Economic Change Over Time: Beginning in the Colonial Era

When students explore units of study based on the colonial era, we want them to understand significant concepts rather than simply gather random facts. Concepts help to hold facts and knowledge together. A significant concept for young historians to explore involves examining how economic institutions, such as our customs and practices, have changed over time. Economic interaction among people is based on understanding how people of any time or place try to answer one central question:  How will individuals/communities interact to acquire and exchange goods and services? How do we get what we want and need? Notice how the following section shows how economic systems developed over time. For the sake of showing the development, I'll indicate that each step in economic development is a PHASE.

What are the phases of economic development?
Phase 1: Subsistence Living/Barter & Trade

In our nation's past, individuals were independent in making goods and growing crops that they wanted or needed. Eventually, it made sense for individuals within a community to interact by bartering and trading with each other. The trade typically involved goods so that participants in the interaction could acquire what they wanted or needed.  In the early colonial era, sometimes Europeans traded with Native Americans and sometimes they traded with each other. If an individual or family was living in an isolated location, they may have embraced subsistence living, which means an indevidual or family supported themselves.

Phase 2: Specialization and Community Interdependence: The Development of Trades
As communities developed, individuals recognized that it’s inefficient to be individually responsible for all goods and services.  This led to interdependence, specialization of trades, specialization in the development of goods, and specialization in the growth of agriculture.  Citizens created interdependent economic communities as they brought goods and services to the economic marketplace.  NOTE: Within European colonies, specialization related to agriculture created demand for a labor force, which is one main reason that indentured servants and slaves can be viewed as "economic variables" within economic development. For further information…

Phase 3: Regional Development and Intercolonial Trade
Regionally, different goods and services were developed due to physical geography, local resources, and regional skill sets.  Teachers often study the different regions with students.  One way of examining colonial regions involves analyzing how they developed uniquely to participate in a larger North American marketplace. The nature of interdependence across the colonies developed as individuals/communities traded within the larger North American marketplace. NOTE: Slavery appeared early-on in the colonial era. While students see slavery as a the mistreatment of people, students should understand the economic reasons for slavery. Slavery, while viewed today as a shameful practice, developed in conjunction with the growth of regional economies (especially in the Southern colonies).  Slavery resources can be used in a way to highlight its economic perspective and its human (or inhumane) perspective.

Phase 4: Mercantilism and the Triangle Trade
Mercantilism stipulates that in order to build economic strength, a nation must export more than it imports.  To achieve this favorable balance of trade, the English passed regulatory laws exclusively benefitting the British economy. These laws created a trade system whereby colonists provided raw goods to Britain. Britain then used the raw goods to produce manufactured goods that were sold in European markets and back to the colonies.  As suppliers of raw goods only, the colonies could not compete with Britain in manufacturing.  English ships and merchants were always favored, excluding other countries from sharing in the British Empire’s wealth. To transport finished goods back to the colonies, ships made various stops which was known as the Triangle Trade. For further information…

Today: Free Trade
As a final evolution of economic interaction, the North American colonies began to desire greater economic freedom and the opportunity to trade freely throughout the world. They wanted out of the mercantilist system. (In the future, free trade for the newly established nation, the United States of America, is one result of the American Revolution.)  Students will explore free trade and the market economy during their study of the American Revolution.

What does this look like with 5th graders?
As teachers, we are going to pull as many primary sources as possible. Primary sources are at the heart of history instruction. Here are some ways to use primary and secondary sources (including simulations) to help students understand economic change over time.

Questions to guide inquiry:

• How has economic interaction changed over time?
• How did people interact with each other to get what they wanted or needed? How and why did that develop and change over time?

1. Phase 1: Subsistence Living/Barter & Trade - Students use this lesson from National Geographic on Trade in the 1600's to understand early barter and trade. This might be paired with a video on economics in Jamestown. Students might also play a version of this bartering game. Teachers facilitate a conversation that helps students see how people in this era of economic development depended on each other to get what they wanted and needed.
2. Phase 2: Specialization and Community Interdependence, the Development of Trades - Students initially investigate these primary source newspapers and these ads for goods and services to find out what goods were traded in the colonial marketplace. Students divide into teams of two and investigate trades that developed within colonial communities and then participate in an economic meet-and-greet using this sheet. After finding out about the different trades, students might engage in learning about interdependency through a method similar to this one on the colonial workers web. Teachers facilitate a conversation that helps students see how this era is a change from the previous era. This era embraced a more complex form of economic interdependence. In addition, invite students to consider why this change in economic interdependence took place.
3. Phase 2 Extension: Indentured Servitude and Slavery as Part of Economic Development - Students can investigate how indentured servants and slaves were connected to economics. Begin with exploring this indenture contract (a primary source) and then shift into this lesson on indentured servitude that comes from the Council on Economic Education. Extend the learning to look at this lesson on slavery's connection to the colonial economy. Teachers should facilitate a conversation that connects indentured servants and slavery to the changing colonial economy.
4. Phase 3: Regional Development and Intercolonial Trade - Teachers frequently have information in their classrooms or on video that explains the unique trades for each region (South - tobacco, Middle - bread basket colonies, Northern - cod and timber). Learning about these unique aspects of economy allows students to consider how people in the colonies needed specific goods that came from different regions. This phase of economic development means that all of the colonial regions were interdependent. Teachers might facilitate a conversation that helps students see how today's economy involves the exchange of goods that come from different locations in the United States. When students make this connection to modern economic interdependence, they're transferring the concept to a modern example.
5. Phase 4: Mercantilism and Triangle Trade - Students might engage in this mercantilism simulation. Students can then analyze this interactive map of the Triangle Trade and pair it with this primary source letter and this primary source legislative act. Last, students might engage in this consumer revolution imports lesson to see where we are today. Teachers facilitate a conversation that connects this phase with the expanded range for trade, which is the start of global trade.

