Textbook Review: Chapter three

An Overview of Chapter Three 

  Let's begin talking about chapter three of the textbook Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary School: Communities, Connections, and Citizenship. Chapter three of the text has nine main topics. These topics as stated in the text are: 

1) Helping All Students Achieve Success

2) Educational Standards

3) Best Practices in Teaching

4) Literacy and Social Studies Connections

5) People Connections Example – Oral Histories

6) Integrating the Curriculum

7)Approaches to Integrating the Curriculum

8) Curriculum Integration Components

9) Aligning Curriculum Integration with Standards

    Let’s start with our first topic, which is “Helping All Students Achieve Success,” the textbook Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary School: Communities, Connections, and Citizenship written by Lawrence Lyman, Scott Waters, Harvey C. Foyle, and Allyson L. Lyman states “so the need for effective and lasting reform is imperative. Even though educational reform has been a hot topic for many years, there has been little lasting change in student achievement2. Where there have been claims of gains in student achievement, the claims have not always reflected an accurate view of students’ abilities.” This means that we have to change or update the way we teach students for students to succeed. There are also many reasons why student achievement might not reflect a student’s actual abilities. The main reason is that many schools are spending much of their time on test prep and making sure students are getting good test scores. This did not surprise me when I was a sophomore here at Mount Saint Mary College. My class and I had taken a mid-term for child psychology. The teacher let us do a retake because he believed that “we were taught how to take a test and were not taught how to study.” He then proceeded to explain how we should prepare when studying for his test. He explained that to do well that the main item you should study was the textbook and that we should not focus on the power points as much. He explained that we should study this for his class because he took the textbook’s main topics and created test and quiz questions from just a few keywords. The textbook Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary School: Communities, Connections, and Citizenship written by Lawrence Lyman, Scott Waters, Harvey C. Foyle, and Allyson L. Lyman states, “American teachers today work harder under more challenging conditions than teachers elsewhere in the industrialized world.” Teachers normally deal with overpopulated classrooms. This means there are only one or two teachers with 30 children. The textbook also explains that “Teachers in America tend to work more than teachers in other countries.” The amount of funding that schools get is slowly decreasing as the years pass. 

Let’s talk about our second topic, which is known as “educational standards.” The textbook states that “Educational standards provide teachers with the information that establishes what students should learn. Standards are a critical part of instructional planning because a teacher must know what students need to learn before he or she can determine how students will learn what is required. Examples of standards include: subject matter standards, state standards, federal standards, and, most recently, the Common Core State Standards.” But the standards are just goals that the students should have learned by the end of the day. These standards don’t dictate how the teacher will teach what she wants students to understand. It is up to the teacher to best decide how she will format her lesson in order to make sure her students reach the goal. The standard is used to create the objective for the lesson, which is the overall goal for the topic. There are also different standards for different subjects. These standards are known as subject matter standards. Mathematical standards can involve algebra, Science standards can involve biology, and English Language Arts standards can involve compare and contrast activities. The textbook states that social studies standards, also known as NCSS standards, “focus on knowledge (what the learner needs to understand), processes (what the learner will be capable of doing), and products (what the learner will do to demonstrate his or her understanding of what has been learned).” There are also standards that prepare students for college. These standards are known as The Career and College Ready Standards. And finally, there are common core standards. The common core standards, as stated in the text, “are written to include rigorous content and application of higher-order thinking skills that will prepare students to be successful in college and in work settings. The Common Core Standards include evidence-based standards that have been internationally benchmarked for Mathematics and English Language Arts.” The common core standards are very specific in the subject they are based on, but at the same time, different standards can be used in different subject matters. For example, Mathematical standards deal with the eight teaching practices of mathematics and the English Language Arts standards as stated in the textbook “The English Language Arts standards are intended to integrate standards from both Science and Social Studies. They require students to be able to read, write, communicate, and research across the curriculum.” 

 Let’s talk about our third topic, also known as “Best Practices in Teaching,” now have websites in which teachers can join through membership in order to give teachers the best resources available when teaching students. The textbook states, “Educational researchers and practitioners have identified a number of best practices or effective strategies for teaching which can improve student achievement related to educational standards. Teachers need to utilize these practices as they plan, teach, and assess the learning of their students.” The textbook also explains six principles teachers can use to better education. 

These principles, as stated in the text, are: 

• Learning is a social act.
• Learning about learning establishes a habit of inquiry important in life-long learning.
• Assessing progress is part of learning.
• Learning includes turning information into knowledge using multiple media.
• Learning occurs in a global context.  

When I start student teaching, I plan to join the National Association of Special Education Teachers. The website naset.org states, “The National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) is the only national membership organization dedicated solely to meeting the needs of special education teachers and those preparing for the field of special education teaching.” 

 Let's talk about our fourth topic, also known as Literacy and Social Studies Connections. This topic in the textbook explains how a teacher can connect English Language Arts with other topics such as math, science, or social studies and only have to teach one lesson. But during that one lesson, students are practicing multiple subjects at once. “Literacy is the mediating connection between the various subject areas. Helping students to become literate is one of the most important purposes of schooling and is the basis for accomplishing the educational standards for any subject area. Students become literate as they are able to use symbols to absorb information, to manipulate symbols to make sense of the world, and to use symbols to share their understanding of the world with others.”Teachers can make various connections to other topics such as a holiday or special occasions while at the same time teaching English. Examples of holidays or important events may be thanksgiving. The article “SIMPLE YET MEANINGFUL THANKSGIVING WRITING ACTIVITIES” Explains various activities a teacher can use in his or her classroom as thanksgiving is getting closer. These activities include things such as “Top ten list, Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Writing Extension Assignment and research then and now activities” There are also many benefits to integrating subjects. The many benefits to integrating subjects are listed in the textbook as:

• Learning makes more sense when connections are made.
• Connections help keep learning from becoming fragmented.
• Connections can make more effective use of limited learning time.
• Connections can provide opportunities to connect students’ experiences to learning.
• Connections can provide opportunities to explore different genres of literature.
• Connections can provide opportunities for critical thinking and cooperative learning.

