Social Studies Links
The following has been takenfrom tech.news which is a newsletter targeted to technology leaders in school jurisdictions and post-secondary institutions, and is available to all Alberta educators. Alberta Education's Stakeholder Technology Branch produces the newsletter. Many of you may already receive this, but I have pared it down to the part that focuses on social studies. You may wish to pass it on to social studies teachers in your districts.
To subscribe to tech.news, please send an e-mail through your school jurisdiction, post-secondary institution or other stakeholder organization e-mail account to tech.news@gov.ab.ca, and enter "Subscribe to tech.news" in the subject line. To unsubscribe, enter '"Unsubscribe to tech.news" in the subject line of your e-mail message. Send your questions, suggestions, or article submissions to tech.news@gov.ab.ca.
LearnAlberta.ca Updates
Online Guide to Implementation
Teaching controversial issues
In this resource, Patrick Clarke describes an approach to teaching controversial issues, including analyzing an issue, considering the merits of an argument, and forming an opinion on the basis of critical analysis. A listing of common strategies used to manipulate arguments is provided.
A Classroom Example of Asking Powerful Questions (Kindergarten, Grades 1 – 11)
In this multimedia presentation, teachers and students work through the suggested lesson activities in the resource entitled Modeling the Tools: Asking Powerful Questions. Activities included in the resource help develop students’ critical thinking skills as they prepare for an interview. Students are challenged to identify criteria for effective questions and then to frame questions that meet these criteria.
Focusing on Big Ideas and Key Issues
This resource (previously titled What's the Big Idea?) provides background information regarding the K-10 Alberta Social Studies Program of Studies. It includes an overview of the organization of the grade level content, and identification of the big ideas, themes or issues for each grade level. It also includes background information regarding the selection of particular focus topics such as the communities at the Grade 2 (Acadian, Inuit, and prairie) and Grade 3 (India, Ukraine, Peru, Tunisia) levels, and the historical worldviews (Japan, Renaissance Europe, and Spanish and Aztec) at the Grade 8 level
Teacher Support Material for Social Studies 20-1 and 20-2:
- Overarching Critical Inquiry: In Pursuit of National Interests
- Overarching Critical Inquiry: In Pursuit of an Identity
- Overarching Critical Inquiry: The Merits of Internationalism
- Overarching Critical Inquiry: In Search of a Canadian National Identity
Lesson Plans for Social Studies K-12
Teacher Support Material for Social Studies K-12
- Support Material: Placemat Activity
- Support Material: Defining Terms
- Support Material: Venn Diagrams
- Aboriginal Collections: A Thematic Listing of Resources with Aboriginal Content
This resource consists of bibliographic information and annotations for a selection of books and other resources containing Aboriginal content. Resource listings are correlated with the Alberta Social Studies Program of Studies and are sorted by grade level.
Links - Social Studies
- Social Studies Program of Studies
- Online Guide to Implementation
- Authorized Resources Data base
- Focus on Inquiry
- Critical Thinking Consortium
- ATA Social Studies Web Site
- Citizenship and Identity
- Aboriginal Perspective
- Web Resources for Aboriginal Concepts
- French Resources
- Web Resources for Aboriginal Concepts
- Grade Level Web Sites (from the Central Alberta Regional Consortium)
- Teacher resources from our partner consortium in Red Deer, CARC
