Grade. WORLD STUDIES Advanced Grade Six

Transcription

1 Grade 6 WORLD STUDIES Advanced Grade Sx

2 ADVANCED GRADE SIX WORLD STUDIES Grade 6 Advanced World Studes Overvew How s ths dfferent from the on-level World Studes currculum? T he Advanced Grade Sx World Studes currculum supports the Grade Sx World Studes currculum. It s not a replacement for the exstng currculum. The focus of the advanced currculum s on buldng the hstorcal thnkng sklls of students. Ths ncludes the ablty to crtcally read and wrte n response to prmary and secondary hstorcal sources. Many of these sklls are ncluded n the on-level currculum. The advanced currculum, however, provdes addtonal sklls, more rgorous wrtng expectatons, and more challengng sources. The advanced currculum s desgned for classroom flexblty and teacher choce. Teachers are not expected to delver the entre advanced currculum KEY CHARACTERISTICS bulds on current currculum ncorporates many prmary and secondary hstorcal sources focuses on teachng advanced hstorcal thnkng, readng and wrtng sklls adaptable for a varety of classrooms cover to cover. The course can be taught n a heterogeneously-grouped class where selected advanced students complete parts of the currculum or a homogeneously-grouped class where all students complete parts of the currculum. The sklls of hstorcal thnkng that form the backbone of ths course are part of a grade sx to eght contnuum of skll development. Sklls are bult through the use of Document Based Inqury (DBI) tasks. In grade sx, advanced students are ntroduced to basc sklls of hstorcal thnkng. In grade seven, these sklls become the foundaton for more complex sklls of analyss and hstorcal nqury. Advanced students n grade eght hone the sklls developed n earler years as they learn how to respond to complex wrtng tasks known as Document Based Questons (DBQs), a central element of socal studes Advanced Placement courses taken n hgh school.

3 Mddle School Advanced Courses n Englsh, Scence, and Socal Studes: Vson and Ratonale How s currculum desgned n MCPS? MCPS currculum n all dscplnes s desgned to meet the needs of learners of all backgrounds and abltes. Each content area develops currculum to meet the standards of the state of Maryland as well as to prepare students for college level currculum as assessed by such organzatons as the College Board and the Internatonal Baccalaureate Organzaton. Why create mddle school advanced courses n Englsh, scence, and socal studes at ths tme? MCPS contnues to focus on rgorous nstructon and s montorng the dstrct s success n meetng the goal to ncrease partcpaton and performance of all students n honors and Advanced Placement courses. Advanced courses n mddle school help teachers prepare all students for challengng currculum n hgh school. In addton, the Mddle School Reform report, the Deputy Superntendent s Advsory Commttee on Gfted and Talented Educaton report, and a resoluton by the Montgomery County Councl of Parent Teacher Organzatons call for a clear defnton of rgorous nstructon and clear expectatons for delverng advanced nstructon to hghly able and motvated students. What s dfferent about advanced courses? Advanced courses are desgned to provde explct drecton to teachers related to the selecton of content, dfferentaton of nstructonal processes, or development of student products. Dependng on the content area and unt, one or more of these areas wll be substantvely more challengng than on-level nstructon. Frequently the content and topcs of the advanced courses are the same as on level classes, but the depth of study, or the expresson of understandng, or the product from learnng s more challengng. Why have advanced courses? Hghly able students or those wth the potental to perform at hgh levels have unque needs that requre an nstructonal program of approprate challenge and enrchment. Instructon for all students s based on the goals and objectves of the MCPS currculum. The content, processes, and products may be enrched, compacted, or accelerated to meet student needs. Such an nstructonal program creates multple opportuntes for students to realze ther full potental as learners. What type of teachng s expected for students n advanced courses? Teachers are expected to delver rgorous nstructon to all students n all MCPS courses. Rgor can be seen n nstructon that engages the learner, focuses on the use of nqury as a learnng tool, and reflects the complex nature of the learnng and human expresson. In advanced courses, however, teachers are expected to challenge students at an addtonal level. The desgn of advanced courses can be consdered from the teacher s perspectve as well as the student s. In advanced courses, the teacher: Plans nstructon that requres students to nteract wth content that s complex, provocatve, ambguous, or emotonally challengng. Helps students develop the sklls needed to manage rgorous content. Facltates student dscussons about mportant deas and concepts. Models thnkng, readng, wrtng, and problem-solvng strateges. Incorporates meanngful tasks for students to apply and transfer learnng. Connects readng materals by genre, subject, or theme. Encourages students to judge or evaluate stuatons, problems, or ssues. Requres thnkng at analytc, nterpretve, and evaluatve levels. Emphaszes student synthess of nformaton wthn or across dscplnes. Engages students n the exploraton of dverse ponts of vew. Encourages students to determne mplcatons and consequences of fndngs. Uses approprate extenson and scaffoldng to challenge and support all learners. Provdes opportuntes for ndependent and group learnng to promote depth n content understandng. Uses multple dfferentaton models for acceleraton and enrchment. Engages students n plannng, montorng, and assessng ther learnng. Uses portfolos to buld students awareness of ther own progress and goals.

