Meaningful Integration
in Social Studies •Work on K-W on how to
integrate other subject areas and technology into Social
Studies
Today’s Agenda
• Book Commercials
• Fritzer
• Meaningful Integration
• Lesson Plan ‘Workshop’
• Don’t forget to sign up for Loewen
Positive Features of Integration
• Enhancing meaningfulness of what is taught
• Save teacher’s time• Teach knowledge and skills
simultaneously• Restore an emphasis on social studies in
climate of standardized tests
Accountability • On the knowledge (ex. Content of a letter
written to representative about legislation)• On the skills (ex. Descriptive writing piece
about a trip to the White House)• On both (ex. In Language arts studying
narratives and in Social Studies studying the American Revolution—writing biographies on key revolutionary figures)
Desirable Integration
• Topics that naturally draw content from more than one subject.– Ex. Maps—geography and
mathematics– Ex. Needs and wants—economics and
mathematics
Desirable Integration
• Skills learned in one subject are used to process or apply knowledge learned in another subject area.– Ex. Pretend you are a Native American on the Trail of
Tears journey, write a series of diary entries describing your feelings, attitudes, and future expectations.
– Ex. In a unit on the Middle East, identify biases and points of view in newspaper articles.
• What other sorts of skills are common across subject areas that we can integrate into Social Studies instruction?
Desirable Integration
• Enrichment activities that help to personalize content, make it more concrete, enhance learner curiosity, or add an affective perspective.– Ex. Using literature (Unit on wants and needs-
read King Midas, Cinderella)– Ex. Integrating art or music
• How might technology play a role in integrating the Social Studies curriculum?
Undesirable Integration
• Activities that lack social education goals– Ex. ABC order of state capitals, making vocabulary
words into plurals.– Ex. Write a research paper on coal.
• Remember that RELEVANCE is important! Projects should reflect specific goals, needs, or desires of the student population– How might a research paper on coal BE relevant?
Undesirable Integration• Cost-Effectiveness Problems-more focus on other
subject area goal rather than social education goal. Time!– Ex. Constructing houses from tropical regions– Ex. Create family members using paper plates– Ex. Role Play-participate in a parade to show
how families celebrate– Ex. Collage and scrapbooking
Undesirable Integration
• Distorts Content• Difficult or Impossible tasks• Feasibility
For Next Time...
• Concept Map Reading Strategy
Lesson Plan Workshop
• Exchange lesson plans with someone other than your partner
• Evaluate the lesson plan for evidence of MEANINGFUL Integration
• Comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the particular lesson
• Work with your colleague to improve the lesson– What suggestions would you make? How might YOU
approach this particular subject matter?
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