Rationale• This teach back has helped me put into practice what I have learned at

ACE. ACE taught me the importance of lesson integrations and the use of technology in the classroom. As a Social Studies teacher, I believe that I should not isolate the subject. It works well with Language Arts/Reading. I read the book Ways That Work: Putting Social Studies Standards into Practice by Tarry Lindquist. I then created this teach back to present to the 3rd-6th grade teachers at my school. I think it benefited them because many times Social Studies is the forgotten. Since it is not currently tested here in Florida, the teachers tend to focus on Reading and Math. Social Studies can easily be integrated with Language Arts. I also included some fun Social Studies activities. Many times, teachers feel the need to teach from the textbook. I believe that it should only be used as a

resource

Angela Gulin6th Grade World History TeacherAmerican College of Education

Ways That Work

Putting Social Studies

Standards into Practice

What is Social Studies?• Integrated study of the social sciences and

humanities to promote civic competence.• The purpose of social studies is to help young

people develop the ability to make informed and reason decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.

Integrated Skills• Have students apply language arts skills through social

studies -Compare/Contrast historical events

-Write personal letters to historical figures

-Persuasive speeches • Organizational strategies, grammar, and writing skills are

all approached, applied, and extended through social studies content

Authentic Assessment(peak experience)

• Instead of giving a test, have students apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills in a way they will remember it.

-play -presentation -reenactment -performance -exhibit -demonstration -game

Here are some activities mentioned in the book

-Trade Fair-Cultural Data Disks-Shadow Puppets

Trade Fair• To give students a better understanding of trading and

bartering they should bring some handcrafter or homemade wares to school (cookies, bookmarks, clay beads).

• Students then simulate a marketplace with their desks and trade with their classmates

• After trading, ask students “what just happened?”• The discussion that follows is a good time to introduce

vocabulary words like supply, demand, and scarcity

Cultural Data Disks• Designed to emphasize the relationships between environment and

culture• Students create a civilization• In the outer part of the disk should have the labels climate, natural

resources, form of government, population, and chief products• The inner part of the disk should be labeled shelter, clothing,

traditions, education, food, and economic system.• After creating their civilization and filling in the labels the students

will analyze how the outer labels affect the inner labels.

Shadow Puppets• Students develop short plays to demonstrate

their understanding of the Bill of Rights.• In groups of three, they create characters who

demonstrate what might have happened if we had lost this right in the past or what might happen if we lost the right today.

• Studying people, places, and environments helps students move their locus of comprehension from the personal to a broader, more elastic plane. It is more of a journey than a destination. We need to permit our students to end a unit of study with questions, perhaps with more questions than when we began. Social Studies should not be forgotten in the classroom. It can be integrated with other subjects easily.

Social Studies Matters

Activities Created By Me• Jeopardy Game (Chapter Review).ppt

• Harriet Tubman Vocabulary Lesson (Social Studies & Language Arts).pptx

• Five Regions of the USA 3rd grade Webquest.pptx

Evaluation• What do you see as your greatest

gift/ability when teaching Social Studies?• What do you see as your greatest

challenge when teaching Social Studies?• Would you recommend this session to

colleagues?• What did you like the most about the lessons?