After reading the Curriculum Standards for Social Studies, I realize that not only is there 
a great deal of importance in effectively teaching social studies to students, but that our 
very future and democratic society as a whole is dependent on effective and integrated 
social studies teaching.  No pressure!!  One very powerful quote from the reading 
was, “As a people, then, our first priority, our first public policy goal, must be to ensure 
our survival as a free nation through the development of students who can assume the 
office of citizen.”  In order for the goal to be achieved, students need to extensively learn 
about scholarship, artisanship, leadership, and citizenship.  Social studies incorporates 
the importance of understanding the political structure, geography, history (where our 
ideals came from), and a respect for cultural differences and views.  I liked how the 
reading stated that cultural diversity is not a problem to be dealt with, but a “healthy and 
desirable quality of a democratic community.”  In summary, the article emphasized 
repeatedly how social studies encompasses many different disciplines that need to be 
interrelated so that a student can draw ideals from each subject.  By integrating the 
curriculum in this way, we will have future citizens of our democracy that are able to 
make informed, thoughtful, and introspective decisions that are based on facts and 
knowledge and pros and cons from several different sources.

Knowledge-Based Learning Environments

This article completely blew me away!  The knowledge-based learning environments 
described here doted 3-D projection screens available for each individual student that 
would allow a student to take a tour of the streets of London in 1820, for example, or 
give a student an aerial view of a location.  Digital libraries would be available for 
students and mentors to access information in seconds from all over the world.  The 
most amazing addition would be the individualized mentors that are tailored to a 
student’s learning style, interests, etc. that could access information from any of these 
digital libraries in seconds and create a complete presentation encompassing economics, 
history, culture, politics, geography, etc. for whatever subject/problem the student asks.  
These mentors would remain with the individual student throughout their entire 
educational years.  The time that a student would spend researching a topic would be 
non-existent, therefore freeing the student’s time to tackle unbelievably complex global 
assignments.  These fourth/fifth grade students of the future could probably perform 
some useful job function for the United Nations or State Department in our present time!  
Of course, all of this will cost money, but the article states, “The high cost of creating the 
content in the digital libraries will be offset by the fact that an information packet can be 
recycled for a multiple number of contexts without reduction in value:  it is the ultimate 
non-depletable resource.”   The article also stated the possible dangers of this extreme 
technology;  1)  student’s reasoning skills could go unexercised because mentors would 
be performing this for them, 2)  if technology is not available to everyone, then the gap 
between the affluent and the disadvantaged would only expand, and 3) digital libraries 
could be controlled by a small number of corporations that could manipulate information 
that is assimilated (or even more frightening, actually rewrite history!), influence the 
outcomes of elections, and misdirect the public.  Letting a few control informational 
access would only invite history to repeat itself by allowing the desire for domination to 
be possible; e.g. Stalin and Hitler.  Despite the dangers, the objectives that could be 
attainable within the next 100 years with this type of technology would be astounding.  
Perhaps our grandchildren will find this to be ordinary!


Clark County School District Social Studies Standards K-5

	One thing was very evident after skimming through the Social Studies 
standards for Kindergarten through 5th grade; the list became longer and much more 
detailed and complex!  Appropriately, each grade expanded on the skills that were 
expected to be taught the grade before.  The major emphasis seemed to be on 
developing a sense of being a citizen of the United States of America and functioning in 
our society.  Of course, there were global, geographical, historical, etc. aspects to 
incorporate as well.  I noticed that starting in the 3rd grade, there was a big increase in 
the list of standards that a teacher needs to cover in Social Studies.  4th and 5th grades’ 
were certainly longer and more complex.   I know the other subjects for these grades 
are just as lengthy.  My oldest daughter is in the 4th grade this year and her school 
decided to have teachers specialize in a subject for 4th and 5th grade.  The students will 
have a homeroom teacher, but each 4th or 5th grade teacher will teach one subject and 
the student will move from class to class, as they do in middle school.  This is the first 
year her school is doing this, but after reading the standards, I can certainly see why this 
would be better!  A teacher may have more students to reach throughout the day, but 
he/she can concentrate on meeting all of the requirements for one subject.  Hopefully, 
this will ensure that all of them are reached in a school year.

This reading discussed student behavior in the classroom.  Classroom management is 
essential if effective learning is to take place.  When this is not present, the text 
stated, “Students and teacher lack the sense of security and stability that is necessary 
for learning and teaching to transpire.”  There are two elements that are needed; 1) 
teacher expectations concerning what is appropriate behavior in the classroom, and 2) 
knowledge of grounded theory and research concerning characteristics of well-managed 
rooms.  Class rules can be displayed on a chart, there could be statements on 
assignment sheets, or a teacher could simply give verbal reminders to students.  I liked 
that the reading stated that students and teacher should air out their views at the 
beginning of the year about class rules, fairness, consequences, etc.  By allowing 
children to have a say in some of the class rules, they then have a sense of ownership in 
their class.  Keeping a steady momentum in the classroom, smoothly transitioning from 
one subject to another, and planning various activities (for example, 
assignments/projects/learning centers etc. that students can do if they finish an 
assignment early) are just some of the examples given to maintaining a well-managed 
room.

Reading Synopses for 9-6-05 (Dr. Keeler, This is the assignment that I accidentally 
switched with 9-8-05.  Per your instructions, this is the reminder that credit would still be 
given)

