Social Studies Capstone Portfolio

John Stokes

ADDENDUM:
NCSS THEMES

NCSS Theme 1 and 3

NCSS Theme 1 and NCSS Theme 3 can relate to each other. NCSS theme 1 is

Culture, Culture is described as a program that includes experiences that

provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity. NCSS theme 3 is

People, Places and Environments, People Places and Environments is

described as a theme that that should include the study of various People,

the places they live and the environment of their culture. These two themes

relate to each other as they both have to do with the idea of Culture and the

study of it. These themes could be described as the main themes in the

subject of Geography. These themes allow students to understand the

various cultures throughout the country and it also allows students to learn

about the various foods, traditions and settlements of cultures throughout

both the United States and the world. Students may also be able to learn

background information about culture and settlement throughout various

history courses, however geography will most likely cover these theme in a

lot more depth.

NCSS Theme 2 and 4

NCSS theme 2 and NCSS theme 4 also can relate to each other in many

ways. NCSS theme 2 is Time, Continuity, and Change, this theme is

described as experiences that provide for the study of the past and its

legacy. NCSS Theme 4 is Individual Development and Identity, this theme is

described as the study of experiences that provide for looking at individual

development and Identity. Both of these themes could be covered in both US

and American History courses, however Individual Development and Identity

can be covered by more than just these subjects and could be used in both

Psychology and Sociology courses, however these are most likely elective

classes that most high school or middle school students will take and

therefore should be focused on in World and United States History Courses.

These themes relate to each other as they both are looking at changes over

time and how the affects the present world today. Students can look at how

humans have developed over time in history and look at how groups identity

has changed over time. Students can look at how various immigrant groups

were looked at in society and how these groups were treated over time and

how each group advanced in American society. It also allows students to look

at their own identity and how their ancestry group has changed over timed

both globally and locally.

Theme 5 and Theme 10

NCSS Theme 5 and NCSS Theme 10 can relate to each other. NCSS theme 5

is Individuals, Groups and Institutions, this them is mentioned as experiences

that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups and

institutions. NCSS theme 10 is Civic Ideals and Practices, this is described as

experiences that provide for the study of the ideals, principles, and practices

of citizenship in a democratic republic. Both of these themes relate to the

subject of Political Science, Civics or Government classes and are vital for

students to understand to be outstanding citizens and community members.

In theme 5 students will learn about both the formal and informal political

organizations as well as various economics and social organizations that help

the US and the World on a daily basis. Students will be able to learn about all

the various institutions in the United States and what they do, what they

control and how they affect the US. After learning about all these institutions

students can apply these to the idea of civic ideals and practices that is

described in theme 10. In theme 10 students learn about political and

cultural practices in a country and how this applies to a countries founding

and ideals. Students can see how institutions play a role in a country that

helps it relate to theme 5. Students will also be able to learn about what their

role as a citizen should be and the various rights and responsibilities that

they carry.

Theme 6 and Theme 9

NCSS Theme 6 and NCSS Theme 9 are related to each other. NCSS theme 6

is Power, Authority and Governance. This theme is described as the study of

how people create, interact and change struceres of Power, Authority and

Governance. NCSS theme 9 is Global Connections, Global connections is the

study of experiences that provide for the study of the ideals, principles, and

practices of citizenship in a democratic republic. In theme 6 students will be

able to understand how each country operates and the power structure and

government of various countries, this can be covered in both in political and

history classes. In theme 9 students will learn about how global connections

take place at from local all the way to the international level. Students will

also be able to learn how global connections have both positive and negative

effects on every level. Students will be able to build off of both themes by

identifying power and authority in countries and how this effects global

connections. Students will be able to think critically and apply what they

have learned from both to allow them a better understanding and give them

opportunities to further their learning.

NCSS Theme 7 and 8

NCSS Themes 7 and 8 are related to each other. NCSS Theme 7 is

Production, Distribution and Consumption, this theme talks about

experiences that provide for the study of how people organize for the

production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. NCSS theme

8 is Science, Technology and Society, this theme includes experiences that

provide for the study of relationships among science, technology and society.

Both of themes will be covered extensively in the subject of Economics.

Students will learn that societies always require more resources that was is

available in their country and will learn how we get and allocate scare

resources throughout society. In Theme 8 students will learn about how

science and technology work together to improve the world and how it

affects the way people interact in the world. These themes relate as it shows

how science and technology can help improve the production and allocation

of resources in society. Students will be able to see how technology helps

society and how its improvement is effecting our nation every day. Between

the two themes students will also be able to continue to build off each theme

to better understand the subject of economics and also see how technology

is evolving over time to make us a better and more effect society.

NCSS THEMES RELATION TOGETHER

All the NCSS Themes all relate to each other in some way, shape or form. All

these themes when covered will make the student understand the whole

idea of Social Studies. Students will be able learn about technological

advances, culture, immigration, politics, historical events and more by the

completion of the ten themes. Students will also be able to build on each

theme and apply prior knowledge to help them better understand how or

why something is happening. Students will be able to gain crucial critical

thinking skills and will begin to learn and master many aspects of historical
thinking. The themes can be covered in many different subjects throughout

the Social Studies realm and each subject has a theme that almost directly

relates to it, teachers should make sure to try to cover each theme so that

the students can gain the knowledge nessacary to be become an informed

and global citizen. State standards should also build off of these themes and

build off of each other as the NCSS gives good guidance to administrators

and teachers.

ADDENDUM Part 2

ASSESSMENT

Throughout my lesson Plans that were picked they are many different

assessment techniques that were demonstrated. Assessments are crucial to

have at the end of a lesson so that it can give you feedback on what the

students learned in the lesson and what students still need help on overall.

Throughout the lessons there is a variety of Assessment techniques that

each student will complete and each teacher can reflect on. Each

assessment should also reflect on the outcomes that are being presented for

the lesson and by having students complete the assessment you can see

how well the outcomes were met. First type of assessment that a teacher

could do involves quiz games, an example of one of these quiz games is

called Kahoot!. Kahoot! allows teachers to make a quiz online and students

can play along on phone or computer and answer the questions. After each
question teachers get results based on how many students answered each

question correct, the one downfall of this type of game is that it does not

give you overall students scores and so you will not be able to find and seek

out the students who are really struggling with the material that was being

presented. This assessment technique students really enjoy doing with is a

plus as many students dont enjoy many of the other forms of assessment

techniques. Another assessment technique that many teachers can do is

called an exit paper. This type of assessment allows students to write down

all the knowledge they learned today before leaving the room, this allows

teachers to see the main points that students came up with and also see

students who really are struggling with the material that is being presented

to them. The one downfall of that type of assessment is the fact that you

cant see how much of the information a student knows as they may just

have comprehended only the main parts of what they were being taught.

A third assessment technique that a techer could use in a classroom is a

closing discussion. Depending on the lesson that is being taught this can be

a great assessment technique for students and allows them to see how other

students think and their views and feelings on a topic that was learned. This

allows students to learn different perespectives on a topic and broaden their

thinking skills, this assessment technique like the other also has possible

downfalls. Some students may choose not to speak and therefore doesnt

allow the teacher to see the information that many students in a classroom

have learned throughout the lesson.

Worksheets are a great assessment tool at the end of a lesson, each

worksheet allows the teacher to see individually