What skills or discipline-specific thinking practices might I elevate?

Our goal in education is to create experiences so students practice the skills and thinking practices of real-life practitioners. In this case, we often land on the skills and thinking practices of historians. With the above resources, some skills and thinking practices might include:

• Analyze and gather evidence from primary and secondary sources. Secondary sources can include simulations. (When analyzing sources, students are either transferring and reapplying reading skills or incorporating analytical processes. See my blog post on Traditional Literacy and Visual Literacy for guidance on how to do this.)
• Analyze charts maps and graphs.
• Create timelines.
• Explain why economic institutions change over time.
• Describe how physical features influence the development of economic institutions.

How can I extend this learning and ask students to transfer this concept in authentic ways?

We want students to transfer their learning. You might invite an elderly member of the community into the classroom and ask them to explain what it was like to access goods and services long ago. Today, students are aware of Amazon and malls, but hasn't hasn't always been the case. Even today, we are a changing economy and the future of how we exchange goods and services is unknown. Students might make predictions about how the future of economic exchange will continue to change and develop.

Social Institutions of the United States: Change Over Time Starting with the Colonial Era

     As young historians, students examine change over time beginning with the earliest days of European colonization in North America. State standards highlight that students should be able to describe the development of social and political institutions.

What are social and political institutions?

People are different in every era.  Our modern social beliefs and norms evolved over time and they're connected to our nation's past. Who we are today is related to who we were in the past. Investigating the social beliefs and norms of the colonial era allows students to understand “what life was like long ago”, thereby providing historical context so students can explain how we have changed over time. Socially, we want students to explore a variety of social beliefs and norms. This might involve investigating gender roles, norms for adults or children, and the creation of class systems in our past and present.    We also want students to recognize that different beliefs have always been a part of our society and they have also changed over time. Scientific beliefs and practices have changed over time...so have religious beliefs and practices. Events such as the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening provide unique insight into our nation's scientific and religious history. Through a social lens, students are able to understand that we have modern social beliefs and norms that have changed over time...and the present is connected to the past. Some things change, some things stay the same. (Think about ordering A Day in the Life to help students develop social context of the colonial era.)

Second, we have developed beliefs and norms related to governing ourselves. Historians describe this as political change over time. Today, we have certain political beliefs such as 1) a limited government elected by the people and informed by the people, 2) embracing conflict and compromise as we collaborate to create political change, 3) government guided by a constitution, and 4) a balance of power and authority grounded in checks and balances.  Our beliefs of today have evolved over time and they’re connected to our nation’s past. In the past, the Mayflower Compact was one of the first forms of collective agreement established so citizens would be connected around common beliefs, rules and laws.  In colonial New England, there was little distinction between faith and community. Therefore, meetinghouses were built by the communities and used by everyone for both religious worship and town business related to governing citizens. This reflects the beginning of a democracy. For many colonies, the election of officials began to take place...a practice that was new and elevated the value of citizen input in government.  The way we operate today evolved over time.  To facilitate students in learning about this form of change over time, we look at the colonial era through a political lens.

What does this look like with 5th graders?
As teachers, we are going to pull as many primary sources as possible. Primary sources are at the heart of history instruction. Here are some ways to use primary and secondary sources to help students understand social and political change over time:

Questions to Guide Inquiry:

• What social and political institutions (customs, beliefs, and norms) existed for people of North American in the 15th-17th centuries? How and why did they develop and change over time?
• Why do historians use primary and secondary sources to construct understanding of the past?

1. Students use a secondary source to investigate the big picture of life in the past with the book If You Live in Colonial Times by Ann Mcgovern. Students use different portions of the book to explain how life has changed over time and why.
2. Students investigate the roles of men, women, and children in the past with the secondary sources in this lesson (Lesson: What was everyday life like in colonial Virginia?) Discuss how roles have changed over time and why.
3. Students investigate social class in the colonial era with the primary and secondary sources (Social Class in Colonial America). Teachers might also use this site. 
4. Students investigate a year in the life of a colonial farmer with a primary source (A Year in the Life of Thomas Minor). The language is tough but students can get the gist of this citizen's patterns of life. Students compare this person's patterns with the yearly patterns of a modern citizen or farmer and discuss how things have changed over time and why. 
5. Students investigate rules of the past with this primary source (Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation). Discuss how rules have changed over time and predict why. 
6. Students investigate one community's rules through primary sources (Rules, Rules, Rules). Today, we create rules for different communities. Students might describe how rules have changed over time and why. 
7.  Students investigate communication in the past with this lesson using primary sources (Colonial Newspapers and Communication). Analyze the sources and discuss the topics that were "newsworthy" in the past versus today. Discuss how we share information today versus in the past. Discuss why these changes have taken place.
8. Students investigate the items that people have in their homes through this lesson using probate inventories (How do we know about Colonial life?) Discuss what we might infer about the daily life from analyzing the inventories. Students create a list of what they have in their home and discuss what it tells them about life today. Discuss why things have changed over time.
9. Students investigate how students new to a culture are educated through this primary source based lesson (Indian Boarding School). Discuss what school looks like today for students new to the United States. Discuss why things have changed over time.
10. Students investigate medicine and science of the past by examining primary source artifacts. (Explanation of Apothecary and make sure you access the slideshow at the bottom of the page).  Students explain how the tools and approaches to medicine have changed over time and why. This is AWESOME!
11. Students investigate how our knowledge of science and our response to illness has changed over time. Use this primary source lesson on Smallpox Inoculation. 
12. Students investigate the Salem Witch Trials with this dot game from TCI. In the past, people were questioned if they had beliefs that differed from common religious beliefs. Today, we try to have a society that separates church and state. The way we address differences in belief looks different today as compared to the past.

