The purpose of this blog is to provide a place to share ideas for integrating technology into elementary social studies. Log onto to this BLOG and leave a comment that shares a strategy that you will use to make a TECHNOLOGY CONNECTION in your UNIT.
The TECHNOLOGY CONNECTION should share a strategy for developing social studies concepts in your unit. Your entry should mention the subjects/disciplines that you are integrating in your UNIT. Summarize the UNIT. If you are sharing a website, provide the URL.
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Internet Scavenger Hunt for Government
Unit: Government:
My Social Studies unit is on our United States Government. By the end of the unit the learner will analyze political and social institutions in North America and examine how these institutions respond to human needs, structure society and influence behavior. The learner will do this many different ways. One is by analyzing major documents and understanding there importance. Another is by differentiating between local, state and national levels of government and finally by distinguishing how the government has changed overtime.
Technology will be integrated into the classroom by completing a website scavenger hunt. With help from the technology teacher, we are going to have a link connected to my website and the students are going to answer eight questions about the government through a scavenger hunt. The students will not only be practicing computer skills such as navigating a website but also gaining knowledge about the U.S. Government. These questions will be what they need to answer.
1. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/documents/declaration/index.html
2. Which Article of the Constitution establishes the Office of President? http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
3. The first ten amendments to the Constitution are called:
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/documents/declaration/index.html
4. Name two of the amendments.
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/citizenship/rights.html
5. What are the three branches of our government?
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/branches.html
6. Who appoints the justices to the Supreme Court?
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/national/scourt.html
7. What are the requirements to becoming President?
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/election/president.html
8. How many Senators are elected for each state?
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/election/senators.html
A hyperlink will be on key words and when the students click on it there will be an article or a website that has the answers on it. (http://pages.cms.k12.nc.us/karenlipski/usgov.html) The students will answer the questions by restating and then finding the answers online (see websites above) and putting them into their own words. This will be a helpful study guide for the end of the unit test.
Digital Mapping- Follow Me Through My Community by Jackie Whitlow
Unit: Community Helpers
The unit that I am teaching is for first grade students and is about community helpers. The students are learning about various types of people in the community, their jobs, locations, what they wear, and how they help make the community a better place. The students will learn about where to find these people in the community in relation to the school and their homes. The school is like a small community within the surrounding community, and the students are very familiar with this area. I will start with community helpers within the school and move outwards to better explain the concepts of community helpers to the students.
To incorporate technology into my unit, I am going to have the students make a map of the school using digital photographs. The students will take pictures of the places around the school where community helpers work including the principal, teachers, the nurse, janitors, librarian, lunch room staff, etc. After taking the pictures, the students will be able to upload these pictures to the computer with some assistance from the teacher and print them off. A bulletin board in the classroom will be used to make a map of the school and the photographs will be posted on the board in their correct location. Space will be saved on the board to expand the map outside the school. Students will be asked to take pictures of different community helpers outside of school on their own time, or they can simply do an internet search to find pictures with help from their parents. Parents can either print these pictures off for the students to bring in for the map or email them to the teacher to add to the map. When the bulletin board is full, the students will work in pairs to type a small list of facts about each community helper to place beside the pictures on the board.
Unit: Place-Based Learning Project
I have a first grade technology integrated social studies unit that addresses various ways to incorporate community aspects into a week-long study. This helps all learners, regardless of learning styles, to connect prior knowledge to new information learned. This unit focuses on family within the community, community leaders, and the community as a whole. Technology is integrated through Internet research, PowerPoint presentations, streaming video, educational software, etc. With a limited amount of computers in my classroom, it is important to set up a feasible schedule in order for all students to have a chance to use the computers.
Each activity emphasizes hands-on experiences, higher-order thinking skills, and the ability to connect their existing schema to the current information.
As a first grade teacher, I believe that technology is a vital part of all learning, and students should be proficient with technology skills. I learned this from a very skilled instructor that taught me the right way to use technology in a one-computer classroom!
I am still accepting technology strategies.
The Civil War
I will be teaching a 4th grade unit on the Civil War. During this unit, students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the Civil War and its impact on America. Students will study the reasons behind the war, the role and accomplishments of the leaders, key battles, the roles of African Americans and women, and the effects of the war on people and their environments. Understanding of our country’s history is important. Our views of history shape the way we view the present, and therefore dictate what answers are offered for existing and future problems. It is important for students to learn history in order to learn from the past and gain a sense of perspective about themselves and the world around them. In order for students to be functioning citizens in our society, they should be able to think critically about documents, cause and affect relationships, and have the ability to read and summarize material.
This technology integration will need to take place in a computer lab at your school. This is a two-day integration, so plan to have your students in the lab for two days during the week. The goal of this integration is for students to be able to read articles and/or biographies for information and create online timelines of significant dates and events. The biographies of Civil War leaders can be found at http://www.history.com. If creating a timeline on key battles of the Civil War, information can be found at www.sonofthesouth.net. It would be beneficial for the teacher to provide a hard copy handout to students that highlights the desired important dates. This is to provide students with some guidance so they do not get bogged-down with insignificant dates during research. Day 1 of research should consist of students reading biographies and articles and writing down important information (significant dates during Lincoln’s presidency, Key battles, etc). Day two should consist of students finishing up research from the prior day and advancing on create their online timeline.