Ten Thematic Strands in Social Studies

Strand 1 – Culture – Students develop an understanding for the similarities and 
differences that exist among us.  We all have unique belief systems, knowledge, values 
and traditions.
Strand 2 – Time, Continuity, & Change – Study of this unit is important for human beings 
to understand where they have come from and their relationship to the past, present, 
and future society.  Learning about the past allows us to understand how we evolved into 
what we are today, as well as understanding mistakes that have been made so that they 
are not repeated in the future.
Strand 3 – People, Places, & Environments – This study answers questions such 
as, “Where are things located?  Why are they located where they are?” etc.  This 
typically appears in area studies and geography.
Strand 4 – Individual Development & Identity – Students need to be aware of the 
processes of learning, growth, and development throughout their school experiences.  
Identity, social norms, and human behavior are just a few examples of what falls under 
this strand.  This study is typically taught in school as psychology and anthropology.
Strand 5 – Individuals, Groups, & Institutions – The importance of this study is for 
students to understand how institutions are formed, what controls and influences them, 
and how they can control and influence individuals.  This is typically taught in school 
courses such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, political science, and history.
Strand 6 – Power; Authority & Governance – The goal of this discipline is to help students 
become more effective problem-solvers and decision-makers when addressing the 
persistent issues and social problems addressed in public life.  Again, this is found in 
areas such as political science, history, law and other social sciences.  The text did point 
out that learners should have the opportunity at every level of their education 
(elementary, middle and high school) to apply knowledge and skills to and participate in 
the various levels of power, authority, and governance.
Strand 7 – Production, Distribution, & Consumption – This area of study answers such 
questions as, “What is to be produced?  How is production organized?  How are goods 
and services to be distributed?” and so on.  Upper level students would examine such 
problems of unequal distribution of goods and services and the global impact that this 
can have.  This study is typically found in school in economics studies.
Strand 8 – Science, Technology & Society – Change is usually good, but with our 
increasing technology and the rate at which things are rapidly changing, there needs to 
be an understanding of some of the ethical and moral issues that technology can bring.  
Also, there is the fear of technology taking over the occupations/careers that human 
beings have been performing.  Students must be educated on the technology that exists, 
as well as maintaining ethics and values in this ever-changing climate.  This area of study 
is typically found in history, geography, economics, civics, and government, to name a 
few.
Strand 9 – Global Connections – Political and military alliances, economic competition 
and interdependence, and world cultures are just a few of the disciplines examined under 
this strand.  This is found in geography, economics, natural and physical sciences, and 
the humanities.
Strand 10 – Civic Ideals and Practices – This area helps students to ask the important 
questions, such as, “How can I make a difference?  What is civic participation and how 
can I be involved?  What is the role of the citizen?”  This is usually taught in history, 
political science, and anthropology.

Standards and Performance Expectations for Early Grades, Middle Grades, and High 
School:  Reference Charts

Under the reference chart, each strand is broken down into specific objectives that a 
student will learn from the early grades, middle grades, and high school.  The most 
apparent aspect of every area of this chart shows that a concept is introduced for 
knowledge and comprehension at the early level, comprehension and application at the 
middle level, and analysis and synthesis at the high school level.  Each goal expands on 
what the student should have gained from the level before.

9-13-05 – Organizing and Planning for Teaching Social Studies in Middle and Secondary 
Schools

This text focused on planning units of instruction for teaching social studies in the upper 
grades.  The distinction was made between goals, or general statements (CEF’s) and 
objectives, specific statements (Standards), of what is expected to be taught in this 
subject.  Specific objectives that clearly describe expected behavior are called behavioral 
or performance objectives.  In classifying goals, social studies curriculum planners will 
classify goals or objectives in the cognitive (thinking processes) and affective (feelings 
and emotions) domains.
The reading made a very good statement that stuck in my mind about the qualities of a 
good citizen.  “…social studies curriculum should incorporate at each grade level some 
balance among reflection (matters of the head), competence (matters of the hand), and 
concern (matters of the heart).”  The reading went on to give several valuable examples 
of how units were organized for social studies, along with the use of a concept map for 
planning a course of study.  This is a very useful tool as the task of organizing an entire 
unit of study and inter-relating each topic to the next could seem like an overwhelming 
feat to a new teacher.  As stated before, clearly stating your objectives and goals prior to 
lesson planning is essential in devising an effective plan.  Also, keeping the curriculum 
topics at a small number is also necessary.  Sample lesson plans were also included (and 
are very helpful) as well as Hunter’s Theory and Practice Model for lesson planning.

9-15-05 – Standards into Practice:  Examples for the Early Grades

I am so glad that there was a section like this to refer to!  When planning a unit to cover 
the various goals in social studies, there are so many different topics and subjects to 
touch on, the task does seem to be somewhat intimidating.  It makes it so much more 
concrete and “doable” if you see real lessons where teachers have been able to 
implement several standards into lessons.  I especially found the lessons that 
incorporated other subjects and activities into them to be very interesting and would like 
to try some of these in my own class. 
This unit listed the ten strands of social studies that we read about previously with the 
individual “performance expectations”, or the equivalent to our Nevada Standards, under 
each strand. The performance expectations listed were specifically for the early grades 
(what I am planning to teach).  If a specific performance expectation could be related to 
another strand, those related strands were referenced as well.  For example, I. Culture 
(a) also could be related to II. Time, Continuity, & Change, III. People, Places, & 
Environments, and V. Individuals, Groups, & Institutions.  This makes it much easier for 
a teacher to cover more than one goal area in a particular lesson.  With the time 
constraints in the classroom being what they are, this is necessary if all of the goals are 
to be met in the subject.  Example #2 listed under strand IV was a terrific example of a 
year long unit that covered so many areas of study.  The children actually developed a 
portfolio showing their growth over the year in comparison to a dogwood tree on their 
campus.  The teacher incorporated art (pictures the students created), various writing 
assignments, weight and measure, and a read aloud book into this unit.  The children 
were not only able to reflect on their growth over the year, but the next year’s teacher 
would be able to see the type of work that their new student was capable of.  The first 
example under the last strand, Civic Ideals & Practices, was also an excellent project for 
getting the students involved in a major decision that was being made in their school (the 
addition of a daycare and a preschool).  By having the children research and 
professionally present their side to the school board, they were able to see how 
becoming involved, being informed, and taking a stand on an issue can make a 
difference.  Though this project took a lot of time, there were several steps in the 
process that covered multiple subjects.  Also, the value of the entire experience was 
priceless as the students saw that being a proactive citizen made a difference.  They, to, 
had a voice in their own school and by being well informed and professional, people 
listened! 

