EARLY
CHILDHOOD (P-5) SOCIAL STUDIES
ECED 4533, Section A, Fall 2004
Department of Early Childhood Education and
Section
A meets Tuesdays & Thursdays
2:00-3:15 p.m.
in the
Instructor: Dr. Scott A.L. Beck
Office: Room #4113,
Office hours: Tuesdays
& Thursdays 12:30 – 1:30
p.m.
and by appointment
Phone: (912) 681-0354
E-mail: sab44@cornell.edu
Course Catalog Description:
The P-5 Social Studies
course is designed to prepare students for teaching social studies in grades
P-5. The goals and definitions related to
the early childhood social studies program will be considered. The content of P-5 social studies will be
reviewed. Students will become
acquainted with appropriate teaching methods, materials, and organizational
techniques for providing children with successful learning experiences in
social studies.
Prerequisites: EDEC 3131: P-5 Curriculum
ITEC
4130: Instructional Technology for
Early Childhood Education
EDUF
3232: Educational Psychology for Early
Childhood Education
Credit: 3
semester hours
Course Objectives:
The students will:
1.
demonstrate
understanding of the goals of the social studies program and how social studies
fits into the total early childhood (P-5) curriculum.
2.
identify the
different ways to plan and organize a social studies program.
3.
develop and
analyze global perspectives.
4.
demonstrate the
ability to plan and arrange an appropriate learning environment.
5.
plan and develop
materials for an integrated unit of instruction.
6.
demonstrate
acceptable knowledge of content involved in P-5 social studies.
7.
identify, locate,
and exhibit knowledge of how to use materials, media, and technology available
to help implement a social studies program.
8.
use evaluation
techniques to assess the effectiveness of a social studies program and student
progress.
Required
Edinger, M.
(2000). Seeking history: Teaching with primary sources in grades 4-6.
Loewen, J.W.
(1996). Lies my teacher told me: Everything your American history textbook got
wrong.
Steffey, S. & Hood, W.J., eds. (1994).
If this is social studies, why
isn’t it boring?
Teaching Tolerance Project. (1997).
Starting small: Teaching tolerance
in preschool and the early grades.
Montgomery, AL: Southern Poverty Law Center
Required Course Reader (available at the
university bookstore):
Alley, R. (1996).
“The Herdahls: Challenge to a closed society.” In Without a prayer: Religious expression
in public schools. Amherst, NY: Prometheus
Books.
Ellis, A. (1998).
“Practice: How teachers approach social studies.” In Teaching and learning elementary social
studies, 6th edition.
Boston: Allyn & Bacon. pp.
76-89.
Freedom Forum. (1999).
A teacher’s guide to religion in the public schools. Vanderbilt University: First Amendment
Center. Available:
http://www.freedomforum.org/
Georgia’s Quality
Core Curriculum Standards (QCCs) for Elementary Social Studies.
Kohl, H. (1995).
“The story of Rosa parks and the Montgomery bus boycott revisited.” In Should
we burn Babar? New York: New
Press. pp. 30-56.
Parker, W. (2001).
“Six guidelines for teaching in diverse classrooms.” In Social studies in elementary education,
11th edition. Columbus, OH:
Merrill PrenticeHall. pp. 32-39.
Postman, N. (1986).
“Foreword” and “Teaching as an amusing activity.” In Amusing ourselves to death. New York: Penguin. pp. vii-viii, 142-163.
Ryan, J. (1998).
“Student plagiarism in an online world.”
ASEE Prism Magazine, December 1998.
Available: http://www.asee.org/prism/
Welton, D. &
Mallan, J. (1996). “Assessing learning.” In Children and their world, 5th
edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 303-334.
Choice Readings:
Paley, V.G.
(1979). White teacher. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Paley, V.G.
(1995). Kwanzaa and me. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Wolfman, I.
(1991). Do people grow on family trees?: Genealogy for kids and other beginners. New York: Workman Publishing Company
Supplemental Sources:
Bredekamp, S. & Copple, C. (1997).