After research is complete, students should visit the site: http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/materials/timelines. Step 1 on the web site allows students to choose whether they would like to create a vertical or a horizontal timeline. Step 2 of creating the timeline allows students to type in their researched information into blank cells. The cells are labeled: Event #, Event Date, and Event Name / Description. Once students have successfully entered their information, he/she is allowed to then add one border graphic to the timeline. For the final step, students click “generate your timeline” and PRESTO—a printable timeline of the information appears. Online timelines can be used throughout the Civil War unit and should prove to be quite effective in helping students to organize information.
Technology Connection by Stacey Kirkley
The unit that I am teaching is for third grade students and it is about the American Revolution. The students are learning about different events that led to the American Revolution; the significant people, events, and places in the American Revolution; and South Carolina’s role in the American Revolution. At the end of this unit, the student will be able to identify the significant people, events, and places that played a role in the American Revolution.
Technology will be integrated in this unit by using power point presentations, the Smart Board software, and the students will use the PBS website to gain a deeper understanding of the American Revolution. The PBS website is at http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/. This website has information that is perfect for this unit of study. On this website, the student will be able to do many things. They can read all about the different events during the American Revolution in a newspaper type setting. They can also learn about different perspectives during the revolution, such as learn about life during the 18th century; learn what was happening in the world at the time of the revolution; and learn the differences between the American and British soldiers. Finally on this website, the student can play an interactive game titled “The Road to Revolution” that will test their knowledge about the American Revolution. The student will head towards “independence” in this game if they answer questions correctly. Students will be able to use this website in the computer lab in our school. We will use one day of social studies time to use this website at the end of our unit. Students will have to document information that they found so that they will learn how to directly use the internet and this website specifically.
Opportunity Cost of Trade, Commerce, Industry, and the Effects on Our Earth
Amy Wilson
I teach fifth grade gifted and talented math and science. The focus of the unit is human impact on the earth, which is one of the five themes of geography. During the unit lessons the students will be participating in a simulated oil spill, mapping the Exxon Valdez oil spill, conducting research on the importance of oil as a resource to the United States as well as various environmental issues and topics concerning oil spills. The students will also investigate the relationship between oil and the United State’s involvement in the Gulf War. The students will be writing an editorial taking a position for the Gulf War or against the Gulf War.
The Apprentice Webquest: Ecosystems in Danger, http://www.ldcsb.on.ca/schools/cfe/rpt/RPT_Ecosystems/student.html
will allow the students to problem solve using a real life scenario. The purpose of this webquest is to help the students to make logical informed decisions that will impact many people.
The students will be given a reasoning web that will help them reason through the problems of importing and exporting oil and make a decision about whether Mr. Trump should indeed enter into the business of exporting oil. As the students complete this activity they will have to provide support or evidence that has been researched to support the problems that they have found with importing and exporting oil. The webquest allows the students to research and design the most effective and cost efficient method for importing and exporting oil. They will also research the validity of the argument that transporting oil is damaging to the environment. Upon completion of the task the students will be able to reason through a problem by looking at the problem from various viewpoints. The students will also have an idea of how importing and exporting oil can potentially harm the environment but can also be a profitable business as well. The students will make a decision about exporting and importing oil based on their research and the various viewpoints represented.
The Invention and History of the Telephone by Courtney Lamade
Unit Title: Changes in Technology
Currently, I teach third grade. As part of the curriculum, I have developed a unit on technology. Throughout the unit, students will learn how technology is used at home, school, and in the community. Furthermore, students will learn how this technology has changed over time and improved the community and quality of life. This particular activity is meant as an introductory activity in which the students will use the Internet to research famous inventors and their inventions that have become a large part of our everyday life.
Students should be paired up with a peer and each child or group should have access to a computer. This activity should take approximately three to four class periods to complete, including a time for sharing.
First, students will pull up the PowerPoint template. This template will consist of four slides. Each slide will have the name of a famous inventor on it (Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and the Wright Brothers). The students will use the Internet website http://www.factmonster.com/people.html to find out when the inventor lived, what he invented, and why it is an important invention. Once the students have found this information, they will include it on their PowerPoint slides. The students must also insert a picture representing the invention.
As students finish, they may go to http://pbskids.org/wayback/tech1900/index.html to find fun facts about early cars and telephones. Within this website the students will find information on how fast the first cars went and the requirements and working conditions of telephone operators. The students will include any information found on an additional “fun facts” slide in their PowerPoint. When the students have completed the PowerPoint, they will print it out in a handout form. As the teacher, I can collect and check over the PowerPoint handouts to ensure that the students found the correct information. Then, the students can use the handout as notes for future lessons and assessments. Once all projects are completed, allow students to share their slides, specifically the “fun facts’ slide.
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