9-20-05	Lesson Types

This reading focused on the types of lessons that teachers should focus on when teaching 
Social Studies.  The author felt that many of the social studies lessons that are taught 
tend to be narrowly construed and monotonous.  Stated in the text, “What is needed is a 
principled and creative approach to method selection.”  He also felt that the students 
needed to be able to construct knowledge from their social studies instruction, rather 
than relying on the teacher’s completed thoughts. 
The first type of instruction outlines an act of discovery with the teacher giving the 
student a topic to focus on (e.g. the Roman Empire).  The students give information from 
previous knowledge they possess about the Roman Empire, and they also make 
hypothesis as to how life was during this time.  By giving the students the “reigns” so to 
speak, their curiosity is sparked and they are eager to investigate to find out if their 
guesses are correct.  The teacher helps them organize their thoughts and the direction to 
take for investigations or projects, but the students have generated much of their own 
information.
The second type of instruction outlines small group work, which can be suitable for 
almost any subject matter.  This type of instruction should have a relatively low 
expectation for uniform outcomes, but this can also be useful for dividing up large topics, 
for example, by forming specialist groups. 
The third type of instruction describes the development of a central topic, or “big 
idea”.  “Big ideas should be sufficiently simple so that the students can understand them, 
yet sufficiently complex so that grasping the concept helps to reorganize the students’ 
understanding of what they have previously learned.”  
In all of these types of instructional approaches, the author stresses that students 
remember the themes that were studied long after the specifics have been forgotten.  A 
student is much more apt to remember information over a long period of time if they 
were actively involved in learning the topic.

9-22-05	Helping Student Develop Social Studies Inquiry Skills

The first section of this reading described the process of inquiry that students engage in 
as they investigate their social world and develop knowledge.  The teacher needs to 
make common learning experiences more meaningful to students through the use of 
inquiry skills.  One of the major goals is the transfer of an inquiry skill from one context 
or topic area to another.  “Knowledge develops through our experiences with the world 
and other individuals”; we would not be the people we are today if not for our prior 
experiences and knowledge.
Children in the early inquiry stage rely on their five senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, 
and smell) to begin the inquiry process.  Children need to be encouraged to ask 
questions and have them answered, investigate answers on their own, and have learning 
experiences through play and interactions with others.  “The social environment in which 
such experiences occur is important in the development of a child’s attitudes toward 
learning.”  My mother (56 years old) can remember to this day that she had a mean 
kindergarten teacher.  She stated that she did not like school until she started first grade 
because of how her teacher treated the students.
The reading went on to outline in Table 3.2 the basic social studies inquiry skills for 
grades K-8.  The basic skills are: observing, communicating, classifying, inferring, 
predicting, and measuring and estimating.  The integrative skills are: 1) Organizing, 
interpreting, and drawing conclusions from data, 2) Isolating and using variables, 3) 
Formulating hypothesis, and 4) Solving problems, making decisions, investigating, 
thinking critically, and thinking creatively.

Section 2

There were three skills listed that should be incorporated in an exploration activity 
beginning a skills lesson.  They are: 1) diagnosing what students now know, 2) focusing 
students’ attention, and 3) relating students’ prior knowledge to the new learning.  Social 
studies inquiry skills can be grouped into four areas that move in the sequence of the 
inquiry.  Table 3.3 further details the four areas; data gathering, data organizing, data 
processing, and communicating.  The activity in the reading was great in helping me to 
better distinguish between observations, inferences, and hypotheses (I missed 3).  
Observations state characteristics of objects or events observed through the use of the 
five senses.  Inferences are best-guess statements and can fall into three categories; 
classification defines an object or event, predicting attempts to determine the state of an 
object or event, and generalization summarizes and makes conclusions about 
information gathered.  A hypothesis describes the relationship of two or more variables 
constructed for investigating and testing.  There was a lot of information given about 
hypotheses.  The hypothesis is developed as a response to a specific inquiry.  They 
typically condense large amounts of data and are general statements that attempt to 
cover all cases.  Testing all cases is an impossible task, so hypotheses can only be “well 
supported”.  An acceptable hypothesis is one with a lot of support.  The text 
stated, “Cooperative learning groups offer an opportunity for the give and take of ideas, 
and are effective when trying to develop hypotheses.”  Two other types of studies using 
hypotheses are the descriptive and the predictive studies.
The reading also outlined attitudes and dispositions that were important to foster 
effective social studies inquiry.  Curiosity is fostered through questions and answers that 
are exchanged during lessons.  Next, respect for evidence included keeping an open 
mind, perseverance (not all answers will come quickly and easily), and consideration of 
conflicting evidence (even when that evidence goes against what we already think and 
know).  Respecting evidence also involves reserving judgment.  This is challenging for 
many people as we do not like to have periods of uncertainty in life.  Flexibility is the 
final important trait to foster effective attitudes for successful social studies inquiry.
Finally, the reading emphasized the traits that impact the affective domain, as this 
domain greatly impacts peoples’ thoughts and actions.  The traits are: 1) Values – 
decisions about the worth or importance of something based on a standard we have set, 
2) Morals – are value decisions when the judgments involve right and wrong, and 3) 
Aesthetics – encompasses all forms of expression, including music, literature, dance, and 
art.

9-27-05	Teaching Lessons in Which Students Use Integrative Thinking Skills

There are several sample student behaviors that are involved when using integrative 
skills.  These are:  1) Critical thinking – involves having good reasons for what you 
believe, 2) Problem solving and decision making – a thinking strategy that attempt to 
resolve a difficulty, 3) Investigating – posing what-if questions to see what follows, and 
4) Creative thinking – basic thought processes to develop constructive, novel, or 
aesthetic ideas or products (Table 3.4 from reading lists attitudes and dispositions that 
foster creative thinking).  Under investigation, there are reasons listed as to why most 
people are not very good at this skill; collecting too few pieces of data, collecting more 
data than can be organized to show relationships, and when organizing information, 
having too little or too much information.
The text mandates deliberate planning and interactions in the classroom if thinking is to 
be accomplished.  Strategies that help students to think in social studies are questioning, 
structuring and modeling.  There are also four major characteristics that must be present 
in an inquiry skill lesson; 1) focus on skill is used in inquiry, 2) concrete or manipulative 
experiences, 3) content is organized, and 4) extensive practice of the skill is given.  A 
skills lesson needs to contain goals and objectives with objectives for a skills lesson 
being developed from its goals.

Implementing Activities That Teach Inquiry Skills

Implementation involves three steps:
1)	exploratory introduction of the skill
2)	guided development of the skill
3)	expansion of the skill as it is used in different situations

Exploratory introduction challenges students’ existing ability and creates a need for 
development of the skill that is the goal of the lesson.  In guided development, the 
teacher guides students more directly in the construction of the skill.  The teacher may 
ask leading questions, give explanations, and provide examples of the use of the skill.  
Expansion involves the need to practice and use a skill in situations that differ from the 
one in which they acquired it.  For a skill to be used automatically, students need to 
practice it over a long period of time. 
The remainder of the reading focused on assessing inquiry skills.  Some suggestions 
given were daily record keeping, task completion record, task performance record, 
checkmarks for completed tasks, rubrics, and classroom charts.  There was also an 
interesting table (3.7) outlining a curiosity assessment with 5 levels of achievement 
possible.

