Meaningful social studies must include deep and thoughtful understanding of topics essential to prepare students for the issues of twenty-first century citizenship. Powerful social studies teaching combines elements of all the disciplines as it provides opportunities for students to conduct inquiry, develop and display data, synthesize findings, and make judgments. It requires effective use of technology, communication, and reading/writing skills that add important dimensions to students’ learning.
Social Studies Unit
At Mt. Hope Elementary, I taught a fourth-grade social studies unit on the Midwest Region. For the geography part of the unit, students were given maps to highlight to help them remember where the region and other important things in the region were. Students researched the Midwest region on iPads to get a better feel of what it was comprised of. For each lesson, PowerPoints were made to give visuals of the topic. We would frequently watch short video clips about various topics to enhance the learning of the topic. We also read a book about the region to incorporate literacy. As a class, we frequently had whole-class discussions about topics and students were able to tell of their experiences in the Midwest Region. For the final assessment, students made books about all different aspects of the Midwest Region. For Black History Month, students researched an accomplished African American, created a presentation in a form that they chose and presented it to the class.