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How Are Powerful & Meaningful Social Studies Units Constructed?

Developing Integrated Units

1. Generating ideas for the topic of the unit

2. Research the topic

3. Developing essential questions

4. Accommodate special needs of students

5.Developing intended learning outcomes

6.Categorizing Intended learning outcomes

7. Creating an idea web

8. Goals

9. Beginning the KWL chart

10,Objectives

11. Assessment Plan

12. Lesson Plans

13. Accommodations for technology

14. Implementing the unit

15. Evaluating student learning

16. Reflecting on the unit

Types of Units

  • Descriptive Focused Unit: emphasizing students acquisition of knowledge.
  • Thinking Skills Focused Unit: the specific content is less important than the skills being taught.
  • Conceptual and Thinking Skills Focused Unit: both the concepts and skills are important when being taught.

How to Choose Appropriate Topics for Integrated Units

1. What are the important key concepts central to each of the subject areas integrated?

2. What essential, or focus questions lead students into thinking?

3. What activities engage the students in reflective thinking?

4. What are the natural and significant connections betweem key concepts?

Two major planning techniques:

1. choose a single key idea for a unit that interconnects the disciplines.

2. plan the yearly curriculum in several subjects (to compare goals).

Units that Integrate School Subjects

Theme Units:

Planning and developing of theme units begin when meaningful integration of the selected subjects around an important theme can occur. After comparing the plan for the yearly topics of each major subjects, a theme that fits the curriculum and appropriate topics in each of the subject areas is identified.

Issue & Problem-Solving Units:

Students can...

-identify possible solutions

-examine the arguments for/against

-all students are involved in some level

This type of unit requires the students to incorporate their critical thinking skills.

Planning the appropriate focus for social studies units...

Significance: the content taught is the most critical concepts related to the topic, yet they are taught in depth.

Coherence: Important questions, conceptual understandings, applications, and transfer of social studies knowledge to students own world are all used when planning social studies units.

Relevance: the content and activities given can reflect the students current life and/or future goals. The content also has an impact on the students decisions.

Chapter Overview

"Effective teaching is organized best in units built around significant questions that help students construct key concepts, generalizations, values, and inquiry skills. The unit is a set of interconnected, related lesson plans that introduce and explore, fully develop and expand understanding of a topic."

By: Tyler Littman

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