9-29-05 Using Instructional Strategies That Help Students Learn

An effective teacher is able to select various strategies that match the objectives towards 
which their students are working.  Strategies have their strengths and weaknesses; 
therefore, it is important that the strategy match the particular objective.  The text 
focused on the dimensions that supported meaningful learning;  Clarity – or clear 
instruction, which incorporates many components that focus learning both before and 
after activities, Variety – includes providing instructional approaches such as materials-
rich activities, student discussion, reading, and teacher questioning, Task Orientation – 
involvement in social studies for a significant amount of time at every grade level, 
management of materials, and transitions between topics, Student Engagement – 
nonthreatening and supportive learning environment in which students can focus on 
lessons with few interruptions and distractions.  With student engagement, it is important 
to remember that effective teachers continuously monitor their engagement.
There are two teaching strategies listed that support meaningful learning.  One is 
questioning; all learning begins by asking questions.  Wait time, questions that are 
planned out in advance, and the type of questioning used are important aspects when 
using this strategy.  A central key question is planned for the exploratory phase of 
learning, while narrow or closed questioning is used during lesson development.  The 
second strategy is cooperative learning; an approach or set of strategies specifically 
designed to encourage student cooperation while learning.  The four major goals of 
cooperative learning are:  1) positive interdependence among students is created 
through the division of workload, responsibility, and joint rewards, 2) positive student 
interaction and accountability holds students individually accountable for their own 
learning and for the learning of the others in their group, 3) students work to develop 
adequate interpersonal and small-group skills through effective communication, 
willingness to accept and support each other, skills to resolve conflicts, and an 
appreciation for each other, and 4) students develop an awareness for the need for 
group processing.  When grouping students, there is a method that is used to help ensure 
the success of the group.  A group usually includes four students:  one high achiever, two 
average achievers, and one low achiever.  Duties in the group are divided among the 
members.

A Continuum of Knowledge and Instruction

There are various conceptions that teachers have about the way social studies teaching 
and learning takes place.  One concept is fact acquisition – repetition is the key learning 
process.  A second concept focuses on concept or idea attainment – requires students to 
figure out the attributes and attribute values of a concept by comparing and contrasting 
examples.  A third concept actively engages students in developing social studies ideas 
on their own, identifying, and the using them in the real world.  Under this concept, 
students actively participate in the learning process by using exploration, testing their 
prior knowledge, and applying ideas in a variety of situations.  Matching instructional 
strategies to students’ needs a teacher could group instructional methods into three 
categories; 1) Expository, or direct, instructional methods requires external motivation 
and careful classroom management.  This method produces only lower levels of learning, 
such as recall and memorization, 2) Guided discovery instructional methods involves 
students in activities related to a concept and they form an understanding of it before the 
teacher offers an explanation.  This method encourages student investigative skills, 3) 
Inquiry and problem solving/decision making instructional methods which are intrinsically 
motivating because students direct their own learning.  This type of method encourages 
higher order thinking skills, as well as improving long-term memory and transfer of 
learning.

10-4-05	Useful Instructional Activities for the Exploratory Introduction Phase

There were 6 teaching methods listed for the exploratory introduction phase of a lesson.  
They are:  1) Review – recall of related concepts and generalizations studied previously, 
2) Structured Exploration – An open key question introduces the lesson and helps 
students organize students’ experiences, 3) Cooperative Group Challenge – the teacher 
describes what he/she is going to do and asks students to predict what happens next, 4) 
Confrontational Challenges – confront students’ conceptions of the way the world works, 
5) Problem  Exploration – teacher presents an open-ended problem and has the students 
attempt to find a solution, and 6) Open Exploration – students explore an unstructured 
environment in response to an open key question.  The reading went on to list useful 
instructional activities for the lesson development phase; 1) Field trips – Promotes guided 
discovery and inquiry discovery, 2) Guest speakers – needs a lesson plan to be sure that 
the speaker’s information relates to specific social studies content, 3) Demonstration – 
involves the use of real objects, physical analogies, or models to illustrate a concept and 
gives students an opportunity to have control over their learning, 4) Lecture or teacher 
presentation – First grade guide is usually 10 minutes while middle school can handle 
longer presentations, 5) Games – students get an opportunity practice both academic 
and social skills while being highly motivated to participate, 6) Role playing and 
simulations – provides opportunities to learn content, use critical thinking, make 
decisions, and practice social and communication skills while also providing students with 
an opportunity to hypothesize, test, revise, and retest ideas,  7) Discussion strategies- 
entails verbally sharing ideas with the goal of improving one’s thinking on a topic 
(teachers also need to be sure to bring the discussion to a closure to ensure success), 8) 
Writing in social studies – The steps of the writing process are followed: prewriting, 
drafting, revising, editing, and sharing/publishing utilizing themes that relate to social 
studies, and 9) Reading literature, text, and documents – trade books to support or 
introduce attitudes and values.  There are more useful instructional activities, but those 
will be listed in the next synopsis.  Also to note, under “Role Playing and Simulations” 
there were several things that were defined and broken down further.  Role playing 
examines interpersonal relationships and social behavior.  A well planned role playing 
lesson was broken down into eight parts in our reading.  Simulations are activities similar 
to real-world situations or problems, simplified for use in a short time period.  The 
objective of this type of lesson is that students learn through the process.  Finally, 
storypath is sophisticated use of simulation and role playing that requires several weeks 
to complete and contains five episodes listed in our reading.

A useful guide was provided for writing up a social studies investigation.  The steps are:  
state problems, aim or purpose, method, findings, conclusions, and action plan.  Tools 
that are helpful when reading literature are prereading, contrast charts, anticipation 
guides, journals and double-entry journals, Venn diagrams, and book charts.  Utilizing 
these activities while reading social studies related-literature is outlined further in our 
reading.  The text also recognizes the difficulty students have when reading social studies 
text books as there are many technical concepts and generalizations.  It is recommended 
that teachers analyze a unit in the student’s book before reading the teacher’s guide to 
get a view of the text from their students’ standpoint.  Also recommended is using the 
textbook as a resource rather than directly for content.  New teachers usually can only 
develop one or two units for social studies their first year due to time constraints.  A 
teacher should develop a plan using learning cycles.  Social studies kits contain yearlong 
activities that fit the social studies plan.  Some resources for kits include professional 
educational publishing houses, museums, government agencies, industries, and special 
interest groups.  Teachers need to review these materials before presenting in the 
classroom by asking these important questions:  “How accurate is the information 
presented?  Is the material in the kit illustrative of the diverse nature of the society?
Do the materials present multiple viewpoints in an unbiased manner?”  The last part of 
this section identified pictures and drawings, learning centers, and discovery invitation as 
more useful instructional activities that center on social studies.

