An integral piece of Integrated Instruction is the theme. Units of inquiry and instruction that deliver standards-based and content learning are connected through an overarching theme. Many factors influenced my choice in this year's theme of "Citizenship". After three years of teaching the history and writing of the Constitution, I wanted to provide my students an opportunity to witness how this document that was written nearly 230 years ago still impacts us. Effective instruction attaches learning to real world experiences so I want my students to meet with active civic participants from the community.
The idea was planted in my head by a retired fourth grade teacher who had buddied her class with a local law firm to support learning about NH government, which is a fourth grade social studies expectation. In fifth grade we study the how the United States came to be an independent country. In the course of learning about exploration, colonization and the American Revolution we take a look at how the citizens responded. We compare and contrast loyalists and rebels, the Sons of Liberty and the governors put in place by the King. The actions and attitudes (and conflicts) of all these citizens shaped our country. But how do citizens today shape our government? Do they? This is what I want my students to ponder.
So I have invited members of the community to be pen pals with my students. I have asked school board members, town librarians, selectmen and police officers to name a few. We have committed to writing three to four letters during the school year that focus on what it means to be a citizen. I am eager to read how my students' understanding develops as we explore citizenship not only through the lens of history, but also as we consider how our civics impacts our science. Heady, but valuable topics. In fifth grade we evaluate opinion from informational writing, and there should be plenty of examples of both as we consider what it means to be a citizen.
By the end of fifth grade, as always, my students will have a foundational awareness of their government and an understanding of our nation's formative history. But it is my hope that with our interactions with our mentors, and other inquiry activities that are planned throughout the year, my students will also have the tools to discern fact from rhetoric, the confidence to form their own opinions and the determination to act on them. Buckle up. We are heading FULL STEAM into a year of inquiry about citizenship!
