Engage students more deeply in the text

Learn how to paraphrase

References:

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SUM IT UP

Basic Function: Sum it up is used to organize key ideas within a text. It has two

main parts, space for students to list main ideas, words and phrases as well as a

space for students to write their actual summary. The summary must be limited to

20 words. The purpose of this strategy is to give students a snapshot of the larger

text. It’s also to help students find the main idea of the text.

Steps:

1. Teacher gives students a text such as an article, short story or a non-fiction information book, etc.

2. Students read the text and write key ideas, important words and phrases 3. Students pick the most relevant information and create a short summary of

the text using 20 words to underline the main facts

Example:

Book given to the students was “Down the Nile” and they were to focus on the

Sahara section. For part one student wrote key ideas such as: largest desert in the

world, many droughts, farmers became Nomads. For part two, students wrote:

“The Sahara, world’s largest desert, has many droughts. Once farmland, farmers

became Nomads travelling with their animals searching for food,” as their

summary.

Ways you could use this is Social Studies:

A tool to teach students how to pick out the most important facts when reading a non-fiction text

As a means of summarizing what students have learned in a unit and pick out the most important parts

References:

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WORLD MAP IN 3D

Basic Function: A visual organizer that can help students think about new concepts

in several ways. Students construct a 3D map that holds information on a certain

concept. Students can use the 3D organizers to quiz themselves much like they

would with flash cards. It can be used over a wide variety of subjects allowing

become independent in their learning, Students are able to work on a 3D organizer

alone or in small groups. Can be used for studying or an in class activity.

Steps:

1. Fold a piece of paper horizontally into three sections. 2. Unfold, and vertically fold the paper in half. 3. Cut the top and bottom tabs in half to create four small tabs. 4. On the front of the paper students will write the key concept being taught.

They will then use the four tabs to provide themselves with information on

the concept.

Example:

Students can read a small article on Ancient Egypt. From the article, students

select unknown or difficult words and find the definition, synonyms, and

antonyms of that word. On the last tab students will use the word in a sentence.

Ways you could use this in Social Studies:

To introduce new terminology, and offer students a discovery-based means of learning the meaning of it.

Interactive activity to learn about different geographic locations/countries

References:

PAGE 63

APPENDIX B

STRATEGIES & RESOURCES

FOR

PRODUCTS & PROJECTS

Elementary Social Studies Class of 2013

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PROCESS DRAMA

Candace & Sarah G

Basic Functions:

Process Drama enables students to explore curriculum and experience the content through using scripted

and unscripted drama. Process Drama forces students to think critically, build problem-solving skills, and

participate in higher order thinking. It presents an outlet for students to understand novel and complex

themes/concepts. The pedagogy of Process Drama utilizes imagination and creates an extensive variety of

learning possibilities. In upper grades, students can be asked to improvise to a certain extent, which

promotes mental agility, spontaneity, and cooperation with others. Furthermore, it can span across subject

areas, and it employs the use of multiple intelligences.

Steps:

1. Introduce topic area to students 2. Explain the concept of Process Drama 3. Assign roles (or decide as a class) 4. Allow students to explore roles, and learn through the process of investigation 5. Prompt students to make connection between roles, which will hopefully lead to the

understanding of larger themes/concepts within the curriculum. 6. Discuss the outcomes of the activity as a class. 7. Students can re-act their scene after the discussion, changing aspects of their role if

necessary.

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Implement Process Drama in Social Studies:

This strategy can be used in social studies in many different ways. Students could re-enact a moment of

history or create a skit based on historical facts about ancient times. These historical skits do not have to be

specific things that actually happened in history; instead they could just consist of historical components

with a story line that was created by your students.