The last part of our reading contained “Classroom management strategies for powerful 
social studies.”  Advanced lesson planning is critical to effective classroom management 
and higher student achievement.  Before students are given materials, they should be 
given directions on how the materials are to be used.  Distributing materials to students 
can be the single most difficult part of the lesson.  It is important to set up stations and 
place materials in easily accessible locations.  When all of the materials are ready to be 
distributed and students are ready for the lesson, it is important to provide and 
introduction or overview to the lesson.  This provides an expectation for what is coming 
next.  Group students for cooperative learning by designating groups’ names or numbers 
and assigned work spaces.  Use classroom rules and lesson smoothness to ensure that 
lessons flow and are effective.  And finally, teachers need to be facilitators in this process 
so that students can try out new ideas and explanations.

10-6-05	Standards Into Practice:  Examples for the Middle Grades

The standards into practice provided several interesting and student-motivating lessons 
that covered the 10 strands of social studies.  Under Culture:  The lesson that included 
the collaboration of high school students with the elementary school’s studies on Native 
Americans was excellent.  The high school invited the students for a potlatch tradition at 
their school, and this was a great example of shared-learning between schools and 
ages.  I also especially liked how the teacher in Example 3 was sensitive to her Native 
American student’s feeling that the class was being too general when referring to 
Indians.  The teacher had the class learn more about Native Americans which, in turn, 
expanded their knowledge so that they could appreciate the differences between the 
various tribes.  Under People, Places & Environments:  Example 3 described an eminent 
natural disaster and how the various agencies needed to coordinate in order to face the 
challenges the disaster would create.  Now that the U.S. has experienced one of the 
worst natural disasters in our history, Hurricane Katrina, were I teaching this lesson I 
would use the response time, lack of government agency coordination, etc. in teaching 
this to my class.  The class would be able to examine concrete examples of what 
happened and didn’t happen in our own country.  They then could devise their own 
answers to how these problems could have been avoided and what needs to be done in 
the future.  Under Individual Development and Identity:  Example 3 was a great way to 
examine how historians record history.  By having students document their own histories, 
they were able to give more significance to important events in their lives, while also 
appreciating the background and diversity of their fellow students.  Under Power, 
Authority, & Governance:  Example 1 was terrific in passionately involving the students in 
an issue that personally affected them.  By responding to the school district’s decision to 
cut music from schools, students were able to not only justify why it was important, but 
also to be facilitators of change in their own lives.  I loved this!  Under Production, 
Distribution, and Consumption:  Students were able to have speakers come in (Example 
1) and represent the various view points of land development vs. park development.  
What a great way for them to be able to recognize and appreciate the various points of 
views involved in the issue.  Under Global Connections:  Example 2 let the students 
decide on the topics that they wanted to learn more about from each unit.  Topics were 
added and deleted over the school year depending on necessity and ability to find 
information and relevance of topics.  What a great way to let students have a choice in 
their own learning!  This also demonstrates the democratic process.  Finally, under Civic 
Ideals and Practices:  Example 3 is another great lesson that lets students become 
passionately involved in an issue that concerns them.  Justifying to a popular store’s 
president the need to let them shop there without parental supervision not only got them 
highly motivated, but let them be facilitators of change in their own lives.   In most of 
these lessons, students are given a side to represent or report about and thus an 
opportunity to see how an issue/situation/group/etc. affects them were they a member of 
a particular side.  By involving students as experts on a topic, representatives of a side, 
leaders in debates, real-life scenarios that involve them, and exposure to guest speakers 
that can relay their points of view, students are actively involved in what they are 
learning.  These lessons were not only intellectually stimulating, interesting, and 
valuable, but students are very likely to remember these experiences throughout their 
lives.

10-11-05	Patty Reed’s Doll (1-80)

What an interesting story!  The Reed family along with their ailing grandmother set off for 
the promise of good weather and opportunity in the West.  Everything is fun and 
adventurous in the beginning…but as each leg of the journey goes on there is a sense 
that everything can not remain so happy.  When they left their home in Springfield, it 
was a beautiful sunny day and everyone is waving them on as the wagon train moves 
through town.  The Reeds have campfire fun on their first night with the other members 
of the train, and the “doll narrator” notes the beautiful flowers that are seen along the 
prairies as they advance west.  After the nonstop rain they encounter, grandmother 
takes a turn for the worse and passes away (maybe pneumonia?).  This event is pivotal 
as it sets a foreboding mood that is a precursor of events to follow.  Once the family 
leaves the last city in the United States at that time, Independence, Missouri, things get 
markedly harder for them.  From the way the story is told in the beginning, especially 
with the stories the grandmother told about Indian attacks when she was a young 
pioneer girl, one would think that the troubles the party would encounter would be from 
the Indians.  At the end of this section, the wagon train is only 300 miles from their final 
destination.  A reader that is unfamiliar with the story would surmise that they had made 
it through the worst.  But, as they will find out, the hardest part of their journey is just 
ahead, and Indians were the least of their worries.

