Instructional Strategies Social Studies

Lesson Plans
Topic: Current Events (World History)
Instructional Strategy: Cooperative Learning (Jigsaw)
Standards:
1.2- The key concepts of continuity and change, cause and effect, complexity, unity and
diversity over time.
1.2b- Investigate causes and effects of significant events in world history.
Objectives:
- The student will examine and analyze international/national news articles and connect
events with concepts studied in class.
- The student will evaluate and determine possible causes and effects of significant
historical events occurring worldwide.
Materials: The students have a set procedure for current event activities. I will have previously
selected current event articles from various areas of social studies (i.e. politics, government,
geography, economics, history etc.). The students will need to group their desks for this to work
properly. They will need to be able to answer three questions in their first group to take to the
second group:
1. How does this article relate to a specific topic we have studied/discussed in class?
2. What are two significant causes and two possible effects of the event?
3. Share one thought/connection you had when reading this article.
Set: The discussion of current events will be a weekly occurrence. The students understand the
expectations and the questions are familiar to them. When this part of class is introduced, I will
discuss the idea that history is made every day and the importance of keeping up with current
global political, social, and economic problems as historians and functioning members of society.
Procedures:
The students will first be numbered off according to the various articles I have chosen
and will then move to the specific table groups.
At these table groups, the students will read the article and then discuss the questions
provided as a group. I will move around the room ensuring that everyone in each group
understands the answers to the questions and the relevance of the article. I will allow a
large chunk of time for this section of the lesson, as students have different reading paces
and each need to adequately understand the article. (Think, pair, share)
Although the groups discuss the questions, each student will be asked to write down the
answers the group came up with on their own individual papers. (Individual assessment)
After the groups feel they have sufficiently answered each question, we will again
number off and the students will find their new groups, all of which will now include
each subject/component corresponding with various articles.
In their new groups, students will take turns quickly summarizing their article and sharing
their answers to the questions asked. The discussion should also include the social studies
subject connected with the various articles. (Think, pair, share/student led teaching)
Check for Understanding: After the students have finished sharing in both small groups, we
will come together as a class and discuss interesting aspects of the articles read, or students can

share a connection they made to other news articles. I will also collect the answers students
wrote down in their first group. (Post assessment- group and individual)
______________________________________________________________________________
Topic: Reconstruction
Instructional Strategy: Discussion/Debate (Socratic Seminar)
Standards:
1.1- Use the historical method of inquiry to ask questions, evaluate primary and
secondary sources, critically analyze and interpret data, and develop interpretations
defended by evidence.
1.1d-Differentiate between facts and historical interpretations, recognizing that a
historians narrative reflects his or her judgment about the significance of particular facts.
Objectives:
- The student will be able to identify bias and opinion in historical documents, as well as
analyze particular events from various points of view.
- The student will be able to formulate opinions from the views of their character and
support them with specific textual evidence using primary and secondary sources.
Materials: Harpers Weekly Reconstruction Convention Simulation: set of characters, one
assigned to each student. The students will need to have researched/read up on each of their
characters to be prepared for the discussion. Students will form a circle and I will keep track of
the comments made, I will also have discussion questions in case the students need
encouragement.
Set: (Taken from the Harpers Weekly Simulation Page)
Introduction to the Simulation
1865 marked the end of Americas most terrible war and a year in which decisions involving
government and race still echo today. The simulation our class will play focuses on the early
choices that began Reconstruction. In this totally fictitious convention held in Washington D.C.
on New Years Eve 1865, you and your classmates will try to reach agreement on a set of issues
that the United States faced at that time.
Procedures:
The students should be prepared coming to class to discuss opinions of their character
from research and support with specific evidence.
The students will already have been introduced to the main issues being discussed in the
simulation:
A. Under what conditions should the South be allowed back into the Union? Who in the
former Confederate States of America should be pardoned?
B. What political, economic and social rights should Free Blacks and Freedmen acquire?
C. Who should control the process of ReconstructionCongress or the President?
D. Should Reconstruction be implemented on a national or state level?
The students will be allowed to discuss and argue their views on each problem (in
character) for 15-20 minutes of the 90 minute period. (Student led discussion)
The class must come to some sort of resolution/decision about each of the issues in the
time allotted. If they have difficulties coming to a solution, two options will be made
available and the class will vote.

As each student speaks, I will make a mark when they comment, these marks will
indicate whether the comment was a significant contribution to the conversation, included
a textual citation, was relatively helpful, or did not contribute to discussion. These will
aid in the grading process. (Individual assessment)
Closure: The students will be given a short homework assignment, describing one way in which
they identified with their character as well as one way in which their view/opinion of one of the
issues of Reconstruction was altered during discussion or an aspect of the Reconstruction Era
they did not know about beforehand. (Checking for understanding)

Other Methods for Social Studies

One instructional strategy method that is essential to social studies is skills teaching. This
strategy includes a lot of practice and demonstration. In my content area, one very important skill
which would transfer to other educational aspects is the critiquing of bias within historical

sources. It is important to analyze any text to understand the possible bias of the author based on
time period, opinion, and education. For such a lesson I would have the students read several
documents written by authors with a variety of backgrounds, all writing about the same historical
event. For example, I could have the students analyze documents written surrounding the Civil
Rights Movement from the two groups of African American civil rights activists. One would be
from the perspective of an activist following the principles of Martin Luther King Jr. and another
from the point of view of an activist in the Black Panther movement.
Another instructional planning strategy important to the students development of
metacognition is inquiry learning. For my own classroom, this strategy would probably take the
form of a project. The students would identify an issue they found particularly interesting in our
class discussion of current events and conduct further research on it. This project may include
community involvement, such as conducting interviews or volunteering. The student would have
to make connections to some aspect of social studies (politics, economics, geography) as well as
a specific connection to something we learned about in class. They would then present their
findings to the rest of their classmates and explain the connections as well as why the subject
interested them.
One of perhaps the more difficult and less liked instructional strategies is lecturing, or
direct presentation. However, I often enjoyed these lectures in history when the teacher was
competent enough to make the story interesting and compelling. I think the key to lecturing is to
break it up with student involvement and engagement. So, for my own lectures I strive to create
an environment in which the students feel free to ask questions and there are regular periods of
time where the students are actively thinking and engaged in the lesson. For example, when
lecturing on the Reconstruction Era I was able to include various forms of media which the
students then analyzed and discussed. One of these was a series of audio clips of former slaves
describing the conditions for slaves after the Civil War ended. Another was a short video clip
describing the fears of former slave owners after the slaves were freed. Before these media
breaks, I primed the students with questions to think about while watching or listening. After I
showed these clips the class discussed the answers to the questions I had put forth and connected
the discussion to my lecture. At the end of the lecture I had a quick write and a think, pair, share
about the perspectives of both former slaves and former slave owners during the Reconstruction
Period.