Implement Process Drama across curriculum:

This strategy can be used across the curriculum for many other subject areas such as language arts and

science. For language arts, students could act out a scene from a text they are reading, and the teacher could

use this to check for understanding (formative assessment). If students display the incorrect passage of the

text, then the teacher can see that the student does not understand the text. Process drama can be used in

science as well. Students in grade 3 could make skits about how photosynthesis works or about the growth

of a plant. Process drama could even be used in math to talk about math strategies. These skits may be

shorter, but they are still beneficial for students to create because it reinforces that math strategy in their

head.

Resources:

www.teachingheart.net/readerstheater.htm

http://digitaldjs.info/joomla/index.php/process-drama

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/how-to/from-theory-to-practice/process-drama.aspx

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MEDIA TIMELINE

Rebecca Steeves, Brittany MacPherson, Lieneke den Otter

Basic function/purpose

For students to actively engage in creating a timeline of events using objects alongside of the text.

By using actual objects or pictures students are able to creatively come up with ideas of different

things to represent the different stages of the timeline.

Steps

1. Decide on a topic and the time period if they choose to create a timeline of historical events

2. As a class (or individually) come up with different objects, pictures, or creative statements to

represent the different topics on the timeline. (If students come up with ideas that do not

characterize that topic well do not put down their idea but rather elaborate or direct the idea in a

different direction.)

3. Create the objects as a class (or individually)

4. Place the objects on the timeline

5. If it was an individual project give the students the opportunity to present their timeline to the

class.

Materials/time required

Paper

Markers

Artifacts

Household supplies

Wall Space

Tape

Glue

Example of class activities

The class (or individual) can create a media timeline of the events in a book they are studying or

reading in class.

Students can create a media timeline of the Class Schedule. This would be a fun activity for the first

week of school.

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Students can create a number media timeline for math by creating the numbers using different

materials.

Ways you can use this in Social Studies:

You can use the media timeline to help students explore a variety of topics pulled from the social

studies curriculum and to help students understand that timelines can be fun. The following topics

are some examples that students can explore using the times line.

Create a timeline of the life and explorations of Samuel de Champlain.

Create a media timeline of the invention and evolution of the telephone.

Create a media timeline of the Prime Ministers of Canada.

Create a media timeline of when each of the Provinces and Territories of Canada joined

Confederation.

Have each student create a mini media timeline of these different events.

Reference to Articles and websites:

http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/strategy...

http://teachinghistory.org/teaching-materials...

http://www.ehow.com/way_5233301_creative-ways...

Results/Goal

For students to produce either individually or as a class a visual timeline with objects and creative

texts to help them remember the different events, but is also visually appealing and interactive.

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DISCOVERY BOX

Alison Ladd, Shawnna Guitard, Erica Morrison

Basic Function: This is a resource that can be used as an engagement activity to introduce a new

unit. It allows the students to explore new and exciting material independently as the discovery box

contains engaging objects pertinent to the unit. The many clues contained in the box allow

students to use prior knowledge and utilize critical thinking skills to evaluate how the objects fit

into the unit.

Steps:

• Choose Unit and read through the outcomes.

• Based on outcomes in the unit pick 20-25 objects to place in the discovery box

• For each object, write a clue or question that will help students connect the object to the unit

( write these on receipt card and be creative).

• Find a box big enough to hold all the objects and decorate it appropriately. The box should be

engaging and appealing to students’ curiosity.

• Place all items in the box and place it in the class.

• Explain to the students how they are to use the box and let them explore.

Materials:

• Box

• Objects

• Notes for clues/ questions

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Example of class activity: As a class, have the students read through the clues and use it as a station,

therefore all students will have a chance to investigate the box in small groups. You can use this

discovery box as either a learning center, or as a whole class activity. It is very versatile and can be

accommodated to fit any class and be used in any grade.

Ways you can use this in Social Studies: The discovery box can be used at the beginning of a unit,

or as an engagement activity to increase and encourage students’ curiosity of the upcoming unit.

Furthermore, the discovery box can be a resource that students can refer to throughout the entire

unit. This will allow students to make long-term connections over the course of the unit and

enables them to have a deeper understanding of how the unit can be personally relevant to their

everyday lives.