What skills or discipline-specific thinking practices might I elevate?

Our goal in education is to create experiences so students practice the skills and thinking practices of real-life practitioners. In this case, we often land on the skills and thinking practices of historians. With the above resources, some skills and thinking practices include:

• Analyze and gather evidence from primary and secondary sources. (When analyzing these sources, students are either transfer and reapplying reading skills or incorporating analytical processes. See my blog post on Traditional Literacy and Visual Literacy for guidance on how to do this.)
• Create timelines. (Students can create a simple timeline that shows the social and political aspects of past and the present. Students might also add predictions about the future if they want.)
• Explain why social and political institutions change over time. ("Institutions" are norms, beliefs, and structures we've created as people in a society. Therefore, students are explaining how our social and political norms and beliefs have changed over time. There are so many options for kids showing this in creative ways including creating short videos and skits.)

How can I extend this learning and ask students to transfer this concept in authentic ways?

Social education is based in developing students who are going to be educated, involved citizens in our communities. We might consider some of the ways that we might make this learning relevant. Here are just a few ideas.

• Invite members of a homeless shelter to come speak with the class.  Find out about challenges they face in supporting homeless people and how people can become involved in change. Use this as an opportunity to help kids consider the actions they might take to be part of social change.
• Invite a social worker to come in and speak with the class about challenges faced by people of diverse ethnicities. Use this as an opportunity to help kids consider the ways they might share ideas and influence change.
• Invite a local leader to come in and speak about the value of parks and community centers in people's lives. Encourage these leaders to talk about their future projects and how they hope those future projects support social development for the people in a community.
• Invite some grandparents into the classroom to speak about their life experiences and how they've noticed social change over time. Use this as a launching off point to ask students, "When you look at the world today, what social changes do you think need to take place? What steps can you take to influence change that matters to you?"

Geography: Students Identifying Opportunities and Constraints in a Place

When geographers look at the big idea of human and physical interaction, they consider 1) how the physical landscape impacts people or 2) how people leave their mark on the physical landscape. To skillfully apply more discrete thinking to the concept of human and physical interaction, students apply the skill of identifying how the local geography provides opportunities and/or places constraints on people. This skill appears in various ways throughout a student's education from preschool through 12th grade and this thinking is part of the national geography standards. (Geography Standard 15: How Physical Systems Affect Human Systems)

To monitor student achievement of this goal, we have to consider what this thinking looks like before we can start to answer the question, "What students artifact would reveal that the student is able to apply this type of thinking?"

What is "Opportunity" in a Particular Place?: Opportunities exist in situations where something can be done.  The national geography standards help teachers to break down this idea.

1. Opportunity exists when characteristics of the physical environment enable people to thrive and prosper. Some characteristics to consider include climate, water, plants, animals, or landforms. 
• How might different aspects of the climate in this location create opportunities for people to thrive and prosper in this place?
• How might the availability (or location) and abundance of water in this location create opportunities for people to thrive and prosper?
• How might the plants in this place create opportunities for people to thrive and prosper?
• How might the animals in this place create opportunities for people to thrive and prosper?
• How might landforms in this place create opportunities for people to thrive and prosper?
2. Opportunity exists when a place offers activities for people because of the physical environment.
3. Opportunity exists when communities of people can take advantage of the physical environment.
• How might a community harness the water supply in this place?
• How might a community harness the soil to create farming or gardens in this place? What crops might grow effectively?
• How might a community develop recreational activities in this place?

What is a "Constraint" in a Particular Place?: Constraints exist in situations where people are limited or restricted in some way. The national geography standards help teachers to break down this idea.

1. Constraints exist when landforms within a physical environment limits human activities. Sometimes features such as mountains, forests, deserts, the slope of hills, or flood plains limit people. These might limit the growth of agriculture, human settlement, or the ability to develop transportation systems.  
• How might different landforms limit what people can do in this place?
• How might the construction of shelter be limited by the landforms or the physical features in this place?
2. Constraints exist when the climate limits human activities. All climates limit people in some ways, including cold/polar climates, rainy climates, dry climates, or equatorial climates.
• How do facets of climate limit people in this place?
3. Constraints exist when people must adapt their transportation routes due to the physical environment.
4. Constraints exist when environmental hazards are common in a location and those hazards limit people. For example, some locations have many tornadoes, earthquakes, sand storms, hurricanes.
• How do naturally occurring weather conditions limit people in this place?
• How do the behaviors of people change in response to environmental hazards?

What is "Adaptation" connected to Opportunities and Constraints in a Particular Place?: When people adapt to the conditions of a local physical environment, they are taking a "constraint" and turning it into an "opportunity." Kids might think of the phrase, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." 

What artifacts might students create to show their ability to think this way? This is where the teacher gets to embrace creativity based on the interests of students and the tools available for students to create. As long as an artifact reveals that a students can embrace the thinking, any artifact works.

Analyzing Primary Sources to Develop a Deep Understanding of Perspective

As we all know, teachers of 21st century students are developing classrooms that are part of a paradigm shift in learning. We are not teaching students geography, we're teaching them to apply the skills and processes of geographers. We are not teaching students economics, we're teaching them to apply the skills and processes of economic reasoning. We're not teaching students civics, we're teaching them to apply the skills and processes of active citizenship. And...we're not teaching students history, we're teaching them to apply the skills and processes of historians.

The historical process is significantly connected to the analysis of primary sources. The sources of history allow students to engage with the artifacts and ideas of the past. When students engage with primary sources, it becomes quite obvious that sources reveal perspectives about people, events, and ideas. Since primary sources are created by people in the past, they capture the perspective of an individual (or group) and invite students to ask, "If I were to analyze other primary sources, what other perspectives might appear?"

