CATEGORISATION OF ACTIVITIES IN SOCIAL SCIENCE

M.ReddennaPGT (Geo) ZIET Mysore

Social Studies Learning Activity Types Of the forty-two social studies learning activity types that have been identified to date, thirteen are focused upon helping students build their knowledge of social studies content, concepts, and processes. Twenty-nine provide students with opportunities toexpress their understanding in a variety of ways. Six of these knowledge expression activity types emphasize convergent learning and twenty-three of these activity typesoffer students opportunities to express their understanding in divergent ways. The threesets of activity types (knowledge building, convergent knowledge expression, and divergent knowledge expression) are presented in the tables that follow, includingcompatible technologies that may be used to support each type of learning activity.Knowledge Building Activity TypesAs the table of activity types below shows, teachers have a variety of options available to assist students in building social studies content and process knowledge.1.Knowledge Building Activity Types Examples have been quoted from all subjects of social science from class 6th to 10th

ACTIVITY TYPE BRIEF DESCRIPTION POSSIBLETECHNOLOGIES

TOPIC

Read Text(TEXT.HIST. VI CLASS)What can we know about the past?There are several things we can find out — what people ate, the kinds of clothes they wore, the houses in which they lived. We can find out about the lives of hunters, herders, farmers, rulers, merchants, priests, crafts persons, artists, musicians, and scientists. We can also find out about the games children played, the stories they heard, the plays they saw, the songs they sang.

Students extract information from Textbooks, historical documents, census data, etc. both print-based and digital formats

Web sites,electronic books

XII-World Population

ACTIVITY TYPE BRIEF DESCRIPTION POSSIBLE

View Images Students examine both still and moving (video, anima-tions) images; print-based or digital format

PowerPoint, Word,Photo story, Bubble share,Tabblo, Flickr

XI-Volcanoes, Geomorphic processes

Listen to

Audiohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9UaI3XSAaM

Students listen to recordings of speeches, music, radio broadcasts, oral histories, and lectures; digital or non-digital

Podcasts (“Great Speeches inHistory,” etc.), Au-dacity,Garageband, Odeo, Evoca,Podcast People

XII- WORLD -Migration

Group Discussion - pros and cons of democracy in India

In small to large groups, students engage in dialogue with their peers;synchronous/asynchronous

BlackBoard, discussion inWikispaces, eboards

XI –Climatic ChangeXII-Geographic Perspective on selected issues

Field Tripvisit nearby village and collect the data on income level of households and prepare graph to know the poverty level

Students travel to physical or virtual sites; synchron-ous/asynchronous

Virtual fieldtrips, Photo storyto develop their own virtual tours

Geo XI Practicals-Meteorological stationXI –Oceans- Beach/Mahabalipuram

Simulation collect the simulation of motions of the earth

Students engage in paper-based or digital experiences which mirror the complexity of the real world

Civilization, Revolution!,Fantasy Congress

XI-Atmospheric Circulation and Weather systems

Debate: whether democracy is a boon or curse for the people

Students discuss opposing viewpoints; formal/informal; structured/unstructured;

BlackBoard, discussion inWikispaces, e-boards

XII-Manufacturing Industries-New industrial policy

synchronous/asynchronousResearch find the places where the water leakage in the nearby town and find how much water is wasted.

Students gather, analyze, and synthesize information using print-based and digital sources

Digital archives, GoogleNotebook, Inspiration tostructure

XII- Primary ACTIVITIES

Conduct an Interview:collect the information about the crops grown in different seasons in the nearby village and prepare a cropping pattern map

Face to face, on the tele-phone, or via email students question someone on a chosen topic; may be digitally recorded and shared

Audacity, Movie Maker,I Movie, digital camera

XI-Conservation of Biosphere

Artefact-BasedInquiry collect the pictures related to a particular village and study the culture of that village

Students explore a topic using physical or virtual artifacts

Digital archives XI-Drainage

Data-Based Inquiry conduct an inquiry on rainy days in a year and prepare a graph

