be able to list all of the compromises made at the Constitutional Convention
OR be able to explain the role of
compromise and conflict throughout history using examples from the Constitutional Convention?
be able to tell you the populations, natural resources, and climates found in Latin America
OR be able to explain the impact of
population, natural resources, and climate on Latin America’s role in the contemporary world?
Concepts include: Global connections People, places, and environment Production, distribution, and consumption
Topic Based Facts and activities
center around specific topic .
Objectives drive instruction.
Focus learning and thinking about specific facts.
Instructional activities use a variety of discrete skills.
Concept Based Use of facts and
activities are focused by conceptual lens.
Essential questions, drawn from concepts, drive instruction.
Facts are learned to understand transferable concepts and ideas.
Instructional activities call on complex performances using a variety of skills.
Both models value foundation of specific fact-based knowledge and skills
Difference is in culminating focal point of instruction
Topic-based: learning specific facts about a given topic
Concept-based: learning conceptual understandings drawn from the facts Learning about the relationship between
things rather than JUST FACTS.
Conceptual understandings drawn from and supported by critical content (Erickson, 71)
Basis of conceptual teaching Provide scaffolding Standards provide specificity to concepts
This is essence of what students should take from the unit/course
Units will have multiple EUs Intended to be broad
Apply to many situations Apply to different units Apply to different courses/grade levels Written in present tense
References theme and is easily tied to specific knowledge from the unit.
Students will understand that movement of ideas, people, goods, and culture have both positive and negative impacts on the development of societies.
Students will understand that distribution of power in government is a result of existing documents and laws combined with contemporary values and beliefs.
Can be generalized widely across social studies!
Look at standards for common THEMES or CONCEPTS
What do we mean when we say “history repeats itself?”
Think cause and effect relationships What causes wars? Why do people
create governments? How does location impact a society? What’s important about technological innovations?
First unit is key!!! MUST teach the themes to the
studentRelate themes to ideas/experiences
students already have EVERY LESSON should got back to
one of those themes Every element in a course is tied to
a theme
Review of the Enduring Understandings and unit connecting themes for the course
Focus on helping students see the relationship of EU’s to their own lives Make the EU’s relevant to students Have them give examples from personal
experience Socratic like discussion
Develop examples from : Historical events Current events Course related topics
Brain learning New knowledge builds upon previous knowledge Organized according to some structure
Previous knowledge Students experience What they already know about topic
Organizing structure Enduring Understandings
New knowledge Standards and elements
Goal: student understanding of EU’s before starting the course Provide schema for course material Up front students know where the course is
going Start with the end in mind (Covey) Acceleration (Max Thompson, Learning Focused
Schools How Students Learn History in the Classroom
National Research Council
Course ceases to be set of units with info to be memorized for a test