Using Technology to Teach Social Science

At Happy Kids we teach language arts, but every subject includes a need to teach some social sciences as well. Most science classes also include lessons on the history behind important eras of scientific breakthroughs. Music students learn the history of different eras of music and how its evolution progressed across time and was influenced by social, political, and technological influences. In the language arts, we teach literature. Most books, especially more advanced ones, are either about or reference historical, geographical, economic, or psychological ideas and concepts. Without developing at least a basic understanding for these concepts in our students, we can hardly expect them to engage with the reading and effectively empathize with the characters in the story.

Integrating the social sciences into the language arts curriculum is especially important at Happy Kids where we use a North American curriculum with students who, for the most part, have been born and raised in Taiwan. Students come to class with very little prior knowledge of significant American historical events like the Revolutionary War, the Civil Rights Movement, slavery, the Civil War, Lewis and Clark, and much more. To help students digest and reflect on many of the reading selections in our curriculum, short lessons that provide historical background are often necessary. Online technologies can help you with this, and usually make the lesson easier and more effective. Below are two examples of activities that incorporate excellent online tools for introducing important background information about the setting of a novel.

Activity 1: Establishing Historical Perspective for To Kill a Mockingbird with Primary Sources

To Kill a Mockingbird is an American classic. At Happy Kids, it is taught fairly regularly in the Middle School Program. While this novel is over the heads of most students at Happy Kids, the resources and strategies in this activity can be applied to any reading that involves racial discrimination, segregation, slavery, or the Civil rights Movement.

Activity Description

This lesson requires the use of primary sources. Primary sources are original content from the era of history being studied. In this case, the content are photographs that were taking during the 1930s in the American South, the setting of To Kill A Mockingbird. The purpose of the lesson is to make students familiar with the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird. The setting of this novel and its characteristics, especially race relations at the time, is vital to understanding the various themes and motifs of the novel. This lesson uses the American Memory photograph collection and asks students to look at photographs taken of settings similar to those of the novel and analyze them. How to analyze the photographs is also a part of this lesson.

Lesson Procedure

1. Introduce visual literacy through Reading Photos, Reading Life presentation. Students will take notes from the presentation on the procedure of how to read photographs. Teacher will practice reading the first three photographs with students as a whole class activity. Teacher will question students if they see a connection between the novel, historical context, and the photographs. Students are to personally reflect on photographs and what they have learned in a personal response journal.

1. After students are finished, bring the class together for a final discussion to reflect on what students learned and check comprehension. Make sure students noticed the inferior quality of "Colored" places compared to "White". Prompt students to think about what living in a place like this might affect how someone perceived those of another color.

1. Students then (in pairs or small groups) view photographs from Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives. (Students should be given time to browse this collection, then select one photo for careful analysis.)

- They should search for:
  - Selma, Alabama
  - Eutaw, Alabama
  - Greensboro, Alabama

1. After browsing through these images, students should select one photo for careful analysis. Students analyze the photograph, recording their thoughts on the Primary Source Analysis Tool. Before the students begin, select questions from the teacher’s guide Analyzing Photographs and Prints to focus and prompt analysis and discussion. If time allows, students should browse some of the other photographs in this collection, choose another, and complete a second sheet for extra credit.
2. The Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress also has a collection of images entitled "Photographs of Signs Enforcing Racial Discrimination: Documentation by Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information." Ask students to read the information explaining the nature of the photo collection then review the photographs while pointing out that they are looking actual photographs of legal racial segregation from a place and and time similar to that of our novel. They should select one photograph from this collection as before and analyze the photograph, recording their thoughts on the Primary Source Analysis Tool. Before the students begin, select questions from the teacher’s guide Analyzing Photographs and Prints to focus and prompt analysis and discussion.

1. An extension activity if there is time to to have students write creatively from the perspective of one of the people or objects in the photo a found.

Standards

Click here to learn which Common Core State English and Language Arts Standards addressed by this lesson.

Activity 2: Exploring Ancient Greece with Google Earth

Novels, myths, and readings from or about Ancient Greece are common in our curriculum. Several Greek mythology units have been done during summer units and the Middle School program. In the Journeys curriculum used in the ASLA Program, most grades have at least one reading about or that references Ancient Greece or Greek mythology. The social studies curriculum in Taiwan does not get into to Ancient civilizations outside of China much until middle school. Therefore, it is important to help younger students develop a stronger sense of the setting when reading works from or about Ancient Greece.

Lesson Ideas

This activity utilizes an excellent free online resource, Google Earth. Google Earth allows students to travel virtually to almost any place on Earth. It is also easy to customize by creating your own layers and more with the software. See this resource to learn more. For this activity, students use Google Earth to complete two tasks. First, they explore famous sites from Ancient Greece with this virtual field trip. Students should be given time to peruse all of the locations in the later, and then they should write in their journal five inferences they can make about Ancient Greece based on their observations. These can also be discussed as a large group and tailored to the reading you will be undertaking.

Another activity that can help students learn more about Ancient Greece using Google Earth is exploring Ancient Greek architecture. Ancient Greek architecture is one of the most easily recognizable influences to our society today. It should be explained to students that we read about and study Ancient Greece today because of its lingering influence in our society (yes, even Taiwan). For this activity, teach students about Ancient Greek columns that were used in their architecture. This presentation is a helpful resource. When finished, give students this worksheet. To complete the second part, they will need to use Google Earth to locate and observe several buildings around the world and look for the different types of Greek columns.Standards

The following Common Core State Standards for middle level English and language arts are addressed during this activity.

- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.9 - Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.7 - Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.8 - Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.9a - Apply grade 7 reading standards to literature (e.g., ''Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history'').
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.2 - Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.

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