While primary source analysis is a foundation for historical thinking in all grades, the concept of perspective appears significantly in grades 5 and 6. (In addition, the same concept appears within reading but might appear as point-of-view.) This is no coincidence and the cognition of students in intermediate grades develops in ways where they can begin to see how different people might "view" people, events, and ideas.

The following two videos were created in a 5th grade classroom (Chicago) and the instructional approach might help teachers to consider how this type of learning can play out within any intermediate classroom. Teachers might consider how to elevate perspective when students examine slavery during the colonial era (5th grade) or when students study the era of European exploration and the collision with early cultures in the Western Hemisphere (6th grade). These are just two opportunities where perspective can be explored and there are obviously many more opportunities to explore this concept since history is based on exploring the perspectives inherent within primary sources.

Analyzing Perspectives through Primary Sources, Part 1: Getting Started 

from Expeditionary Learning on Vimeo.

Analyzing Perspectives through Primary Sources, Part 2: Sharpening and Synthesizing 

from Expeditionary Learning on Vimeo.

Knowledge: Use it Skillfully, Use it Conceptually

Social Studies has a challenging past where a student's ability to repeat factual content was valued. In our modern society, factual content is at an individual's fingertips. For this reason, a 21st century learner must be able to use information in different ways. This implies that learning in social studies might be simplified into a three-step process.

1. Learners acquire knowledge

2. Students make sense of knowledge through applying it skillfully

3. Students make sense of knowledge through applying it to explain concepts

Let's expand on these ideas just a bit.

How do learners acquire knowledge?

• One of the most traditional ways that learners acquire knowledge is through the use of traditional texts (textbooks, articles, non-fiction books, and video segments). We ask students to apply literacy skills through capturing the big ideas and supporting details. We might also provide students with a question (or questions) that can be answered through engaging with the traditional text. 
• Students might also acquire content knowledge through the analysis of non-traditional texts (primary sources, charts, graphs, maps, images, and infographics). This approach is critical for 21st century students who live in a world where they engage with a multitude of non-traditional sources. 
• Students might experience classroom simulations, direct instruction, or other lessons that are designed to build content knowledge. 

How do learners apply knowledge skillfully?

• First, we must recognize that we are not teaching students history, we're teaching them to engage in the thinking practices of historians. We are not teaching students geography, we're teaching them to engage in the thinking practices of geographers. We are not teaching students economics, we're teaching students to apply economic reasoning. We are not teaching students civics, we're teaching students to engage in the thinking practices of informed citizens. 
• When we think of student work, we must consider their work as artifacts that allow us (the teachers) to see that they have the ability to show thinking. Student work, or artifacts of thinking, are designed based on what students should be able to do. These statements (found in Stage 1 of curriculum planning tools) are the skills of a historian, the skills of a geographer, the skills of an economic thinker, and the skills of an informed citizen. 

How do learners apply knowledge to explain concepts?

• First, we must recognize that concepts are the big, broad ideas of a discipline. In curriculum, they are the organizing concepts and the big ideas. 
• Concepts are also the ideas that come from a learner when they use knowledge to explain essential questions. Since essential questions are broad and based on a student's interpretation and understanding, we must be aware that students will provide evidence (content knowledge) to explain their ideas...and student answers will vary.

Specialization - Economic Change Over Time AND Economic Systems

Specialization can be used with different concepts. Students can use specialization to understand the historical aspect of how economics has changed over time. Students can also look at specialization through the purely-economic lens.

5th grade - Early American History
When students are engaged in studies of early American History, a common conceptual goal involves economics. The ways people participate in the economic community has changed over time, especially as it relates to specialization. Early communities had wig makers, brick makers, and other different specialized ways of participating in the economic community. View the following videos and ask students, "How does specialization in the colonial era compare the specialization today?"

6th grade - Economic Systems
When student are engaged in studies of the Western Hemisphere, they are frequently asked to describe different characteristics of economic systems. Specialization is something that some economic systems include, and others do not. View the following videos and ask, "What might specialization look like in different economies of today?"

The Bike Maker (specializing to create a good)

Made by Hand / Teaser - The Bike Maker from Made by Hand on Vimeo.

The Beekeeper (specializing to provide goods)

Made by Hand / No 3 The Beekeeper from Made by Hand on Vimeo.


I love the video "The Knife Maker" (specializing to provide a good) - This IS NOT recommended for students when using sound. The knife maker uses foul language a few times in the video, but his craft is amazing. I suggest turning off the volume and ask students to observe the process of this craft.

Nelson Mandela - Understanding Actions of Individuals and Civic Ideals

      As students are engaged with units of study related to the U.S. Constitution, they certainly explore the concept of citizenship and explore the topic of civic ideals. While you explore this concept, you can also extend student thinking to support students as writers. You might look at the civics portion like this (writing is included at the end of the lesson):

• Social Studies Discipline: Civics
• Concept: Citizenship
• Understand: Students will understand that an individual's actions communicate their conviction to civic ideals.
• Essential Question: How do actions reveal someone's conviction to civic ideals?
• Why is this a transferrable concept? Everyone takes ownership of their vision of citizenship and everyone develops their own understanding of what civic ideals look like within their lives. In our day to day actions, we see evidence of what people in society believe about civic ideals. Sometimes we agree with those actions, sometimes we don't. The ways people apply civic ideals might look different across time, place, or culture.
• Know: Students will know civic ideals (including freedom, rule of law, equality, civility, cooperation, respect, responsibility, and civic participation)
• Skill: Students will be able to relate and describe how group/individual actions are connected to an individual's/group's belief about civic ideals.