End Results/ Goals: The overall goal of this resource is to get students excited about the unit to

come and allows them to use their background knowledge of the topic. It permits students to have

a discovery-based approach which enables students to be independent in their learning.

Furthermore, it introduces new concepts and sparks students’ natural curiosity for an upcoming

unit.

References:

http://www.worlddiscoverybox.com/edu

http://www.theimaginationtree.com/p/discovery...

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STORYPATH

Kayla Jordan, Megan McBrine, Melanie Poirier, Michelle Dutcher, Amanda Schriver

Description:

StoryPath uses the components of a story: the scene, characters and plot (critical incidents)

To organize curriculum into meaningful and memorable learning experiences. This

Strategy uses and inquiry strategy where the teacher asks key questions to guide students

along the pathway of learning.

Materials:

• Chart Paper (multiple pieces taped together)

• Story that is about Social Studies or that can be tied to the Social Studies Curriculum or Historical

Document

• Paint

• Markers

• Paper

• Scissors

• Glue

• Pencils

Purpose:

Storypath offers both a structure for organizing the curriculum and an instructional strategy for

teaching.

Application in a Social Studies Classroom:

StoryPath applies to the Social Studies classroom as it gives students an organizational way to pull

our critical incidents in stories (Social Studies Themes) or historical events.

Procedures:

1. Pick a story or historical document to present to the class.

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2. As a class, pick out the critical event that takes place.

3. Students create a mural (the backdrop) of the setting of critical event.

4. Characters that are present during the critical event are created. Ensure that characters coincide

with the mural presented.

5. Present critical incident using the characters and the mural.

6. Teacher poses a question to the students about the critical event. This question ensures that

students critically evaluate the situation that was highlighted. This is a great way to get students

thinking on their own about themes in Social Studies.

Example:

Social Studies Outcomes:

K.1.1: Demonstrate and Understanding of themselves as unique and special.

K.1.3: Identify needs and wants that are common to all children.

K.1.7: Communicate effectively, solve problems and demonstrate conflict resolution skills.

Title: Amazing Grace

Critical Event / Script for StoryPath:

“Amazing Grace” by

Narrator:

Grace was a girl who loved stories.

She didn’t mind if they were read to her or told to her or made up in her own head. She didn’t care

if they were from books or on TV or in films or on the video or out of Nana’s long memory. Grace

just loved stories.

And after she had heard them, or sometimes while they were still going on, Grace would act them

out. And she always gave herself the most exciting parts.

But most of all Grace loved to act pantomimes. She liked to be Dick Whittington turning to hear

the bells of London Town or Aladdin rubbing the magic lamp. The best characters in pantomimes

were boys, but Grace played them anyway.

One day at school her teacher said they were going to do the play of Peter Pan. Grace put up her

hand to be…Peter Pan

Raj:

“You cant be called Peter! That’s a boy’s name!”

Narrator:

But Grace kept her hand up.

Natalie: whispers

“You can’t be Peter Pan. He wasn’t black”

Narrator:

But Grace kept her hand up.

Teacher:

“All right, lots of you want to be Peter Pan, so we’ll have to have auditions. We’ll choose the parts

next Monday.”

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Mural: Tape four pieces of chart paper together lengthwise; create the backdrop for the StoryPath.

In this case it is a classroom setting.

Create characters from the critical event: Grace, two students who were whispering and a group of

the surrounding students in the classroom.

Present critical event to the class through the StoryPath.

Teacher will ask the thought-provoking question at the end.

STEP BOOKS

Kayla Brinston, Chelsea Gaudet & Kelsey Redmond

Basic Function: To familiarize students with a certain subject or topic in an engaging way. Students

will know the 5Ws (Who, What, When, Why, Where) of their topic.

