Alberta Education On-line Teaching Resources for Social Studies:
1. Summaries of the critical challenges/Resumes des defis d’analyse critique: Summaries of hundreds of critical thinking lesson plans in social studies organized by grade level, from Grades 1 to 12. Summaries include suggested activities, specific outcomes, and a list of other useful documents related to the critical challenges.
2. Extensive classroom footage and discussion of grade 1 and 2 students using a TC2 lesson plan to investigate pictures about a community. See A Classroom Example of Investigating Pictures.
3. Search Resources; To find critical thinking strategies and learning materials search “Teacher support material”. Alternatively, select a grade and desired resource type under “Browse Resources”. Browse the media format “Images” for hundreds of photographs of Peru, India, Tunisia and various Canadian regions.
4. Video clip; This video features an interview response by Roland Case to the following question: What suggestions would you provide to teachers who may be concerned that in using a skills-focused, critical thinking approach they may not have the time to cover important details related to the content of the course? Scroll three-quarters of the way down the page to find the resource. Quicktime player is required.
5. Summary charts of Support Materials/Resumes des resources pedagogiques: Support Materials are ready-to-use instructional and assessment materials to support teachers in implementing described teaching activities. These materials include graphic organizers and other charts to help students organize their thinking and rubrics for assessing student achievement. Support Materials can be used as-is, or saved and manipulated to suit individual needs. Support materials can be accessed through the Critical Challenges to which they apply, or by searching “Support Materials”.
6. Summary charts of Modelling the Tools/Resumes des resources <<Enseigner les outils>>: Modelling the Tools are detailed teaching suggestions that illustrate how teachers might help students develop a particular array of critical thinking skills that have wide applicability in the social studies curriculum. These elaborated instructions address the “tools” required for various tasks: from asking questions and interpreting pictures to solving problems and taking social action. These lessons can be accessed through the Critical Challenges to which they apply, or by searching “Modelling the Tools”.
Over the past few months, I’ve had the chance to implement some of the Social Studies critical challenges outlined on the LearnAlberta website. I found these challenges to be incredibly engaging for students, actively involved them in the evolution of the lesson. Students who are normally difficult to keep on task were active, interested participants. I found the materials very easy to adapt to the needs of the individual classes and students that I work with. I appreciated that many of the activities for younger students have a literature connection that is age appropriate and easy to locate.
As a Learning Leader, I have also recommended these critical challenges to many colleagues and have received positive feedback from them. I know of teachers who use them as the backbone of their Social Studies program.
-Chrissy Osicki, Learning Leader, Alberta