Developmentally appropriate
practice in early childhood programs – Revised. Washington, D.C.: NAEYC.
Carnes, Jim.
(1999). Us and them: A history of intolerance in America. Montgomery, AL: Southern Poverty Law Center
Georgia State Department of Education. (1999).
Quality core curriculum (The
QCCs). Available: http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/
Mager, R.
(1997). Preparing instructional objectives (3rd
edition). Atlanta: Center for Effective
Performance.
National Council for the Social Studies
(NCSS). (1994). Curriculum
standards for the social studies. Washington, D.C.: NCSS.
Attention Students with Disabilities:
If you have a physical, psychological, and/or
learning disability which might affect your performance in this course, please
contact the Student Disability Resource Center in Hampton Hall as soon as
possible. The SDRC will determine appropriate accommodations based on testing
and medical documentation.
Student Performance
Requirements:
Attendance:
PUNCTUAL ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY.
Your success in this course is dependent upon your presence for and
participation in class discussions.
Therefore your presence is required.
Any missed quizzes, in-class reflective writings, idea lists for team
discussions, or homework, etc. – whether due to absence, illness, tardiness, or
early departure will be recorded as ZEROS and CANNOT BE MADE UP. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for any class notes,
materials, or assignments missed during your absence.
Guidelines for Preparing Assignments:
·
Assignments and
projects used to fulfill the requirements of this course are not to have been
used for the fulfillment of requirements for other courses.
·
All assignments
are due on time (at the beginning of class that day) as indicated in the course
calendar and/or specified in class.
·
LATE
PAPERS/ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR UP TO ONE WEEK WITH A…
… 10 POINT
(1 letter grade) REDUCTION IN GRADE WHEN LESS THAN 24 HOURS LATE.
… 20 POINT
(2 letter grades) REDUCTION IN GRADE WHEN LESS THAN 1 WEEK LATE.
·
All assignments
are to be typed and stapled or bound together.
·
Each assignment
must have your name, course section and the date clearly indicated
·
Demonstrate thoughtful
reading, research, analysis and presentation in your work.
·
Your work must be
yours – write in first person when appropriate.
Share your thoughts; don’t just copy the ideas of others.
·
Avoid strings of
quotes or paraphrased material with little of substance linking and explaining
these materials. Instead, explain why
you think certain quotes are significant and/or related to each other.
·
Avoid use of the
‘generic he.’
·
Your grade will
suffer if errors (grammar, spelling, punctuation) and poor composition and
style make an assignment difficult to read.
·
WRITE, then EDIT,
RE-WRITE, then PROOFREAD, RE-WRITE again, and ask FRIENDS to EDIT and
PROOFREAD, and RE-WRITE yet again.
·
MAKE USE OF GSU’S
WRITING CENTER (call 871-1413). It’s
free and they can help anyone improve their writing
·
DOCUMENT YOUR
WRITING WITH BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND CITATIONS USING STANDARD APA STYLE. For clarifications regarding APA style see
links posted on WebCT.
·
Academic honesty
is not just a nice idea, it is the rule at GSU.
PLAGIARISM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
PLAGIARISM CAN LEAD TO YOUR IMMEDIATE FAILURE OF THIS COURSE. Plagiarism includes: using someone else’s
ideas or words without proper quotation marks and citations and/or failing to
properly cite paraphrased material.
If you think that you can plagiarize and get
away with it, see: http://www.asee.org/prism/december/html/student_plagiarism_in_an_onlin.htm
·
The GSU Student Conduct
Code and Regulations regarding Academic Honesty will be enforced. (See:
http://www.stp.gasou.edu/scc/index.html).
Misconduct will be reported to the Office of Judicial Affairs and can
result in severe penalties.
·
CHEATING DURING A
TEST CAN LEAD TO YOUR IMMEDIATE FAILURE OF THIS COURSE.
·
The Professional
Standards of Conduct outlined by this department will be enforced.
Assessment:
Assignments: These assignments will be described in
greater detail in class and on handouts.