In this learning activity, students will engage with a multiple resources. The video shows Maya Angelou sharing a poem about Nelson Mandela. The video includes specific images and specific phrases from a poem that students might use to support the goals for this lesson.
Source One - Video: His Day is Done - Maya Angelou's Tribute Poem for Nelson Mandela

Source 2 - The Day is Done (poem)

Source 3 - 17 Inspiring Facts About Nelson Mandela (from The New Yorker)

Student task:
As writers - Use source 1 and 2 to understand how video and language are used to communicate the impact of a citizen on society.
As citizens - Use details from all sources to describe how Nelson Mandela's actions and beliefs reveal his conviction to civic ideals and society.

Assessment:
As citizens - To show you have transferred this idea, create a list of inspiring facts about someone you admire (possibly yourself). Identify how this individual's actions are related to his/her beliefs about civic ideals.
As writers - Write a poem to effectively communicate the impact of "someone you admire" on society.

How Might I Assess If Students Understand "Culture"?

     In various grades, students examine culture. It might be...the culture of an individual or family...the culture of a state, region or nation...the culture of indigenous peoples. When students examine culture, they look at the pieces that make up the whole.

Over time, students begin to understand that unity and diversity across cultures can be identified when looking at different elements of culture, such as:

• Social Aspects of Culture (major beliefs and values, holidays and celebrations, religion, art, language, education, food, games/sports)
• Economic Aspects of Culture (economic organization, interdependence and specialization)
• Political Aspects of Culture (governmental organization, laws and policies, mechanisms to foster cooperation and to deal with conflict)

For social studies teachers, assessing a student's understanding of culture is very difficult. Yet, demonstrating understanding of culture provides a number of pathways to empower students and incorporate student creativity. When I asked fellow social studies teachers about the different ways they assess culture, these were some of their ideas:

1. Students create a museum exhibit with artifacts. When you visit a museum, artifacts are used to represent the culture. With any artifact, there's an explanation about the artifact and why it's important to a culture. Students could select artifacts that represent different elements of culture. Students can explain the artifact's connection the culture while also identifying why the artifact is a strong example within a particular element of culture. Museum exhibits can be created by small groups of students and placed on display. Students can also use different digital tools to gather a digital museum exhibit and create a video with voice-over to be docents of the exhibit.
2. How about a survival guide? When we must "step-in" to new and different cultures, we must figure out ways of assimilating so we can fit-in and survive. What are the cultural norms that are necessary to blend in, assimilate, and acculturate? 
3. Create a video report complete with photos, artifacts, music, etc. It provides a creative opportunity for students to share their understanding. 
4. Create alternate lines of culture.  We might study a particular culture and then ask, "What if our culture included this aspect of another culture? How would this impact us? What if this event would have happened in our culture, how would that have impacted our culture of today?"
5. Within a culture, life is seen differently by its members. Culture is different for a young boy or young girl.  Culture is seen differently by a rich or poor person, man or woman, leader or citizen.  Students might create diary entries or design short skits that elevate the perspective of different members within a culture. Students can be required to identify the different elements of culture that are being addressed within the diary entry or skit. This might also be accomplished by students creating documentaries that involve someone interviewing different members of a culture.
6. Add any of your ideas in the comments section.

Using Concept-Based Charts to Focus on Conceptual Goals

While my previous post looked at students using facts skillfully based on what students should be able to do, we must also be supporting students in their development of conceptual ideas.  (Jeffco teachers will notice that report cards elevate these two descriptors as 1) demonstrates understanding of social studies concepts and content and 2) applies skills and processes of social studies effectively...see the blog post that digs into those descriptors.)

Conceptually speaking, every content area has its most significant concepts.  The most significant concepts of a content can be seen as big ideas or as organizing concepts.  In addition, essential questions are written so students apply inquiry to uncover what we want students to understand.

As a classroom tool, teachers might consider creating a chart that communicates all of the concepts for a unit.  The essential questions can be used to help students and teachers stay focused on the unit's conceptual goals, while the words and phrases (big ideas and organizing concepts) can be included to help students and teachers discuss and use the conceptual language of history, geography, economics, and civics. If we build expectations around the regular use of academic vocabulary, then students will eventually view the use of academic vocabulary as the norm.

Some of you might be interested in looking at the framework for Preschool-12th grade Social Studies. This 

For teachers interested in viewing examples of the social studies concept-based classroom charts by grade level, access the appropriate grade level document.

• 3rd grade Social Studies Concept-Based Charts (by unit)
• 4th grade Social Studies Concept-Based Charts (by unit)
• 5th grade Social Studies Concept-Based Charts (by unit)
• 6th grade Social Studies Concept-Based Charts (by unit)

    

Connecting Facts/Details to Concepts in Changing Face of North America

This week, I had an excellent conversation with teachers about the unit Changing Face of North America: Emergence of a New World Society.  In this unit, it's easy for teachers to think that lots of content information is important.  As we look at concept-based instruction, one thing we have to remember as teachers is...more information does not necessarily equate to smarter students.  Concept-based instruction involves helping students to connect the facts they learn to the broader, more enduring concepts.  In turn, we asked this question. "How do we support students in connecting facts/details to concepts?"  For teachers who use a notebook or graphic organizers to help students track their conceptual understanding, we discussed how students would come back often to these notebook pages or graphic organizers as they learn more factual information and work to connect these facts to different conceptual lenses.

The use of essential questions is connected to inquiry (and to concept-based instruction).  As students learn more information, they can approach each essential question with greater complexity.  Essential questions are written with students as the audience while their corresponding understandings are written with teachers as the audience. 

Last, when teachers look at the Stage 1 Desired Results for a unit of study, there are content specific words and phrases that can also be used by teachers and students in classroom conversations (and writing).  These words and phrases are Big Ideas or Organizing Concepts.  In this unit, these words and phrases are connected to history and geography.  Teachers might consider how to weave this vocabulary and these ideas into classroom discussion (and writing) knowing that these big ideas and organizing concepts continue to appear for students from preschool through 12th grade.  

