Social Studies for the 21st Century - Blog

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Social Studies Anchor Charts/Reference Sheets for Historical Thinking

11/2/2018

by Matt Doran

Anchor charts help make thinking visible by identifying key content, strategies, and processes during the learning process. Posting anchor charts (and/or distributing reference sheets) provides a scaffold tool for students as they read, discuss, and write about ideas in class.

The four new anchor charts below are designed for use in the social studies classroom to support students in historical event analysis, close reading of primary and secondary sources, classroom discussions, and evidence-based writing.

Download the posters here:

The posters can be printed on 8 1/2 x 11, 8 x 14 or scaled all the way up 24 x 60 on a poster printer.

10 Web-based Interactives to Foster Disciplinary Thinking and Decision-Making Skills in Middle School Social Studies

4/23/2017

by Matt Doran

For a recent professional development workshop, I set out to create learning modules that would introduce middle school teachers to some interactive online games and simulations. Finding quality interactives that met my search parameters proved be a challenging task, but one that resulted in a good collection of digital interactives.

Search Parameters

First, the interactives needed to align with one of five themes based on our middle school social studies standards (created as Google Classroom “breakouts” for the PD experience): American History/Civics, Ancient History, Economics, Medieval/Early Modern History, and World Geography.

Second, to align with the pedagogical emphasis of the PD experience, these interactives also needed to go beyond trivia or review games. They needed to emphasize process standards in the areas of historical or spatial thinking and decision-making skills. Our state content standards are mostly conceptual in nature (cause-and-effect, patterns, processes)-- so most military simulation games really didn’t fit the parameters well.

Third, the interactives needed to be web-based (not downloaded software) and free of charge. Since we are a chromebook district, I did not worry about mobile capability with iOS, so flash games were fair game.

Results
After searching with a variety of keywords and using many online lists (and finding many broken links), I came up with the collection below, organized by theme. (Note: the quality of these interactives varies greatly, but I avoided a rating system for now.)

American History/Civics

DocsTeach provides access thousands of primary sources. Teachers can borrow from a collection of document-based activities created by the National Archives, copy and modify activities for their students, and create their own activities using the online tools.

Mission US engages students in the study of transformational moments in American history. The game immerses players in rich, historical settings and then empowers them to make choices that illuminate how ordinary people experienced the past.

Ancient History

Dig into History - Mesopotamia has students begin in Collect and Catalog to dig for Mesopotamian artifacts in Iraq. Then they curate a Museum Exhibition using photographs of the artifacts they found.

Discover Ancient Egypt provides six games on life in ancient Egypt: The Three Pyramids, Egyptian Tomb Adventure, Land of the Egyptians, Dress Like an Egyptian, Egyptian Hieroglyphs, and Temple Store Games

Economics

Gen i Revolution includes 16 interactive missions in which students complete a variety of activities to help them learn important personal finance concepts.

Trading Around the World allows students to experience the challenges and excitement of international trade. Players try to get the best price for the goods they sell and the biggest bargains for the goods they buy.

Medieval/Early Modern History

Renaissance: Become a Spice Trader makes players the owner of a large sailing ship. They sail around the world and trade goods with other countries.

Merchants of the Great Exchange is based on a book written by British merchants traveling and trading in the East whose goal was to return alive and with enough goods to sell in England to make a profit.

World Geography

Map Maker Interactive allows users to create and analyze custom maps with physical and human features.

National Geographic Educational Games includes a collection of more than 20 games ranging from science & engineering, history & culture, and geographic decision-making.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion (Feel free to comment below)

1. What do you see as the benefits of online simulation activities?

2. How could you incorporate these activities into classroom instruction? (even if you do not have 1:1 devices)

Using G Suite for Hattie's High Impact Strategies

4/22/2017

by Matt Doran

John Hattie's meta-meta analysis on visible learning demonstrates the impact of instructional practices on student achievement. Teachers and students can use Google Apps to make these practices more effective. The infographic below highlights some of the top influences on student achievement along with their effect size, and suggested uses of G Suite for implementation.

G Suite for Disciplinary thinking

4/14/2017

by Matt Doran

Google Apps include powerful tools for developing student-centered classrooms and 21st century learning. The infographic below highlights 10 strategies for using G Suite to cultivate disciplinary thinking and skills.