1. Integrated, Thematic Unit of Instruction inspired by
a Historical Narrative
40% of total grade
10% - unit purpose & research analysis and
synthesis chart
20% - instructional design graphic organizer,
including daily instructional objectives
10% - presentation, activity & summary
handout
The thematic unit
will be the largest part of your grade in this class. Rubrics and handouts will be provided
describing the expectations for this assignment in greater detail. This assignment will be completed in
sections, with the due dates spread out over the semester. All elements of the
unit will be individual work.
You will given a chance to state your preferences regarding which
historical eras you would like to study.
In order to allow the largest possible number of people to study eras
that interest them, I will look over your preferences and assign each of you to
particular eras.
Each person will then find a historical narrative (historical
biography, novel, or non-fiction of fictional diary for upper elementary
students) set in his or her particular era.
Each person's historical narrative will serve as the springboard and
inspiration for their thematic unit of study.
As you plan your unit, you are to assume that your class of hypothetical
students is reading along in the historical narrative during language arts time
as you teach your thematic unit during social studies time. Thus, the purpose
of your thematic unit will be to contextualize, enrich, and extend the interest
and knowledge that your students would develop while reading the historical
narrative.
You will create a document
describing the purposes of your instructional unit, with particular attention
to the questions “How can I connect this historical era with the lives of
today’s students?” and “Why is this relevant to their lives today?” You will also compare, contrast and
synthesize multiple history texts and resources to develop deeper understanding
of your historical era and the controversies regarding the interpretation of
that era.
Each of you will plan and present a short presentation for the class
regarding your historical narrative, your historical era and your thematic
unit. This presentation must incorporate
at least one interesting activity for your classmates to participate in. Your presentation will be assessed on the
basis of the standard departmental lesson performance rubric.
You will design your instructional unit using a graphic organizer that
includes concepts to be developed, daily instructional objectives, description
of instructional strategies, assessments, lists of resources and modifications,
and timeframes. This graphic organizer
will be accompanied by a short written justification for the unit design that
describes how and why you chose to pursue your chosen unit design rather than
other possible alternatives.
You will also provide copies of a one-page (front & back) summary
of your unit to your classmates. Your
handout must include enough information to allow your classmates to begin to
recreate your thematic unit in their own classroom.
2. Daily Class Grades – Quizzes on readings, reflective
writings, Homework, etc…
20%
of total grade
There will be some
form of assessment during most classes.
Many of these assessments will be short quizzes or reflective writings
that simply check your comprehension of the readings due for class that
day. If you don’t do the readings, your
daily class grades will suffer. If you
read sloppily or without consulting a dictionary or the glossaries, your grades
will also suffer.
3. Starting Small Team K-2 'Mock Lesson'
15%
of total grade
7.5% - team mock lesson presentation
7.5% - individual work within team
You will be allowed to choose your
teammates. I will randomly assign
chapters from the book Starting Small
to the teams.
Each team will be responsible for presenting
a 'mock lesson' based upon a chapter in the book Starting Small. The lesson
will be based upon the pretense that our class is a K-2 public school
class. Your team will 'bring to life'
one or two of the ideas or activities in your chapter. Thus, your team will plan and present your
lesson "as if" we are a group of primary school aged children. Your presentation will be assessed on the
basis of the standard departmental lesson performance rubric.
Finally, team members will confidentially
assess the contribution made by their teammates and themselves. These assessments will take into account your
professionalism, courtesy, promptness, reliability, work ethic, contributions,
and cooperation in the team context.
Based upon these assessments, my own observations, and documentation
provided by WebCT, I will assign an individual grade to each teammate.
4. Family History Project OR Vivian Paley Book Review
10%
of total grade
Option 1: Family History Project: If
you choose this option, your will be asked to trace your family tree back 4-5
generations. You will then research,
collect, and formally record the ways in which your family's experiences have
reflected and been influenced by historical changes in our society and world
during the past century. Finally, you
will collect anecdotes from your family's history that could be shared with
elementary students as a means to engage their interest and help explain an
historical era or event. The emphasis
here is upon the connections between your family’s history and the history of
our nation.
