Texas Social Studies Framework - Department of Geography ...

Chapter 5: The Teaching-Learning System: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Strategy
Spatial
Time
Procedures
Logic
Taxonomies
Typologies
Cause-Effect
Similarities/
Differences
Forms/
Functions
Advantage/
Disadvantage
Figure 15: Organizing or Chunking Strategies
Description
Arrays of information organized
by actual location in space.
Narratives, story telling,
sequencing. Problems, action,
results. Cause and effect.
Steps and stages, e.g., food
gathering, how a bill becomes a
law, making a decision, solving a
problem.
Structured around induction and
deduction, stories that unfold
from statements.
Classification based on structural
features, similarities, or functions.
Classification based on groups
within a subject field.
Determine which thing caused
another thing to happen, or what
resulted from another action.
Compare and contrast. Think
about something students know,
then transfer/compare to
something new.
Organize material by structure
(What is X like?) and function
(How does X work?). Use ideas
of process and system.
Sort material by advantages and
disadvantages, pros and cons.
Organizing Information
Example
Students will divide a given space into subparts to help them recall
concrete information, e.g., in order to learn the states of the United
States, divide the nation into regions and learn the states within each
region (TEKS 5.6 & 7).
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In learning a sequence of historical events, such as the events leading up
to World War I (TEKS World History 9), students can develop flow
charts and orally and visually recount the sequence.
In summarizing the criteria and explaining the process, students will
elaborate on the steps necessary to become a naturalized citizen (TEKS
8.20.E).
In explaining the choices people make in the U.S. free enterprise system,
students will sequence the considerations involved in the decisionmaking
process (TEKS 3.9.B & 3.17.D).
Classifying Information
In order to understand the various physical characteristics of the
environment, students will classify geographic features, e.g., bodies of
water, landforms, soils, natural resources (TEKS 1.6.A).
In order to understand the similarities and differences within and among
cultures, students will classify culture traits or institutions, e.g., religious
groups, systems of government, language families (TEKS 6.15.C).
Multipurpose Sorting
In order for students to understand how historical events influence
contemporary society, students will evaluate relationships between past
conflicts and current conditions in selected contemporary societies
(TEKS 6.1.B).
Students learn the causes and effects of the American Revolution in
Grade 5 (TEKS 5.2.B). In order for students to trace the development of
the Texas Revolution (TEKS 7.2.E), students will recall events leading to
the American Revolution including history, economics, government
systems, culture, and will compare and contrast the two revolutions.
To understand similarities and differences between the U.S. and other
systems of government, students will gather data on various systems,
asking the following questions: What is the system like? How does it
work? How do members choose a leader? How do leaders relate to other
members? Then students will apply organizing strategies (similarities/
differences) to compare and contrast the systems (TEKS U.S. Government
13.A).
To understand how technology has changed people’s lives, students will
identify what a technology does and then will decide how it meets
people’s needs or makes life more complicated (TEKS K.14).