Suggestions

for Addressing Areas Needing Attention

SCPASSGrades 4-82016
Areas Needing Additional Attention
Teach the diversity of Native American groups
as well as the greatest source of conflict
between European cultures (grade 4)

Focus on difficult concepts such as those

found in the foundational documents
(Declaration of Independence, Articles of
Confederation and the Constitution) as well as
foundations for representative government
and help students apply functions of the
branches of government (grades 4 & 8)

Consider how topics of westward expansion

and progressive reforms are handled. Do
students evaluate cause and effect, seek
trends, trace trends across time? (grades 4, 5
& 8)

Indicator

Suggested Lessons from Web

Suggested Activities

4-1.2
4-2.4

EDSITEment has a lesson on Native

American Cultures across the U.S. that
might help teach diversity.
Mr. Donns site will provide the teacher
and the student a large amount of
information on Native American
diversity.

Teachers create a comparison chart that

has several major Native American groups
or Native American regional area. Have
students in groups use their computers to
complete the chart.

4-3.2
4-4.1
4-4.3
8-2.3
8-3.3

The Ronald Reagan Library has many

lessons on the foundations of our
government divided by grade band.
The Center for Civic Education provides
lessons by grade band for teachers.
Bubbles and Boxes: Branches of the U.S.
Government is a lesson from
education.com to provide activities for
grade 5 on the government of the US.

If possible, the teacher should always

have the Declaration of Independence,
the Constitution, the Articles of
Confederation, and other documents up
for students to see.
Provide students a copy of these
documents, and working in groups, have
them read to see how they would be
represented in the government under the
Constitution and the Articles.

4-5.1
5-2.1
8-4.3

This lesson is an interdisciplinary lesson

for 5th grade on westward expansion
from the NYC Schools.
Mr. Donns site will provide the teacher
and the student a large amount of
information on westward expansion for
grades 4 and 5.
For grade 5 and primary sources, this
Utah state lesson will provide a good
lesson for SC teachers and students.
For 8th grade, PBS has a series of lessons
that will help teach westward expansion.

For elementary, have students complete

a map of the expansion of the US for
either 4th or 5th grade. As a class, discuss
why people might decide to move, even
using some primary source letters from
people who traveled on the westward
expansion. Have students create their
own letter discussing why they may have
moved westward.
For middle grades on the progressive
reforms, provide a retrieval chart with a
SC column and US column. Fill in the US
column, and in groups let students find

Suggestions for Addressing Areas Needing Attention

SCPASSGrades 4-82016
Areas Needing Additional Attention

Utilize maps especially when teaching content

with worldwide (and thus exponential)
concepts like those areas that are multiple
exemplars of Americas growing influence in
the world.

Indicator

Suggested Lessons from Web

Suggested Activities

For 8th grade, the Library of Congress has

a lesson plan for the progressive era.

what was happening in South Carolina.

Come back together as a whole class to
discuss results.

Annenberg Learner has a series of

interactive map activities on various
periods in American history.

Always begin each unit with a map

activity. . .this will allow students to know
where they are and what is happening
geographically.

5-5.1
5-6.1
5-6.2
8-7.1

National Education Association has an

interactive map series that provides
students practice with maps.

Always begin each unit with a map

activity. . .this will allow students to know
where they are and what is happening
geographically.

5-4.2
5-4.7
5-5.3

EDSITEment has lessons for all areas for

US history; this one is Dust Bowl Days.
PBS has lesson on the Jim Crow era in US
history.
The Library of Congress has a large
section of lessons/activities/etc. on
Native American and their history and
treatment in America.

Watch excerpts from The Grapes of

Wrath or assign it as extra credit.

Students need to work on world religions in

the context of their founding and level of
popularity/impact through historical time
periods when applicable (grade 6)

6-1.4

At Teaching Tolerance, there is a good

lesson to help teach about the different
religions of the world.

Have students complete a retrieval chart

comparing the major religions of the
world.

World History courses should take care to

insure that the course is not, in fact, a
Western Civilization course. Greater emphasis
on African history and religion may need to

6.4.1
6-4.2
6-6.6

Exploring Africa from Michigan State

University has a large number of lessons
on how to study this continent.
Boston University has a site in which

Use maps when teaching world-wide events

during the Cold War and post-Cold War
periods (grades 5 & 7).
Correct misconceptions possibly attributable
to greater emphasis on other aspects of the
topic. Examples include. . .
the causes and the effects of the Dust
Bowl, or
the prejudice experienced by groups in
addition to African Americans. (grade 5)

All
Indicators

Suggestions for Addressing Areas Needing Attention

SCPASSGrades 4-82016
Areas Needing Additional Attention

Indicator

occur in some classrooms. (grade 6)

Students exhibited some difficulty with . . .

concepts relating to Renaissance art, and
Henry VIIIs reformation of the Church.
(grade 6)
Often many of the most difficult concepts
involve the most recent worldwide history.
Students. . .
associated NATO with the Common
Market and
were confused by the breakup of the
Soviet Union,
as well as the issues/crises in the Middle
East. (grade 7)

Suggested Lessons from Web

they link the outstanding sites for
teaching about Africa.

