Unit Plan for the Next Couple of Weeks

Dear Parents and Guardians,

During the next couple of weeks, we will be exploring the relationships between social position and occupations, and cultural identity. We will focus on cultural identity, comparing our own personal identities to cultures around the world. We will have class discussions on home life, recreational activities, immigration and stereotypes in relation to a variety of different cultures. I encourage you to ask your child about what he or she is learning about cultural identity and to share with them whatever experiences you have had with these themes.

This unit will consist of conducting research, discussing current events, writing, developing oral and poster presentations, and creating personal reflections. We will host a final wrap-up celebration showcasing the students’ projects on Friday February 13^th from 1:40- 2:40pm. We hope you can attend.

If you are available to assist with any of the activities, please contact me at 519-276-7748 or rebeccaj2727@gmail.com.

For more information about this unit and upcoming homework assignments, please visit my blog at http://teachingsocialstudiesrj.blogspot.ca. For more information about cultural identity in general, please visit the Canadian Heritage website at http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1363203445747 . 

Sincerely,

Rebecca Johnson

Curriculum Strands and Overall Expectations

Strands:
B. Natural Resources Around the Word: Use and Sustainability 

Overall Expectations:

B1. Application: analyse aspects of the extraction/harvesting and use of natural resources in different regions of the world, and assess ways of preserving these resources 

B2. Inquiry: use the geographic inquiry process to investigate issues related to the impact of the extraction/harvesting and/or use of natural resources around the world from a geographic perspective 

B3. Understanding Geographic Context: demonstrate an understanding of the sources and use of different types of natural resources and of some of the effects of the extraction/harvesting and use of these resources 

• Students will be able to analyze how different regions around the world use natural resources
• Students will be able to assess ways of preserving natural resources around the world 
• Students will be able to determine the social impact that natural resources have on a region.
• Students will be able to explain how the occupations (i.e. harvesting, farmers, miner etc.) available in a region contribute to cultural identity
• Students will be able to recognize and explain the relationship between natural resources, cultural trends and environmental impact. 

My Thoughts about the Social Studies Curriculum

Over the past couple of days, I have taken a very close look at the Social Studies Curriculum. I have come to understand some of the big ideas for each grade level and can see how many of the social studies concepts interconnect and build off of one another. Key themes, such as, significance, patterns and trends, interrelationships, perspective, continuity and change, and cause and consequence, are seen across the curriculum expectations. Although each grade may cover different content, aspects of these concepts are prevalent at all grade levels. This following picture is taken directly from the curriculum document and describes how these 6 concepts are integrated within the social studies curriculum

I also feel like this document fosters student interest and inquiry-based learning. The expectation requirements or topics are fairly general. For example, in the grade 7 curriculum, students are often expected to investigate a social studies "issue," or the interactions between various "groups." Because these topics are so general, teachers are able to incorporate student interests into lessons. Real life events can also be incorporated into lessons so that students can relate "issues" in their surrounding environment to social studies concepts.

I found that the verbs used within each social studies expectation are very specific. For example, verbs such as analyse, communicate, demonstrate, describe, identify and evaluate are used within the expectations. These are all verbs that should inform a teacher's lesson. Each verb represents a skill, and these skills are key to student success in an inquiry-based classroom, where questioning, analyzing and proving are extremely important.

As I read through this document, I began to think about the resources that students and parent could use at home, in order to develop these important "verb skills." I came across a couple of resources that I think will help to achieve this goal. The website BrainPOP provides a variety of different activities for students to complete, based on the social studies expectations. Students can participate in games that require them to answer questions and discover new meaning through analyzing brief scenarios. Students also have a wealth of choice on this website and are able to pick from a variety of scenarios that would apply to multiple interests. Here is a link to the website page with these resources. Feel free to check it out and write comments about your experiences below this post.

If you are looking to learn more about inquiry-based learning, a teaching strategy that the new social studies curriculum encourages, then check out this video. It explains what inquiry-based learning is and how it can be used in a classroom.

Welcome!

Hello!

This is a blog that I have created for my EDUC 8Y29 course in hopes of developing an online presence, sharing my new knowledge about Social Studies and communicating with parents and students. Feel free to explore the various pages that I have developed and view the monthly schedules that I have created. I hope that you enjoy the links, information and topics about Social Studies that I post on here and feel free to leave comments :)

Rebecca Johnson

P.S. Click here to access the board website.