#NCSS16 Reflection 2: Developing Civic Online Reasoning And News Literacy

12/3/2016

by Matt Doran

This year’s election was a keen reminder to all of us in the civic education community of the importance of teaching students how to evaluate online information. Fake news--in the form of click bait, political propaganda, falsified images, and spurious memes--permeates social media feeds today. Craig Silverman of Buzzfeed highlights the problem in the video linked here. How do we teach students (and citizens) to evaluate online information in order to make informed decisions?

The Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) and the News Literacy Project (NLP) are both taking up the worthy task helping students evaluate online information. SHEG has recently developed and administered assessment tasks for civic online reasoning--the ways in which students search for, assess, and evaluate online information. Civic online reasoning consists of three core competencies: 1) Who is behind the information? 2) What is the evidence? and 3) What do other sources say?

In increasing order of complexity, here are three performance tasks SHEG developed to assess students' use of online information.

Students are asked to identify who is behind the information by examining various page components from Slate.com. Students are asked to distinguish between news, sponsored content (which is often disguised), and advertisements.
Students have to determine whether an anonymous photograph of mutated daisies on Imagur provides evidence about the impact of a Japanese nuclear reactor meltdown. See some sample students responses here.
Students are provided with two web pages on gun control and asked which page would be a better starting point for research on gun control. The first page is linked to Duke University’s website. The second page is a Wikipedia article. This task is complicated by the fact that students are often taught superficial ways to evaluate information. Many students are taught to trust .edu sites, but never to use Wikipedia. In this case, however, the .edu site is an unknown user’s personal webpage hosted on Duke’s server and contains articles reprinted from NRA brochures.

The News Literacy Project has developed a suite of teaching tools and elearning modules for evaluating online information:

Online rumors provide a teachable moment. The Dissect It! graphic organizer helps students understand the emotional responses and sharing motivators for rumors. Viral rumors appeal to us by appealing to the emotional responses of dread, hope, hostility, and curiosity. People spread these rumors for four primary reasons: self-interest, influence, altruism, and malice.
Ten Questions for Fake News Detection is a tool that allows students to identify potential red flags that should make them skeptical about the credibility of the news source.
NLP’s Checkology.org website provides an elearning course with four modules: filtering news and information, exercising civic freedom, navigating today’s landscape, and how two know what to believe.

We have much work to do in the field of civic education in order to help our students become informed participatory citizens. As the methods of receiving and processing information change in the 21st century, our teaching approaches must keep up. SHEG’s civic online reasoning and NLP’s news literacy tools can help us accomplish this task.

#NCSS16 Reflection 1: Historical Thinking Matters on the New SAT

12/2/2016

by Matt Doran

The emphasis on historical thinking and critical textual analysis has been one of the most positive developments in the field of social studies education in recent years. Reading Like a Historian, Document-Based Questions, Common Core Literacy in History, the C3 Framework, and the new AP U.S. History all place these skills at the forefront of effective history/social science pedagogy. While these have been important skills within the discipline for some time, they are increasingly being recognized as interdisciplinary skills as well. Accordingly, the myth that social studies must be a “backburner” subject can be thoroughly debunked.

At the 2016 National Council for the Social Studies Conference, I was excited to see how the new SAT is assessing and reporting on students' abilities to critically analyze history and social science related texts on the Reading, Writing & Language, and Math tests. The texts are drawn from a category of “U.S. Founding Documents and Texts from the Great Global Conversation.” These include, “engaging, often historically and culturally important, works grappling with the issues at the heart of civic and political life.” Students need to be able to: read historical sources, cite evidence to support arguments, and interpret informational social science graphics. On the Math test, questions involving problem solving & data analysis can assess students’ understanding of how to draw a reliable conclusion to a social studies research question.

Six full-length practice tests for the SAT can be accessed online here: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/practice/full-length-practice-tests. To group the questions related to history/social studies, download the “Scoring Your SAT Practice Test” for each test and scroll to the section labeled “Get Cross-Test Scores” (green).

The inclusion of history/social studies textual analysis on the new SAT also demonstrates the increasing alignment of College Board initiatives. College Board recommends using the practice DBQs and Short-Answer Questions from the new AP U.S. History as SAT preparation tools. This is another positive step in the direction of developing the critically-minded students and citizens we need for the 21st century world.