4 Mddle School Advanced Courses n Englsh, Scence, and Socal Studes: Vson and Ratonale In advanced courses the students: Interact wth content that s complex, provocatve, ambguous, or emotonally challengng. Engage n nqury, dscussons, and tasks that focus on understandng and applyng mportant concepts. Wrte daly for a varety of purposes and audences. Make meanngful connectons wthn and across dscplnes. Use a varety of strateges and tools to solve problems. Apply knowledge and sklls to authentc stuatons. Desgn and conduct expermental research nvestgatons. Desgn and conduct observatonal exploratons. Use a varety of strateges to solve problems and apply sklls to authentc stuatons. Effectvely use rubrcs and scorng tools to assess and mprove wrtng. Montor ther own learnng through journals, logs, reflecton, self-assessment, and portfolos. Please note that whle some ndependent work s approprate for students workng at advanced levels, t should not comprse a majorty of a student s nstructonal tme at school. All students should be challenged to the degree that they requre explct nstructon and drect support from the teacher. What are the expectatons for mplementng advanced courses n mddle school? Each content area, n collaboraton wth the Dvson of Accelerated and Enrched Instructon (AEI) has created materals that defne the nstructonal approach and currculum of advanced courses. These resources establsh the expectaton for dfferentaton n content, process, and product for each course. In Englsh and socal studes, these course supplements or amendments accompany each nstructonal gude. In scence, a new course, Investgatons n Scence (IT6) has been developed and wll be dssemnated n a Web-based format. Schools desgn schedules to meet the unque needs of students who perform at advanced levels or who have the potental to perform at advanced levels. The on level and advanced level courses are constructed to allow movement from one level to the other. Schools are expected to establsh processes that ensure students have the opportunty to take advanced courses at any pont n ther mddle school years, regardless of prevous course enrollment. Schools may form homogeneous sectons of an advanced course n Englsh, scence, or socal studes. In Englsh and socal studes, schools may offer heterogeneous sectons and provde advanced nstructon to all students, wth scaffoldng for those who requre support. When schedulng heterogeneous classes, no fewer than eght students performng at advanced levels or who have the potental to perform at advanced levels should be clustered n any one secton. Teachers of students n an advanced course or cluster-grouped for advanced nstructon n a course are expected to delver advanced nstructon as descrbed n the advanced course amendment/supplement (Englsh and socal studes) or the advanced course nstructonal gude (scence). Students n an advanced course or cluster-grouped for advanced nstructon are expected to show mastery of the ndcators n the nstructonal gude and to receve the adjustments or nstructon of greater challenge as descrbed n the advanced course supplement (Englsh and socal studes) or the advanced course nstructonal gude (scence).

5 Unt One Overvew Patterns of Settlement n the Ancent and Modern Worlds T here are two types of resources ncluded n ths unt. In Lesson Sequences One and Two, there s a teacher s gude to support renforcement and extenson of hstorcal thnkng and wrtng sklls already taught Unt 6.1. For Lesson Sequences Three and Four, there are Source Analyss lesson addendums, desgned to be ntegrated nto exstng lessons as extensons for advanced students. The Source Analyss lesson addendums use prmary sources to begn teachng hstorcal thnkng and document analyss sklls. The thnkng, readng, and wrtng sklls that are taught and renforced n Unt One buld mportant habts that wll be used throughout the course. They also provde the foundaton for the sklls that wll be taught n Advanced Grades Seven and Eght. The chart below s taken from the Socal Studes Sklls Framework for Grade 6 (Advanced 6, Unt 1 Appendx). It shows whch sklls are suggested for nstructon and renforcement n Unt One. The skll that s prmarly focused on n ths gude s analyzng a document for author/creator and man dea. Advanced Sklls: Unt One Hstorcal Thnkng Source Analyss Wrtng Focus Identfyng Patterns Content dentfyng patterns helps analyzng an artfact to make sense of nformaton determne smlartes, patterns, and lmtatons dstngushng between Evdence prmary and secondary sources evdence s needed to draw of evdence conclusons and support generalzatons about hstory analyzng a document for author/creator and man dea Wrtng Focus usng approprate evdence to support a generalzaton Why Teach Source Analyss for Content? S tudents begn to develop hstorcal thnkng sklls n elementary school. Hstorcal thnkng s more than just learnng to analyze sources lke a hstoran. These thnkng sklls are mportant for effectve partcpaton n our communtes, naton, and world. Students who develop these sklls, and transfer them beyond the socal studes classroom, are better able to make sense of the world around them by becomng crtcally engaged as consumers of nformaton. Source analyss for author and man dea s the buldng block of ths understandng. From here, students learn to compare multple sources and evaluate the pont of vew of authors to draw conclusons MCPS Socal Studes Advanced 6. 1 Patterns of Settlement n the Ancent & Modern Worlds 2