Using print-based and digital data available online students pursue original lines of inquiry

CIA World Fact book,Thomas, census data, Excel,Inspire Data

XII-Minerals and Energy Resources

Historical Chain collect the information from Vedas up to the present administration in India and prepare chronological map

Students sequence print and digitaldocuments in chronological order

Bubble share, Photo story,Moviemaker

XII-Planning and sustainable Development

Historical Weaving collect the information related to clothing worn by the people in the nearby village and prepare a story of cloths

Students piece together print and digital documents to develop a story

Word, Scrap blog, GooglePages, Historical SceneInvestigation (HSI)

Historical Prismcollect the pictures of Harappa andmohanjadaro and find the possible ways responsible for the devastation of the civilization.

Students explore print-based and digital documents to understand multiple perspectives on a topic

Wiki spaces, Google Pages,Inspiration using links

XII-Human Settlements

Knowledge Expression Activity TypesTeachers are able to determine what students have learned by reviewing their“performances of understanding” (Wiske, 1998) -- students’ expressions of knowledgerelated to the learning goals targeted. Opportunities for students to express theirknowledge can be incorporated during a unit of study (as part of formative assessment) or at the conclusion of a unit (as a summative assessment). At times, social studies teachers deem it appropriate for all students to come to a similar understanding of a course topic. This kind of understanding is expressed by engaging in convergent knowledge expression activites, as detailed in the table below.

1. Convergent Knowledge Expression Activity Types

ACTIVITY TYPE BRIEF DESCRIPTION POSSIBLETECHNOLOGIES

TOPIC

Answer Questions

Students respond to questions usingtraditional question sets or Worksheets, or through the use of an electronic discussion board, email or chat

Inspiration, Word,Black Board, e-boards

XII-Human development Index

Create a Timeline prepare timeline diagram to show the types of administration in India since vedic age.

Students sequence events on a printed or electronic timeline or through a Web pageor multimedia presentation

Time liner, Photo story Word, Bub-ble share

XI- Origin of our Universe

Create a Map make a map of India showing the rivers of India

Students label existing maps or produce their own; print-based materials or digitally

PowerPoint, Google Earth

XI–India-PhysiographyDrainageXII-Transport and communication

CompleteCharts/Tables complete the above flow diagram showing the rivers of India

Students fill in teacher-created charts and tables or create their own in traditional ways or using digital tools

Word, Inspiration,PowerPoint

XII-1.Tertiary Activities2.International Trade3.Human Settlements

Complete a ReviewActivity

Students engage in some form of question and answer to review content; from basic paper-basedto game-show format using multimedia presentation tools

PRS systems, Jeo-pardy (orother games) on PowerPoint,survey tools likeSurvey Monkey

XII-Tertiary and Quaternary Activities

Take a Test Students demonstrate their knowledge through paper-based, traditional format to computer-generated and scored assessments

Scranton forms XII-Secondary Activies

While in many cases, teachers may want their students to express similar understandings of course content, at other times they will want to encourage students to develop and express their own understandings of a given topic. The following 21 divergent knowledge expression activity types afford students opportunities to each share their unique understanding of a topic or concept. They are subdivided into learning activities that are written, visual, conceptual, product-oriented, and participatory.

1. Written Divergent Knowledge Expression Activity Types

ACTIVITY TYPE BRIEF DESCRIPTION POSSIBLE TECHNOLOGY

TOPIC

Write an Essay on rivers of india

Students compose a structured writtenresponse to a prompt; paper and pencil or word processed; text-based or multimedia

Word, Inspiration,Wiki spaces (to trackcontributions from multipleauthors)

XII-Primary Activities

Write a Report write a report on river pollution in India

Students author a report on a topic intraditional or more creative format usingtext or multimedia elements

Word, PowerPoint, Excel,Google Pages

XII-Geographic Perspective on sel;ected issues

Generate aHistorical Narrative

Using historical documents and secondary source information, students develop their own story of the past