NCSS 2016 and Our new Collaborative Blog

12/1/2016

by Matt Doran

Bags are packed. Guidebook app is marked. It's time for #NCSS16. This will be my seventh NCSS Conference, and I have lost track of how many Washington D.C. trips I have made in the last 10 years. I am a lifelong learner, and I take conferences pretty seriously. They are always energizing experiences. I have a broad range of responsibilities in my job, and even more professional interests, which means I am never at a loss for a relevant session. In fact, my main problem has been deciding among the 4-5 sessions I have marked for each time slot.

A few years ago, a colleague and fellow NCSS conference fan introduced me to the the concept of the conference hashtag and Twitter dicussions in general, both of which have empowered my personal learning network at conferences and beyond. This year I'm hoping to add a few live blog posts to my social media presence. Modeling our expectations for teachers and students, there is no better way to process a day of learning than to immediately write and share out some thoughtful reflections.

On a related note, I am also happy to announce a new collorative effort for the Social Studies for the 21st Century blog. My colleagues, Karen Fiedler and Lynda Ray, will be joining the blog (bitmojis and profiles coming soon!). They are two of the finest educators I have worked with in my career--insightful leaders, inspiring role models, and passionate advocates for all children. I am confident that our team effort will far outshine my quite sporadic blogging efforts!

Stay tuned!

A Baker's Dozen Apps for Content Literacy

10/15/2016

by Matt Doran

Skills: What do we want students to be able to do? Critically analyze texts, research to deepen understanding, and construct evidence-based arguments.

Literacy across the curriculum goals can be summarized in three learning targets:

1. Read Closely for Textual Details

Question Texts
Analyze Central Ideas and Supporting Details
Explain the Meaning of Words in Context
Compare Perspectives in Sources

2. Research to Deepen Understanding

Initiate Inquiry
Gather Information
Analyze and Evaluate Information
Communicate Evidence-Based Arguments

3. Construct Evidence-Based Arguments

Develop claims
Support claims with evidence
Use sound reasoning to connect evidence and claims

Here are 13 web tools and apps that support one or more of these targets. All of these tools are free at some level; some also offer upgraded premium versions.

10 Pictographic Organizers for Historical Thinking Skills (Help Yourself to the .PNG Files)

4/16/2016

by Matt Doran

According to dual coding theory, knowledge is stored in both linguistic and non-linguistic (imagery) forms. Pictographic organizers combine the linguistic and non-linguistic modes. They use words, phrases, and sentences along with pictures and symbols to show relationships.

The pictographic organizers below provide visual note-taking tools to sharpen historical thinking skills. It is important to note that graphic organizers are only a tool, and must be coupled with inquiry-based pedagogy to maximize effectiveness. Students should be actively engaged in collecting and organizing information in graphic organizers and processing the information from graphic organizers in a variety of ways.

Note: Click on the images to download the .png files. The files are designed in 4:3 format for easy integration into presentation software and apps.

Classify Information (e.g., social, political, economic factors; types of government)

Buckets Categories

Analyze Cause and Effect Relationships

Bowling Effects

Fishbone Causes

Evaluate Alternative Courses of Action

Decision Tree

Compare Perspectives in Historical Sources

H-Diagram

Determine Central Ideas and Supporting Details

Central Ideas Spider Map

Make Claims and Counterclaims

Claim-Counterclaim Armwrestling

Support Claims with Evidence and Reasoning

Claim Stool

Weigh Arguments For and Against a Position

Arguments Scale

Write Persuasive Essays

Cheeseburger Essay

How Transferable is Your Social Studies Class?

2/23/2016

What are the big ideas, essential questions, and key thinking skills in your social studies classroom? How transferable are they?

"We don't learn in school just to stay in school for the rest of our lives. We have to be able to transfer what we learn in one setting and use it somewhere else. In order to transfer our knowledge we have to be able to learn things in a way that is flexible, that sees the connections between one use of the knowledge and another use of the knowledge.”

- Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University

“The challenge of education is always to ask: What is the least amount of material we can teach really well that will, in turn, make it possible for students to use that knowledge in the widest possible range of situations, not only situations that we can anticipate, but also situations that no one can anticipate. That is, abstractly, the problem of transfer: how can you learn less, and make much more of it?”

- Lee Shulman, President of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching