Chaminade University of Honolulu
Fall 2006
Education 420-01 
Curriculum Foundations:
Social Studies in the Elementary School

Instructor: Mary E. Smith, Ph.D. 			Class meets: Tuesday & Thursday
Education Division, #131				 3:30- 4:50 p.m.
Phone: office- 735-4833				 Room: Ed 102
Home: 262-8450
E-mail: msmith2@chaminade.edu

Office hrs: Tuesday & Thursday 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
or by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION
ED 420 will focus on the content, methods of instruction, and learning theory for the major categories within elementary social studies- history, geography, cultural anthropology, political science/civics, and economics. Students will learn how to integrate social studies with other content areas within a unit study. Multicultural education and topics related to civic responsibility and efficacy will be discussed.

THE GENERAL LEARNER OUTCOMES 
Equally important to learning academic content is developing the knowledge, skills and attitudes that all students need in order to lead full and productive lives. The six General Learner Outcomes serve as the essential, overarching goals for all of the content and performance standards. These Outcomes are:

	• The ability to be responsible for one’s own learning 
	• The understanding that it is essential for human beings to work together 
	• The ability to be involved in complex thinking and problem solving 
	• The ability to recognize and produce quality performance and quality products 
	• The ability to communicate effectively 
	• The ability to use a variety of technology effectively and ethically 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. Students will learn to analyze and explain the ways groups, societies, and cultures address human needs and concerns (NCSS I; HCPS SS 1, 2, 3; HTSB I)

2. Students will be able to interpret patterns of behavior reflecting values and attitudes that contribute and pose obstacles to cross-cultural understanding (NCSS I; HCPS SS 3; HTSB V, VII).

3. Students will identify and describe significant historical periods and patterns of change within and across cultures, such as the development of ancient cultures and civilizations (NCSS II; HCPS SS 1, HTSB I, IV).

4. Learners will use maps of locales, regions, and the world that demonstrate their understanding of relative location, direction, size, and shape. (NCSS III, HCPS SS 7; HTSB VI).

5.  Students will be able to explain the purpose of government and how its powers are acquired, used, and justified. Key elements of democratic form of government will be examined.  (NCSS V, VI; HCPS SS 4, 5: HTSB I, II,VI).

6. Students will learn basic economic concepts; in particular, how the scarcity of productive resources (human, capital, technological, and natural) requires the development of economic systems to make decisions about how goods and services are to be produced and distributed (NCSS VII; HCPS SS8; HTSB 8).

7. Students will gain an understanding of the causes, consequences, and possible solutions to persistent, contemporary, and emerging global issues (NCSS, IX; HCPS SS 3).

8. Students will be able to implement developmentally appropriate social studies lesson plans at a specified grade level and learn a variety of instructional strategies to meet the needs of diverse learners (HTSB V, VII). 

9. Students will use formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous growth of learners. (HTSB VIII).

Required Texts:
Ellis, Arthur, K. (2006). Teaching & Learning Elementary Social Studies, (8 ed.). Boston; Pearson Education. 

Hawaii Content and Performance Standards for Social Studies: http://standardstoolkit.k12.hi.us/index.html

National Council for the Social Studies (2003). Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, Social Education, Vol. 67, 4May/June

Course Expectations:	
It is expected that all students attend each class meeting on time and participate in class activities. Students who miss class are expected to make arrangements with another student to get notes and make-up any class assignments. All assigned readings need to be completed prior to the dates they are to be discussed in class. 

Student Deportment:
There have recently been student complaints brought to the Faculty Senate about distracting and discourteous behavior on the part of students during class time. Respectful, responsible, and considerate classroom behavior is obligatory. Cell phones need to be turned off and out of sight.  Attentive listening is mandatory for student presentations and please, no eating.

Academic Honesty:
Plagiarism is the offering of another as one’s own and may include but not limited to the following:
•	Complete or partial copying directly from a published or unpublished source without proper acknowledgement to the author.  
•	Minor changes in wording or syntax are not sufficient to avoid changes in plagiarism.  Proper acknowledgement of the source is always mandatory.
•	Paraphrasing the work of another without proper author acknowledgement.
•	Submitting as one’s own original work (however freely given or purchased) the original exam, research paper, manuscript, report, computer file or other assignment that has been prepared by another individual.

Tasks/Assignments: These will be discussed more fully on the first day of class.

1.  Weekly Assignments (40 points)
Attendance will be taken 5 minutes after class begins. If you are not here when attendance is taken, you will be marked absent.  If you are to be absent, you need to contact me by phone or email ahead of time.  You should also make arrangements with another student for notes and/or handouts. Class participation based on readings and class topics, is expected and necessary for weekly points. If you are absent, you will not be able to receive points for the class.
 
2.  Midterm Evaluation (15 points)
This will be a multiple choice exam consisting of 60 questions. It will be an open book test and can be completed in groups.

3. Integrated Thematic Unit Study (30 points)
This will be a 2 week unit based upon a social studies theme chosen from a grade level of your interest. It should consist of at least 10 lesson plans as well as a virtual field trip or webquest activity. Out of the 30 points for this assignment, 10 points will be based on content knowledge.

4.  Computer Activity (15 points)
Depending upon your grade level, this may be a Kids’ Pix Slide Show, Hyperstudio, a Virtual Field Trip or Webquest. This computer/internet project should be suitable for inclusion into your thematic unit. 

Grading:

91- 100 =  A
81- 90  = B
71- 80 = C
70 and below = D
Education majors need to receive a ‘B’ or better