Thursday, May 10, 2012

Issues of Cobblestone Connected to 5th Grade Social Studies

First, I want to identify the topics that are associated with 5th grade in my school district (Changing Face of North America AKA Colonial America, American Revolution, United States Constitution).

With that in mind, I've created a document that includes the links/synopsis of all issues of Cobblestone that are connected to 5th grade social studies.  As teachers look to maximize learning time and connect learning across contents, there is a growing need to use content-rich non-fiction within reading instruction.  I feel that Cobblestone, a history magazine for ages 9-14, delivers wonderful non-fiction that is short enough to use with guided reading groups or for jigsaw reading activities around a topic/theme/concept.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Using the "Evolution of Dance" to Teach "Continuity and Change Over Time"

A significant concept in history is continuity and change over time.  While we often look to examples precisely connected to the content we are teaching, Marzano best practices elevates how the use of metaphors is important for student thinking.  That leads me to question, "What examples can help teachers to connect teaching and learning to concepts?"

A friend recently shared this video of a comedian demonstrating every form of dance over time...in just six minutes.  What if this video were shared with students to begin a conversation about the concept of continuity and change over time?  How has dance continued to change yet retained some commonality over time?

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Concept-Based Performance Assessment for Colonial America

With the elevation of concept-based learning, student assessment must consider transfer of concepts.  5th graders throughout the nation are involved in the study of Colonial America.  (Out of respect for cultures, we have renamed this unit Changing Face of North America: Emergence of a New World Society.)

As part of this study, students are engaged with the concept of continuity and change over time as it connects to social, political and economic development.  Essentially, students examine social, political and economic development over time to see what has stayed the same and what has changed.

Since 5th graders don't know much about different eras, the goal within this concept-based performance assessment (using the UbD GRASPS model) is to help them transfer the concept of continuity and change over time to a modern context.  And, since 5th graders might not know much about current social, political or economic perspectives, they build this knowledge through interviews with adults.  I just created this for our teachers, but it has not been tested.  What do you think?  Can 5th graders do this?  Check out the assessment here!