Steps Involved:

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1. Students take 7 pieces of construction paper and staple them together at the top

2. Cut each piece of paper, starting small, and gradually get larger. The last page, the back should

not be cut at all.

3. Label each section: Who, What, Where, When, Why and the last page will be for references

4. Cut 5 pieces of card stock into squares that will fit on the construction paper (this will be used to

write your information on

5. Research information and record on to the cardstock

6. Decorate your title page and include your references on the back page

Materials/Time Required:

• 7 pieces of construction paper

• Card stock

• Any supplementary materials you would like to decorate with

• Scissors

• Glue

• Markers

• Stapler

Time Required: Two 60 minute classes (time to prepare Stepbook and time to present)

Example of Class Activities: For example, the Stepbook could be created to show information about

land, ocean and space explorers. It could also be used to enhance knowledge of any specific subject.

Ways you could use in Social Studies: The Stepbook highlights the most important information you

need to know about a certain topic in Social Studies. For example, when learning about explorers it

narrows the information down to the most important minimum requirements.

Reference to Articles and Websites:

http://www.vickiblackwell.com/makingbooks/ind...

http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/pages/428.sht...

End result/goal: The end result should be a creative and well organized Stepbook that

demonstrates the students’ knowledge of a particular subject or topic. The goal would be to create a

resource that other students could use to learn about the topic.

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NEWSPAPERS AS A RESOURCE

Word Wall with Newspaper Article

Basic Function:

The basic function of a word wall is to give students a visual reference for new, difficult, important,

or unit specific words. The most helpful word walls grow and change throughout the year or unit,

and are used as a learning reference. Word walls help students see patterns and relationships in

words. They can also provide reference support for children during reading and writing activities.

Steps:

1. The class reads a chosen newspaper article (can be done individually in pairs or as a whole class on the Smartboard).

2. Students suggest interesting words that they don’t regularly use or don’t understand to add to the word wall.

3. Re-read the sentences of the article with the challenging words again and try to develop a definition of the word before looking up in the dictionary or using (www.dictionary.com).

4. Put words on chart paper/poster board in word wall form. Words can be ordered alphabetically or perhaps by putting the article in the center and the words scattered around linked to where they appear in the article.

5. Discuss the article/language and words used as it pertains to the topic you are discussion in the class.

Materials/Resources:

Smartboard

Newspaper article(s)

White paper

Construction paper

Poster Board/Bulletin Board

Markers/coloured pencils

Dictionaries/ Dictionary.com

Time required: 30 minutes

Examples of activities:

We chose to use a word wall with a newspaper article as an introduction to a grade three unit about

promoting positive interactions among people. We chose an article about Maurice Richard and

the hockey violence from 1955 to introduce a historical aspect to an issue that is still current.

Picking out the new vocabulary from the article will introduce students to new words and also

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create discussion about the kinds of words and actions we should use when we interact with

people.

End Result/ Goal:

The end result/ goal of our word wall activity is for students to develop their vocabulary around a

particular subject and understand that violence in any form is not acceptable and these actions

affect other people.

Other ways to use this in social studies:

1) There are many different ways that you could use a word wall alongside a newspaper article in

Social Studies. You could use it simply as a vocabulary enrichment to introduce words about a

particular topic you want to cover. Find a newspaper about historical topic or even a current event

or unit that you will be covering and use the article to pull out the vocabulary students will come

across in the unit. Students will be able to pull out new or interesting words from the article to

make a word wall while also being introduced to the unit of study. Comparing a historical issue

with a modern issue

2) You could also use a word wall with newspaper articles to introduce a discussion about multiple

perspectives. You could choose a historic event, find a local news story about the event and a

foreign new story about the event (make sure they show differing perspectives about the event).

Have students make thematic word walls to compare the words and language used to describe

what happened in order to compare words. Are the descriptive words they use different? Are there

words that contradict each other? **You could also do this activity using an issue that has persisted

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throughout time and find a historical article and a current article and compare the language in that

way.