As we move ahead in our learning about concept-based instruction,  explore how students might use a notebook or graphic organizers to connect student learning to the unit's concepts (essential questions, big ideas, and organizing concepts).  These connections help students to make sense of their learning so the unit is not about a string of facts; the unit is about broader concepts and students have the opportunity to connect the facts/details to the broader concepts.

Exploring Historical Process and Primary Sources: A Strategy to Start the Year

To begin, I want to thank a Kansas curriculum specialist for this idea from his blog posting Tip of the Week: 5 Great Ways to Start School for Social Studies Teachers.

From his blog, here's the strategy:

History in a Bag

"Purchase or find enough brown paper bags for all of your students. Write a number on each bag and give one to every kid. Ask them to place five personal items into the bag, close it and to remember the number (for identification later). These items can be anything in their pockets, backpack, etc. Place all of the bags in a pile and have the students select one at random.

Provide a series of questions that they will answer as they attempt to decipher these “artifacts.” Is this person male or female? What do they think is important? How old is this person? Where do they live? The questions aren’t so important as the rationale used to answer the question. You want kids to start thinking about how we know what we know, to start to understand the historical process.

Have students get into groups of two or three to explain their answers. As a large group, ask kids to identify the owners of their bag’s artifacts. Lead a discussion about historical process and how we know what we know."

How is this connected to the  history concept of Historical Process?

When students construct their own understanding of history, they collect lots of ideas related to the people, events, ideas, and interactions of a time or place.  Those ideas might come from secondary sources or from primary sources.  As we teach students to engage in the practices of a historian, we expose them to a number of primary sources. When using this strategy, we have the opportunity to help students understand that the artifacts in the bag are like primary sources. Historical process involves pulling together information that learners glean from primary and secondary sources.

If we asked students to analyze the artifacts, we would encourage students to 1) identify what they notice about the artifacts, 2) ask questions about the artifacts, 3) predict what each artifact tells us about the student. This process of analysis is also part of the historical process.

Last, we might ask students, "How might we use all of the artifacts to describe this person?"  Students determine how each of these artifacts (or pieces) are connected. This synthesis of their ideas is when students construct history using multiple pieces of evidence (or artifacts).  This type of synthesis, or pulling the pieces together to create a story based on evidence, is also part of the historical process.  

Using the Question Formation Technique to Explore Conceptual Ideas in Elementary Social Studies

Just yesterday, we were able to bring together 100 teachers for a Preschool-6th grade Social Studies Kickoff, with the goal of exposing teachers to new ideas, elevating strategies and tools for critical thinking, and enhancing collaboration among elementary social studies teachers.

With our district's focus on concept-based learning and quality instruction, we decided to expose teachers to an instructional strategy from the Right Question Institute out of Harvard University. We chose this strategy because asking questions is a strategy that's used by teachers in all content areas at all grade levels. The Right Question Institute developed a well-researched and incredibly powerful critical thinking experience known as the Question Formation Technique.  Their rationale for designing this technique is explained by one of the book's authors, Dan Rothstein,  in this TED Talk (13:41). In this talk, you'll notice how the skill of asking questions declines from age 5 to age 18.  You might predict that a variety of variables impact this pattern, but the bottom line is...IT'S SAD! Asking questions is a skill, and it's a skill that needs developing if we are to have students who participate in society as critical thinkers.  With the Question Formation Technique, teachers "express deep satisfaction as they see their students rapidly develop divergent, convergent, and metacognitive thinking abilities and become more confident learners." (p. 2) (To find out more, check out the link above or look into their book Make Just One Change: Teach Students to Ask Their Own Questions.)

The Question Formation Technique involves a process where teachers design something known as a Question Focus, an "item" designed to elicit questions and critical thinking from the learner. Learners then engage in a process using the Question Focus, a process where each step has been carefully studied and refined to maximize the questioning and critical thinking experience for learners.  In general, this is the process.  (Teachers can access all necessary resources by creating a log-in at rightquestion.org and looking under "resources.")

Google Doc of the Process

Below, you'll find a list of each Question Focus that was developed specifically for social studies in each grade level.  Included is a general sense of the conceptual ideas we were hoping would be elevated when learners were engaged in the Question Formation Technique.  Every Question Focus was designed as an introduction to a significant conceptual idea so students would begin to explore questions at the heart of learning instead of the teacher simply presenting the essential questions for the learning. We felt that this process created greater ownership by learners, and in this case, ownership of future learning that is based on conceptual curriculum goals or understandings.   (NOTE: A Question Focus might be applicable to other grades depending on the purpose for its use.  Questions will always be different as individuals, as groups, and as critical thinking abilities develop among learners.)

Question Focus Samples: Preschool to 6th Grade

• 6th grade Question Focus: This was designed to be used with a Western Hemisphere study when students begin to examine the era of European exploration and to consider multiple perspectives when analyzing the impact of exploration on early cultures of the Western Hemisphere.
• 5th grade Question Focus: This was designed to be used with a unit titled Changing Face of North America: Emergence of a New World Society (We no longer use the Euro-centric title of "Colonial America"). The goal was to elicit questions related to why people came to the Atlantic coast of North America, where they settled, why, and the patterns that existed within this migration of people.
• 4th grade Question Focus: This was designed to go with a state study of Colorado.  The goal was to cause learners to ask who came to Colorado over time, why, and where did they settle.
• 3rd grade Question Focus: This was designed to go with a study of Denver titled The Big City.  The goal was to illuminate the idea that citizens and government work together to create important changes over time. 
• 2nd grade Question Focus: This was designed to go with a civics study.  The goal was to cause students to think about various forms of conflict and active citizenship of students.  An image of the man scratching his head was placed on a mirror and then the mirror was placed at the top of the page where you see three scenarios of conflicting students.
• 1st grade Question Focus:  This was designed to go with a history unit and was created to help students consider how and why things have continued to stay the same or change over time. This is the history concept of continuity and change over time. 
• Kindergarten Question Focus: This was designed to go with a civics study where students explore the purpose of classroom rules, citizenship, and roles within the classroom.
• Preschool Question Focus: This was designed to go with civics learning related to respectful interaction and classroom rules. 

