Curriculum Unit (Download Unit Here)
As a content area, the social studies are extremely complex and varied. The National Council for the Social Studies (1993) defined social studies as:
… the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence. Within the school program, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology, archeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology. The primary purpose of the social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world. (p. 7)
It would appear that the social studies are a tossed salad of content areas with very little in common. Not so according to Nel Noddings. Noddings stated:
I have long believed that no subject in the school curriculum is more important than social studies because it involves us most directly in the study of our earth as the home of human activity and the effects of that activity on all life. It also encourages us to think more deeply about the kinds of activity that may preserve both earth and life. (Thorton, 2005, p. ix)
As a discipline the social studies provide the strategies and the means to maintain a democratic society. Instructional lessons and units that are built upon the solid foundations set forth by national and state frameworks are crucial in developing life-long learners and solid citizens.
Grant and VanSledright (2014) based their approach to teaching, planning, and learning elementary social studies around the “commonplaces of education described by Joseph Schwab (1978)” (p. 4, emphasis in the original). It is through the lenses of the commonplaces that solid social studies instruction should be evaluated. The commonplaces identified and described by Grant and VanSledright include: teachers, learners, subject matter, and classroom environment. I developed a geography unit, Patterns of Place, for third grade students while taking into account the impact and contribution each commonplace would contribute to the whole.
Standards from the current frameworks from the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) (2013) and the Delaware Department of Education (1995) provided the foundation for the goals and objectives of the unit. Both frameworks consist of graduated or building goals in grade level clusters. Both frameworks treat geography as a single social studies discipline, but the NCSS framework includes alignment to the Common Core for State Standards – English Language Arts and by doing so encourages integration between the two core content areas.
The progression of the activities identified in Patterns of Place, follow Tyler’s process as diagrammed by Connelly and Clandinin (1988, p. 140). In recognizing that teachers are individuals and that no single person can accurately predict the personal practical knowledge of a single teacher or the learning styles of learners, the lessons and activities outlined in the unit are many and allow for teacher discretion as to which activities to implement. To summarize, the intended curriculum activities have been selected so that the enacted curriculum will still align with the unit goals, that is for students to be able to employ the concepts of place and region to explain environmental patterns.
Upon closer examination of the unit it is obvious that there are multiple educative activities that appear to be hidden in the unit, for example, the use of different textual modalities. Students are exposed to photographs, informational text, surveys, videos, maps, and most importantly live, on site experiences. The use of multiple modes of communication are also embedded in the unit; reading, writing, speaking, listening, and researching are all included. Upon completion of the unit the learners will deepen their respect for community and community property. By including community members, government officials, and persons traditionally outside of the typical school environment, students will also gain a sense of cultural worth and acceptance.
No single unit of instruction can include all necessary elements and pieces of curricula that are required for a complete education. This unit is no exception. Connelly and Clandinin (1988) explained, “[t]here are almost endless possibilities as one things about the null curriculum” (p. 154). Attention to other geographic principles, such as hierarchy and complementarity are not addressed. Principles found in the other social studies subject areas of civics, history, and economics are also absent. Mathematics and science content goals are not explicitly identified in the unit. Lastly, missing from this unit are strategies to reach all learners; those that struggle, are advanced, or have language deficiencies. This is not to say that those aspects are not important. Instead the unit was developed with the idea that it was best to focus on a few goals and develop those goals with a deeper understanding than to brush the surface and claim that a multitude of goals were addressed.
It is anticipated that this unit will be enacted by many teachers who will take the unit and adapt, adjust, modify, amend, clarify, extend, and even remove certain elements. However, in making these changes, it is hoped that the aim of this unit, is not lost. The skill of identifying and explaining patterns is universal across many of the content areas. Without the concentration upon pattern identification, the unit will have little worth than commercially reproduced student worksheets.