Topic 1

What is Social
Studies?
Prologue: Cartoons & 1st Class Meeting
• I like to use cartoons as attention getters to start class. Various websites permit use
of their cartoons without a fee by faculty in their classrooms.
– http://www.cartoonbank.com/search_results.asp?mscssid=P6NEXLMJK8918PX
V83WRGDKUFMGJE3F4&whichpage=1&findby=popular&s_keywords=xschool
– http://www.borg.com/~rjgtoons/teen.html
– http://cagle.slate.msn.com/politicalcartoons/main.asp
http://www.offthemark.com/school/school.htm
– http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/
– http://www.peanuts.com/comics/peanuts/info/privacy_statement.html
– http://www.Dilbert.com/

1.Syllabus PowerPoints
• I cover the syllabus first.
2.Topic 1: What is Social Studies?
• Includes information from the Preface and Introduction of the
Textbook as well as Topic 1.
3.About the Professor
• Follows and is optional
This is the first day of class PowerPoint transparencies. As a result, these slides are
constructed assuming the students do not have their textbooks
 Introduction & Topic 1: What is
Social Studies
• Assignment 0.1 Eric Search
• Assignment 1.1
What is Social Studies?
• Assignment 1.2:
Of course there's a lot of
What is Exploration? knowledge in universities:
the freshmen bring a little
in, the seniors don't take
much away, so knowledge
sort of accumulates...
–Anonymous

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved 1–3

 Teaching is a Challenge

“I was surprised at how easy it is to get by as a

mediocre teacher and how hard the job is if you
want to be a really good teacher.”
– New teacher after first year
In theory there is no
difference between
theory and practice,
but, in practice,
there is.
–Jan L. A. Van De
Snepscheut

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved 1–4

 Teaching Social Studies Is Not a
Joke
• What is the first name of every social studies
teacher in America?

Everybody is
ignorant, only on
different subjects.
–Will Rogers

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved 1–5

 Teaching Is a Challenge

Thomas Edison said

Success is “99%
perspiration and
only 1%
inspiration.”

Teacher’s Tip
A famous quote placed on the board every day
and debriefed by a teacher is an excellent
strategy to have children consider their goals
and obligations. Quotes may be found at:
http://www.libraryspot.com/quotations.htm

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved 1–6

 Opportunities for Learning

• You will be encouraged to reflect on your personal belief

system as a foundation for teaching social studies.
• You will be expected to “construct” a working theory and
strategies for social studies instruction
• You will make extensive use of the Internet and learn
how to make the best use of it in social studies
instruction.
• Not all the topics in this text can be covered by the
professor in class, so learning about some topics not
covered in class, but presented in the book, will require
your initiative.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved 1–7

 Special Features of the Textbook

• Teacher’s Tips
• Quotes for Reflection
• Assignments
• Questions
• Strategy Boxes
• References
• Internet Resources

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved 1–8

 Uses of the Internet

• Searches of the Internet

• Criteria for Selection of Websites
• Specific Websites
• For searches by topics and lesson plans, I like
ERIC at the University of Syracuse at
http://ericir.syr.edu/Eric/adv_search.shtml
• For searches by document number, Search Eric
at http://searcheric.org/ or EDR’s Express
Search at
http://edrs.com/Webstore/Express.cfm
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved 1–9
 Classroom Lesson: List Group and
Label Method
• Assignment 1.1 What is Social Studies?
– List all the terms, words, adjectives that come to
mind.
– Then organize the list into categories.
– Share your list and categories with the class.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved 1–10

 List: Some Possibilities

• History
Teacher’s Tip
• Maps New teachers are often under
the misperception that they
• Government don’t have to plan listing items
on a chalkboard during a lecture
• Timelines or discussion—that they should
just "wing it." The best practice
• Cultures is to develop a model set of
answers, then lead the students
• Boring to them during the discussion.

• Worksheets

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved 1–11

 List Group & Label: Social Studies

• How would you organize the terms into a table?

 List Group & Label: Social Studies

Subject Information Procedural Big Ideas

Knowledge Knowledge
History

Geography

Economics

Government

Social
Sciences
 Assignment 1.2: What is
Exploration?
1. Apply the List, Group & Label Method to the
concept, “Exploration.”
2. Develop a list of vocabulary words or concepts
that you associate with Exploration?
3. Organize the words into a table with columns
and rows that bring a logical order and
relationship to the terms.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved 1–14

 List Group & Label: Exploration

Headings
 List Group & Label: Exploration

• A Superordinate Approach, see Topic 27

The Who What When Where Why Method, see Topic 10
Heading Land Water Space Medicine Technology

Who

What

When

Where

When

Why

How
 List Group & Label: Exploration 2

A Subordinate Approach, see Topic 27

Heading North Florida Louisiana South Caribbean

East
America Territory America

Who
What
When
Where

When
Why
How
 Preview of Assignment 2.2: Web of
Social Studies
• If you were asked to create a web of the
elementary school, what would it look like?
• First, you would start by brainstorming terms
like:
– Classrooms, people, school buses, cafeteria, etc.
• Then you would create a web.

For Assignment 2.2, create a web out of the section in Topic 2,

Goals, Concepts & Vocabulary

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved 1–18

 Web of a School

? Students
Teachers

Facilities People Parents

Bus
drivers
School
?
Cafeteria
workers
Rules ?
Assignment 2.2, requires you to apply this concept to the
section in Topic 2, Goals, Concepts & Vocabulary