Embedded Files
Each unit we will work on varying skills to enhance how you learn about Social Studies such as understanding perspective, applying what you learned and synthesizing (putting together) what is important for the unit. Many skills are embedded in the content, however, some skills will be more of a focus during the unit. Looking at the list to the side, we will work on one particular skill during that unit.
Unit and Target Skill Alignment
Unit and Target Skill Alignment
Unit 1: Using Cornell Notes
Unit 2: Analyzing primary and secondary sources using APPARTS
Unit 3: Analyzing political cartoons
Unit 4: Charting statistics to recognize patterns and correlations
Unit 5: Analyzing maps
Unit 6: Debating a position
Colorado's description of 21st century skills
Colorado's description of 21st century skills
The 21st century skills are the synthesis of the essential abilities students must apply in our rapidly changing world. Today’s students need a repertoire of knowledge and skills that are more diverse, complex, and integrated than any previous generation.
Social studies is inherently demonstrated in each of Colorado 21st century skills, as follows:
Critical Thinking and Reasoning – Social studies is a discipline grounded in critical thinking and reasoning. Doing history, geography, civics and economics involves recognizing patterns and relationships across time and space. Social studies provide the structure that makes it possible to describe patterns that exist in nature and society.
Information Literacy – The disciplines of social studies equip students with tools and mental habits to organize and interpret a multitude of resources. A social studies student with information literacy skills can effectively analyze primary and secondary sources, detect bias, use learning tools, including technology, and clearly communicate thoughts using sound reasoning.
Collaboration – The content areas of social studies involve the give and take of ideas. In the course of understanding social studies, students offer ideas, strategies, solutions, justifications, and proofs for others to evaluate. In turn, the student interprets and evaluates the ideas, strategies, solutions, and justifications of others.
Self-Direction – Understanding social studies requires a productive disposition, curiosity and self-direction. This involves monitoring and assessing one’s thinking and persisting to search for patterns, relationships, cause and effect, and an understanding of the events and people throughout time.
Invention – The social studies are a dynamic set of content area disciplines, ever expanding with new ideas and understandings. Invention is the key element as students make and test theories, create and use social studies tools, search for patterns and themes, and make connections among ideas, strategies and solutions.
History
History
1. Seek and evaluate multiple historical sources with different points of view to investigate a historical question and to formulate and defend a thesis with evidence
2. The historical eras, individuals, groups, ideas and themes within regions of the Eastern Hemisphere and their relationships with one another
Geography
Geography
1. Use geographic tools to gather data and make geographic inferences and predictions
2. Regions have different issues and perspectives
Economics
Economics
1. Supply and demand influence price and profit in a market economy
2. The distribution of resources influences economic production and individual choices (Economics and PFL)
Civics
Civics
1. Compare how various nations define the rights, responsibilities and roles of citizens
2. The different forms of government and international organizations and their influence in the world community
CER - Claim/evidence/reason
CER - Claim/evidence/reason
Slip or Trip?
Slip or Trip?
At five-feet-six and a hundred and ten pounds, Queenie Volupides was a sight to behold. When she tore out of the house after a tiff with her husband, Arthur, she went to the country club where there was a party going on. She left the club shortly before one in the morning and invited a few friends to follow her home and continue socializing. They got to the Volupides house about ten minutes after Queenie, who met them at the door and said, “Something terrible happened. Arthur slipped and fell on the stairs. He was coming down for water—he still had a glass in his hand—and I think he’s dead. Oh, my God—what shall I do?"
The autopsy conducted later concluded that Arthur had died from a wound on the head and confirmed that he’d been woken up from sleep.
Is Queenie telling the truth, or is she a suspect in a murder case? Gather evidence to help you make a claim. Remember not to jump to conclusions. Instead, make many observations, then develop your evidence. Are there plausible, alternate explanations?
Get ready to write your explanation...
CLAIM: Make a statement about what you believe to have happened to Arthur.
EVIDENCE: Using the image come up with a list of evidence that supports your claim.
REASONING: Elaborate on why this evidence proves your claim.
APPARTS Strategy to Analyze a Source
APPARTS Strategy to Analyze a Source
We will use this strategy to understand more about a source. When looking at a letter, political cartoon, propaganda poster, or newspaper there is more than meets the eye, but that can be difficult to understand at first. Therefore we will use APPARTS to break down a source to see what else is part of the source that could help explain why it is important to a particular topic.
Reading Skills
Reading Skills
Reading seems easy. You trace words going left to right across a page until you run out of words. Right? Reading like listening is much more than it sounds like. In order to really read you should be comprehending what you traced on the page. If you cannot share what the passage was about or why it was important than you did not really read the section. Here are questions to guide you during and after reading to ensure it is a purposeful experience.
We will hold the Geo Bee the week coming back from Winter Break. Please use the links to prepare as much and as often. This is a fun competition, so do not get too worried about the results!
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