Word, Wiki spaces or GoogleDocs (to track con-tributionsfrom multiple au-thors), blogs

XI-Climatic Change

Craft a Poem on Ganga river

Students create poetry, paper and pencil or word processed; text-based or multimedia

Photo story, Mo-viemaker,I Movie, PowerPoint,Voice Thread

XI- Climate-Monsoons

Create a Diary Students write from a first-hand perspective about en event from the past; paper and pencil or digital format

Blogs, Word, Google Docs,Google Pages

XII-International Trade

2. Visual Divergent Knowledge Expression Activity Types

Activity Type Brief Description PossibleTechnologies

TOPIC

Create an IllustratedMap

Students use pictures, symbols, graphics to highlight key features in creating anillustrated map

Google Earth, Po-werPoint

XI-Climate

Create aPicture/Mural

Students create a physical or virtual imageor mural

Paint, Photoshop XI- Moisture in the atmosphere.

Draw a Cartoon

Students create a drawing or caricatureusing a paper and pencil or digital format

Comic Creator, DFILMvideo, digital cam-eras

XI-Climatic Change

5. Conceptual Divergent Knowledge Expression Activity TypesActivity Type Brief Description Possible

TechnologiesTOPIC

Develop a Knowledge WebEx.kvsangathan.nic.in

Using teacher or student created webs, students organize information in a visual/spatial manner; written or digitalformat

Inspiration, Power-Point,Word, Imagination Cubed

XI-Atmosphere

Generate Questions

Students develop questions related to course material/concepts

Word, Wiki spaces or GoogleDocs (to track contributionsfrom multiple au-thors)

XI-Solar radiation

Develop a Metaphor

Students devise a metaphoricalrepresentation of a course topic/idea

Wiki spaces (to trackcontributions), Inspiration

XI-Biosphere

3. Product-Oriented Divergent Knowledge Expression Activity Types

ACTIVITY TYPE BRIEF DESCRIPTION POSSIBLETECHNOLOGIES

TOPIC

Produce an Artifact

Students create a 3D or virtual arti-fact

Imaging tools XI-Landforms and their evolution

Build a Model Students develop a written or digital mental model of a course con-cept/process

Inspiration, PowerPoint,Inspire Data

XI-Intrusive landforms

Design an Exhibit

Students synthesize key elements of a topic in a physical or virtual exhibit

Wiki spaces, PowerPoint,Scrap blog, Bubble share

XII-Human settlements.

Create a

Newspaper/NewsMagazine

Students synthesize course information in the form of a pe-riodical; print-based or electronic

Word, Letter pop, Scrap blog

XI-India -Climate

Create a Game

Students develop a game, in paper or digital form, to help other students learn content

Word, Puzzle maker, imagingtools, Web design software

XI-Physiography

Create a Film Using some combination of still im-ages,motion video, music and narration students produce their own movies

Photo story, Moviemaker,I Movie

XII-Watershed Management

Table 7: Participatory Divergent Knowledge Expression Activity Types

ACTIVITY TYPE BRIEF DESCRIPTION POSSIBLE TECH-NOLOGY

TOPIC

Do a

Presentation

Students share their understanding withothers; oral or multimedia approach;synchronous or asynchronous

PowerPoint, Photo story,Moviemaker, I Movie,Audacity

XI-1.Origin of the earth-Big Bang theory2.Movements of the Continents and oceans

Engage in HistoricalRole Play

Students impersonate an historical figure;live, video-taped, or recorded

Moviemaker, I Movie,Audacity, digital camera

Role Play- XII –Migration-consequences.

Do a Performance

Students develop a live or recordedperformance (oral, music, drama, etc.)

Photo story, Movie-maker,I Movie, Audacity

XI- Natural hazards and disasters.

Engage in Civic Action

Students write government representativesor engage in some other form of civicaction

Web, email,videoconferencing

XI- Natural hazards and disasters.