Chapter 5 PREPARATION OF RESOURCE UNITS IT IS GENERALLY agreed that resource units are a valuable curriculum aid for teachers. Upon these units teachers may draw for ideas and direction when they are planning and teaching units with children. In this chapter are suggestions to help committees, teachers, or students, who are planning to teach, develop resource units of good quality. While many of the suggestions and recommendations grow out of practical experience and nationwide observation of unit teaching and planning, others result from a study of over 500 social studies resource units. This study of units was carried out as an Office of Education project, part of which (400 units) was done for the National Council for the Social Studies and reported or published by that council.1 In general it was found that resource units in the social studies for elementary schools provide excellent curriculum aids for the teacher. On the other hand, it was evident that considerable improvement could be attained in matters of design and format. Some suggestions for such improvement will appear at appropriate points in this chapter. Nature and Use Basically a resource unit presents curriculum materials which provide a teacher with many ideas about significant learnings, appropriate pupil activities, and instructional materials. Invariably resource units include many more suggestions for approaches, activities, and materials than a teacher would use with one class. Rather, he draws upon the unit as a source of ideas, information, and materials, 1 Hill, Wilhelmina., ed. Selected Resource Units: Elementary Social Studies (K-6). Washington: National Council for the Social Studies, National Education Association, 1960. 91 pp. Also found in Michaelis, John U., ed. Social Studies in Elementary Schools. Washington: National Council for the Social Studies, National Education Association, 1962. P. 262-270. as needed and selects those he finds helpful. To these he adds his own ideas at a given time, those of his pupils, and those from other available resources. In other words, the resource unit is just what its name implies a resource. It is not something that must be followed in detail. The teacher derives help and direction from it in planning and teaching a unit with children. The teacher draws upon it as a resource when he prepares his daily lesson plans for the unit, and in preparation for cooperative planning and the development of unit activities with the children. A good definition of a resource unit and suggestions on its use is contained in the Social Studies Guide 2 for Wichita Public Schools. A resource unit has been described as a "teaching file" containing materials, ideas and suggestions from which a teacher may prepare a unit for classroom purposes. Resource units are not designed to be taught as developed, but rather to serve as "resources." It is assumed that the teaching unit can be planned only by an individual teacher with reference to his own experience and personality and to his students and their abilities. The units and courses (presented herein) are, therefore, considered as guides and "starting places" for the teacher. Ingredients of a Resource Unit Overview. The introductory section of a resource unit is usually considered or labeled the overview. In one or more paragraphs the scope, emphasis, and possibilities of the unit are indicated. The significance of the unit for children, and for society, is pointed out as well as its place in the structure of the subject fields involved. An illustration of the overview is the following from a first grade unit on "Family Life," used in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. While the family group is the first social institution with which children have any direct connection, the knowledge about this institution is still limited to their own immediate family and is, as yet, unorganized. By making a study of home and family life a group project, each child can be led to the organizing of and generalizing about his own personal experiences, to learn and appreciate the benefits he receives as a family member and to recognize his responsibility for participation in the group. Through this experience, he may be helped to develop a basic concept of the cooperative nature of good citizenship and to learn democratic behavior through practice. 2 Social Studies Guide. Public Schools, 1960. Grade 6. Wichita (Kans.) Public Schools. Wichita : The P. I. 3 Units of Work in the Core Curriculum Program. Grades 1-2. Grosse Pointe (Mich.) Public School System. Grosse Pointe: The Public Schools, 1961. Objectives. Most resource units include objectives for the unit. These objectives should relate to the specific unit being planned and not to the whole range of objectives for the subject field or fields involved. Usually a few of the most significant objectives for a given unit are adequate and much more effective and usable in carrying out a unit than a long list of objectives. The comprehensive lists of objectives should appear in the overall curriculum guide for a subject or level of education. These need not be repeated in each of the units which make up this same curriculum. Examples of well-stated unit objectives are the following from two fourth-grade units used in Albuquerque. The first group of objectives is for a unit on "Geography and Map Reading." 4 A Guide to Teaching the Social Studies in Grades 4-9. Albuquerque (N. Mex.) Public Schools. Albuquerque: The Public Schools, 1960. p. 3. A. To appreciate how living things adjust to their environment. B. To learn to respect and appreciate other peoples. C. To understand the interdependence of people in relation to global living. The second list is for a unit on "Mexico.' 995 A. To gain a knowledge of the history of Mexico in order to understand the customs and traditions. B. To aid in understanding how location and altitude affect people's way of living. C. To become familiar with the customs, homelife, occupations, and sports of Mexico. D. To appreciate Mexican arts and crafts. E. To develop goodwill toward our southern neighbor. F. To develop an attitude of respect for people whose modes of living are different from ours. G. To understand the similarities between different countries. H. To encourage the desire to learn Spanish. I. To learn how Spanish and Indian cultures are mixed. J. To understand why Mexico is a land of contrasts. Content. The content of a given unit may be indicated in a number of ways. Often it is presented through a series of "Problems for Developing the Unit." If these problems are carefully formulated and take into account the structure of the subject matter they can be most effective. This method of indicating the content of a unit provides good leads toward the use of problem solving methods and experiences in the classroom. Illustrative of the use of "Problems for Developing the Unit" are the three basic study problems from a Nashville unit study of "Hawaii" for the fifth grade: " 6 1. How do the people live in Hawaii? 2. What is the story of Hawaii? 3. What are the advantages and problems relating to Hawaii's Statehood? How are some of the problems being solved? Accompanying each of these basic problems are several suggestions about activities and points of emphasis. A fourth-grade unit on the "Pacific Islands," used in Grosse Pointe,' indicates the subject matter scope with problems accompanied by details in outline form: • Introducing Our New States Alaska and Hawaii. A Resource Unit for the Social Studies. Nashville (Tenn.) City Schools. Nashville: The City Schools, 1960. 7 Grosse Pointe, op. cit. Grade 4. p. 2. pp. 42-44. 1. What natural factors are characteristic of islands? a. Land forms b. Reefs c. Lagoons d. Rainfall e. Temperature f. Soil g. Ocean 2. How have the island people adjusted to their environment? 3. What kinds of plants and animals do the islands have? b. Travel by water, air, or across bridges to reach them. |