Backwards Design and Concept-Based Assessment in "Changing Face of North America" (the colonial era)

Backwards design means that we develop the appropriate assessments for a unit of study so we can monitor the development of student learning.  Instead of creating an assessment to test what we taught, we must create assessments that assess what students are expected to know, understand, and be able to do.

As part of concept-based learning, we want to incorporate more opportunities to see if students have developed conceptual understanding.  In a 5th grade unit titled The Changing Face of North America (some districts still use the Eurocentirc title of Colonial America), students should walk away with deep understanding of social, political, and economic facets of this era. 

Colorado Academic Standards state that students should be able to explain the development of political, social and economic institutions in the British American colonies.  Notice how this standard implies deep conceptual knowledge.  A teacher can't create an assessment with fill-in-the-blank or true-false questions and come away knowing if students can EXPLAIN these ideas.

To approach this goal, consider this performance assessment that connects student understanding of political, social and economic institutions to the historical concept of continuity and change over time. 

Instead of saying, "What do I need to teach?", begin your own mental conversation by asking, "If I were the student, what learning experiences would I need to prepare me for this assessment?"  You may even go so far as to try and complete the assessment as an adult.   Once you sense the learning experiences that students need, you may have a better sense of how to construct learning in a rigorous conceptual way.  (I suggest creating concept-based timelines as a tool for students.) It may not be easy at first, but we must move beyond the days of assessment that's about regurgitating facts...we must move to assessment that causes students to use facts to explain more complex concepts.

Using Jackie Robinson's Story and Primary Sources to Learn About Civic Ideals

5th graders throughout the nation engage in a study of the U.S. Constitution.  Conceptually, students are engaged with learning that involves digging into three essential civics concepts:
1. the purpose of government
2. the structure and function of government
3. citizenship

We're also fortunate to have the release of 42, the story of Jackie Robinson as the first Afircan-American to play in the American Major Baseball league.  As part of the movie's release, Stephanie Greenhut has taken some time to dig into the Library of Congress to identify a few primary source treasures.  Stephanie's blog posting includes the following primary sources so students can investigate the documents on which our history is built:
1. Court -martial order from the military personnel file of Jack "Jackie" Robinson, 8/23/1944, from the Records of the Army Staff
2. Robinson's letter to President Kennedy, 2/9/1961, from the Papers of John F. Kennedy, Presidential Papers

So, how is Jackie Robinson's history connected to a study of the U.S. Constitution? 

When students explore the concept of citizenship, students should know civic ideals (including freedom, rule of law, civility, cooperation, respect, responsibility, and civic participation).  In terms of skills, students should be able to relate individual and group actions to civic ideals. Finally, taking this factual learning involves helping students to understand that "actions illustrate our commitment to civic ideals" by exploring the essential question, "What are ways people might demonstrate commitment to civic ideals?"

Instructionally, our goal is to create learning experiences where students think conceptually and critically analyze (21st century skill) a variety of resources, including primary source documents.  What about trying it this way?

1. Present the learning objectives to students.
2. Present a brief biography of Jackie Robinson.
3. Discuss how historians read primary sources critically and ask questions.
4. Ask students to answer these questions:
• How do these sources reveal actions of people connected to their beliefs about civic ideals?
• How are the actions of people, today, similar or different than the actions of the past?
• What are you beginning to understand about civic ideals? (Know) 
• Now, how might you answer, "What are ways people might demonstrate commitment to civic ideals?"

This type of learning experience involves critical thinking and analysis, primary source analysis (part of the historical process), elevation of what kids should know, elevation of what kids should be able to do, and conceptual connections so students can transfer their learning to a modern context. 

Give it a shot, let me know what you are thinking about related to civics, backwards design, instructional design, or concept-based instruction?  We only grow as teachers if we begin to think AND TEACH in new ways.

Additional Supports:

• The Library of Congress has this fine collection in American Memory: Baseball and Jackie Robinson. The Teachers page also has "Collection Connections" for History, Critical Thinking, and Arts & Humanities

Big Picture to Details OR Details to Big Picture Within Concept-Based Instruction

Implementing a curriculum grounded in concepts has caused my brain to buzz in ways that I've never experienced before.  In talking with colleagues, there are those who call themselves "big picture thinkers" and those who say they are "detail oriented."  In both scenarios, adults either begin with the big picture and then learn the details based on the big picture, OR, they learn the details and connect them to the big picture.  The big picture and the details work in concert, together, to create well-rounded understanding.  While we talk about our adult learning styles in this way, I wonder if we might look at how this is connected to the learners who sit in front of us.  It begs the question, "How do we think about different approaches to concept-based instruction by thinking about the connection between the BIG PICTURE (enduring concepts and understandings) and DETAILS (facts and skills)?" If you're unaware of these ideas, look into some of the examples at the very bottom of this post.

In concept-based learning, or 3D models of learning, we are looking to connect the facts and skills with the more enduring concepts and understandings. In discussion with teachers, it seems like the majority of social studies classrooms begin with learning activities grounded in the details (facts and skills) and then students are asked to connect the details to the big picture (enduring concepts and understandings).  In this post, I hope to offer an example of how we might beging with the BIG PICTURE and shift learning to the DETAILS through reframing our instructional intent with resources.  In doing so, this example might help teachers to see how resource-use is flexible as we construct learning for students.  For example, I was recently exposed to this wonderful set of resources on Women's Suffrage. 

