The disciplines within social studies were aligned collectively because they fit together in ways that allow ease of cross-curricular integration. As was seen in the review of literature, geography and history are two particular disciplines that work and mold together exceptionally well for teaching and learning purposes. The Kansas social studies standards are broken into four categories: civics-government, economics, geography, and Kansas/United States/world history. Each social studies category is broken into a grade specific standard, a benchmark number, and a standard number, frequently listed as Grade #: Subject: Benchmark #: Standard #. The standard numbers that are specifically tested on state assessments are marked with a delta sign (▲); not all standards are tested. The example of Benchmark 3 from the eighth grade history standards can be seen in Figure 4.1; note the delta (▲) next to the second standard.
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Figure 4.1 Example of Kansas History Standard (Source: Kansas Department of Education 2010) On the Kansas assessments, the history dedicated portion consists of 55% of the test and geography, civics-government, and economics sections are each represented with equal portions of 15% per discipline. History has more standards represented with a delta which results in a significantly greater part of social studies classroom time being used to teach history. Because history gets such a large focus from the standards it was pertinent to incorporate geography with history. With the way classroom time allotments are scheduled, this is potentially one of the only ways to allow for more geography without modifying/changing major structural barriers of the national education system.
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Once the decision to pair geography with history was made, the grade levels for which to write the lesson plans had to be determined. Because this study is looking specifically at the State of Kansas, it was decided that the best standards to address would be those that concentrated on Kansas history and/or related to Kansas history. After a critical review of the geography and history standards at all grade levels it could be seen that the curriculum addressing Kansas most frequently is presented in the seventh and eighth grade. When identifying standards to be used, the history standards were first selected and the geography standards addressed were then woven around them. This study recognizes that in order to get the attention of history teachers, the history standards, particularly tested ones, must be at the forefront of all efforts. The tested (▲) standards of history that receive considerable interest were advertised to get the participation needed for successful workshops, complete this study, and make a difference using the current educational structure.
After the grade levels for lesson plan creation were decided upon, the standards for both seventh and eighth grade geography and history were thoroughly reviewed, along with an evaluation of the standards for both disciplines again at all grade levels. It was essential to know what concepts and skills students are expected to have beforehand and what they are anticipated to know for future classes to construct worth-while lessons that teachers will want to use. Because geography has many fewer tested (▲) items and history so many tested (▲) items, the concepts related to curriculum priorities and integrated subject knowledge was used (Figure 4.2). The goal was to build teachable units that had several tested items for “enduring understanding” and additional non-delta standards for other areas of the Venn diagram.
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Figure 4.2 Curriculum Priorities and Assessments (Source: Gallavan and Knowles-Yanez 2004, 74)
When viewing the history standards, the standards were first separated into tested (▲) and non-tested standards. Once the standards were separated they were grouped into related tested standards (▲) and then the non-tested standards were added to the lists. It was from this process that the five unit themes that best suited the standards and applied to Kansas history became apparent. It is important to note that not every tested (▲) or non-tested history or geography standard is addressed in the unit plans; there are too many total standards to teach in only five units. The process of appropriately fitting and naming unit themes was a flexible process and went under revision many times throughout the lesson plan development procedure. After the history standards were grouped and unit themes were created, the geography standards were revisited. The same process was used to align the geography standards with the unit themes, emphasizing the tested standards first. An example of associated history and geography standards from the Native Americans in Kansas unit is:
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History standard (Grade 7: History: Benchmark 1: Standard 4)
o Analyzes the impact of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 on the way of life for emigrant Indian tribes relocated to Kansas: loss of land and customary resources, disease and starvation, assimilation, inter-tribal conflict.
Geography standard (Grade 7: Geography: Benchmark 4: Standard 2)
o Explains how the spread of cultural elements results in distinctive cultural landscapes (e.g., religion, language, customs, ethnic neighborhoods, foods).
In the lesson planning process, the standards occasionally had to be re-examined, shuffled, and/or added in order to create the best lessons possible. Since the units created are history lessons, the standards listed in the unit concept maps are the history standards. This apparent history focus is hopefully inviting and will be influential in a history teacher’s decision to use the material. In Appendix 2 all history and geography standards addressed are listed for each unit plan.
The process began with selecting history as the subject to combine with geography through dual-encoding, followed by selection of the grade levels and specific focus on Kansas, and finally the identification of specific history standards to address in the unit plans. This initial procedure led first to the selection of the five unit plan themes and at last the creation of the lesson plans, which allowed the application of dual-encoding to begin. It is through use of these methods that the first research objective was addressed: determine appropriate history standards that can be enhanced with geographical content.
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