10-13-05	Patty Reed’s Doll (81-143)

The second half of the book begins with the absence of Mr. Hastings (the guide who had 
written a book and supposedly was familiar with crossing through this area).  He was 
supposed to lead their wagons through the pass, but had gone on with another wagon 
train.  The cutoff that they decided to take to save 350 miles turned out to be 
nonexistent.  The men had to hack through several areas for days in order to get the 
wagons through.  The next leg of the journey through the Salt Desert nearly killed them.  
They were told that there were only 30-40 miles of area where there would not be water 
available, and this turned out to be false as well.  The desolation of the desert with its 
heat and lack of water were almost unbearable for the party.  The oldest daughter, Puss, 
said, “Nothing can live in this awful place—no birds, no animals, not even mosquitoes.  
Oh, why did we ever start for California?”…  The Reed family had to abandon their 
wagons and they barely made it out of the desert with their lives.  The reader would 
think that perhaps the worst was over…but now there are the mountains to make it 
through, and unfortunately, it is far too close to fall/winter for the trip to have been 
attempted.  One begins to see how human nature responds in the face of desperation.  
When Mr. Reed stabbed the young man from the Grave’s wagon who was horsewhipping 
himself and his wife, the members of the wagon wanted to lynch him.  They finally 
agreed to banish him from the group.  Though this was devastating to the Reed family, 
the fact that he was separated from them and forced to go ahead alone allowed him to 
make it through the pass before the snows came.  His family was not so fortunate, but 
had he been with them, they probably all would have perished.  He barely made it (he 
was starving and frostbitten) to Sutter’s Fort and was able to organize a rescue party to 
come for his family in the spring.  Amazingly, the entire family survived starvation 
through the winter.  Several members attempted to cross, only to return because the 
snow was too deep and conditions were too severe.  Many others in the wagon train did 
not fare as well, and again, families “took care of their own” when it came to desperate 
times and sharing food with each other.  When the whole family finally made it to Sutter’s 
Fort at the end of the story, there was an excerpt that followed about how Patty grew up 
to be a grandmother much like her own.  She kept her doll in a safe place and only 
allowed her grandchildren to view her once in a while, all the while intending her story to 
continue after her death by wanting the doll to be on display for everyone to share her 
story about her pioneering adventure.  It made me wonder if she thought that it had 
been worth it for her family.  It sounds like they had a good life once they finally made it 
to California, but would they have ever left if they knew what truly lied ahead.  It is good 
that many of these brave people did think it important, as our country would not be what 
it is today had pioneers not wanted to settle the west.  What a great story!  I definitely 
would like to use this in my own class should I be assigned the secondary elementary 
level.  

10-18-05	Flat Stanley

After a bulletin board falls on Stanley Lambchop overnight, he wakes up to find that he is 
only a half an inch thick.  His parents took him to the doctor only to be told that there 
was nothing he could do for him.  Stanley soon discovered that there were benefits to 
being flat.  He could fit under doors when they were closed, he could retrieve lost items 
through street gratings, he could be inexpensively mailed to visit his friend in California, 
and his brother Arthur could even fly him like a kite in the sky.  Stanley even devised a 
plan to help the police catch some museum thieves by posing as a picture (a lovely 
sheep girl!).  After helping the police apprehend the criminals, Stanley is a hero…but all 
good things must come to an end.  Once everyone forgot about his act of heroism, he 
begins to be teased and ridiculed by his classmates for being flat.  Arthur found Stanley 
crying one night and felt bad for his brother.  He brainstormed and thought of a way 
to “inflate” his brother with the tire pump for his bicycle (why didn’t the doctor think of 
that!).  When his plan works, Stanley returns to normal and everyone celebrates in the 
middle of the night with a cup of hot chocolate. 

Hi Dr. Keeler.

I am not sure if I am doing this correctly, but hopefully I attached the copy of my 
synopsis that you requested.  If you don't receive it, I can always print out another copy 
for you.  See you Tue.!

Cindy Sciandra

10-20-05	The Tale

This reading emphasizes the importance of folktales to childrens’ language and learning.  
I liked the quote, “…the reader can enter into another culture and recognize the 
universality of the wishes, dreams, and problems of people around the world.”  The 
reading went on to state that folktales help the young reader make sense of the world by 
giving different explanations for natural phenomena.  Reading nursery rhymes to young 
children introduces them to literary language and the music of language.  They also 
demonstrate that people all over the world share common needs, such as love, hope, 
security, happiness, anger, pride, and loneliness.  There are four characteristics in a 
folktale.  First, people and creatures are shown as they really are, not how we wish them 
to be (wishes are generally shown to be foolish).  Second, goodness or wit outsmarts 
evil.  Third, magic is limited and cannot change someone’s heart or the state of the 
world.  Fourth, evil does not win.  The characters are clearly drawn to depict symbols of 
good or evil, wisdom or foolishness, and power or weakness.  The folktale also uses the 
problem-solving structure and predictable plot structures, which make them good choices 
for guided reading.  Finally, adapting folktales fits into three categories; 1) alteration of 
motif, 2) alteration of mood, and 3) literary simplification or elaboration.  When adapting 
the folktale, the retelling must accurately reflect the oral storytelling tradition, preserve 
the culture of the people, and maintain the essence of the tale.

Folklore Classifications and Definitions

“Folktale is an inclusive term, referring to all kinds of narrative that has its origin in the 
oral tradition.”  There are two kinds of folklore classifications that are universally used.  
Antti Aarne developed the type index in 1910, and Stith Thompson published a motif 
index in 1932.  The first type of folktale described in the reading was fairy tales.  “A fairy 
tale is an unbelievable tale that includes an enchantment or other supernatural elements 
that are clearly imaginary.”  Fairy tales often begin with “Once upon a time” and end 
with “Happily ever after.”  The second type of folktale is the animal tale.  “The animal 
tale is one of the oldest forms of folk literature and is found everywhere on the globe.”  
Characters depicted in the animal tale are animals that act like people.  These types of 
folktales played a big role in the religion and lives of Native Americans.  The animal tale 
fits into three categories:  the trickster (creator and clown), the fable (brief stories with a 
specific lesson), and the etiological, or pourquoi, (explains the origins of certain animal 
characteristics and are written for entertainment).  There are two major collections of 
fables, the Jataka tales (moralistic tales in which the Buddha is reincarnated as one of 
several animals) and Aesop’s fables (directed towards manipulating external forces and 
overcoming enemies).  The third type of folktale is legends.  “Legends are folktales told 
as fact and presumably believed by the storyteller.”  Finally, the fourth type of folktale is 
myths.  “Myths are set in a remote past, in which gods lived on the earth and humans 
had not yet developed an understanding of the arts and customs of life.”  The gods or 
deities often possess human attributes.

