Social Studies

For the definition and checklist, link with these sites:

See specific National Standards cross-referenced with Core Knowledge and McREL Standards & activities (those are links)
Civics
Economics
Geography
History
Social Studies 

Example

To help students in grades 6-8 understand how the history, culture, and geography of an area influence a person’s perception, students immerse themselves in role-playing as either Palestinians, Jews, or Britons in the Middle East during the time when Israel became a state.  They use this scenario to research and analyze influence factors and create a multimedia presentation to apply what they learn.

The teacher divides the class into smaller groups.  Each group conducts Internet research to get information about its role during the time period.  The teacher provides each group with the same set of research questions concerning the perspectives of the groups then and today.  The teacher brings to the class community resource people representing the Middle East groups to share their perspectives with the students.  Or the teacher could develop e-mail pals with experts from the three Middle East role groups.

To immerse themselves in the life and times of their Middle East culture group, students conduct research through books/magazines, CD-ROMs, and the Internet. They make journal entries about their group during the time period studied, make a storyboard presentation that synthesizes the information and resources gathered, and debate the issue of the formation of the state of Israel with representatives from the other Middle East groups.

Reference
            International Society for Technology in Education.  (2000).  National educational technology standards for students – Connecting curriculum and technology, pp. 198-199.   Eugene, OR: Author.