don't judge. I teach soc studies and am lousy at planning

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Social Studies Teachers Chatboard

don't judge. I teach soc studies and am lousy at planning

by jj

Jan 7, 2012

full disclosure- I've posted a similar thread on the general teacher's chatboard, but I think other social studies teachers might be able to identify/assist me in a more specific way. thanks for taking a look!

So I am sitting here trying to plan for next week. Maybe if I am explicit about my thinking, decision making, you can help me see where I may be inefficient /ineffective in my planning.

I started by looking at my district's common exam, which is 100 multiple choice questions, many of which include "All of the following are true EXCEPT...." and "Which of the following is NOT true" questions. My students (many of whom are spec ed) struggle with these questions, and I have learned repeatedly this semester that very few of my strategies actually help them get better at these type of questions. I really don't like having to prepare them for a test that I think is flawed. Nonetheless, I must. For I don't see it going away.

Next I made a list. So far it is ...See More

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Kev Generally the things students should know are going to be on the lower levels of Bloom. There's nothing wrong with that. The fact is that's what they are going to face on those silly tests anyway so that should be your objective.

How you reach that objective surely can use the higher levels. For example, on the USSR question a writing assi...See MoreGenerally the things students should know are going to be on the lower levels of Bloom. There's nothing wrong with that. The fact is that's what they are going to face on those silly tests anyway so that should be your objective.

How you reach that objective surely can use the higher levels. For example, on the USSR question a writing assignment saying "Imagine you were a Russian leader during World War II. Write a letter to your mom asking advice on which side to support. Offer her reasons for both." would meet the objective of explaining Russia's place and would use higher levels of Bloom's.

I agree with you completely (and special ed has nothing to do with it) that asking kids to do higher level stuff without lower level instruction first is rather pointless. That may not be the in vogue thing to say but I'll put the success of my students (in both silly tests and higher-level activities) up against any because they have both the basic knowledge and thinking skills needed to succeed.

On 1/07/12, jj wrote: > full disclosure- I've posted a similar thread on the > general teacher's chatboard, but I think other social > studies teachers might be able to identify/assist me in a > more specific way. thanks for taking a look! > > So I am sitting here trying to plan for next week. Maybe if > I am explicit about my thinking, decision making, you can > help me see where I may be inefficient /ineffective in my > planning. > > I started by looking at my district's common exam, which is > 100 multiple choice questions, many of which include "All > of the following are true EXCEPT...." and "Which of the > following is NOT true" questions. My students (many of whom > are spec ed) struggle with these questions, and I have > learned repeatedly this semester that very few of my > strategies actually help them get better at these type of > questions. I really don't like having to prepare them for a > test that I think is flawed. Nonetheless, I must. For I > don't see it going away. > > Next I made a list. So far it is at 11 items. The list > contains answers to the following question- What do I want > students to know or be able to do by the end of this week? > > Note: I have students every day for 90 mins. So I have 450 > mins to plan for. > > Here are three examples of items on my list, in no > particular order. > > -Explain how Britain was able to stop the Nazis in the > Battle of Britain. > > -Explain what happened to the USSR during WWII (What led to > switch from one side to the other) > > -Identify key facts about the "turning point" battles of > WWII. ---Midway, Stalingrad, D-Day, Battle of the Bulge. > > One thing I notice right away is that my list is loaded > with "explain" and "identify". I want to move up Bloom's > ladder, but I am not sure if I can do so immediately. In my > experiences, when I try to go right for the higher levels > of the taxonomy, I get frustrated and students often seem > to because they do not have the basic building block > knowledge to accomplish the task.

Jan 7, 2012

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jj Thanks for the feedback, kev

On 1/07/12, Kev wrote: > Generally the things students should know are going to be on > the lower levels of Bloom. There's nothing wrong with that. > The fact is that's what they are going to face on those silly > tests anyway so that should be your objective. > > How you reach that objectiv...See MoreThanks for the feedback, kev

On 1/07/12, Kev wrote: > Generally the things students should know are going to be on > the lower levels of Bloom. There's nothing wrong with that. > The fact is that's what they are going to face on those silly > tests anyway so that should be your objective. > > How you reach that objective surely can use the higher levels. > For example, on the USSR question a writing assignment saying > "Imagine you were a Russian leader during World War II. Write a > letter to your mom asking advice on which side to support. > Offer her reasons for both." would meet the objective of > explaining Russia's place and would use higher levels of Bloom's. > > I agree with you completely (and special ed has nothing to do > with it) that asking kids to do higher level stuff without > lower level instruction first is rather pointless. That may not > be the in vogue thing to say but I'll put the success of my > students (in both silly tests and higher-level activities) up > against any because they have both the basic knowledge and > thinking skills needed to succeed. > > > > > On 1/07/12, jj wrote: >> full disclosure- I've posted a similar thread on the >> general teacher's chatboard, but I think other social >> studies teachers might be able to identify/assist me in a >> more specific way. thanks for taking a look! >> >> So I am sitting here trying to plan for next week. Maybe if >> I am explicit about my thinking, decision making, you can >> help me see where I may be inefficient /ineffective in my >> planning. >> >> I started by looking at my district's common exam, which is >> 100 multiple choice questions, many of which include "All >> of the following are true EXCEPT...." and "Which of the >> following is NOT true" questions. My students (many of whom >> are spec ed) struggle with these questions, and I have >> learned repeatedly this semester that very few of my >> strategies actually help them get better at these type of >> questions. I really don't like having to prepare them for a >> test that I think is flawed. Nonetheless, I must. For I >> don't see it going away. >> >> Next I made a list. So far it is at 11 items. The list >> contains answers to the following question- What do I want >> students to know or be able to do by the end of this week? >> >> Note: I have students every day for 90 mins. So I have 450 >> mins to plan for. >> >> Here are three examples of items on my list, in no >> particular order. >> >> -Explain how Britain was able to stop the Nazis in the >> Battle of Britain. >> >> -Explain what happened to the USSR during WWII (What led to >> switch from one side to the other) >> >> -Identify key facts about the "turning point" battles of >> WWII. ---Midway, Stalingrad, D- Day, Battle of the Bulge. >> >> One thing I notice right away is that my list is loaded >> with "explain" and "identify". I want to move up Bloom's >> ladder, but I am not sure if I can do so immediately. In my >> experiences, when I try to go right for the higher levels >> of the taxonomy, I get frustrated and students often seem >> to because they do not have the basic building block >> knowledge to accomplish the task.

Jan 7, 2012

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