10-27-05	The ABC’s of Evaluation – Pgs.7-38

This book is a terrific resource!  I loved the belief statements in the first part of the 
reading.  “Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” 
and “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” were just a few 
of my favorites.  I think that I would like to post a “quote for the week” in my classroom 
and these would be great to use!  “The ABC’s of Research, What Experts Say to the 
Practitioner About Testing” contained several insights into how testing is changing the 
face of education, and, mostly not for the better.  A is for AUTHENTIC Assessment—“If 
we are to change education to meet the demand of the information age, we must 
overcome our habit of using product-oriented assessment techniques to measure 
process-oriented education.”  What a true statement.  We are being taught to teach our 
students cooperative learning techniques, higher order thinking skills, inquiry and 
investigative techniques, and the development of portfolios over a semester or school 
year, yet we are still assessing their learning with an antiquated system that is the basis 
for many important educational decisions at the local and national level!  I agreed with 
many of the opinions of this author.  T is for TEST-WISENESS pointed out the various 
ways that students can become “test-savvy” when multiple choice tests are given.  In my 
Tests and Measurements class, we had to come up with our own multiple choice 
questions for the chapter readings in our text books.  The task is much more difficult 
than I had realized as there are many factors that have to be considered when 
developing these test questions and answers to choose from; stem and answer length, 
correct verbiage between stem and answer, varying the correct answers so that no 
pattern can be evident, choices that are too obvious and that can be easily eliminated, 
vague choices, etc.  Is it safe to assume that every multiple choice standardized test has 
stringently met all of the criteria for test development?  I think it would be safe to 
assume not always!  The final section of our reading focused on critical thinking questions 
and tasks that help middle and upper school students in their development of abstract 
thoughts and ideas.   I thought there were some excellent examples given that would be 
valuable to any teacher!  I liked how several of the letters represented the students’ 
views about their peer relationships and their views about adults and authority figures.  
As we know, this is the age when a child’s friends and peers become so important in their 
lives.  It is also the age when they begin to question “why” they have to do certain things 
and begin to challenge (to some extent) authority figures (mainly their parents!).  One 
example, “Do you feel that rules at school are too lenient, too strict, too flexible, or too 
inflexible?  Give reasons for your answer.”  By giving a student a prompt like this one for 
writing or for some other type of project, we are providing a positive and productive way 
for them to voice their opinions, frustrations, values, etc.  It would also be important for 
the teacher to let them share these projects/writings and for ideas to be formulated that 
could even facilitate some changes in the classroom or school from their ideas.  This type 
of action would show that their voice matters to. 

Sorry.  This reading should have been dated 10-25.

10-27-05	The ABC’s of Evaluation, pages 41-130

This next section (covering letters A-L) of this book was full of useful information for 
teachers.  I liked how each lesson heading contained a “Teacher Application” first.  This 
makes a lot of sense.  How can a teacher demonstrate and evaluate a lesson for their 
students if they have not participated in or attempted the lesson themselves?  Each of 
the lesson ideas for each section not only contained ways that the lesson could be 
adapted for other subjects besides social studies, but also involved varying levels of 
thinking and activities.  Each lesson would start with easier questions or activities that 
would fall under knowledge and comprehension in Bloom’s Taxonomy skills.  Then, the 
questions and activities would graduate to include the use of the other higher level 
thinking skills in the taxonomy.  What is especially useful for us is all of the activities 
included actual worksheets, pictures/symbols, and information cards for us to duplicate 
should we like to teach one of these lessons in our own classes!  I am so glad that we 
had to purchase this additional book, as this is a great timesaver for us once we are in 
the classroom.  Also, I liked the last lesson’s examples of project posters (which we can 
duplicate and piece together as well!).  I have not seen these used in the classes that I 
have visited so far, and I really like how they incorporate visual, kinesthetic, etc. as well 
as the questions that let students really think or put themselves personally into the 
theme that they are studying.  There were so many excellent examples given; Magnets – 
had the questions involving magnetic personality and opposites attracting to personally 
engage the students before they began describing magnets more, and traveling back in 
time to visit George Washington and show him items that the student would select to 
teach him about life in our present time.  These were just a couple of the many great 
ideas shared in this text.

11-1-05	The ABC’s of Evaluation pgs. 131-225

The remainder of the textbook contained more terrific lesson ideas assigned to letters m-
z.  Again, each lesson contained a teacher application so that the teacher was thoroughly 
familiar with the process before assigning the procedure or task to students.    I thought 
the class contract was a great idea for students to not only thoroughly familiarize 
themselves with their learning topic (e.g. spelling words), but it holds them responsible 
for their own learning because they have to sign and agree to complete the tasks listed.  
This is a great resource for teachers, as well, to be able to show parents that have 
questions about their child’s grade.  It is also a great way for students to keep 
organized.  Many adolescents are just learning organizational skills in middle school, and 
by having a checklist prepared of the tasks to complete, they are better able to keep 
track of what they need to do.  Hopefully checklists will carry over into other areas of 
their school life as well!  There were more pages for teachers to copy in the text that 
were great resources and timesavers.  The read and relate (matching) cards were 
excellent, ideas for what a portfolio should contain were helpful, reactions to quotations 
as a springboard for further study is a great example of higher level thinking and 
learning, the “undertaking project evaluations” gave several great examples of starting 
out with one topic and working through the taxonomy levels with varying degrees of 
assignments (there were so many good examples here), and the skillpacks and task 
cards were also interesting and fun for students to utilize.  The task cards would be 
especially helpful for students to use to study for a test as they answer questions directly 
related to a topic they have read about and then write their own multiple choice 
questions for the reading.  The information is bound to stay in their minds with the 
degree of thinking and active learning that is required of them!

11-3-05	The School and Community

This reading offered several interesting and useful suggestions of how the community 
could be utilized as a “laboratory” for middle and high school students’ learning.  Billy 
O’Steen, Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University, suggested that students at 
the middle school level have an inherent desire to make a difference in their 
communities.  Teachers can use this desire to create real-life learning opportunities for 
their students by “integrating academic content, real-life service experience, and 
personal reflection.”  Utilizing classroom speakers from the community was another 
useful suggestion given.  Besides businesses, police and fire fighters, the text gave more 
examples such as speakers from colleges and universities, chambers of commerce, the 
League of Women Voters, and museums.  Having the students brainstorm, prepare 
questions to ask the speaker, mock interviews, and review of materials in advance 
(brochures, posters, etc.) was also suggested in order for a class to get the most from 
their guest speaker.  Other community activities included newspaper articles and 
editorials, field work in the community, and collecting oral histories as other ways to 
personally involve students in the subject and engage their enthusiasm for what they are 
learning firsthand.  I particularly liked the example of the high school students in North 
Carolina using GIS technology, interviews, oral histories, library research, etc. to 
uncover their cities history involving African Americans.  It also was useful to have the 
steps mapped out for before the trip, during the trip, and after for reference, as this 
would be a time consuming part of planning for a field trip.  At least the steps are already 
written down to serve as a checklist!  The GIS technology overview by Shannon White 
was also great.  I have never seen this technology in action, but it sounds amazing.  I 
would love to learn more about it!

