Online Companion: Early Education Curriculum: A Child's ...



Online Companion: Early Education Curriculum: A Child's Connection to the World, 4E

Chapter 7

Social Studies

• Reflective Review Questions

• Web Activities

• Additional Related Web Links

Reflective Review Questions

1. Besides individual, national, and global identity, five other goals are listed in the t ext to help teachers focus on the core of a social studies curriculum for young children. Rank these goals in what you believe are their order of importance for the child. Explain your ranking, particularly in regards to the goal you identified as the most significant.

2. Explain why the use of high-quality children’s literature can be an appropriate vehicle for teaching social studies to young children.

3. “The vision of community that the classroom provides can color a child’s ideas and expectations about equity, cooperation, and citizenship for a lifetime.”

What is meant by this statement from the text? Why is the implicit meaning in this statement considered important? Do you agree? Why or why not?

4. When using a project approach, children are building on what they know. List eight potential topics that might be suggested by a project or theme entitled, “All About Me.”

5. You have just taken a group of kindergartners on a field trip to a local grocery store. Describe at least four follow-up activities that could expand on the field trip experience.

6. What, from a social studies standpoint, is the value in making maps? How might this type of activity be integrated into other areas, such as art, science, or math?

7. Choose a children’s book that is familiar to the children in your practicum. Then, following Wallace’s suggestions from the text, engage a small group of students in a story mapping exercise. Share the results with your classmates and discuss the pros and cons on this technique. Would you do anything differently the next time you used this method?

8. National and state standards have been revised, updated, or perhaps created for social studies. Conduct an Internet search to find out whether your state has current standards for social studies benchmarks and indicators. Print or save them so that you can use them in your activity planning for children, as well as for other assignments.

Web Activities

1. Bank Street Corner



(Click on “Social Studies”)

Explore this part of the site. Was the information offered new to you? Which part seems valuable to you as a student? If you are a classroom teacher, which part will you incorporate into your curriculum? Do you plan to expand on the thoughts or ideas suggested? Explain your answers in writing.

2. NAEYC



(Click on ”Beyond the Journal,” then click on “Beyond the Journal Archive,” and then scroll down and click on “September 2005: Teaching and Learning about Social Studies”)

Read the articles to gain a more comprehensive understanding of social studies and the young child.

3. Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning



The author of this book believes that the foundation of social studies begins with the social and emotional development of children. Spend some time exploring this site and then, in writing, reflect on whether you disagree or agree with the author's stance.

4. Nonverbal Learning Disorders



(Scroll down and click on “Site Map,” then scroll down to the section “Intervention,” and then find the subsection “Social Skills”)

Choose one of the following articles and then write a brief summary and how it relates to social studies.

( Understanding and Facilitating Preschool Children’s Peer Acceptance

( Encouraging Social Skills in Young Children: Tips Teachers Can Share with Parents

( “Do’s & Don’ts” for Fostering Social Competence

( The Role of Parents in the Development of Peer Group Competence

Note: Teachers need to be aware that the core of social studies, especially for young children, is the development of social competence, as well as learning about group living and cooperation. In other words, children need to become socialized.

5. Nonverbal Learning Disorders



(Scroll down and click on “Site Map,” then scroll down to the section “Intervention,” then find the subsection “Social Skills,” and then click on “Young Children’s Social Development: A Checklist”)

With the approval of your cooperating teacher, use the checklist to assess several children at your practicum site. Discuss the findings with your cooperating teacher. If any children seemed not to fare as positively as one might wish, brainstorm some possible strategies to help strengthen the social competence of those children.

6. Teaching for Change



(Click on “Early Childhood Equity,” then click on “Books and Materials” under Resources, and then scroll down and read “10 Quick Ways to Analyze Children’s Books for Racism and Sexism by the Council on Interracial Books for Children”)

After reading the article, choose ten children’s books and analyze them using the checklist.

7. Multicultural Education

All three of the following Web sites discuss the issue of multicultural education. After exploring these Web sites, write a brief position statement on your beliefs regarding the benefits of multicultural education.

Ed Change

A team of passionate, experienced, established educators dedicated to equity, diversity, multiculturalism, and social justice collaborated in order to develop resources, workshops, and projects that contribute to progressive change—change in ourselves, our schools, and our society.



(Click on “the Multicultural Pavilion,” and then in the Search box type in “Building Blocks: The First Steps of Creating a Multicultural Classroom”)

Packer Collegiate



(Click on “Inside Packer,” click on “Diversity,” then scroll down and click on “Multicultural Bibliography,” and then scroll down and click on “Lower School Checklist”)

Texas Child Care



(Click on “Back Issues,” then click on “Spring 2004,” and then click on “Multicultural education: Is it really necessary?”)

8. Celebrating Holidays in the Classroom

In the late 1980s, Louise Derman Sparks wrote Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools For Empowering Young Children, and sparked a controversy about holiday celebrations, and the debate continues. Read the articles below and be prepared to share your feelings regarding this topic in class.

NAEYC



(In the Search box, type in “Holiday Celebrations Around the World”)

National Network for Child Care



(Click on “Articles & Resources,” click on “Activities and Learning,” then click on “Diversity and Culture,” and then scroll down and click on “Holidays: Celebrating Diversity and Meeting Children’s Developmental Needs”)

9. Teaching Equity and Tolerance

Southern Poverty Law Center—Teaching Tolerance



(Click on “Teaching Tolerance,” then click on the Teaching Tolerance’s Web site, “,” and then on the right side of the page click on “Classroom resources”)

There are many pages of classroom activities that span from early childhood up through high school.

Teaching for Change



(Click on “Early Childhood Equity”)

Make sure to spend time exploring all that this site has to offer.

Teaching equity and tolerance needs to start early in life because children learn attitudes about differences when they are young. Explore the resources and then explain in detail several activities that you could do with young children to teach them about being accepting and appreciative of differences.

10. National and state standards have been revised, updated, or perhaps created for social studies. Conduct an Internet search to find out whether your state has current standards for social studies benchmarks and indicators. Print or save them so that you can use them in your activity planning for children, as well as for other assignments.

Additional Related Web Links

1. Children’s Museum of Houston



2. Children’s Museum of Manhattan



3. Early Childhood Education Online



4. Kidinfo



5. National Council for the Social Studies



6. National Geographic



7. Social Studies School Services



8. United States Committee for UNICEF United Nation’s Children’s Fund



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