Lesson planning, implementation, and formative classroom assessments to foster equity-orientated, interdisciplinary social studies classrooms. Students will apply planning and teaching tasks to demonstrate competencies in connecting the curriculum to the world, questioning techniques, and use of the inquiry approach in social studies.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students: Write a research paper or prepare instructional materials related to teaching social studies in the middle grades.
Athena Title
Teach Social Studies in Middle
Undergraduate Prerequisite
ESOC 4410/6410 and ESOC 4420/6420
Graduate Prerequisite
ESOC 4410/6410 and ESOC 4420/6420
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
Develop a critical inquiry stance toward middle grades social studies teaching and learning.
Make interdisciplinary and curricular connections between the social studies content standards (i.e., economics, geography, history and political sciences) when designing lessons, planning curriculum, and implementing assessments.
Develop news media literacy skills to enhance the relevancy of social studies lessons for the advancement of student engagement and understanding.
Incorporate an understanding of students’ ideas, interests, and experiences along with their ethnicity, race, language, religion, socioeconomic status, gender, geographic origin, sexual orientation, and physical and mental exceptionalities within the lesson designs and instruction.
Incorporate ways to teach social studies using an inquiry approach to pedagogical practice and methodological designs.
Develop questioning techniques that promote student engagement and critical thinking in social studies.
Use an equity-orientation for lesson planning to formatively assess middle grades students within the planning, teaching, and assessment cycle.
Develop an appreciation for the complexity and challenges of implementing meaningful social studies learning in the middle grades classroom.
Topical Outline
Instructional planning that encompasses economics, geography, history, and political science in the study of social studies
News media literacy skills development in alignment with middle grades social studies curriculum
Strategies for the effective incorporation of relevant references to the world in middle grades social studies
Pedagogical practices that foster active participation and engagement among middle grades students
Assess students’ understanding of interdisciplinary social studies content using formative assessments
