Integrating ELA and IT standards in 4th Grade Social Studies
The integration of Common Core English Language Arts (ELA) standards with Information and Technology (ITES) and Social Studies Essential Standards (SSES) is fairly easy. There are many opportunities for integration. The connection between reading for information and using digital sources of information such as NCWiseOwl, Discovery Streaming, and websites discovered through internet search engines has been recognized and utilized by some teachers at my school since I came there in 2005. And teachers have required reading and writing in social studies classes since the beginning of institutional education. Less common in today's classroom is using technology for organizing, analyzing and presenting information using digital tools. Curriculum reforms have recognized the pervasiveness of technology in the modern world and in many cases actually articulate the use of technology as an objective in the subject areas.
The ELA standards require that students gather information from multiple sources and cite their sources. This ties in with ITES RP, IS and SE strands. In some cases the ELA standards are actually more specific than the ITES standards. For example, nowhere do the ITES standards directly address skills such as keyboarding, yet the ELA standards say "demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting."
The ELA standards require that students gather information from multiple sources and cite their sources. This ties in with ITES RP, IS and SE strands. In some cases the ELA standards are actually more specific than the ITES standards. For example, nowhere do the ITES standards directly address skills such as keyboarding, yet the ELA standards say "demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting."
One of the ELA standards is "With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting." ITES 4.TT.1 is "Use technology tools and skills to reinforce classroom concepts and activities." A close reading of the ELA standards and the ITES standards will expose many such commonalities. SSES content can be used to meet these skills objectives. For example, students could address SSES objective 4.H.1 (Analyze the chronology of key historical events in North Carolina history.) by not only using digital media to gather information, but by also using digital media to organize and present the information. Students could use internet resources to find information about the formation of the Lords Proprietor. Students could use a timeline tool such as timetoast.com to organize the information into a timeline before presenting the information as a fakebook page from the point of view of one of the Lords Proprietor or one of the early English settlers.
It's a little intimidating to have so many new curricula to implement this school year. But for me, it is also exciting to see widespread curriculum reform that includes elements that media and technology specialists have been advocating for decades. When the technology curriculum debuted in the early 90's, DPI sent out spreadsheets outlining which teachers were responsible for covering different parts of the curriculum. But in reality what happened in most schools is that the professional or paraprofessional in charge of the computer lab wound up teaching the curriculum as isolated skills, with the media professional also integrating the information technology skills into lessons that were planned and delivered in isolation from the rest of the curriculum. Media and technology specialists often integrated these skills into content areas, but without adequate time to plan with teachers, they were often not synchronously implemented. The new curricula make it clear that all teachers are responsible for implementing the entire curriculum. In fact, they advance the vision of media specialists and technology specialists as professionals who facilitate the use of information and technology throughout the building rather than being isolated in their own rooms, teaching their own curriculum as other specialists do.
It's a little intimidating to have so many new curricula to implement this school year. But for me, it is also exciting to see widespread curriculum reform that includes elements that media and technology specialists have been advocating for decades. When the technology curriculum debuted in the early 90's, DPI sent out spreadsheets outlining which teachers were responsible for covering different parts of the curriculum. But in reality what happened in most schools is that the professional or paraprofessional in charge of the computer lab wound up teaching the curriculum as isolated skills, with the media professional also integrating the information technology skills into lessons that were planned and delivered in isolation from the rest of the curriculum. Media and technology specialists often integrated these skills into content areas, but without adequate time to plan with teachers, they were often not synchronously implemented. The new curricula make it clear that all teachers are responsible for implementing the entire curriculum. In fact, they advance the vision of media specialists and technology specialists as professionals who facilitate the use of information and technology throughout the building rather than being isolated in their own rooms, teaching their own curriculum as other specialists do.
