Social Studies Curriculum

Unit 2: Getting Along

(Suggested amount of time to spend on unit: Ongoing)

FOCUS QUESTIONS

S5; PS1 Explain the purposes of laws and the ideas and principles that make just laws.

S6; PS4 Explain the importance of taking an active role of political leadership and public service in their school and their community.

S12; PS7 Describe how and why physical and human systems function and interact and the consequences of these interactions.

S13; PS5 Identify alternative uses of resources found in their home, school or neighborhood.

FQ2:Why are rules important for the family and for school? (EQ3)

How do I treat others (possessions), etc?

S6; PS3 Establish, explain and apply criteria useful in evaluating rules and laws for solving problems and resolving conflicts between people.

S12; PS7 Describe how and why physical and human systems function and interact and the consequences of these interactions.

NOTES TO TEACHER:

Integrate units throughout the year as appropriate. Teacher modeling is critical here. The establishment of hopes and dreams, class rules and job boards are discussed in the Responsive Classroom - first six weeks addresses many of the performance standards for this unit.

RESOURCES:

Provided Resources:

After School (Unit2 JO1.2)
The Family (Unit2.FO2)

Additional Resources:

The following web site provides a list of literature which addresses character development: www.charactercounts.org/booklist/.htm
Morning Meeting and cooperative meetings help to promote teamwork
Responsive classroom - First Six Weeks
Morning Meeting Book
Yardsticks
Cooperative Games Book, by Terry Orlick

RECOMMENDED ACTIVITIES:

Development of individual hopes and dreams

Development of class rules/ class constitution (each member of class signs)

Create a Jobs board - assignments and responsibilities

Create a Daily How do you feel chart - when children sign in for the day, have them also display a picture of how they feel so the classmates can begin to identify each other's emotions and provide support on an as needed basis with teacher modeling appropriate behavior

Work together to create something - pair students up and give them a large ball of clay. Have them work together to create one large statue of a person. When completed, have each pair of students discuss how they worked together to accomplish their goal. Create a list of cooperative vocabulary and actions. Post. (Fire clay, paint, and display as visual reminder of positive results of teamwork)

ASSESSMENTS:

Essential questions
Focus questions
Performance tasks
Tests/quizzes
Teacher observations