Georgia Standards

In all three of these artifacts, I have developed relevant, integrative, challenging, and exploratory units of study. The “Preserving the Past” unit incorporates all four core subjects as well as a service learning opportunity. My interdisciplinary unit on geography connects Language Arts with Social Studies with visual art mixed in, and the Greek mythology ELA unit was taught in conjunction with a Social Studies class (1). The Civil War unit and NC geography unit I have created incorporate Common Core standards as well as NC Essential standards. Lesson plans and assessments in all of these units were created using backwards design in which I started by looking at the standards and objectives students would be expected to reach and based my assessment based on those objectives (2,10).

As schools were faced with these daunting expectations to meet standards, state agencies, school boards, and administration all had to re-evaluate current practices, not only in the form of what should be taught, but how it should be taught (Performance Evaluation Advisory Council, n.d.). In more appropriate terms,

One of the biggest problems in the American public education system is the lack of a common standard for what students should be learning, and when they should learn it. In other words, the inequality of curriculums across the nation is affecting the preparedness of students when they venture out beyond the public school system, for the worst. The way to fix this problem, according to many teachers, administrators, and politicians, is by implementing a common curriculum across the nation that will ensure that the quality of a student’s education is not determined by where they happen to live.

The educational system in the United States was originally developed using concepts from around the world, created using ingenuitive ideas from countries such as China, Japan, and Korea. However, as the United States quickly moved into position as the leading country for state-directed educational standards, America looked less and less to the systems of other nations and more into how we could improve what was locally and currently being applied in education. Consequently, an improved type of education instruction was officially launched in 2010. These new state standards, practically titled Common Core, were declared to focus on developing a child’s skills in reasoning, problem solving, communication, and competition (Conrad, et al. 52). While the standards are professed to be an extremely practical and beneficial method of teaching today, there are issues which have recently surfaced and raised some concerns. The Common Core State Standards are emerging as the subjects of a provocative controversy in society today as they prompt discussion on global economic efficiency, nationwide academic standards, and the ultimate well-being of school-age children.

Also, throughout curriculum development the goals and aims of the curriculum need to be taken into account. Without specific goals and aims for the curriculum, the curriculum could be unfocused with no purpose identified. Within the social studies curriculum that I analyzed, I noticed societal goals for the curriculum (Posner, 2004). Societal goals are emphasized because the curriculum supports the development of knowledgeable and engaged citizens within our country. By understanding the goal of my curriculum I am better able to understand the purpose of what I am teaching, which in turn helps me to differentiate for my students while still keeping the ultimate goal in mind. I also was able to identify the further learning aims within the curriculum (Posner, 2004). By identifying this aim I was able to see how the curriculum I was teaching tied into the curriculum that the students would experience in subsequent grades. By reflecting on the further learning aims I was able to see how my teaching was a valuable piece of a bigger puzzle

There are a great number of things that can create problems for students in regards to their academics. One such issue is misunderstandings. There are some that are more common than others and will be identified in order to recognize potential problem areas and solutions. In addition, there are some misconceptions that are associated with particular content areas. One content area that will be under scrutiny will be the Social Studies classroom. These potentially problematic instances will be identified and methods will be devised using the “Backward Design” (Wiggins, & McTighe, 2005) approach in an attempt to reduce issues the teacher may face.

Today, many states and schools systems are adopting a standards based education system. In fact, according to Common Core Standards Initiative (2014), forty-three states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) have adopted the Common Core State Standards. The premise is that if all critical subject areas follow a standard from state to state, that all students will receive the same and fair education. The Vermont State Board of Education saw a need and a value in implementing such a system. As such, the Board created a strategic plan to implement a framework of standards that would eventually adopt the common core standards. This paper will discuss the strategic plan created by the Vermont Board of Education and evaluate whether or not the goals of the plan were met through the Framework of Standards.

In fact, the Tennessee social studies standards that are listed on http://tn.gov website are sectioned off based upon the type of standard. All grades have this similar layout until third grade when the social studies standards are focused solely on world geography. Kindergarten through second grade focus on Culture, Economics, Geography, Government and Civics, and History. The sections of the standards helps to break down the information. It also helps the standards become less intimidating and easier to comprehend by those who read, review, and utilize them.

The first standard that I would like to explain was implemented in 1998, called the Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools. “Culture standards are suggestions on how to present content standards in such a way that all Alaska students can comprehend, retain, engage, and apply the material ( ). Also, ”they are intended to address special issues of critical importance to rural schools, especially those serving native communities” ( ). So the ultimate goal for these cultural standards is to integrate the academic standards within the Alaska Native traditions to produce “culturally-knowledgeable students” ( ) .

The Common Core State Standards are considered to be a high-quality group of academic standards. Before the standards were developed, it seemed as if the progress of the students in the United States was remaining stagnant and that America students were falling behind their international peers. The blame for this setback has fallen on the fact that standards are not consistent and from state-to-state students are required to know different things at different grade levels. As a result students are not graduating with the same set of skills (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2014).

Like an epidemic terrorizing the western hemisphere, the Common Core State Standards program has swept across our nation, and at each stop, threatened a new way of thinking and learning. These standards were created to ensure that more students graduated from high school with the skills to succeed in college, life, and career, no matter where they might live (“About the Standards”). In 2009, this fresh new take on education was launched to each state’s educational leaders in the U. S. The officials of each state decided whether the implementation of the program was beneficial for them, or if the current techniques were the best option.

The revised national standards for Social Studies, Geography, Civics and Government, History, Economics, and Language Arts documents must be a basis for the curriculum standards. These standards will be used as a framework for teachers, schools, districts, states, and other nations as a tool for curriculum alignment and development. Jeremiah 29:11 ESV) states, For I know the plans I have for you,

Social studies is a complicated subject for teachers to teach and for students to learn because it encompasses so many different disciplines. On top of that, society is characterized by increasingly rapid social and technological changes that affect what social studies content is being taught to students (NCSS, 1988). For many years students have been forced to learn low cognitive level information that lacks meaning and fails to transfer to real life situations. For these

Schools are places that constantly grow every day based on their environment. They change by implementing new ideas throughout the system or taking away ideas to make things better. All of these changes are being made to insure that students are receiving the appropriate education and the teachers are very aware. Although change can be negative, in the schools they are improvements girded toward the student and the teacher must make adjustments that includes them. These changes may include test score, report cards, lesson plans, professional learning, safety procedures, and discipline reports. With several things to improve questions aroused in regards to, what to, when to, and how to continuously improve. In 2008, School Keys- Unlocking Excellence through the Georgia School Standards was created as a “descriptor of effective, high impact practices for schools throughout Georgia to describe what schools need to know, understand and be able to do, in similar fashion to the Georgia Performance Standards curriculum for students.” Meaning that this document outlines the guidelines teachers should consider in correlations to the standards. According to the article it was formed through research from, What Works in Schools (2003), School Leadership that Works, and Standards of the Southern Association if College in Accreditation and School Improvement (2007), indicating that various information and multiple perspectives went into this new idea.

Overwhelming evidence in numerous studies demonstrated the value of student performance linked with their ability to take and review notes. Teachers have sought the best way to provide notes for student. In 2006, Harnett County Schools adopted an alternative approach to note taking and instructional delivery called the Social Studies Solutions. It was found that the Social Studies Solutions enhanced the Civics and Economics End of Course Test results by implanting the new instructional delivery and method of note taking for students.