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Social Studies Through the Lens of K-8 Learners

 

For this week's blog topic, we were asked to reflect on what we have learned from our readings and research and through the lens of K-8 learners and their learning needs in today's world.

We were also asked to reflect on a specific strand and theme. I will reflect on the strand: World History and Contemporary Issues.

For the theme, I will reflect on:

Theme E: Cultural Development, Interaction, and Change

  • “This theme investigates the systems of beliefs, knowledge, values, and traditions as well as practices. As cultures interact or collide, each culture is impacted by adaptation, assimilation, acculturation, diffusion, and conflict (The New Hampshire…, p 8).”


For starters, this week I learned what strands and themes were… Because I am on a Site Based Learning Plan for acquiring my Social Studies certification, I am learning piece by piece. I have reviewed the standards for social studies, but I have never looked at the various themes. Glad I was able to identify these components via the K-12 Social Studies New Hampshire Curriculum Framework, as they are important towards understanding the various parts and goals of social studies education. 


In my World History class, I have a diverse group of learners. There are a handful of IEPs, and overall, they are more successful with hands-on activities, or assignments that do not exceed 30 minutes of sustained focus. This does present some challenges, as I am new to teaching this subject, so I am balancing learning the content, as well as making sure I am meeting each learner's needs. 


Speaking of diverse learners, differentiated instruction was addressed in an article we read this week, written by Kay A Chick and Barbara S.S. Hong. In the article, titled Differentiated Instruction in Elementary Social Studies: Where do Teachers Begin?, Chick and Hong mention that one of the goals of differentiated instruction is for “... students to experience a democratic classroom where the responsibility for learning is shared (2012).” I think this is very interesting, because many educators are accustomed to being in control of all the learning, and how students show their learning. This article explains that students should share the responsibility for learning, and they should do that by asking important questions and collaborating with teachers. I would like to incorporate more of this “democratic process” into my classroom, as I know it will engage and motivate students to learn, especially students who may struggle with traditional classroom settings.


The theme I mentioned above (Theme E) is one that I imagine social studies teachers address throughout their curriculum. I will be addressing it in an upcoming unit on Polytheism. What I hope students will take away from that unit is that there are so many different types of cultures and religions throughout the course of history, and see how beliefs have changed over time. I also hope they see that while religions vary vastly, they all seek to answer a unifying question: “Why are we here?” And while I might have ideas for what students should take away from this unit, I will be very curious to see what students found the most thought-provoking… It may surprise me!


Thanks for reading, and my apologies if the blog felt a little scattered.. Many different elements  to address this week!


Thank you,

Hattie



Citations:


The New Hampshire Department of Education. (2006, June). K-12 Social Studies New Hampshire Curriculum Framework. The New Hampshire Department of Education. https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/standards-socialstudies-framework.pdf 


Chick, Kay A. and Barbara S.S. Hong. (2012). Differentiated Instruction in Elementary Social Studies: Where Do Teachers Begin? Social Studies Research and Practice, 7(3). https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=a22a2c8a3fa4f79728fe76d8dbd9dfa3bf3dfe8a 

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