ED

352: Elementary and Middle School Social Studies Methods Feedback for Literature Performance: Brittany Balash October 2011 Outcomes The candidate selects an engaging work of childrens literature identified as notable books for social studies instruction and effectively aligns this work with the state and national content standards. (Developing a Global Perspective, Conceptualization, WTS 1) The candidate designs multiple learning experiences inspired by the work to engage children in rigorous, developmentally appropriate social studies learning. (Problem Solving, Coordination, Diganosis, WTS 2 3 8) The candidate engages audiences in the literature by reading animatedly, making good eye contact, and effectively communicating the key ideas of the work. (Communication, WTS 6) The candidate facilitates a discussion of the literature performance with her peers and is open to feedback to improve her practice. (Valuing, Integrative Interaction, WTS 9)

Rubric for assessment

Adapted from the National Teaching Performance Assessment Draft Rubrics, PACT 2009

PLANNING: ESTABLISHING A BALANCED INSTRUCTIONAL FOCUS How do the plans support student learning of developmentally appropriate1 analytic reasoning skills in history or social science?
Level 1: Minimal The standards, learning objectives, learning tasks, and assessments either have no central focus or a onedimensional focus (e.g., solely on facts or planning activities that do not engage students in the use of analytic reasoning skills). Level 2: Emerging The standards, learning objectives, learning tasks, and assessments have an overall focus that is primarily onedimensional (e.g., learning facts or a singular interpretation of a topic in history/social science). The focus provides students an opportunity to use facts and concepts to make interpretations or judgments about a topic in history or social science. Level 3: Proficient Learning tasks or the set of assessment tasks focus on multiple dimensions of history-social science learning through clear connections among facts, concepts, interpretations, and judgments about a topic in history or social science. A progression of learning tasks and assessments is planned to build understanding of the central focus of the learning segment. Level 4: Distinctive Both learning tasks and the set of assessment tasks focus on multiple dimensions of historysocial science learning through clear connections among facts, concepts, interpretations, and judgments about a topic in history or social science. A progression of learning tasks and assessments guides students to build deep understandings of the central focus of the learning segment.

PLANNING: MAKING CONTENT ACCESSIBLE How do the plans make the curriculum accessible to the students in the class?
Level 1: Minimal: Plans refer to students experiential backgrounds2, interests, or prior learning3 that have little or no relationship to the learning segments Level 2: Emerging Plans draw on students experiential backgrounds, interests, or prior learning to help students reach the learning segments standards/objectives. Level 3: Proficient Plans draw on students prior learning as well as experiential backgrounds or interests to help students reach the learning segments Level 4: Distinctive All components of Level 3: Proficient plus: Plans include wellintegrated instructional strategies that are tailored to

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Both the content and skills that are the focus of the learning segment should be appropriate for the grade level taught (K-2; 3-5; 6-8). Cultural, linguistic, social, economic In or out of school

standards/objectives. OR There are significant content inaccuracies in plans that will lead to student misunderstandings.

Plans for implementation of learning tasks include support4 to help students who often struggle with the content.

standards/objectives. Plans for learning tasks include scaffolding or other forms of structured support5 to provide access to grade-level standards/objectives.

address a variety of specific student learning needs.

PLANNING: DESIGNING ASSESSMENTS What opportunities do students have to demonstrate their understanding of the standards/objectives?
Level 1: Minimal There are limited opportunities provided for students to learn what is measured by assessments. OR There is a significant mismatch between one or more assessment instruments or methods and the standards/objectives being assessed. Level 2: Emerging Opportunities are provided for students to learn what is assessed. It is not clear that the assessment of one or more standards/objectives go beyond surface-level understandings. Level 3: Proficient Opportunities are provided for students to learn what is assessed. The assessments allow students to show some depth of understanding or skill with respect to the standards/objectives. The assessments access both productive (speaking/writing) and receptive (listening/reading) modalities to monitor student understanding. Level 4: Distinctive All components of Level 3: Proficient plus: Assessments are modified, adapted, and/or designed to allow students with special needs opportunities to demonstrate understandings and skills relative to the standards/objectives.

Comments: You chose a book called "Flygirl" about Ida Mae, an African American pilot and her story. She
was an experienced pilot (though not yet licensed), and she lied about her race in order to join the women's air force services. You appreciated how the book referred to actual events from history including other women pilots of the era. You described different ways to engage learners through images, other media, as well as accessing recordings of the presidential speech about Pearl Harbor. You connected the book to maps and geography, as well as to issues of social prejudice (including those that persist to this day.) You described that you would have students divide up into groups, investigate each of the planes that are mentioned in the book (which might connect to student's interests in video games.) You would have students write letters, just as Ida Mae does,, integrating the themes of the book into formal letter writing and genre work in English language arts. Your second book, "Newsgirl," addresses a girl's work to "pass" as a boy in order to be taken more seriously. You appreciated the connections between each of the books, identifying choices that individuals make that don't connect with parental or societal expectations. You shared how much you learned about San Francisco in the 1950's (which you describe as being the time of the Gold Rush, though that was more the 1850's than 1950's). You said you would ask students to discuss how they've changed in order to fit in or effect change. You connected it as well to ballooning, and said students could create their own newspaper or digital artwork. Your peer feedback suggested that you could have male pilots explored as well. Discussion addressed ways to broaden children's experience through literature. As teachers have time to plan together, they can make a case for why to include different perspectives in the curriculum. People discussed ways to supplement the required curriculum with social studies themes as well as English language arts.

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Desiree Pointer Mace

Such as strategic groupings of students; circulating to monitor student understanding during independent or group work; checking on particular students. Such as multiple ways of representing content; modeling strategies for interpreting primary sources or history-social science data; providing graphic organizers, rubrics, or sample work.