Course Description
Lesson planning, implementation, and formative classroom assessments to foster middle grades students’ understanding of the global world. Teaching and planning tasks will deepen students understanding of the history, politics, economics, and geographies of Europe, Australia, Canada, Latin American, Asia, Africa, and Southwest Asia.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will write an additional paper discussing the significance of global studies in the middle grades.
Athena Title
Teach Plan Glob SS Mid Grades
Undergraduate Prerequisite
Permission of department
Graduate Prerequisite
Permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- Align middle grades social studies content standards when designing lessons, planning curriculum, and implementing assessments.
- Use backwards design for lesson planning to formatively assess middle grades students within the planning, teaching, and assessment cycle.
- Design formative assessments based on knowledge of their characteristics, uses, and limitations to promote student growth, match instructional goals, and foster engagement in middle grades social studies.
- Analyze and select sources for an interdisciplinary approach to middle grades social studies content and classroom activities that are differentiated for students.
- Incorporate the unique cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and moral characteristics of students in middle grades as individuals and members of groups within lesson planning, instruction, and assessment.
- Incorporate understandings of how prior learning, differing family background, historical and contemporary contexts, and diverse cultural backgrounds influence learning within their lesson and assessment designs.
- Develop middle grades lessons that are creative, incorporate critical thinking, and follow the guidelines of an inquiry design approach to social studies.
Topical Outline
- Introduce meaningful curricular decisions, pedagogical practices, and assessment designs for middle grades social studies.
- Introduce lesson planning approaches for middle grades social studies that lead students to transferable learning outcomes.
- Inquiry-orientated, social studies learning experiences that promote high student engagement and critical thinking.
- Pedagogical practices and corresponding assessment strategies that foster active participation and engagement among all students.
- Assess students’ understanding of the middle grades social studies content using formative assessments.
