Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education
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Social Studies and Science
http://forum.gayleturner.net/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=5064
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Author:  Karie Steelman [ Sun Apr 26, 2009 1:33 am ]
Post subject:  Social Studies and Science

My 2nd grade practicum classroom spends most of their time reading and doing math, but mostly reading. I have seen them do one social studies activity and one science activity and I was in the classroom for 6 or 7 days. I was wondering how yall feel about the limited time on social studies and science and what you would do if you were in this case?

Author:  William Vreeland [ Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:48 pm ]
Post subject: 

The problem with elementary school is the focus is completly on Math and Language. As I'm going into the Social Studies field in High School, I think this is one of the handicaps I'll have to overcome. The fact that students don't get any real social sciences until the sixth grade. If I remember correctly, elementary schools are trying to push a bit towards the sciences but I'm not sure I'm 100 percent correct on that.

Author:  Katie Stover [ Mon Apr 27, 2009 8:12 am ]
Post subject: 

I noticed this is my kindergarten practicum placement too. I think that this is mostly due to standardized tests and the fact that, so far, they only focus on reading and math. I think that social studies and science are just as important as reading and math. As a teacher I want to be sure to have time for science and social studies but while I am teaching these subjects I can also integrate reading and math so that students do not get behind in either of those.

Author:  Laura Davis [ Mon Apr 27, 2009 1:27 pm ]
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My practicum class in 3rd grade does the same thing. I have never seen them do any social studies at all and IF they do science, it is between 30-45 minutes each day, if that. I have noticed that my teacher tries to get the students to read social studies passages for guided reading lessons so they are exposed to some different things. I agree with Katie that this is probably occurring because of the standardized tests in math and reading, so there is more pressure on those subjects than science and social studies.

Author:  Emily Towery [ Mon Apr 27, 2009 2:17 pm ]
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I feel like teachers don't teach Science and Social Studies as much because of the EOGs. If we didn't have the EOGs then teachers wouldn't be so worried about the test, and they would teach what they are supposed to. I think that the only way to get teachers to teach all subjects would be to test all students on every subject, but that isn't fair to the students. In my practicum class we did mostly reading and math as well. My teacher taught 2 or 3 science lessons, but no social studies.

Author:  Ben Boyd [ Mon Apr 27, 2009 3:18 pm ]
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I feel like it will be a part of my job my whole life to fight this preconception that there are only two important subjects: reading and writing. To me social studies and science are the areas that gauge how well math and reading is being enforced and how students can apply their knowledge. This is why I'm drawn to high school history, I can teach one area that shows kids how to use what they've learned everywhere else.

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