Instruction and Assessment in Elementary Social Studies

Planning for Instruction

Agenda

• Welcome
• Lesson Plan Format (Review)
• Objectives and Learning Targets
• Selecting and Analyzing Assessments
• Best Practices and Planning Instruction
• Jigsaw Activity
• Closure

Review the slides from science for a refresher on ideas related to lesson planning.

Table Activity

Writing Objectives and Learning Targets

• Write at least one objective and one learning target aligned to the following SOL.
• VS.3 The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the causes and effects of events associated with the first permanent English settlement in North America by

e. describing the hardships faced by settlers at Jamestown and the changes that took place to ensure survival

When the timer ends, finish your work and prepare to share your thoughts.

10 min

Aligning Assessment(s) to Objectives

Look at your objective(s) and keep these guiding questions in mind.

• How will you know students have met and/or mastered the objective(s) you have set?
• What will you accept as evidence of student understanding and proficiency?
• What type of assessment is best aligned to the objective(s)?
• How will you choose?

Selecting Assessments

• Keep in mind that no one method is inherently superior to others.
• Different methods work well (or not so well) with different types of learning targets.
• Using a target-method match is one way to determine a good fit between learning targets and assessment types.
• Aligning assessments to Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy can also be useful.

Analyzing Assessments

Let’s look at guidelines for Constructing and Evaluating Assessment Types and use the ideas presented to analyze the quality of some classroom assessments.

• Washington Assessment
• Founding Fathers Assessment
• Native Americans Quiz
• Jamestown Quiz

https://www.menti.com/xrrawnn4ic

Table Activity

Analyzing Assessments

• Review the assessment assigned to your group using the guidelines provided.
• Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the assessment.
• Select one item or related items that you would rewrite and be prepared to explain why.

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When the timer ends, finish your work and prepare to share your thoughts.

15 min

Performance-based Assessment

A performance-based assessment

• is an alternative method used to measure what a student knows and can do (Kan & Bulut, 2014)
• is a means of gathering evidence of student learning that requires students to think at high cognitive levels, undertake a skill-based process, and/or product (rather than select) a response
• may include a written component, but generally focuses primarily on the student’s demonstration of a specified task and/or the creation of a product and is typically scored using a rubric (VDOE, 2016).

VDOE Assessment Resources for HSS

• VDOE Performance Tasks and Local Alternative Assessments
• Quality Criteria Review Tool
• Common Rubrics
• Early Elementary
• Upper Elementary
• Middle School

Table Activity

Using the Quality Criteria Review Tool

• On your own (10 minutes)
• Read and become familiar with the performance assessment We Want To Be Recognized.
• Apply the Virginia Quality Criteria Review Tool to evaluate the quality of this performance assessment for Criterion 5: Student Directions, Prompt, and Resources/Materials.
• Give a quality rating for each area and provide evidence or a rationale for your choices.
• Once you have completed your individual work, compare your ratings, discuss, and come to consensus.

When the timer ends, finish your work and prepare to share your thoughts.

20 min

Criterion 5

Selecting an Assessment

Now that we have looked at a range of assessments, what will you select as an assessment that is aligned to your Jamestown lesson objectives?

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Table Activity

Aligning Assessment(s) to Objectives

• What type of assessment is best aligned to your lesson objectives?
• Use the Bloom’s Taxonomy Cognitive Domain list to help you consider assessment types.
• You might also consider strategies listed in Formative Assessment Strategies for Social Studies, as well as other assessment ideas shared tonight.
• Discuss your ideas and describe the assessment you would choose and how it is aligned to your objectives.

When the timer ends, finish your work and prepare to share your thoughts.

10 min

L

Jigsaw Activity

Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy that asks groups of students to become “experts” on different aspects of a topic and then share what they learn with their classmates.

For this activity you will be divided into base groups and expert groups.

• In your expert groups, you will evaluate an assigned lesson, looking for evidence of best practices.
• In your base groups, you will develop a learning sequence based on the information shared from expert groups.

NCSS Position Statement

The National Council for Social Studies released a position statement last year on “Powerful, Purposeful Teaching and Learning in Elementary Social Studies.”

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What guidance does this position statement provide for best practices in social studies instruction?

Guiding Principles for SOL

Let’s complete a See-Think-Wonder on the Guiding Principles in the 2023 History and Social Science SOL.

If you are interested in learning more about the history of this current revision, review these resources.

• Defending History: Educators Stand Up to Protect Virginia’s Social Studies Standards
• Blog post on the Virginia Social Studies Revision

Best Practices

• Inquiry
• Primary Sources
• Disciplinary Literacy
• Assessment

Project Zero Thinking Routines

Tips and Tricks for Engaging Students in Social Studies Instruction

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Expert Group Activity

Critically Evaluate a Lesson Sequence

Read the assigned lesson and make notes on areas of strength and weakness.

• Group 1 - Lesson 3: Starving Time in Jamestown (p.20)
• Group 2 - Lesson 4: The “Starving Time”: Jamestown
• Group 3 - Jamestown: Moral Dilemmas of the Starving Time

Share your evaluative thoughts with your group.

As a group, come to consensus on how you will present a summary and analysis of the lesson to your base group members.

• What is the lesson about? (Brief summary!)
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson?
• What part of the lesson might you modify for use in a new lesson?

When the timer ends, finish your work and prepare to share your thoughts.

20 min

Base Group Activity

Develop a Learning Sequence

• Experts will share information about the lesson they reviewed. (6-8 minutes)
• Using the UR lesson plan template, develop a Learning Sequence for a lesson on Jamestown to meet the SOL below.
• VS.3 The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the causes and effects of events associated with the first permanent English settlement in North America by

e. describing the hardships faced by settlers at Jamestown and the changes that took place to ensure survival

• Once finished, each group will have 5 minutes to share their ideas.

When the timer ends, finish your work and prepare to share your thoughts.

20 min

Closure

• Reflection
• As you reflect upon your learning today, how have you expanded your understanding of instruction or assessment?
• For next week
• Attend S.K. Ali Author Talk on Wednesday and complete reflective essay on author talk.
• Respond to the blog post made by Emily no later than Saturday (11:59 pm).
• Read Teaching Hard History: American Slavery
• Read Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books
• Questions?