EDU 363 - Social Studies Curriculum and Differentiated Methods in Urban Grades K-6

3 Credit Hours

This course will help the teacher candidate to reflect on the purpose of teaching social studies and to shape your approach to teaching the subject. It will prepare the teacher candidate to teach the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes essential for democratic citizenship. As a social studies teacher, the teacher candidate will have the opportunity to encourage informed and responsible civic action. Social studies teachers have an added responsibility to help children understand their world. Moreover, your task becomes more challenging given the dynamic nature of society and the subject matter, the nature and needs of learners, and the wide variety of learning contexts in urban or urban characteristics classrooms. Social studies is comprised of several disciplines such as history, geography, political science, and economics. You will examine recurring social issues including controversies, specifically current and persistent local, national, and global issues. The teacher candidate will also become familiar with using a range of skills drawn from the social studies disciplines, including information gathering and processing, map reading, critical thinking, and interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills. These skills will help the teacher candidate promote children’s growth as individuals and as citizens of urban and urban characteristics communities and of an increasingly interdependent world. The teacher candidate will further develop understanding of the instructional and assessment repertoire and assessment practices. Clinical field experience hours are part of the course requirements (5 hours).