The textbook, Social Studies: Making of a Nation, provided time to complete an in-depth analysis of the textbook’s contents. This paper will analyze the textbook, specifically looking at topics covered and authentic activities that go beyond reading chapters and memorizing facts, the integration of other subject areas into the social studies lesson and content reading strategies and comprehension opportunities, and finally, both formal and authentic assessments used. The companies that publish these educational materials, not just for social studies look at the national social studies national standards to make sure that the books they produce are meeting the standards of as many states as possible (Chapin, 2006, p. 23). In the book, Social
…show more content…
Blending lessons, to teach more than one subject area, takes a little bit of creativity. Including comprehension opportunities, like vocabulary and reciprocal teaching, can reinforce information learned and help struggling readers understand concepts and ideas that may be better understood using alternative instructional strategies. The text in question has a number of subjects integrated into the lessons. ELA is, of course, represented well due to the nature of textbooks in general, and the journaling, poetry, and writing activities within the pages. However, graphing and map skills are a large part of multiple chapters. One great comprehension opportunity is the critical thinking skills that are part of the telling fact from fiction section of the book. These activities are used to help all students understand the content and differentiate fact from opinion (Berson, Howard, & Salinas, 2010). There are also a number of pictures with captions, vocabulary words, and knowledge check questions in the reading. Special Education students can benefit from the inclusion of cognitive strategy instruction that can be used to both support comprehension and identify details and key concepts from the reading (Ciullo et al., …show more content…
Authentic assessment takes place in the form of charting and graphing, using longitudinal lines to find locations, critical thinking skills, group problem solving, mapping, and so much more. This type of authentic assessment measures meaningful and significant accomplishments by the class and/or student. It is important to have differentiated instruction, because this type of instruction gives students various ways to demonstrate their understanding of knowledge based on what they were taught (Watson, 2008). Formal assessment, or assessment that is done via end of unit lessons, unit activities, and even test
Blending lessons, to teach more than one subject area, takes a little bit of creativity. Including comprehension opportunities, like vocabulary and reciprocal teaching, can reinforce information learned and help struggling readers understand concepts and ideas that may be better understood using alternative instructional strategies. The text in question has a number of subjects integrated into the lessons. ELA is, of course, represented well due to the nature of textbooks in general, and the journaling, poetry, and writing activities within the pages. However, graphing and map skills are a large part of multiple chapters. One great comprehension opportunity is the critical thinking skills that are part of the telling fact from fiction section of the book. These activities are used to help all students understand the content and differentiate fact from opinion (Berson, Howard, & Salinas, 2010). There are also a number of pictures with captions, vocabulary words, and knowledge check questions in the reading. Special Education students can benefit from the inclusion of cognitive strategy instruction that can be used to both support comprehension and identify details and key concepts from the reading (Ciullo et al., …show more content…
Authentic assessment takes place in the form of charting and graphing, using longitudinal lines to find locations, critical thinking skills, group problem solving, mapping, and so much more. This type of authentic assessment measures meaningful and significant accomplishments by the class and/or student. It is important to have differentiated instruction, because this type of instruction gives students various ways to demonstrate their understanding of knowledge based on what they were taught (Watson, 2008). Formal assessment, or assessment that is done via end of unit lessons, unit activities, and even test