"The problem is not just that we're cutting back on teaching history and social studies in elementary
schools; it's also how we "cover" what we do teach. The curriculum has become a mile wide and an inch deep. Students too often experience social studies as a passive slog through the textbook."
schools; it's also how we "cover" what we do teach. The curriculum has become a mile wide and an inch deep. Students too often experience social studies as a passive slog through the textbook."
This quote from the article really hit home for me. Too often, my class is so pressed for time getting ready for the PSSA, that this is the way I end up teaching social studies in the Spring. I am the inclusion classroom for our 3rd grade, and there is definitely pressure to have those scores be in the proficient range. OUr district allows us to do independent contracts for work over the summer. This allows us to have 2 "exchange days" on predetermined inservice days during the school year. I have written a proposal that would allow me to work for 2 days following the summer institute to incorporate what we are learning in this program into my Language Arts instruction. Hopefully, by combining the two curricula, I can make them deeper next year!
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