I wrote a guest post for Larry Ferlazzo’s Q & A at Education Week as part of “What does social studies instruction look like in the age of the coronavirus?“ I share how to use PBL to integrate social studies with other content areas in crisis distance learning:
First of all, let’s assume that you are already checking in on the social and emotional state of your students. Then let’s focus on what actual social studies instruction can look like during crisis distance learning. For many teachers, it is Project-Based Learning (PBL). Silos between content are being destroyed as students explore authentic problems based on current events. Teachers are integrating their social studies content with other classes in robust projects such as a simulation where students take on the role of government, determining how to prepare and respond to a pandemic. Other classes have students creating plans for best practices to reopen schools in the fall.
Another approach is students documenting their pandemic experience. Integrated with ELA, students take on the role of historical observers, recording their lives in journals, diaries, blogs, poems, or social-media posts…
Check out the rest of the post at Education Week.
Questions? PBL and SEL Consulting? I can be found at my blog michaelkaechele.com or @mikekaechele onTwitter.