The reading continued with yet more suggestions for utilizing the community for students’ 
learning.  Students could obtain information through surveys and interviews and survey 
and interview techniques were given in the reading as well.  The writer stressed that the 
teacher communicate with the community about the social studies program not only to 
try and involve the community, but to communicate to some “skeptics” how and why 
social studies has changed and evolved from when many of us went through school 
years ago.  Relaying the objectives, focus of social studies, inquiry skills, investigative 
techniques, personal involvement from the students, and informing the public about 
school activities are all ways to not only involve the community, but also to gain their 
support and assistance in our students’ learning.  I liked from the reading, “it takes a 
village to raise a child,” as this is so true and with so many busy parents today, so 
necessary.

11-8-05	Beyond the Family Geography Challenge

This must have been such a rewarding and fun experience for you, Dr. Keeler!  It sounds 
wonderful and shows that there are families out there who want to take time to become 
involved in their child’s learning.  I liked how you gave specifically what needed to be 
done to implement the program, who to go through, steps to take before enacting the 
program, what people in the school and community that you needed support from, and 
the various rewards and challenges that you faced throughout the program.  It is also 
great that the local newspaper followed this Family Geo. Challenge as it shows some 
positive and excellent things that our schools and teachers are capable of instead of all of 
the negative aspects of our public education (which is what we usually hear and read 
about!).  As you mentioned, come voting time, the public needs to be informed about the 
good impact our schools can have when given the proper supports.  Did you have a lot of 
families that wanted to participate but could not due to space and resources?  Were you 
able to repeat the challenge for those families that did not get to participate?  How many 
times did you get to do it during your teaching?  You may address all of these questions 
in class later!  Of course, as you stated in your article, the most positive aspect of this 
learning experience, besides learning, was that parents and students got to connect with 
each other and have fun learning together!  This must have been such a valuable and 
wonderful memory that they have to look back on.  By involving the parents in this 
unique way, you are also better enabling them to show that they value their child’s 
education.  Great job!

11-10-05	NCSS Standards, Pages 157-166

The position statements for social studies curriculum was outlined and detailed in these 
pages of the NCSS standards.  I liked the definition of social studies that was 
overwhelmingly approved in November 1992.  It reads, “Social studies is the integrated 
study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence…The primary 
purpose of the social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make 
informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, 
democratic society in an interdependent world.”  This definition encompasses everything 
that social studies should stand for.  The reading also went on to state that “social studies 
teaching and learning are powerful when they are meaningful, integrative, value-based, 
challenging, and active.”  This is exactly what you have been drilling into us throughout 
the semester!  Active learning beats passive, lecture-based, and independent 
textbook/worksheet learning hands down!  Unfortunately, I have witnessed the 
textbook/worksheet example in my 5th grade practicum class, and I would feel very 
confident in stating that the students are not getting very much from their social studies 
instruction.  I am learning what NOT to do there.  The standards went on to further 
explain their mission and purpose statements.  Under Social Studies Purposes and Goals, 
student knowledge is defined as “interpretations that students construct in response to 
their experiences in and out of school.”  It also stated in this section that there were 
many sources of values and beliefs that were drawn from, but the Declaration of 
Independence and the U.S. Constitution were foremost.  YES!  I witnessed two very 
boring round-robin reading and discussion lessons in my practicum on the Constitution 
(both were about 20 minutes long).  Again, this is the framework of our democratic 
society and of which the fundamental ideas for social studies instruction was based on.  It 
deserved better!  The reading went on to state that involving students in making 
decisions that affect them, for example, their own learning, demonstrates first-hand 
democratic principles to them.  How material is presented to students and developed 
through activities will define its meaningfulness to them (and therefore its usefulness to 
them).  Integrating social studies across the curriculum, through time and space, and 
through technology also add impact for our students.

11-15-05	Identifying Professional Resources

Several websites were given at the beginning of this reading that listed major institutions 
that can be utilized that focus exclusively on social studies.  I had only ERIC in my 
teacher “favorites” on my computer, but there were so many others that I had never 
thought of or knew existed; Organization of American Historians, American 
Anthropological Association, and National Council for Geographic Education, to name a 
few.  Several professional journals and their accompanying websites were given; 
Teaching Sociology, Journal of Geography, and The History Teacher were a few of the 
social studies periodicals I would like to look at.  The reading also went on to outline 
effective citizenship as professional development and listed seven questions for social 
studies teachers to ask themselves pertaining to their own citizenship.  Are we practicing 
what we preach?  There were also five internet resources listed that are available to 
teachers for professional development through the internet.  These institutions offered 
distance education courses for other professional development options.  Also, using the 
community as a resource connects student to the community and allows them to have a 
vested interest in their own learning.

11-17-05	Planning for a Mock Trial

This helpful guide broke down the steps for a teacher in preparing to have a mock trial in 
the classroom.  It was recommended that each class period consisted of 50 minutes each 
and was highly recommended for the high school level (though this could be adapted for 
middle school as well).  Several suggestions were given for assigning roles to the 
students in order to keep all students actively involved throughout the trial.  It was 
suggested that each side use two witness roles and six possible attorney roles for a 
possible 16 principal roles.  Cooperative learning and team work is the goal of this type 
of instruction, as well as making what the students are learning personal to them by 
administering their active participation in the lesson.  It was noted that having the jury be 
totally impartial would leave out important instructional aspects of the trial planning, so 
that the jury (for purposes of the mock trial) should be involved in planning for the trial.  
It was suggested that either a student, the teacher, or an attorney or law student could 
serve as the judge in the trial.  This is a decision that would need to be made early on by 
the teacher in response to the type of students that are in his/her class.  Also helpful in 
this outline was a list of materials that would need to be prepared for the students (these 
are provided in the mock trial packet and would need to be duplicated for students), a 
classroom arrangement diagram that would be conducive for the trial, instructions for 
selecting the Clerk, and of the most importance, a checklist of all of the things that a 
teacher may not think about in the planning stages.  This is provided for you in this 
outline!