Social Studies – Form 1

1. Support material: not for commercial use. Can be reproduced and used freely, but the author should be duly acknowledged. Social Studies – Form 1 Students can seek information from any of the textbooks written in line with the new curriculum framework for secondary education. It proposes a project based learning that requires careful planning. These slides therefore include ideas about teaching, assessment and how the lesson should enfold. The basic model for teaching is based on the cooperative learning model Using an integrated model of teaching, it is expected that students seek information from any part of the book dealing with the different civilisations. They need not proceed in the order provided in the book. Term 1: Civilisations Based on the National Curriculum Framework- Secondary (2010) Om Varma-Associate Professor Mauritius Institute of Education

2. Model of integration Not for publication or circulation

3. Learning objectives based on a revised model of Bloom Taxonomy A Taxonomy for Learning, teaching and assessing (Anderson et al, 2001) Not for publication or circulation

4. Objectives related to attitudes and values: affective goals • Share with each other within the group as well as with members of other groups • Value contribution of each other in the group and across groups • Learn to show appreciation of each other through positive comments Not for publication or circulation

5. The issue: Growth of Civilisations Objectives: Students will • Identify different examples of how people lived over the ages- (Remember & Understand) • Describe key features of a civilisation – (Analyse) • List cultural elements of different civilisations- (Remember & Understand) • Describe the factors that led to growth of different civilisations- (Apply, Analyse) • Explain movement across the world- (Analyse and Evaluate) • State the legacies of ancient to the modern world– (Evaluate) • Create posters showing learning gains over the term- (Create) • Write simple sentences to describe the different aspects of the poster on civilisation- (Create) • Present the poster to the class – (Analyse- Evaluate) • Share ideas and learn from each other – (affective goal) Not for publication or circulation

6. Explain group norms • Decide on a name for the group • While working in a group, one person talks at a time • Take turn to voice out ideas • Each idea must be considered • Agree on one or more • Take turn to write (the handwriting on the poster will testify) • Teacher will identify one person to talk and his marks will be allocated to the whole group- preparation should include some rehearsal together. • Do not blame anyone • Identify shortcoming and take action to improve. Not for publication or circulation

7. Assessment • Reward for Social skills- (one person talks, taking turn, listening, praising, less noise) 10% • Reward for effort- even if the work is not perfect in the first place- 10% • Reward for improvement from the previous attempt- 10% • Content including research work from home- 25% • Ability to explain clearly- 15% • Ability to attend to questions- 10% • Ability to ask question- 10% • Ability to help another group and display the right attitude and behaviourin class- 10% Reward students who go beyond the book in a relevant manner. Discourage copying from all sources Not for publication or circulation

8. Teacher’s responsibility • Choose some time in the week to look at the book with the whole class and briefly explain what is in it. • Clear doubts and misunderstanding about words, vocabulary etc.. . as you proceed Group work • Divide class in groups and make a record of all in the group • Explain how the children should group themselves without much disturbance and noise • Avoid large groups- 4 to 5 maximum • Ask to sit close to each other- few desks in between- (this reduces noise when talking) Not for publication or circulation

9. Teacher’s responsibility When working in groups: • When the teacher identifies a problem with a group, and feels others will need the same explanation, address the whole class- ask for attention and speak to all, then allow them to carry on. • Teacher goes round the class and ensures that each group is working • Work with each group for a few minutes (3 minutes) and set them to a task. • Keep going round • When help required, ask students to raise their hand and wait for attention Not for publication or circulation

10. Teacher’s responsibility When working in groups: (contd..) • Identify one group at random before the end of the class and ask to explain what they have done for the period in just 3 minutes. • Set target for next class. • Use Social Studies as an opportunity to communicate orally and in writing • Help students to improve their language skills, oral and written –students should be encouraged to write some ideas gained in the class in a copybook by the end of each period (Remember all teachers have a responsibility to develop language skills). Not for publication or circulation

11. What should be done right at the beginning • Identify one area of interest for each group • Ask each group to look for information across the book on common features in different civilisations (for eg. position of women, materials used for buildings, food and so on) • Teacher to work with each group separately • Do a brainstorming in a small group and give some ideas that the group will continue working on • Move on to the next group • Allow students to find ideas and give their own interpretation. • Correct misunderstanding by asking questions, not just giving the answers. Not for publication or circulation

12. Expected process and Outcomes • Decide on what to put on the poster • Find pictures to draw • Find a title • Label the picture • Write a sentence or two to explain the issue. • Verify with the teacher • Then proceed to transfer ideas to the poster • If some mistakes crop in, it does not matter. The teacher can use it and ask other to help to correct the same. • The correction can appear on the poster. • Teacher should assign marks before the end of each class as far as possible and set target for improvement. • Reserve one or two periods intermittently for oral work, recap and review of previous work. (Children learn by constantly reviewing what they already know- You can assign additional marks for this) Not for publication or circulation

13. Creating the poster • Plan the layout • Use space diligently as the poster will have to grow each week • End of two weeks- each group explains the poster to the class • Teacher identifies a person • Other members help • A mark is assigned to the group and this is accumulated right from the start for the final term mark • Students should reproduce the information from different groups in their copybook so as to get the whole information for themselves.- allow one period for such work. (Remember parents would want to see their child’s work). • Also set the tasks found in the book once in a while as a form of assessment. Not for publication or circulation

14. Materials • Bristol sheet • Glue • Pupils to use own coloured pencils and pens • Teachers can identify materials from the library and bring them in class for sharing on loan for a period or two. • Rotate the material across groups. • Keep record of source so as to get back the materials for future references. • Help students make a list of their sources. • Discourage any from of direct lifting from the internet. Not for publication or circulation

15. Group 1: Location and movement across places and time List the civilisations Where were the civilisations located? • Work on maps • Locate places • Illustrate places • Time line • How people moved/ travelled (find information if possible) • And so on.. Not for publication or circulation

16. Group 2: Identify key features of any civilisation List the civilisations • Living arrangement • Food sources • Settlement- • Development of other key features • Find key features of the place (land, animals, river, stone? • Identify other features in group. Not for publication or circulation

17. Group 3: People in different civilisations List the civilisations • Farmers • Hunters • Builders • Kings- • Priests • Labourers • Division in the society- higher and lower positions? • The family- types And so on Not for publication or circulation

18. Group 4: Objects in different civlisations List the civilisations • Games • Toys • Animals • Food in different places • Plants • Houses • Walls • Crops • Dams • Canals Etc.. Not for publication or circulation

19. Group 5: Beliefs and traditions of people List the civilisations • Religious • Idea of beauty • Worship animals • Goddess- • How people dressed? (materials used etc) And so on Not for publication or circulation

20. Pre-requisites • Careful planning of each step on a regular basis • Share with each other how the tasks are going on in each other’s class • Visit the class of the others • Get your students to learn from good examples from other sections. • Teach them to acknowledge the source of their ideas- whether from internet, book or friend or another class Not for publication or circulation

21. Way forward • Add ideas of your own • Brainstorm with students and enlist their ideas as well. • Reward them for giving such ideas • Use this model to develop the term 2 work on unit 2 & 3 Not for publication or circulation

22. Suggestions and comments Comments, suggestions and queries: omvarma@mieonline.org Not for publication