Option 2: Book Review: If
you choose this option, you will read either White Teacher
or Kwanzaa and Me by
Vivian Paley. You will then write an approximately 1000
word summary and review of the book answering the following questions:
-
Did you
find the book appealing and/or interesting?
Why or why not?
-
What did
you learn from Paley's reflections?
-
Would you
have made the same choices she did? Why
or why not?
-
How does
Paley's approach to the classroom connect with other readings in this course,
especially Starting Small.
5. Comprehensive Final Exam
15%
of total grade
The exam will cover
material presented in readings, class discussions, and presentations. It will serve to highlight some of the most
important points of the course readings and activities. You are likely to be provided an opportunity
to help write questions for the exam. NO
MAKEUP EXAMS will be given without advance notice and an official written
explanation from a medical or legal professional.
Grade Chart:
|
Assessment |
Your Grade |
x % of Total Grade |
= Subtotal |
|
|
U N I T |
Purpose & Research |
|
10% |
|
|
Instructional Design |
|
20% |
|
|
|
Presentation & Handout |
|
10% |
|
|
|
Daily Grades (quizzes, etc) |
|
20% |
|
|
|
Stg Sml |
Mock Lesson Presentation |
|
7.5% |
|
|
Individual Work |
|
7.5% |
|
|
|
Family History OR Paley Book Review |
|
10% |
|
|
|
Final Exam |
|
15% |
|
|
|
Total Grade: |
|
|||
Course Schedule:
|
Wk |
Day |
Class # & Topics |
Readings due |
Assignments due |
|
1 |
Tues. 8/17 |
1 - Introductions:
"Why I hate social studies," Defining our purposes, Team formation,
Historical era selection, Loewen primer |
|
|
|
Thur. 8/19 |
2 - Historiography
& Historical Research |
LOEWEN – Introduction & Chapter 1 READER – RYAN – “Student plagiarism in an
online world” |
|
|
|
2 |
Tues. 8/24 |
3 - Critique of standard US history via America Rocks video |
LOEWEN – Chapter 11 & Afterword |
|
|
Thur. 8/26 |
4 - Historical literature for children |
READER – KOHL – "The Story of Rosa
Parks" STARTING SMALL – Forward & Introduction |
|
|
|
3 |
Tues. 8/31 |
5 - Philosophies,
Goals, and Approaches: Purposes of social studies education,
Multicultural diversity (Sleeter & Grant) |
READER – ELLIS – "Practice: how
teachers approach …" READER – PARKER – "Orientation to
Social Studies Education" & “Six Guidelines for teaching …” |
|
|
Thur. 9/2 |
6- Planning for
Instruction: Thematic &
Inquiry Units |
S & HOOD – Chapters 7 & 14 |
|
|
|
4 |
Tues. 9/7 |
7 - The lifecycle of a thematic unit |
EDINGER – Preface, Chapter 1 |
|
|
Thur. 9/9 |
8 - Clarifying focal concepts, knowledge,
and skills |
EDINGER – Chapter 3 |
|
|
|
5 |
Tues. 9/14 |
9 - Clarifying & sequencing objectives |
EDINGER – Chapter 5 MAGER – Review |
|
|
Thur. 9/16 |
10 - Surveying your resources & ideas |
EDINGER – Chapter 4 |
|
|
|
6 |
Tues. 9/21 |
11 - Finding and designing instructional
activities |
EDINGER – Chapter 6 & Afterward |
|
|
Thur. 9/23 |
12 - Assessing student learning |
READER – WELTON & M. – “Assessing
Learning" |
Unit Purpose and Research Due |
|
|
7 |
Tues. 9/28 |
CLASS MAYBE CANCELLED OR… |
|
|
|
13? - Religion in the Schools - Guest
Lecturer: Lee Davis, J.D. |
