Social Studies Teaching Strategies

Amy Stiff 001160621

Name

Explanation

Considerations

Problematizing

Making accepted notions

into a problem using
questioning and having
students discuss to come up
with solutions.

Uses:
Can be used as an activity to build full mindedness on a
topic, can be used to encourage discussion and debate.
Challenges:
Students may be stumped at coming up with problems to
notions they previously accepted as good and normal.
Gives students a lot of autonomy in the direction that the
lesson may take, teacher may not necessarily be able to
guide the activity in the direction originally intended.

Case Study

Students read a document

and then use terms,
concepts and materials to
assess it and come up with
conclusions

Uses:
Case studies can be used when relating theory to
practice. Case studies can be used throughout a unit but
most effectively as an introductory activity.
Challenges:
Case studies can be limited in scope and dependent on
student familiarity.

Lecture

Teacher presents
information to students
orally, sometimes aided by
a PowerPoint or written
notes.

Uses:
Can be used at any point in a unit. Allow teachers to get
through a lot of material in a short period of time, also
allows teachers to closely guide student learning and get
them to draw intended conclusions.
Challenges:
Teacher centered rather than student centered, students
may become bored because they are not engaged in the
content.

KWL Chart

K: Know things students

already know
W: Wonder things students
want to know
L: Learn things students
have learned at the end of
the unit.

Uses:
Can be used all the way throughout a unit. Is used at the
beginning to determine prior knowledge (K) and find out
what students are interested in and want to know (W). t
can also be used at the end of a unit to assess what
students have learned and if they have met the learning
goals that they set out in the beginning (L).
Challenges:
Students and Teachers may forget to finish KWL chart at
the end of the unit. KWL charts also serve more as a way
of tracking learning rather than actually building student
knowledge.

Gallery Walk

Students post work all

around the room and then
the class walks around and
have time to see and
consider the ideas of other
students in their class.

Uses:
Good for expanding student knowledge as students have
an opportunity to see the thoughts and ideas of other
students in the class. Can be used most likely in the
middle of a unit to invite full-mindedness on a concept.
Challenges:
Students are able to expand their own work by copying
rather than adding their own expanded thoughts.

Read, Write,
Pair, Share

Students read silently or as

a class, then quickly write
their impressions or
reactions to the text or
answer a specific question.
Students then turn to a
partner or group and talk
about what theyve written.
Lastly, the teacher invites
group discussion with the
class

Uses:
Allow students to work individually, in pairs, in groups
and as a whole class. It allows students to gradually build
up their knowledge and their confidence before sharing
with the class. Can be used to introduce new knowledge
and concepts, build knowledge, study for upcoming
assessments and as concluding and wrap up activity.
Challenges:
Students can take all of their information from partner or
group discussion and slack off.

See-I

S: State it (briefly, clearly

and precisely define it)
E: Elaborate (explain more
fully in your own words)
E: Exemplify (Give a good
example)
I: Illustrate (Provide a
picture, image, analogy,
metaphor etc.)

Uses:
Can be used as a lead in activity into other more in depth
activities such as Jigsaw. Is good as a jumping off point or
as a culminating activity on a subject; good examples
and illustrations will show what the students have
learned.
Challenges:
It could be hard to come up with a good illustration, See-I
become better and better with collaborative input.

Reading Guide

Teachers design a booklet

with a set of questions that
will help students navigate a
reading chapter effectively.

Uses:
Assures that students get the intended key concepts from
reading a chapter as the teacher chooses specific
questions that they believe the students need to know.
Challenges:
Students dont need to fully read a chapter in order to
complete a reading guide, they are able to simply skim
through the chapter until they find the answer.

Chronology Sort

Events, which are not dated,

students must put them in
chronological order and
provide rationale for their
choices.

Uses:
Pre assessment, introduction to activity, event or chapter.
Looking at historical perspectives.
Challenges:
Accuracy on the part of the Teacher is very important.

Concept Sort

Students must match

concepts, with
corresponding headings.

Uses:
Pre assessment, introduction to activity, event or chapter.
Looking at historical perspectives.
Challenges:
Accuracy on the part of the Teacher is very important.

Four Corners

Four corners of the room are

labeled, students are asked
to choose a corner to which
they feel most strongly and
discuss.

Uses:
Debates, culminating activity, anytime students have 3 or
4 possible judgements to make, election.
Challenges:
Students choosing a corner based on the choices of their
friends rather than based on their own conclusions.
Students may also feel shy about choosing a corner that
has a very limited population.

Pitch-It

Develop expert groups then

develop posters using
specific criteria, the poster
is then used to pitch an idea

Uses:
Students form a solid position and be able to back it up.
Should be used a little bit into a unit, once students
already have a bit of a grasp on the information. Could be
used as leading up activity to a debate or discussion.
Challenges:
Making sure everyone is participating, making sure all
key points are met. It may also be a nerve-racking
activity for students who are not fond of speaking in front
of the class.

Four-square
note taking

A piece of paper is divided

into 4 square, one for each
subject then notes are
compiled on each subject.

Uses:
Summary activity, can be used in small or larger groups,
could be used as a study guide or as a guide for a unit
containing important terms.

Reasoning Map

Helps students to map out

ideas for an essay or
position paper. Helps
students lay out arguments
in an organized way.

