ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Needs Assessment/Rational

As I prepared a needs assessment and rationale for this unit, I considered many factors. 1) Student stage of development. According to Piaget’s theory of development, adolescent children are in the “concrete operational” stage of development. They must be able to physically manipulate items for optimum learning to take place. 2) K-W-L Chart. In order to understand where my students are, I need to determine what they already know, what they would like to know, and, then, at the close of the unit of study, have them assess what they have learned. This personalizes the learning experience for each child and affords them the opportunity to take ownership of their learning. 3) District goals and expectations. Mandan Public Schools is in the process of writing a new social studies curriculum, which will be aligned with the North Dakota Standards and Benchmarks. I am presently serving on the committee. Our school district is participating in the Northwest Evaluation Association. The fall testing for reading indicated that 30% of the fifth grade students had scored in the “low” range. This will have a huge impact on student performance in a content area such as social studies. The use of a variety of teaching approaches and hands-on activities will improve student comprehension. 4) North Dakota Standards and Benchmarks. Standardized test results from previous years indicated several areas in the social studies strand where students scored below the desired level. They included: 8.1.1 Understand the role of chronology and perspective in describing historical events and periods in history. 8.4.1 Use various map forms, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information. 8.4.2 Use primary and secondary sources to gather, interpret, analyze, and evaluate historical events and time periods. 8.4.3 Use technology to gather, organize, record, interpret, and evaluate historical events and time periods. 8.6.5 Understand how geographical methods and tools are used tointerpret the past, understand the present, and plan for the future. As I began to analyze what fifth grade students need to know, I found two statements in the introduction to the North Dakota Standards and Benchmark Content Standards which substantiated the needs I had identified. They are: *Provide students with a better understanding of the contributions of various cultures and decrease stereotypes. *Overcome “presentism” and give students a sense of their place in time and enable them to adapt to societal changes that occur in their lifetimes. Based on the above information, I have developed a unit of study which will provide students with a learning experience that will meet their needs at their present stage of development.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: I want students to realize the impact that the ancient civilizations have had on the world today. Students will develop an understanding of the system of beliefs which were important to these ancient people. They do not have to condone or approve of their methods, but they should appreciate and respect their cultural differences. Goal(s): Students will develop a greater appreciation for all cultures of the world. Students will be able to identify the contributions made by these ancient peoples and their continued importance in today’s world. Students will improve their research skills. Students will improve their map skills and become more familiar with the countries of Central and South America.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: Who were these ancient people? Where did their civilizations develop and flourish? What contributions did their cultures make in the fields of education, medicine, agriculture, mathematics, and art? What are the similarities between your beliefs and theirs? What are the differences? Objectives: Students will be able to identify the three main groups of ancient civilization in the western hemisphere, and catagorize their major differences in three to five sentences. Students will discover and provide data on the Mayan, Aztec and Incan civilizations through research, as measured by a rubric devised by the teacher. Students will categorize the individual contributions of each culture and determine their importance with data to be recorded on a graphic organizer in five to seven areas. Students will identify the role religious beliefs played in the lives of each civilization and compare/contrast them with their own beliefs with three to five beliefs present. Students will be able to locate and label a map which identifies the areas where each civilization lived with 90% accuracy.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding? A traditional quiz will follow the unit of instruction. This will include matching terms and meanings, short answer, and multiple choice questions. What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding? Students will participate in an “archaeological dig” in the beginning of the unit. Students will first predict the use or importance of the items. As the unit progresses, students will identify the actual purpose or use of the items which where “unearthed”. Daily questioning during reading will be ongoing. (Example: How would our calendar be different if the Mayan had not introduced the number zero?) What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product) will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding? Students will create a booklet for each of three ancient civilizations which were studied. The booklet will include digital pictures of the “artifacts” they created. Students will copy these pictures into a word document, create a text box to name the item, the people it represents, and a detailed paragraph about how this item was used or its importance to that ancient culture. Students may conduct a search to locate additional photos and information to include in their booklets. Maps which designate where each of the goups lived will be completed. What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect? Students will create “artifacts” similar to those of the ancient cultures. Classroom observations will be made throughout the unit of group activities and interaction. Rubric assesments will be designed specifically for use with this unit of study. Students will complete the K-W-L chart of this learning experience at the end of the unit.

Instructional Strategies

Students will use a combination of inquiry-based and project-based learning to identify and understand the impact the Mayan, Aztec, and Incan civilizations had and continue to have on our present-day world. Through research, students will be able to identify the belief system which influence the cultures of these ancient civilizations. They will be able to identify each of the contributions which still influence our world today. Project-based learning will provide the “concrete” learning experience that is so valuable to long term retention in the adolescent student. By creating and manipulating replicas of past items, students will better understand and appreciate the talents and expertise of these people.