This document provides guidance for planning an integrated thematic social studies curriculum unit. It discusses addressing relevant history/social science and Common Core standards. It emphasizes choosing an appropriate theme that is developmentally appropriate and allows for hands-on learning. It provides examples of potential themes for different grade levels, such as continuity and change, California history, US history, and world history. It also provides guidance on developing unit objectives, field trips, lessons, assessments, and adapting instruction for student diversity.

1. Planning an Integrated Thematic
Social Studies Curriculum Unit
EDMU 523

2. History/Social Science Standards
• What History/Social Sciences academic
content standards are addressed in the unit?
• Include the strands, standard number, and
description for each standard addressed in the unit in
history/social sciences, science, visual and
performing arts, health, and/or P.E.
• What Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
in English Language Arts and Mathematics are
addressed in this unit?

3. Appropriate Themes
• How can I give my students direct
experience of this topic?
• Think of possible fieldtrip – either real or
virtual.
• Reflect children’s interests, abilities and
issues of concern: How will I hook them in?
• Involve concepts and skills at the right level
of challenge for the age group
• Topic should be complex and interesting
enough to be explored at some depth

4. What Enduring Understandings do you
want students to gain?
• What are the essential questions for this unit
of study?
• Brainstorm the purpose and goals
• Gather the resources and materials
• Create a graphic organizer or curriculum
map
• Ask the children:
• What do you want to know?
• What would you like to learn?

5. Criteria for Theme Selection
Topic must provide active learning and direct, hands-
on experiences
•Children can explore it with their senses.
•Concept is developmentally appropriate
•Concept can be organized to move from:
• Simple to complex
• Concrete to abstract
•Interesting, meaningful, and worth knowing about.
•Help children acquire understanding and appreciation of
themselves, others, and the world in which they live.

6. Thematic Planning
• Organize curriculum around a California
Social Studies theme
• Umbrella overarching interest area
• Integrates different developmental and subject areas
• Contributes to child’s growing understanding of
his/her place in time and space
• Provides opportunities for child to learn by doing and
have direct experiences with the topic
• Helps students understand that learning is connected to
their lives.

7. California
Social Studies Themes
Grades 3-6
•Grade Three—Continuity and Change
•Grade Four—California: A Changing State
•Grade Five—United States History and
Geography: Making a New Nation
•Grade Six—World History and Geography:
Ancient Civilizations

8. Continuity and Change
• Our Local History: Discovering Our Past and Our
Traditions
• Our Nation’s History: Meeting People, Ordinary and
Extraordinary, Through Biography, Story, Folktale, and
Legend
Consider your own local community history, legends, geography,
economy, significant leaders, local Native American tribes, etc.
3

9. California: A Changing State
• The Physical Setting: California and Beyond
• Pre-Columbian Settlements and People
• Exploration and Colonial History
• Missions, Ranchos, and the Mexican War for
Independence
• Gold Rush, Statehood, and the Westward Movement
• The Period of Rapid Population Growth, Large-Scale
Agriculture,-
• and Linkage to the Rest of the United States
• Modern California: Immigration, Technology, & Cities
4

10. United States History and Geography:
Making a New Nation
• The Land & People Before Columbus
• Age of Exploration
• Settling the Colonies –The Virginia Settlement
• Life in New England –The Middle Colonies
• Settling the Trans-Appalachian West
• The War for Independence-
• Life in the Young Republic
• The New Nation’s Westward Expansion-
• Linking Past to Present: The American People, Then &
Now
5

11. World History and Geography:
Ancient Civilizations
• Early Humankind and the Development of Human
Societies
• The Beginnings of Civilization in the Near East and
Africa:
• Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Kush
• The Foundation of Western Ideas: The Ancient
Hebrews and Greeks
• West Meets East: The Early Civilizations of India
and China
• East Meets West: Rome
6

12. Outline for an Integrated Thematic
Unit Plan
• Title: Kid Grabbing Topic
• Concept: What is the big idea
from social studies you want
students to understand? What
is the essential question?
• Rationale/Relevance:
• Why is this important for
students to know?
• Why are the outcomes of
this unit important in the
real world?
• Unit Objectives: Major
Understandings
• Resources: Books, Articles,
Websites, Multimedia, etc.
• Content Standards and
Common Core State
Standards

13. Assignment Requirements
• Create a two week history-social science based unit that
integrates a majority of subject areas.
• Unit should reflect the content standards for the grade level
selected
• Unit should include lessons that utilize a:
• Variety of intelligences
• Different levels of thinking (Depth of Knowledge)
• Adaptations based on Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
• Utilize technology appropriately (TPACK framework)
• The unit should be designed for one grade level 3-6.

