Interview and Standards Investigation free essay sample

In past years students were forced to learn ATA relatively low cognitive levels, it lack the full meaning social studies that old be transferred into real life situations. It is because of this reason why some many students had very little interest in social studies discipline( 1 Instead of us dwelling on past mistakes made in the teaching of social studies, we are finding the best teaching and learning strategies that will energize social studies teaching, in a effort to restore the respect for teachers and students to the importance subject( Boggier,K.E. 201 1). It is the implementation of state and national standards that has been the key factor in making this occur. This essay will examine the Arizona Social Studies Standards for the 5th grade for thoroughness, clarity, user friendly and comprehensiveness. It will also provide a supported, academic response to the interview conducted with Mr.. Osborne a 5th grade teacher at McCain Elementary, in Compton, California and on how social studies is being taught in todays classrooms. On the Arizona Department of Education website it include five 5th grade history strands that emphasize the American history form the earliest Native American cultures to the Civil War. The standards for 5th grade are extremely thorough. It contains strands of American History, World History, Civic Government, Geography and Economics all of which have a specific concept and objective for students at the 5th grade level. Each of these elements play a key role in social studies education.The thoroughness of the Arizona Standards help teachers to create and plan lesson for the material that is being presented to the students to help them acquire mastery skills for that standard. When examining Arizona Standards all of them are very well-defined for each topic, which makes it easier for the educators to read and understand. This helps to alleviate the stress and frustration and promotes the integration of social studies within other subjects.These strands are broken down even more to explicit languages and demonstrates which other strands are connect to built a deeper understanding. This simple traits makes the standards user friendly. Lastly, the Arizona Standards for Social Studies are very comprehensive. It covers a wide array of information, that help students to develop the ability to make reasonable decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse,democratic society in the interdependent world(Passes 2006). Upon interviewing Mr..Osborne, he states that he has seen many changes in the way schools have elected to teach Social Studies in the 25 years he has been teaching. The most common practice he remembers when is having students cut articles from their local newspaper and write a summary or reading a chapter in the Social Studies textbook,answering the questions, and then a test on Fridays to see what the students learned. He says these were very meaningless activities or busy work, so that teacher could focus on the high stake testing subjects implemented for the UNCLE.It is simply because of hose high stake testing that trends have moved away from having a more constructive teaching, student direct teaching. Some examples of this are skits,poetry, research papers and cooperative learning. (Heather, T. L , P. G,201 2). This is directly the opposite of what they are teaching the new teachers, which may be disastrous when they enter the classrooms for the first time. As time has past Mr.. Osborne saw that Social Studies education Was gradually disappearing from the school curricula.With the help of other education relate personnel and Mr.. Osborne the school have integrate a plan to reach every student at their current level to increase their knowledge and appreciation for Social Studies. Mr. . Osborne does not use a standard textbook, because he says the language in those textbooks are too difficult for the students to grasp the concepts. He using a magazine, that was specifically designed for students. The name of this is USA Studies Weekly. These weekly lesson are written in a kid-friendly language.This helps the students to understand the different events, engage them in meaningful activities and connect the learning to real-life context. At the end of the four Kelly lesson the students are given the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of the materials by doing skits,role play, poetry or create a 3-D presentation of the most important facts in that unit(McCall,AY). According to Provokes(2009) , activities like these are more engaging and meaningful to students learning process, instead of the basic reading and answer questions. This gives the student the ability to practice literacy and public speaking.In which these are crucially relevant to the schools because it allow the students to make connection to the social world in school and life ended. The contain souse debate of social studies instruction and teachers accountability it has influenced the way new teacher programs are being structured to provide an effective learning. In recent years, changes have been made because social issues and the dramatic increase of minority in the communities. An example of these changes is primarily due to the large migration of English Language Learners that are entering the school systems.This is a positive change for the social studies education. However, this can overload the teacher and curriculum that is bursting at the seams with orgasm that lack clear purpose (Peace. L. ,2011). This is why the ENACT had embodied that all teacher programs be aligned with professional and ethical standards to prepare teachers to facilitate learning that will enable our students to acquire the knowledge and be productive citizens that can In conclusion, the instruction of social studies has compete in society. Untied to take a back burner role in classrooms,because it is not one of the subjects in the high stakes testing covered under the UNCLE. However, this can change if teachers employ effective teaching strategies, that will help everyone to realize the importance of social studies content at every grade level. This will ultimately help our students to have the knowledge, and understanding to appreciate our diverse culture. References Chapin, June R,(2013) Elementary Social Studies: A practical Guide, 8th Edition, Pearson Inc. Heather, T.L, p. G. (201 2) National Trends in Elementary Instruction: Explored the Role of Social Studies Curricula,Socio DOI 10. 1080/00377996. 2011. 592165 McCall, Ova L (2004) Using poetry in Social Studies Classes to Teach about Cultural Diversity ND Social Justice, Social Studies 95,no 4 172-176, Education Research Complete ERRORS host( accessed Pace, J. L(2011) The Complex and Unequal Impact of on January 10,201 5) High Stakes Accountability on Untested Social Studies,Theory and Research in Social Education,39(1 ),32-60 Passe, J. 2006) New Challenges in Elementary social studies,seal studies(5), 189-192 Provokes, C. R. (2009) Inquiry-Based Planning and Teaching for the 21st Century: Impact of the 5 E Model in Social Studies,Ohio Social Studies Review, 45(1 boggle, K. E. (201 1), Back on the Back burner? Impact of Reducing State -Mandated Social Studies Testing on Elementary Teachers Instruction Journal Of Social Studies Research Interview Notes Wilbur Osborne is a 5th grade teacher at McCain Elementary. He teaches all subjects but does a specialized Social Studies rotation with the other 5th grade teachers.He has been teaching with the district for 25 years and plans to continue in this profession until he retires. 1. Do you use a textbook? If not Why? No, the school does not use textbook to teach Social Studies, We utilize a USA studies weekly magazine, that are from the students perspectives. This allows the material covered to be more relevant to the grade level. We also use the Discovery Education Program that includes interactive videos and computer activities to reinforce the target learning. 2. What is your favorite Social Studies lesson to teach? What activities did you use to provide a meaningful connection to the lesson? My favorite unit to teach in Social Studies is the Ancient American in Reconstruction. All of the 5th grade students participate in developing a AD- reconstruction of an event that occurred during this period. Or the students an create a small mystery skit that students must figure out who or what is the mystery object in history. The students are very engaged in seeing how others portray the same moments in history. . Do you believe that every subject taught in school has some aspect of Social Studies? Yes, I believe that all subject overlap with some elements of other subject taught. For example, in during the lesson, the students where able to connect some facts to science, when thinking about the materials used in creating ships that were used for sailing across the globe. 4. DO you believe that students are more interested now in Social Studies than they were in past years of teaching?