240 Tutoring EC-6 TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES INSTRUCTION

A social studies teacher is requiring her students to choose one topic from their current unit that they would like to learn more about. The topic must be something mentioned in their textbook or class notes that they would like to research further. Which of the following technological tools will be most important for the completion of this assignment?

a search engine

Which of the following would be the most effective assignment to assess a student's ability to analyze the digging of the Erie Canal on the development of the Midwest and New York?

Create a cause-and-effect flow chart about the Erie Canal This is the best answer because the student must assess the causes of the Erie Canal and the effect, or impact, of the Erie Canal. Because the Erie Canal connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, the impact of the Erie Canal on the Midwest is substantial.

A history teacher is preparing a unit on the Civil War. Which of the following activities would work best for a formative assessment?

a class-wide word cloud exercise on the causes of the Civil War, group presentations on the cause and effect of various Civil War battles, and a think-pair-share on the outcomes of the Civil War

Which of the following would be the best graphic to demonstrate the relationship between temperature and elevation?

A scatterplot plots data on the X and Y axis to examine the relationship between the two sets of variables.

Which of the following types of maps might show the average number of children in each state last year?

A thematic map is a type of map designed to show a particular theme connected with a specific geographic area. A thematic map can display physical, social, political, economic, cultural, sociological, agricultural, etc. characteristics of a city, state, region, nation, or continent.

During a presentation on the branches of government, a group of students state that "the executive branch is responsible for interpreting the laws created by the legislative branch." Based on this statement, which of the following feedback would be most appropriate for the teacher to provide?

Clarify the powers of the executive and judicial branches

A second-grade teacher is planning a unit and wants to address the state standard that "the student understands multiple points of view and how they shaped historical research." Which of the following would best address this standard?

Compare various primary and secondary sources about a single notable event

Ms. Michaels wants to ensure that her sixth-grade social studies assessments are written in a way to best show true student mastery of the content. Which of the following should Ms. Michaels do to make her assessments as fair and representative of true learning as possible?

Evaluate included examples to ensure that they are culturally accessible to all students.

Ms. Paulson is introducing the concept of being a responsible member of society to her first-grade students. One example she provides the class is how pollution in other parts of the world is also a problem for us here, emphasizing wind patterns, global debates, and how decisions we make where we live could also impact people very far from us. Why is this not a good way to introduce this topic?

For young students, information should be taught in concrete terms and with context that they can understand.

Mr. Mathers is teaching his class about the Louisiana Purchase. What social science should Mr. Mathers connect to this history lesson in order to best explain the importance of the Louisiana Purchase to the United States?

Geography

If a student were trying to learn general geographic and economic information about a particular country, which of the following would be the most efficient and reliable tool?

In an encyclopedia, you can expect to find general things like geography information, population, broad historical overview, and major economic sectors of the country.

Ms. Fullmore intends to use a primary source document to introduce a new unit to her sixth-grade class. The text contains some challenging vocabulary. Which of the following would be the best approach to ensure her sixth-graders are able to comprehend the text?

Introduce and define unfamiliar vocabulary with the students before beginning the text.

When teaching the students about the three branches of the government and checks and balances, which of the following would be the best way to make this information relatable to the students?

Organize a simulation with students playing roles within the different branches, and passing legislation.

A sixth-grade social studies teacher is preparing a lesson plan to help students identify the names and locations of mountain ranges and major rivers in India. He plans to project a picture of the country with mountain ranges and rivers labeled, and has prepared a short lecture explaining the impact of these land formations on life in India. Which of the following additional activities should the teacher add in order to reach all types of learners?

Provide outlines of India and two colors of playdough to each student; ask them to form and place the rivers and mountains into their correct locations.

Which of the following terms is most likely to be used in an economics lesson about comparative advantage?

Specialization relates to this concept because companies will specialize, or focus their work, on areas where they have a comparative advantage.

Standardized assessment exams for social studies will often require students to interpret multiple viewpoints of a topic from various authors. Which of the following skills should a social studies teacher promote to develop this skill?

The ability to compare and contrast literature excerpts

In a fifth-grade social studies class, the teacher displays a picture of Uncle Sam and reads aloud a passage about the history of the image. She then asks her students to write 3-5 sentences explaining how the idea of Uncle Sam relates to being a patriotic American. Which of the following objectives does this lesson best address?

The student understands how various symbols represent American beliefs and principles.

Mrs. Adams is beginning instruction on WWII in her history class. How could the English teacher best support this instruction by connecting their two disciplines?

Use Night, a Holocaust memoir, as the text for their upcoming genre study of memoirs.

A social studies teacher wants to address the social studies theme of time, continuity, and change. Which of the following questions for a sixth-grade elementary class would be most appropriate to address this theme?

Why did the demand for oil increase with the mass production of the automobile?

Mr. Stevens has just completed a unit on analyzing native Florida cultures with his sixth-grade class. Which activity should he use as a final assessment to gauge the students' understanding of how cultures are created?

a project where students "create" their own new culture

Which of the following is an example of an informal assessment?

a quick discussion with a student about the difference between supply and demand in an economics unit

Which of the following is not one of the 8 essential knowledge and skills identified in the TEKS for social studies instruction?

anthropology

A third-grade teacher is discussing cultural differences with her students. Which of the following instructional activities demonstrates an effective use of technology within this unit?

conducting a virtual call in which students can ask questions to a third-grade class in another country In this case, technology enhances the lesson, as it presents students with a learning opportunity that would not be possible without the use of technology.

What skill is covered at all levels of social studies instruction, according to the TEKS?

critical thinking

Technology is best utilized in the classroom when it can accomplish which of the following?

enhances the learning objective

A teacher is working to increase engagement and communicate the value of the social sciences. Which TWO of the following are strategies that would further progress toward these goals? Select all answers that apply.

incorporate current events into class instruction and use simulations when appropriate

Which of the following terms should a teacher use in a lesson introducing the concept of market economies?

law of supply

Mrs. Sims wants to demonstrate to her students how the price of gasoline has increased over time. Which of the following graphs would best help Mrs. Sims visually demonstrate this concept?

line graph

Which of the following types of maps shows borders of countries?

political

During social studies instruction, elementary students will often encounter new, unfamiliar words. There are many ways the teacher can support student vocabulary development. Which of the following is the LEAST effective way to support student understanding of new vocabulary?

provide dictionaries for student use during class

A third-grade teacher is preparing a lesson for the following objective: The student understands how to create visual representations of historical information. To best address this objective, the teacher should require the students to:

research a historical figure's life and create a timeline containing key dates.

A climate map differs from other maps in that it includes which of the following data?

temperature

Sociology, psychology, and political science all have which common feature at their core?

the study of individuals and their decisions

A sixth-grade geography teacher has introduced a unit on South America. For one assignment in the unit she asks students to choose a cultural element like art, music, or literature from the area for research. Following the research, she asks the class to write a paragraph explaining how they think the environment may have influenced their researched topics. Why does the teacher ask this question at the end?

to provide an opportunity for students to think critically about their research

For which of the following reasons would a teacher use a population pyramid, like the one above?

to show the distribution of population based on age in the United States

Which of the following types of maps shows a detailed and accurate graphic representation of natural features of the ground?

topographic