Meaningful_IntegrationKB

							  Meaningful
Integration in
Social Studies
     Positive Features of
         Integration
• Enhances meaningfulness of what is
  taught; students make more
  connections
• Saves teachers’ time
• Teaches knowledge and skills
  simultaneously
• Restores an emphasis on social studies
  in climate of standardized tests
        Accountability
• On the knowledge (ex. Content of a
  letter written to representative about
  legislation)
• On the skills (ex. Descriptive writing
  piece about a trip to the White House)
• On both (ex. In Language arts studying
  narratives and in Social Studies
  studying the American Revolution—
  writing biographies on key
  revolutionary figures)
   Desirable Integration


• Topics that naturally draw content
  from more than one subject.
  – Ex. Maps—geography and mathematics
  – Ex. Needs and wants—economics and
    mathematics
    Desirable Integration


• Skills learned in one subject are used to
  process or apply knowledge learned in
  another subject area.
  – Ex. Pretend you are a Native American on the
    Trail of Tears journey, write a series of diary entries
    describing your feelings, attitudes, and future
    expectations.
  – Ex. In a unit on the Middle East, identify biases
    and points of view in newspaper articles.
   Desirable Integration


• Enrichment activities that help to
  personalize content, make it more
  concrete, enhance learner curiosity, or
  add an affective perspective.
  – Ex. Using literature (Unit on wants and
    needs-read King Midas, Cinderella)
  – Ex. Integrating art or music
  Undesirable Integration


• Activities that lack social education
  goals
  – Ex. ABC order of state capitals, making
    vocabulary words into plurals.
  – Ex. Write a research paper on coal.
 Undesirable Integration
• Cost-Effectiveness Problems: Perhaps
  the focus is on other subject area goal
  rather than social education goal. Is
  there enough time or other resources?
  – Ex. Constructing houses from tropical
    regions
  – Ex. Create family members using paper
    plates
  – Ex. Role Play-participate in a parade to
    show how families celebrate
  – Ex. Collage and scrapbooking
  Undesirable Integration


• Distorts Content
• Difficult or Impossible tasks
• Feasibility




                   Back
        In Your unIt…


• You must have objectives and
  standards in at least one content area
  other than social studies
• You must have a plan to assess the
  objectives in the integrated subject
  areas.