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Teaching Guide
As most teachers will begin teaching World Studies prior to assigning text books, my goal is to create a web based curriculum (one that does not rely on the students having a textbook) that could be used by teachers for the first few weeks of the first semester. To give students the background information and tools that they will need to be successful in their freshman year of World Studies through the introduction of the five themes of geography and web research. I want my students to be able to have a better understanding of themselves and the world around them because of their freshman year social studies class. In this class, we are expected to cover the political systems, economic systems, history, geography, and social systems of the world. This is a lot of material. It would be easy for a teacher to fall into the trap of exposing students to a lot of information, and sacrificing any real analysis of the material; choosing breadth over depth. I believe this does great harm to students, and lends itself to a course based on recall and memorization rather than one based on higher order thinking skills. While the Internet is by no means the panacea for education, it is a great tool that enables teachers to provide depth to their students. I hope that this curriculum web can be a tool for teachers to find a way to give their students exposure to the world, as well as giving power to the individual students to determine which topics they wish to further explore. My goal is that my students will have a better understanding of themselves and the world around them after completing this curriculum web. STATE GOAL 14: UNDERSTAND, ANALYZE, AND COMPARE POLITICAL SYSTEMS, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE UNITED STATES. STATE GOAL 15: UNDERSTAND, ANALYZE, AND COMPARE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE UNITED STATES. STATE GOAL 16: UNDERSTAND AND ANALYZE EVENTS, TRENDS, INDIVIDUALS AND MOVEMENTS SHAPING THE HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER NATIONS. STATE GOAL 17: DEMONSTRATE A KNOWLEDGE OF WORLD GEOGRAPHY, AS WELL AS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE EFFECTS OF GEOGRAPHY ON SOCIETY, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE UNITED STATES. STATE GOAL 18: UNDERSTAND, ANALYZE, AND COMPARE SOCIAL SYSTEMS, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE UNITED STATES.
As discussed in the introduction, the plan is for this curriculum
web to be used at the beginning of the school year prior to the
students having been issued textbooks. I will have to schedule
at least one week in the computer lab. There is enough room in
the lab for two classes at a time, so this should not be a problem.
There should be enough computers so that every student has their
own, but if necessary, the students can pair up. I will give my
students a short survey of their technological skills and computer
access at home on the first day of class. I will introduce this
project the first week of school, and will try to schedule time
in the lab for the second week. If it is not possible to use the
computers, I will be able to print some of the handouts and distribute
atlases to students so that they are able to complete some of
the activities in the classroom. If necessary, this project could
be adapted so that students can complete at least part of this
project in the library. Students that have to be told multiple
times to stay on task will no longer be permitted to use the computers,
and they will then be assigned an encyclopedia to complete the
project. All students will be asked to complete an oral presentation
of their project in which they will be asked to attempt to persuade
others to visit their respective countries. I will plan on spending
no more than two days of class presentations. I will try to find
a projector that I can hook up to my laptop, and then encourage
students to create power point presentations, but as this may
not be possible, I will make sure that students are prepared to
design a small poster for their presentation. Again, some class
time will be used to prepare for the presentations. In addition to computers, pencils, and notebooks for every student, you will need the following handouts. You can either print them prior to the activities, or allow the students to print them out as needed. Activity 1- Five Themes (optional- can be read on the web) Glossary of Terms (optional- this is 33 pages!) Activity 2- Internet Basics Quiz (optional) Internet Expert Quiz (optional) Activity 3- There are a variety of assessments included
in this curriculum web. In addition to the handouts and online
quizzes that the students will complete, the
final assessment will be a project that the students will design
that will introduce the rest of the class to his or her country.
The project can be graded using the following project
rubric and presentation
rubric. Finally, the true assessment hopefully will come at
the end of the year
after students have been able to build upon the skills and knowledge
that they gained from this curriculum web. I have attached a link with a number of resources on the web that I feel will be beneficial for students and teachers in using this curriculum web. This is a glossary of terms that has been designed by Chicago Public Schools for students taking World Studies.
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