I like this set of primary sources and think it would be valuable to use with intermediate students.  Unfortunately, the content does not live in 5th or 6th grade for my school district.  For me, it was helpful to reframe my thinking to consider how this resource set might be used in a conceptual way by introducing the BIG PICTURE of learning prior to looking into the details. .

When I look at the planning tool teachers use for 5th grade U.S. Constitution, I notice some conceptual pieces that would allow me to connect these resources to the BIG PICTURE.

Understand: 1. American citizens are granted the legal right which the Constitution promises. 2. Actions illustrate our commitment to civic ideals.

Essential Question: 1. Who is a citizen? 2. What responsibilities comes with rights? 3. Are all people living within the United States granted the legal rights the Constitution promises? Why or Why not?  4. What are ways poeple might demonstrate commitment to civic ideals?

Concepts: Citizenship, Rights, Democracy, Individual Rights vs Common Good

By using these resources, we can begin to address larger, more complex ideas.  Instructionally, I might create small sets of these resources to be used within an engaging scenario prior to the study of this unit's BIG PICTURE.  These primary sources allow students to begin exploring the more enduring concepts of the study prior to using resources connected to what students should KNOW.  These resources are a wonderful entry point to have these concept-based discussions with kids so that they have context for why they begin to learn about DETAILS such as the Bill of rights and individual rights, or civic ideals and their connection to the responsibilities of citizens.

Once again, I find that concept-based learning blows me away and how concept-based learning has completely changed how I look at the teaching and learning cycle.  As you approach learning with your students, start to pay attention to how you are organizing instruction (Big Picture to Details OR Details to Big Picture).  Try to do it both ways, and in the process, you'll probably also begin to notice how much more you're beginning to understand what concept-based instruction looks and feels like.


BIG PICTURE and DETAILS websites
Are you a big picture thinker or detail-oriented?
Details Make the Big Picture
Seeing the Big Picture in the Tiniest Details

Constructing History - Like Making Sense of a Collage

Historians agree that history is not a memorization of events, people, dates, etc.  Historians also agree that one facet of historical thinking involves students constructing history.

As I was thinking about this process, TO CONSTRUCT HISTORY, I discovered a metaphor that seemed to make sense.

Imagine an assignment where students are often asked to take a poster and answer the question, "Who are you?" by making a collage using words and images from magazines.  The student pores through magazines, cutting, pasting and organizing until the collage is a masterpiece.  Even when finished, the collage doesn't communicate everything that can possibly be share about the individual, but it's a wonderful start.  For a twist, I'm going to change how the poster is shared with others.  Instead of letting the student present his/her own poster, imagine the teacher asking everyone in the class to make sense of the collage with this assignment:

Your job is to look at the evidence that is on the poster and create a brief narrative about this person based on what you see on the collage. Your narrative should tell me who this person IS.

                                         
"Words to Live By", Anne B.'s Vision Board, Collage, 16 x 20 inches, January 2012. Anne's board is composed of 50 images; 48 of which are words or phrases!

 I see this activity as a precise metaphor for what we want students to do when they construct history.  Students should be taking all of the evidence that they have about a person, event, idea, or time period and make sense of it through considering how the different pieces and parts are connected.  Connecting these pieces and parts involves high levels of critical thinking.  Everyone will come up with different answers, which may be uncomfortable for a teacher who expects one common answer, but the different answers reveal each student's ability to construct history based on the evidence they have in front of them.  If we don't let students construct history, then we leave them with snapshots of primary and secondary sources that have never been connected by the learner.  To me, this is one of the most important steps in historical thinking.

What might this look like in a classroom?  (As a note, I'm presenting ideas that are created for the sole intent of causing teachers of history AND historical thinking to consider how this might play out in a classroom.  This is the product of my own reflection about quality instruction within history.)

First, I would want to use the timeline as a primary tool to keep track of the historical pieces of evidence.  (Side Note: Timelines are, too often, tools that teachers use ineffectively.  They end up being products instead of tools.  We don't have a hammer, whisk, or spatula to look at -  they are tools.  Timelines must be created so they can be used as tools for the historian.)  The timeline creates a holding place for a historian to keep track of historical evidence connected to people, events, and ideas over time.  As students examine different sources, whether primary or secondary, they add pieces of evidence to the historical story we want young historians to tell.

For example, let's take a set of sources connected to the Stamp Act.

• Primary Source - Stamp Act Riots
• Primary Source - Letter from Archibald Hinshelwood 1765
• Primary Source - No Stamp Act teapot
• Primary Source - Ben Franklin's Testimony to Parliament 1766
• Primary Source - The Funeral of Miss Ame Stamp
• Primary Source - The Bostonians paying the excise-man, or tarring and feathering 1774
• Secondary Source - A description of tarring and feathering
• Secondary Source - Stamp Act synopsis from Gordon S. Wood

For most of the nation, student learn about early American history in 5th grade.  As a class, the kids may have experienced different levels of support as they learned about the Stamp Act with each of these sources.  Upon finishing this, I see a timeline with images or notes about each of these sources.  To involve students in the critical historical thinking and the sense making process, their final task (in groups or on their own) might be:

Your job is to look at the evidence that is on your timeline and create a brief narrative describing the Stamp Act based on these sources. 

While this process would definitely include modeling by the teacher and strong application of the gradual release of responsibility, this opportunity for writing to learn is an essential part of learning.  Students must be involved with authentic writing in all contents.  Take a look at the following graphic that compares writing to learn vs learning to write.  The process of constructing history is 100% connected to writing to learn.

Constructing history is something that is done by students, grounded in historical critical thinking.  It involves the teacher giving up responsibility for telling the story and giving that responsibility over to the students.  No matter what the final product happens to be, it will be connected to true educational goals - students engaged in critical thinking, sense making, and communicating their ideas based on evidence.