Q and A!

 

In this post, I am going to be answering a few questions
 that is in our textbook with my own little spin :)

Question 1:

What is and Why teach Social studies? What can make the concepts of social studies "alive" and interesting for students?

Social Studies is defined as the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence". I feel that if I were to explain this to younger children I would tell them that it is about the study of history, current events, culture, ethics, and social sciences. It is such an integral part of our education system because in order to move forward with history and life we need to have a concept about the past.  Why teach it? It gives children a more multi-lingual,  multi-religious, and multi-cultural context.  I feel that the history of our world is super important to prepare ourselves for the real world.  When teaching social studies topics that have to be touched on are civics, economics, geography, and history. Sometimes to children, social studies can be a boring topic to study. We have to integrate it in a special way to keep students engaged. You can do this by using different technology programs which could be, google slides, canvas, word art, etc. 

Question 2:

What made social studies the ways it is from the historical perspective?

There are different stages of the history of our world. These stages have become uneven over the hundreds of years it has been taught. IT has been a skewed view for years. I feel that history is being taken away of authentic value. I think that it is sometimes sugarcoated in the classroom to not make it seem as bad as it was. I think that we need to take history and tell it like it was meant to be told. I know you might be thinking.. how do you tell a first grader the gory stuff that happened? Well, you tell as much of the truth as you can and then explain why this is wrong. Then you can have your class come up with a solution to the problem at hand. It is a great way to keep them engaged as well as tell the truth to your students about history. 

Question 3:

What are the pros and cons of Standards? How can standards (SS Frameworks) help teachers and YOU in the unit and lesson plans' design?

The standards give a lot of guidance in what your administration is expecting from you. These can guide you and provide you the information that establishes what your students should be learning. They are a critical part of planning for your lesson because a teacher learns what they need to teach before there is a determination of what areas she needs to touch on. I think that lesson planning is going to be my best friend when I start to teach. I think that they help me to organize my ideas before teaching. I am able to jot all my main points and important notes down prior to teaching my lesson. They are the foundation to having a successful classroom. 

Question 4:

How can teachers prove the positive and/or negative outcomes of curriculum integration? Provide examples from the textbook.

An integrated curriculum helps to focus on meaningful connections. This can be a great strategy to help students to learn in a more logical, cohesive, and learner-friendly environment. It can result in greater student achievement, help with better preparation for the real world, and improve attitude overall. By blending and integrating different curriculum they can see the connection. In an unintegrated classroom, you can't see the blend that is needed to grasp the concept. Technology is one of the leading pieces of curriculum integration. It is rapidly changing the world and is taking classrooms to new levels. They are learning how to solve problems and work paperlessly with all of the technology tools presented today. 

Thanks for reading in! See ya real soon!