READER – FREEDOM FORUM – “Teacher’s Guide
to Religion in the Public Schools” READER – “Without a Prayer” |
|||
|
Thur. 9/30 |
13/14 - Identity Awareness |
STARTING SMALL – Chapter 1 S & HOOD – Chapter 9 READER – NCSS – “IV: Individual Development
& Identity” |
Starting Small Team 1 Mock Lesson |
|
|
8 |
Tues. 10/5 |
14/15 - Fairness, Justice & War |
STARTING SMALL – Chapter 2 S & HOOD – Chapter 6 READER – NCSS – "VII: Production,
Distribution & Consumption” |
Starting Small Team 2 Mock Lesson |
|
Thur. 10/7 |
15/16 - Friends & Families |
STARTING SMALL – Chapter 3 S & HOOD – Chapter 5 READER – NCSS – “I: Culture" |
Starting Small Team 3 Mock Lesson |
|
|
Note: October 12th is the Last day to Withdraw without
Academic Penalty |
||||
|
9 |
Tues. 10/12 |
CLASS MAYBE CANCELLED OR… |
|
|
|
16? - Religion in the Schools - Guest
Lecturer: Lee Davis, J.D. |
READER – FREEDOM FORUM – “Teacher’s Guide
to Religion in the Public Schools” READER – “Without a Prayer” |
|||
|
Thur. 10/14 |
17 - Prejudice & Violence |
STARTING SMALL – Chapter 4 S & HOOD – Chapter 3 READER – NCSS – “V: Individuals, Groups
& Institutions” |
Starting Small Team 4 Mock Lesson |
|
|
10 |
Tues. 10/19 |
18 - Kids with Special Needs |
STARTING SMALL – Chapter 5 S & HOOD – Chapter 10 READER – NCSS – “II: Time, Continuity &
Change” |
Starting Small Team 5 Mock Lesson |
|
Thur. 10/21 |
19 - Democracy |
STARTING SMALL – Chapter 6 S & HOOD – Chapter 8 READER – NCSS – “X: Civic Ideals &
Practices” |
Starting Small Team 6 Mock Lesson |
|
|
11 |
Tues. 10/26 |
20 - Current Events and Loss |
STARTING SMALL – Chapter 7 S & HOOD – Chapter 13 READER – NCSS – “VI: Power, Authority &
Governance” |
Starting Small Team 7 Mock Lesson |
|
Thur. 10/28 |
21 - Geography and Maps |
S & HOOD – Chapter 11 READER – NCSS – “III: People, Places, &
Environments” & “IX: Global Connections” |
|
|
|
12 |
Tues. 11/2 |
22 – Geography, Maps & Family History |
S & HOOD – Chapter 15 |
|
|
Thur. 11/4 |
23 - Historical Unit Presentations |
LOEWEN – Chapter 2 |
Historical Unit Presentations |
|
13 |
Tues. 11/9 |
24 - Historical Unit Presentations |
LOEWEN – Chapter 3 or 4 (to be determined
by unit topics) |
Historical Unit Presentations |
|
Thur. 11/11 |
25 - Historical Unit Presentations |
LOEWEN – Chapter 4 or 5 (to be determined
by unit topics) |
Historical Unit Presentations |
|
|
14 |
Tues. 11/16 |
26 - Historical Unit Presentations |
LOEWEN – Chapter 5 or 6 (to be determined
by unit topics) |
Historical Unit Presentations |
|
Thur. 11/18 |
27 - Historical Unit Presentations |
LOEWEN – Chapter 7 |
Historical Unit Presentations |
|
|
15 |
Tues. 11/23 |
28 - Historical Unit Presentations |
LOEWEN – Chapter 9 |
Historical Unit Presentations |
|
Thur. 11/25 |
Thanksgiving
Break |
|||
|
16 |
Tues. 11/30 |
29 – The Big Picture: Mass Media |
READER – NCSS – “VIII: Science, Technology
& Society” READER – POSTMAN – “Foreword” &
Teaching as an Amusing Activity” |
Unit Instructional Design & Handouts
Due |
|
Thur. 12/2 |
30 – Discussion of Family Trees, Paley
& Review for Exam |
NONE |
Fam. History OR Paley Review Due |
|
|
17 |
Thur. 12/9 3:00 |
Final
Exam (per university schedule) |
||