6-6.2
6-6.3

EdTechTeacher is a website that is a

database of numerous sites that provide
help with teaching the Renaissance.
TES has a series of 3 PowerPoints on
Henry VIII. Plus there are links to many
other sites with materials on Henry VIII.

7-4.6
7-5.2
7-5.5
7-6.3

Harry S Truman Library has several

lessons on NATO; one of which is NATO
Geography & Language.
Lesson plans are available from the
European Union to teach about the
Common Market/European Union.
National Education Association has an
series of lessons, activities, and other
resources on the European Union.

Have student create a political cartoon

showing the impact of the cotton gin on
the South.
Complete a retrieval chart of the different
characteristics of the western, southern,
and northern sections of the country. .
.include in this chart the support for the
major compromises. (Missouri
Compromise; the Compromise of 1850,
the Kansas-Nebraska Act, etc.)
Any of these three topics, students could

Essential understandings needing attention. . .

What did the cotton gin do and what
were its effects?
How is the growth of sectionalism tied to
western territories and the role (stance)
of the federal government? (grade 8)

8-4.1
8-4.2
8-4.3

TeachingUSHistory has a lesson for

elementary on the impact of the cotton
gin, and this would be easily adapted.
EDSITEment has lessons for all areas for
US history; this is a series of 4 lessons
The Growing Crisis of Sectionalism in
Antebellum America: A House Dividing.

Students also exhibited some difficulty with

8-4.3

At the Lesson Planet, there are

Suggested Activities

Suggestions for Addressing Areas Needing Attention

SCPASSGrades 4-82016
Areas Needing Additional Attention

Indicator

the topics of. . .

John C Calhoun,
Reconstruction,
the Charleston earthquake, and
the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)s
role. (grade 8)

8-5.1
8-5.2
8-5.3
8-5.6
8-6.4

Suggested Lessons from Web

numerous lesson plans, activities, and
PowerPoints for teaching John C.
Calhoun.
At TeachingUSHistory.org, there is a
lesson that was created by a SC teacher
for our state. . .though for grade 5,
middle grades teachers will find it
helpful.
There are 2 sites that give information
about the quake. The first is
SouthAboutSouthCarolina, it gives a
short history with some original images.
The second is the USGS site, and it
includes primary sources such as
newspaper articles and photographs.
This is the State Parks site for the CCC
and its work in South Carolina.

Suggested Activities
in groups or individually create a short
PowerPoint to review the topic.

General Overall Observations

Read carefully.

This is a given, and Im sure that you do this all of the time.

Read all options and all captions and titles on graphics.

This is a given, and Im sure that you do this all of the time.

Practice paraphrasing what the questions is asking

(including employing context clues and the time period
(era) specified in the question) and using vocabulary
words often associated with key concepts or their
assessment such as: conflict, port, tenement, subsidies
and mercantilism (as appropriate).

There are several online sites for paraphrasing practice. Though these sites are not social
studies specific, they do have information text passages. For many of the elementary texts
adopted, a paraphrased book may come with them to lower the reading level. There
should also be practice with paraphrasing in your texts teacher edition. Utilize all that
comes with the new materials.

Practice utilizing graphic organizers to organize analysis

The following sites have free downloadable graphic organizers for social studies. . .
teAchnology

Suggestions for Addressing Areas Needing Attention

SCPASSGrades 4-82016
Areas Needing Additional Attention

Indicator

and to assess.

Suggested Lessons from Web

Suggested Activities

Student Handouts
Reading Quest
edHelper
There are many others, but these will be a great start for you. They have a wide variety,
most in PDF format that can be used in your white board or in printing for student.

Require regular analysis utilizing concepts of cause and

effect in both directions.

Many of the graphic organizers sites listed above have cause and effect organizers. This will help
students see this most important aspect of social studies.

Pay attention to pacing, especially in terms of

chronologically last and often more complicated and
global concepts at all grade levels.

This is a given, and Im sure that you do this all of the time.

Utilize maps whenever possible.

The SC Geographic Alliance has a map set that can be used with any units and any grades.

Employment of comparative (over time) maps is

essential.

The SC Geographic Alliance has a map set that can be used with any units and any grades.
In addition, there are several good maps sets that show time available for purchase from
Nystrom and other groups.

Practice working on comparatives and superlatives.

Use comparison charts whenever possible to improve student abilities to compare.

Standards written at the understanding level require

regular practice in evaluating issues rather than simply
going over them.

In the month leading up to the state test, use the sight Problem Attic to create a class
opener each day of 1-4 questions that review many of the indicators addressed during the
year. The site is free and you can create a PDF that incorporates questions from many
different states released item, including South Carolina

Economic concepts are often difficult and therefore

require careful attention/emphasis. Economic motives of
actions (like land grabs/claims) should be thoroughly
analyzed.

Use the site Classroom Clues. This site has many of childrens/young adult books that you
use, and links them to the economic concepts that are taught in each book.
EconEdLink provides hundreds of lessons in a searchable database that you can incorporate
into your yearly plan that will reinforce the economic concepts in your history based
curriculum.