EDSS 519 - Teaching Social Studies K-5: An Interdisciplinary Approach (3)

The recent focus of high-stakes standardized testing on literacy and mathematics has led to a lack of emphasis on social studies. More and more, teachers are having to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to continue teaching this important subject area. This practice allows teachers to maximize their use of instructional time while instilling civic competence in their students. In this course, you’ll examine the themes of the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies and explore how you can teach social studies and English language arts together using read-alouds, reader’s theater, and other strategies. You’ll also explore connections between social studies and mathematics, science, the arts, and technology. In addition, you’ll learn how to use interdisciplinary approaches such as learning centers or stations, interactive notebooks, foldables, and project-based learning to address social studies standards. Using the techniques and resources from this course, you’ll be able to integrate social studies into interdisciplinary lessons or units to ensure that your students receive a well-rounded education while still performing well on standardized tests. The recent focus of high-stakes standardized testing on literacy and mathematics has led to a lack of emphasis on social studies. 

More and more, teachers are having to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to continue teaching this important subject area. This practice allows teachers to maximize their use of instructional time while instilling civic competence in their students. In this course, you’ll examine the themes of the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies and explore how you can teach social studies and English language arts together using read-alouds, reader’s theater, and other strategies. You’ll also explore connections between social studies and mathematics, science, the arts, and technology. In addition, you’ll learn how to use interdisciplinary approaches such as learning centers or stations, interactive notebooks, foldables, and project-based learning to address social studies standards. Using the techniques and resources from this course, you’ll be able to integrate social studies into interdisciplinary lessons or units to ensure that your students receive a well-rounded education while still performing well on standardized tests.