14. Assignment Requirements
• Mindmap, Graphic Organizer, or Curriculum Map for the Unit
Plan – week 4
• At least 4 lessons
• A final performance-based final assessment with a rubric.
• Include the following:
• Graphic Organizer/Curriculum Map
• Prezi presentation – Introduction to the Unit Week 5
• Week 6 Google Classroom
• Fieldtrip Lesson Preparation
• The unit should include:
• Primary Source/s Lesson Plan
• Visual or Performing Arts Lesson Plan
• CCSS ELA and Math Lesson Plan
• Project-based Culminating Project: Lesson Plan with Summative Rubric

15. Fieldtrip Ideas
• Design a fieldtrip related to your thematic unit.
• Provide the title and the location or web address of
your fieldtrip location.
• Summarize the experience
• What will students do?
• How will you organize the real or virtual experience?
• Describe student learning activities and essential
questions to be investigated.
• Describe the key history-social science concepts that
you think this virtual experience addresses.

16. Graphic Organizer,
Mind Map, Infographic
• Brainstorm social studies unit topic
and provide a visual of possible
subtopics for your thematic unit.
• Plan thematic integration of subject
matter with history/social science
strands.
• Begin process of organizing a 2-week
unit to meet needs of all students
focusing on the multiple intelligences
and diverse learning styles.
• Due in Week 4

17. Mind Map of Possible Activities
Civics
Constitution
Field Trips Simulations
Drama
Geography
Maps
CCSS
ELA or
Math
EconomicsPrimary
Sources
Books and
Poems
Visual or
Performing
Arts
Hands-on
Activities
THEME

18. Mindmeister Example: MI
https://www.mindmeister.com/

19. Curriculum Map – 4 Lessons
• Shows the sequence of lessons, content areas addressed in
each lesson, multiple intelligences utilized, and level of
depth of knowledge.
• Lessons should progress in a logical sequence and connect
with unit objectives
• Lessons should reflect a variety of content areas, multiple
intelligences, and levels of depth of knowledge.

21. Social Studies Lesson Plans
Lesson Plans with Formative/Summative
Assessments
•Primary Source Lesson
•Visual or Performing Arts Lesson
•Common Core (CCSS) in English Language Arts
•Additional integrated lessons in math, science, health, PE
•Capstone Project-based Lesson: hands-on student learning activity: project,
presentation, publication, or performance. The project-based final lesson
should include the summative authentic assessment rubric.

22. Lesson Plan Activities
• Use primary sources (physical or virtual)
• Finding Primary Sources: Library of Congress
• Library of Congress Themed Resources
• Integrate literature (books, stories,
poems, plays) and informational text
(nonfiction writing in narrative or non-
narrative form that is intended to inform.)
• Incorporate the use of technology and
digital media for research, publication, or
presentation.
• Include hands-on student learning
activities.

23. Visual and Performing Arts Lesson
• Music
• Drama – Theatre
• Dance
• Visual Arts

24. Lesson Planning with
Common Core State Standards
• Two of the lessons should
meet a Common Core State
Standard (CCSS) in English
Language Arts and a CCSS
in Mathematics.
• Use of Informational Text –
Content-Rich Non-fiction
• Student Research Using the
Internet
• Use of Media and Technology
• Multimedia Publishing

25. Key Questions
• What learning experiences and activities will students
engage in?
• How will students be grouped during the lesson?
• What materials, technology, and resources will you
use during this lesson?
• How will you engage and motivate students to learn
the subject matter content?
• How will you differentiate your learning activities for
a diverse student population and assure that all
students have access to Common Core and curriculum
content standards?

26. Activities
• Introduction
• How will you introduce the study to children?
• What activities will you do to determine prior knowledge?
• Activities to Build Understanding
• Activities that encourage exploration
• Activities that build skill
• Activities that develop understanding
• Culmination Activities
• Activities help children express and generalize what
they’ve learned
• Activities to bring closure to the unit

27. • The first lesson should hook students into the topic
and connect to their prior knowledge. (Prezi)
• Focus on the history-social science curriculum
strands in knowledge and cultural understanding
(history, geography, economics, culture, politics,
ethics) or democratic understanding and civic values).
Anticipatory Set

28. Lesson Format:
Instructional Strategies
• Anticipatory Set
• How will you interest “hook” students in the lesson, help
them see the purpose and connect with prior knowledge?
• How will you help build student understanding of the
concept or skill?
• What teaching or instructional strategies will you use?
• Target Vocabulary, Key Concepts, Graphic Organizers,
Contextual Cues, Modeling, Questioning, Reframing, Media
and Technology?
• What technology will be used by the teacher and for
what purpose?