3) You could also use this in an opposite way by using the newspaper article in whatever lesson you

had planned for the day and then incorporate language arts at the end by asking students to locate

and cut out words in the article from an already established word wall in the classroom.

References:

http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/word_walls/

http://www.k12reader.com/10-great-word-wall-strategies-for-classrooms/

Picture Activity

Joannie Hudon & Sara Facey

Basic Function: To help students better understand the pictures they see in the newspaper and to

get them involved with the news. This gets students to read the paper imagine a different way to

represent an article by adding a picture, or by taking a picture and adding a new title.

Materials:

Newspapers

Scissors

Chart Paper

Glue

Markers/crayons

Time required: For a pair of students this would probably take two classes of 60 minutes, this

would give them time to do all of the drawings and create titles.

Steps:

Take a newspaper, find 3 articles without a picture and find three pictures.

With the 3 articles, students must draw new pictures to add to the article (in doing this, students

must read the article to understand what it is about.)

Students must then take a piece of chart paper and then glue the pictures with the articles.

Once students have completed that they are to take the 3 pictures and create new titles for them

(Students must analyze the pictures so that they can come up with new titles for the pictures)

Students must the glue the pictures and new titles to a piece of chart paper.

Example: The example is attached as pictures.

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Ways to use this in social studies: You can use this to keep students up to date on current events. It

gets students read articles, understand what they are reading, it gets them to be creative and think

critically about what they are reading.

End Goal: The end goal is for students to get started on creating their own paper. Students will

have created 3 new titles for pictures and create 3 new pictures for articles.

References:

For changing the title of a picture: Luke, D., & Ann, W. (2007). The saffron scourge: Society, politics

and disease. Social Educaiton, 71(1), 40-43. Retrieved from

publications.socialstudies.org/se/7101/71010740.pdf

For adding new pictures to an article: Abbott, J. (2001). Newspaper in education: A guide for weekly

and community newspapers. Newspaper in Education Service Providers, Retrieved from

http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/docs/Fo...

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Newspaper – Front Page

Miss Hallie Maz and Mrs. Jordan Gallant Basic Function:

Students organize and synthesize main events in time into an appropriate newspaper format. The

completed product will be a newspaper front page based on knowledge of a past, present, or

possible future events. This will actively help students to grasp the purpose of the newspaper

format as well as summarizing, pulling out key events, and doing historical research. Students are

given the opportunity to examine the context of the event they choose, such as other issues at that

time, the weather, etc. If students are predicting future events they learn to base predictions on

current knowledge and synthesize their ideas using higher-order thinking.

Steps:

1. Students are given, or choose a key event of the past, present, or possible future to headline in their newspaper. This can be done in groups or as individuals.

2. Students are given newspaper examples, possibly historical, but also may be current, to use for formatting ideas.

3. Have them look for key elements of the front page of the newspaper. These may include a headline, images, date, newspaper title, articles, weather, etc.

4. Students create their own newspaper front page, by hand or digitally, that highlights relevant information and style for the time/event they have chosen.

Materials:

Newspapers for each student or group, research materials/technology access, Exemplar of a front

page (see attached), crafting materials for handmade products.

Example of class activities for Social Studies:

Present students with a question (ie: “Who was the first Canadian in Space?” or “Who was the first Prime Minister of Canada and what day were they elected?”) Students find the answer to the question and present this as the first page article (project).

Have students explore possible futures by taking a current issue and creating a future newspaper presenting a possible outcome. Students may explore a current issue such as “Riots in Egypt” and write a possible future where rioters take power or the current government calms talks. Issues of poverty, media, environment, etc. could also be addressed.

Goals:

Students create a front page of the newspaper that shows their understanding of the newspaper as a media form and the issue or event they are exploring.