 Let’s talk about our fifth topic, also known as “People Connections Example – Oral Histories” This portion of the text explains how a teacher can connect her lesson plans to real-life people or places. The textbook states, “ Remote times and places can be more meaningful to students when they have opportunities to hear about the experiences of people who have lived in such different times and places.” In order to teach about remote times or places, a teacher can have her student interview a family member who was alive during any impactful event. The textbook states, “As oral historians, students can interview their family members, neighbors, and other appropriate adults to gain perspective on the past and living in other places and cultures.” When I was in fifth grade, my teacher made us do a report on the attack on pearl harbor. For this report, we were required to find someone alive during this time. My grandfather was in New York playing sports with friends when the attack happened. But he did not hear where the attack was and ran home to his parents to make sure they were ok because he thought the planes were coming to attack new york. The textbook also states, “ Opportunities to learn about different places are exciting for many students. The setting of a book or movie can provide opportunities for connections to geography while adding to the students’ understanding of the story. Climate, culture, land use, and history are some of the related topics that can be connected to places.” in the textbook, there is a lesson using the places in the book Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. In the lesson, students were required to match the longitude and latitude to the names of places in the book, such as Las Vegas, Nevada 

 Let’s talk about our six topic, also known as “integrated curriculum” the textbook states, “Thus, integrated curriculum can result in greater student achievement, in better preparation for the real world, and in improved attitudes toward learning, toward the teacher, and toward classmates.” An integrated curriculum is where different subjects are connected through one lesson. Teachers can create multiple lessons around Science, Math, or Social Studies containing English components like writing. The textbook explains that the traditional curriculum focuses on skills like memorization or repetition. Students aren’t learning. They are just memorizing skills or facts they need to know for a quiz or exam. To be successful adults, students need to apply their knowledge and think critically, but they weren’t getting the opportunity to do so in a traditional curriculum. 

  Let's talk about our seventh topic, known as "Approaches to Integrating the Curriculum." there are many ways teachers can integrate a curriculum in their classroom. But the textbook explains two easy ways every teacher can incorporate subjects. The text states, "the interdisciplinary skills approach (general themes found in various disciplines), and the transdisciplinary/real-world approach (beyond disciplines and tied to real life)." Examples of the interdisciplinary approach include using case studies of historical events and then asking questions to test students' comprehension. Examples of the transdisciplinary approach include using math involving buying groceries. I believe that the transdisciplinary approach might be the best since it deals with real-life situations. 

 Let’s talk about our eighth topic, also known as “Curriculum Integration Components” There are many ways a good teacher can integrate the curriculum. The text states, “Successful integration of the curriculum requires a classroom which is structured for active student involvement and interaction. Authentic tasks and materials provide meaningful resources for student learning. Teaching strategies which encourage student problem solving and creativity, frequent opportunities for interaction, and a variety of assessment strategies that help students understand and evaluate their own learning progress.” To be successful in integrating the curriculum, teachers need to plan everything in excruciating detail. They also need a backup lesson plan if the one they were initially using does not pan out well. Teachers need to plan because sometimes working with two subjects at the same time when it is not explained correctly can be  confusing to students 

 Let’s talk about our ninth topic, known as “Aligning Curriculum Integration with Standards.” Teachers need to find standards for both subjects that they want to teach together when teaching an integrated curriculum. The textbook states, “Teachers who work to integrate the curriculum do not abandon the standards, curriculum guides, or the goals and objectives desired by their state and district. Rather, teachers promote active, meaningful involvement in learning related to the knowledge and skills needed to master the required competencies.” The textbook also explains that when integrating subjects, teachers need to use authentic assessments over traditional assessments. Examples of authentic assessments include lessons involving real-life situations where students don’t find the answer right away. To find the answer consists of a lot of trial and error, much like a science experiment. The textbook also gives examples of how you can integrate the topic of Ben Franklin into various subjects. One example is “having students write a persuasive essay about an invention they believe kids need today.”

 What I have learned 

After reading Chapter three of the textbook Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary School: Communities, Connections, and Citizenship written by Lawrence Lyman, Scott Waters, Harvey C. Foyle, and Allyson L. Lyman, I have learned many things I have learned the importance of standards and why they are necessary for lesson plans to succeed. I have also learned how important it is to ingrate subjects. But at the same time, I have learned how difficult it can be. I have also realized the different ways I can use what I have learned in my future social studies classroom. I can use my knowledge of integration to make sure that my students are always focusing on two subjects at a time. I could be teaching a lesson about World War I, which is primarily a Social Studies lesson. But then, I could ask my students to summarize what they have learned in one or two paragraphs. By asking my students to summarize what they have learned, I am also bringing English Language Arts into the lesson I am teaching. From reading chapter three, I have learned a lot and can’t wait to use it in a classroom of my own.