Uses:
Used before writing an essay or other piece of writing. Is
flexible in format to help students organize ideas.
Challenges:
Mostly follows 5 paragraph lay out, but can be modified
to fit student needs.

Grab Bag

Each group takes an object

from the grab bag and make
connections to the material
with the object and then
share with the class why
each group made their
connections.

Uses:
Checking for understanding, pre-assessment, enrichment
activity, remediation activity.
Challenges:
Selection of objects is important. Grab bag cannot be
used first day; students need to first have a basic
understanding.

Jigsaw

Students are broken into

homogenous groups to
research and discuss a
focused concept. Students
then become experts in
their subject and
subsequently break into
heterogeneous groups to
spread their knowledge to a
group that focused on
another topic

Uses:
Works as an introductory activity to introduce new
knowledge, when studying for an exam, or reinforcing
knowledge. Encourages critical thinking in students.
Challenges:
Student familiarity with content and strategy, student
engagements and differentiation may pose difficulty in
this strategy.

Agendas

Teacher writes the agenda

for the lesson on the board
so that students are
prepared and can follow
along with the lesson.

Uses:
Teachers can reference the board if they loose their place.
Students know what to expect and they are already
engaged in the lesson before it even begins. Students
can reference the agenda if they forget what they are
meant to be doing.
Challenges:
Can remove the element of surprise if you are doing an
activity that requires the students to guess and inquire
into the activity.

Mystery Box

Teacher brings in a box of

objects related to the unit.
Students formulate guesses
as a class what might be in
the box and write it down on
the board. Subsequently,
the box is opened and
artefacts are taken out. The
class then compares what
they thought would be in
the box and what is actually
in the box and discuss
findings.

Uses:
Gets students thinking, and self-teaching about what
might be involve in a unit, based on key concepts.
Challenges:
Teachers need to guide students on the right track or
they might not be able to guess what is in the box.
Objects in the box must be carefully chosen and have a
purpose for being in the box.

Split Page Note

Taking

Have students divide a

piece of paper down the
middle. In the left column,
write big ideas such as key
dates, names, subject
headings etc. In the right
column write supporting
information related to those
big idea headings.

Uses:
Creates properly organized notes. Can be used at any
point, most effectively as an accompaniment to a lecture.
Challenges:
Student familiarity could be a challenge, students might
prefer to take notes in the same way they are used to.

Collaborative
Retrieval Chart

Students are broken into

groups and each group is
assigned a topic to
research. Afterwards, each
group compiles their
information into a chart on
the board for the class to
see.

Uses:
Mid activity, used after some initial research. Good for
giving a broad range of information to the whole class.
Works as note taking technique for studying and tests.
Challenges:
Ordinary classrooms may not have aboard that can
support all of the necessary information. Does not force
students to intake the information found by classmates.

Relevant Stake
Holders

Handout which addresses

the relevant stake holders in
a controversial issue

Uses:
Challenges:

History education network - video

Todaysmeet
Commoncraft.com
Elements of Inquiry
- Hook, establishing content & interest in the question
- Make an argument about which events were the most significant
- Established criteria

Done in stages (teacher modelling)

Lots of opportunities for feedback
Real life audience

Challenges:
- time (plan in instructional minutes)
Grade 9 questions
How do political and economic processes affect decision-making, quality of life, citizenship and identity
within nations?
- To what extent does Canadas political process meet the needs of all Canadians?
- To what extent has the economic decision-making policies of Canada and the United states impacted
the quality of life, citizenship and identity of Canadians?
- What is the significance of Canadian legislations on the collective rights of citizens?
- To what extend do collective rights infringe on the individual rights of citizens?
- To what extent is the Charter of Rights and Freedoms trying to balance collective and individual rights
of citizens?

Critical Inquiry Unit Planning

Services and Quality of Life
Grade 8 Changing worldviews; Spanish and Aztec Perspectives

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Unit Plan has a unit organizer; broad to specific overviews frame the unit. Focusing questions answer
specific learning outcomes.
- Critical inquiry Question : To what extent did intercultural contact between the Aztecs and Spanish
affect the worldviews of these societies
-

GLOS:
o Through an examination of Spanish and Aztec societies, students will demonstrate an
understanding and appreciation of hoe intercultural contact affects the worldviews of societies.
SLOS
o What key elements of Spains worldview led to the desire to expand the Spanish Empire?
o In what ways did factors such as technology and disease contribute to the dominance of the
Spanish over Aztec civilization?
Key Concepts
o Contact, expansion, imperialism, intercultural, worldview, social hierarchy etc.
Annotated list of resources
o yes
Lesson Overview
o Yes, structured by date, Knowledge, Values & Attitudes, Skills and Processes.
Does the unit contain a performance task?
o Yes Malinches trial it answers overarching question by hitting all key concepts.

READ TEXTBOOK
READ ASSESSMENT STUFF
- debate
- mock interview
- panel discussion

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- powerpoint presentation
- speech
- mock trial
- advertisements
- artifacts
- collage
- diary
- monument
- obituary
- newspaper
- song
- travelogue
- drama
- game
- mobile
- museum
- puzzle
- designing currency
- analyze O Canada
- Fakebook page
- videoscribe
- Framing inquiry and tasks (moodle ppt assessment)

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