29. Lesson Topic and Standards
• Topic:
• Grade Level History-Social Science Content
Standard:
• Common Core State Standard/s
• English Language Arts in History and Social Studies,
Mathematics, Next Generation Science
• Integrated Subject Matter Content Standard/s
• Literature, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Math,
Science, PE, Health

30. Learning Objectives and DOK Levels
• Lesson Objective(s):
• Learners will demonstrate their understanding of
_______by doing ____
• Must be measurable.
• Depth of Knowledge (DoK) Level:
• Recall – Skill/Concept – Strategic Thinking –
Extended Thinking
• Resources/Materials Needed:
• What information or literary texts, digital resources,
and materials will be used in this lesson?

31. DOK – Depth of Knowledge

32. Depth of Knowledge (DOK)

33. Assessment and Adaptations
• Formative Assessment: Progress Monitoring
• How will you gain understanding of students’ prior knowledge at the
beginning of the lesson?
• How will you monitor student progress during the lesson?
• How will you assess student understanding at the end of the lesson?
• Independent Practice
• What will students do to continue practicing and applying what they have
learned?
• Adaptations
• Describe the adaptations you could make in the lesson for English
learners, gifted students or students with special needs and explain why
those adaptations would be appropriate?
• Adaptations could be made to any of the aspects of the lesson described
above.

34. Formative Assessments
• How do you document children’s
learning?
• How do you know if children understand
the big ideas of your unit?
• Documentation for Progress-Monitoring
• Graphic Organizers
• Exit Slip
• Whiteboards
• Quick Write
• Draw It!
• Clickers
• Apps: Socrative, Kahoot, Peardeck, Nearpod

35. Apps and Tools for Formative
Assessment
• 56 Formative Assessments – Google Doc
• 56 Formative Assessments for Social
Studies
• Growing the List: 50 Digital Education
Tools and Apps for Formative Assessment
Success
• 5 Fantastic, Fast, Formative Assessment
Tools from Edutopia
• Assessment Apps for Teachers

36. Summative Authentic Assessment
• Describe the assessment tool (project, presentation,
performance etc…).
• Do Not use a test!
• Describe what students are being asked to do, how they
are to complete the task, and the time frame allotted to
complete the task.
• Develop a rubric that will be used to evaluate student
performance on the final assessment.
• Make sure you design an assessment that addressed the
objectives of the unit.

37. • Allows teacher to focus on what expectations
he/she have for student work
• Provides alternative grading system for
performance assessment, portfolios, projects,
web assignments, etc.
• Can measure a variety of categories in any
content area
• Teacher can determine criteria and scale - rather
than be subject to standardized testing scores.
Rubrics for Assessment

38. Rubric Table

39. Example

40. Adaptations:
Universal Design for Learning
• Multiple Means of Representation
• How can you present information and content in different
ways?
• Multiple Means of Action and Expression
• How can you differentiate the ways that students can express
what they know?
• Multiple Means of Engagement
• How can you stimulate interest and motivation for learning?

41. Media and Technology
TPACK: Technology, Pedagogy, and Content
Knowledge
• What media or technology will be used by the
teacher?
• What media or technology will be used by the
students?
• How will this promote student learning?
• What is the purpose of using this technology?
• knowledge building
• knowledge expression

42. TPACK Framework
• Technology
Used by
Teacher
• Technology
Used by
Students:
• Knowledge
Building
• Knowledge
Expression

43. Annotated Bibliography of Resources
• Resource Books
• Literature Connections- At least 1 literature book
or stories/poems that connect to the theme
• Informational Text Connections - At least one
informational text that connect to the theme
• Primary Sources
• Videos/DVDs or other media
• Digital Resources and Websites (At least 5 sites)
• Possible Guest Speakers (Give job titles)

44. Signature Assignment in LiveText
• Submit in LiveText: http://www.livetext.com
• Options for Creating Unit Plan:
• Create one complete document (preferably pdf) and
submit that pdf as the LiveText assignment
• Create multiple documents and files and submit all of
them one by one in LiveText
• Create your thematic unit in LiveText by copying the
template. Insert files in appropriate sections and
submit the LiveText document
• Tutorial: https://sites.google.com/site/livetexttutorials/copying-a-
livetext-project-template-to-your-computer