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Students will understand the value of building previous subject knowledge and

contextualizing various events and biases of those involved. References:

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/front-page-news

http://teacher.scholastic.com/LessonPlans/Titanic_SampleNews.pdf For Exemplar http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronauts/past.asp http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/marc_garneau.html http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Oct&day=05 http://padresteve.com/2013/01/28/challenger-27-years-later/

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Looking at Careers

Sarah Palmer & Kendra MacDougall

Basic Function (Purpose / Rationale):

Have students become familiar with looking through and reading the newspaper to find

information.

Have students think about different job options and the training they require.

Steps Involved:

1. Look through newspapers for images showing 5 different careers.

2. Read the caption and article related to the image.

3. Cut the image out and glue it onto a large poster board.

4. Write a short summary about what each job entails under the pictures.

5. Predict the training required for each job, include this in the summary under the pictures.

6. Title the poster and present to classmates.

Materials / Time Required:

• Newspapers

• Poster board

• Scissors

• Glue

• Markers

Example of Class Activities:

Have students find 5 careers that interest them the most and write about the job and the training it

would take to get such jobs. Students could also write about why they are interested in these jobs.

Ways you could use this in social studies:

In social studies, this project could be narrowed down, by having students look for jobs related to

specific fields such as politics.

By looking through old newspapers, or online newspaper archives, students could learn about jobs

from the past and compare them to similar to jobs in the present.

This project could even be changed to finding different events and writing about these events and

having students think about why these particular events are important.

Reference to articles and web sites:

“Newspaper Activities Support Children’s Learning in Many Ways”

http://kidbibs.com/learningtips/lt40.htm

“Newspaper in Education: A Guide for Weekly/Community Newspapers”

http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/docs/Fo...

End Result / Goal:

Poster board with images of 5 different jobs, and descriptions of these jobs and the training

required for them.

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Wall Map with Daily Newspaper

Jordan Smith & Joe Ross:

Basic Function:

The basic function of the wall map created using a newspaper is to provide students with a

reference for new locations around the world, while simultaneously establishing the location of

familiar places. A highly functioning wall map changes and grows throughout the year, providing

students with the opportunity to add new locations as they read about them in the newspaper.

Wall maps are a hands-on and practical way to provide students with a visual reference of where

they are learning about. Wall maps are also provide students with the occasion to summarize

articles that they are reading, making cross-curricular connections to Language Arts.

Steps:

- The whole class receives the same newspaper to read and explore - Students begin to cut out articles that mention specific locations - Students summarize the articles (brief, 3-4 sentences) - Students use yarn to locate the places mentioned in the article on the map - Students have yarn coming from location connect to the newspaper article as well

as their summary - Students can add to the wall map as the year progresses

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Materials/Resources:

- Class set of newspapers - Big wall map - Yarn - Tape - Paper & pen (if choosing to write summaries by hand) - Computer & printer (if choosing to type summaries) - Atlas (for students who cannot find their locations) - Internet access (for students who cannot find their locations)

Example Activity:

We chose to use every location we found in the Tuesday, February 19th

, Daily Gleaner. We

located the various places on our map and provided the article and article summaries. We believe

that this activity could easily be done throughout the year and that it is engaging and fun for

students. We also thought that it would be a good idea to have the students come up with

questions that they have about their articles, we believe that this would ensure that they are truly

reading the information in front of them and not quickly putting together a summary.

Another idea that would work in a Social Studies classroom is having the students

consistently search newspapers for articles for a specific location that is being studied. This would

provide students with various accounts of news from their specific location. Does the news from

this location maintain a certain theme? Are there particular events that they can observe

unfolding?

Another example of a way to incorporate this strategy into Social Studies is to have

students explore old newspapers and pinpoint the locations of the articles on a wall map. Are the

locations just as spread out or did is the news more scattered around home?

End Result/Goal:

The end result/goal of our wall map is to have students develop an understanding of the

various locations that their news, in Fredericton, is about. The wall map is a strategy that works

well in Social Studies, geography in particular, while making cross-curricular connections to

Language Arts.

Example: