Social Studies: Designing lessons – TeachingWorks Resource Library

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Cycle 1

In this learning cycle, novice teachers practice adapting curriculum materials. They examine the C3 standards, develop compelling questions, adapt written texts, and analyze the diversity of perspectives that are represented. They then apply this learning by modifying lesson plans in the teacher education classroom and in partnership with their mentor teachers.

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Adapted from:
McDonald, Kazemi, and Kavanagh, 2013; Lampert et al., 2013;
Teacher Education by Design

Introduce

Novice teachers examine the Engage-Experience-Argue and C3 frameworks.

Prepare

Novice teachers learn how to adapt texts, develop compelling questions, represent diverse perspectives, and modify curriculum materials.

Enact

Novice teachers partner with mentor teachers to modify proposed lessons.

Analyze

Novice teachers give and receive feedback on proposed lesson adaptations.

Activity 1

Using the Engage-Experience-Argue framework

Activity 1

In this first activity of the sequence, novice teachers will learn about the Engage-Experience-Argue (EEA) framework for historical inquiry lessons. The teacher educator plays a central role in this activity, lecturing on the EEA framework, then modeling a lesson using the framework to answer the question, How should we remember Pocahontas?

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Activity 2

C3 Investigation

Activity 2

In this activity, novice teachers will work with the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards. In addition to gaining experience navigating standards, they will also continue to shift understanding of what is taught in a social studies classroom, looking at the four dimensions of the C3 framework, the “inquiry arc,” and connecting these to designing and adapting lessons.

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Activity 3

Adapting written texts

Activity 3

This activity leads novices through the process of adapting texts, including learning about the background and reasons why and how texts should be adapted, practicing reading texts to anticipate student difficulty, comparing modified sources for different grade levels, then spending some time adapting a primary source on their own.

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Activity 4

Developing central questions

Activity 4

Given a set of primary sources to work with, this activity asks novice teachers to create central questions across different sets of documents which would be used to drive an inquiry-based lesson.

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Activity 5

Inquiry-based curriculum exploration

Activity 5

This activity asks novice teachers to explore and analyze the curricular materials for social studies teaching and begin thinking about how they might utilize them in their future classrooms.

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Activity 6

Finding and representing diverse perspectives

Activity 6

This activity gives novice teachers practice in analyzing lesson plans and materials about Westward Migration for such shortcomings and asks them to find supplementary resources to make the materials more representative of various perspectives.

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Activity 7

Designing and adapting lessons simulation

Activity 7

Novice teachers are asked to analyze the two different lesson plans and materials for their strengths and weaknesses, as well as consider student prior knowledge and learning goals, to make decisions about how the lesson might be supplemented to better fit these needs.

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Tool

Tool A

Guidelines for selecting sources with attention to diverse perspectives

Tool A

This tool is used by novice teachers as a guide for thinking about different curricular sources, analyzing perspectives presented about history and social studies, and identifying perspectives which are left out or misrepresented.

Activity 8

Designing and Adapting Lessons in the Field

Activity 8

This activity is designed to help novices reflect with and provide feedback to a colleague on their effort to set up and manage small group work during their field assignment.

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Activity 9

Simulation group reflection

Activity 9

Novice teachers will both give and receive feedback on their lesson adaptations. Feedback specifically addresses the curricular decisions made after evaluating and analyzing the initial lesson plans, the adaptations made to promote inquiry, and the supplemental sources they decided to incorporate in their revised lesson.

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