Applying Standards Based Constructivism:
A Two-Step Guide for Motivating Students
Inuit People

Popular Name: Inuit People
Grade Level: 3rd Grade
Discipline: Social Studies
Standards:
  •  Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to determine their understanding of major ideas – eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history – and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.
  • Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of geography of the interdependent world in which we live – local, national, and global – including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth’s surface.
Learning Objectives:
  • Students will demonstrate an in-depth understanding of one aspect of Inuit life.
  • Students will demonstrate a general understanding of all aspects of Inuit life.
  • Students will demonstrate the ability to make a seven-minute presentation based on their knowledge of one aspect of Inuit life.
EXPLORATORY PHASE:
  • In small groups, students will fill in a K-W-L chart regarding the Inuit people.
  • In small groups, students view a CD-ROM about the Inuit people.
  • Students translate what they have learned to wall charts and world maps.
DISCOVERY PHASE:
Performance Task
  • Student groups randomly select a topic area regarding the Inuit people and develop a section of a presentation to be made to other third graders.

Inuit People
Popular Name: Inuit People
(based on a lesson created by Karen Vitek and peer reviewed by the members of the NYS Academy for Teaching and Learning)
Grade Level: 3rd Grade
Discipline: Social Studies
Standards and Performance Indicators Context
 
Social Studies Standard 2: World History
 
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to determine their understanding of major ideas, era, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.
  • Study about different world cultures and civilizations focusing on their accomplishments, contributions, values, beliefs, and traditions.
  • Explore the lifestyles, beliefs, traditions, rules, and laws, and social/cultural needs and wants of people during different periods in history and in different parts of the world.
Social Studies Standard 3: Geography

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of geography of the interdependent world in which we live – local, national, and global – including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth’s surface.
  • Study how people live, work, and utilize natural resources.
  • Identify and compare the physical, human, and cultural characteristics of different regions and people.
  • Gather and organize geographic information and display in a number of different ways.
Core Curriculum Outline Connection
  • People in the world use legends, folktales, and oral histories, biographies, autobiographies, and historical narratives to transmit values, ideas, beliefs, and traditions.
  • World communities change over time.
  • Beliefs, customs, and traditions in world communities are learned from others and may differ from place to place.
  • World communities can be located on maps and globes.
  • People in world communities depend on and modify their physical environments in different ways.
  • People in world communities locate, develop, and make use of natural resources.
Learning Objectives (which will become the dimensions of the assessment’s rubric.)
  • Students will demonstrate an in-depth understanding of one aspect of Inuit life.
    • Inuit Life and Clothing
    • Inuit Language
    • Land and Climate
    • Animals and Arctic Hunting and Fishing
    • Transportation
    • Shelter
    • Recreation
  • Students will demonstrate a general understanding of the above listed aspects of Inuit life.
  • Students will demonstrate the ability to make a seven-minute presentation based on their in-depth knowledge of an aspect of Inuit life.
EXPLORATORY PHASE
(Estimated time: 40 minutes)
  • In small groups of three, the students fill in a K-W-L chart of what they know and want to learn about Inuit people.
  • These charts are posted and the students rotate around (carousel) and read them.
  • Following this carousel, the teacher leads a discussion concerning what has been learned through this exercise.
  • In groups of three, students use the CD-ROM, “My First Amazing World Explorer,” to locate the tundra area in which the Inuit people live.
  • Students than transfer this knowledge to a traditional wall map and globe.
DISCOVERY PHASE
(Estimated time :  six hours over several days)

Performance Task (including planned interventions and audience beyond the teacher)
Class presentation to 5th grade classes on the Inuit people (audience beyond the teacher):
  • Teacher divides the class into seven groups of three or four each.  A member of each group picks a topic-heading out of a bag.  The topic headings are:
    • Inuit Life and Clothing
    • Inuit Language
    • Land and Climate
    • Animals and Arctic Hunting and Fishing
    • Transportation
    • Shelter
    • Recreation
  • Each group uses suggested resources both text and website to begin to gather and record their information. (See Resources)
  • The group’s first assignment is to decide on the categories their information will fall into.  The teacher periodically checks to see the progress the group is making in developing subcategory headings and guides the group with some spontaneous interventions when called for.
  • The group’s second assignment is to begin to project what information they need to put in each category.  For example, Inuit Life and Clothing subcategory titled Men’s Clothing could be subcategorized by the season, event, geographical area, and so forth.
  • Eventually, this process will be used to develop a rubric for the group’s self-analysis of their section of the presentation (i.e., the group will develop its own rubric to judge the content covered in their subcategory).
  • After the group establishes its subcategories and completes its initial information gathering and recording, it needs to decide on how to present the information.
    • What will the script for each subcategory be?
    • What graphics will be needed?
    • Will PowerPoint be used?
    • What about maps?
    • What about props?
    • What about slides?
  • Teacher spontaneous interventions may be necessary to guide the group process.
  •  The groups prepare their sections of the presentation and rehearse by pairing off and presenting to each other.
  • The audience group uses the presenting group’s content rubric and the generic presentation rubric to make recommendations for improvement.  Then they reverse roles.
  • The second rehearsal uses different pairs and the same procedure.  
  • There will need to be at least two thorough run-throughs, during which the nonpresenting groups use the rubrics to make recommendations for improvement.
Task Specifications for Developing the Student-Generated Product/Process
Each group will have seven minutes to make its presentation.  With transitions, the target timeframe is one hour.

Assessment of Performance Task
Each subheading will need to have its own rubric developed for content.  See below for an example.
Dimensions of Inuit Life and Clothing
 Criteria for a score of
4
 Criteria for a score of
3
 Criteria for a score of
2
 Criteria for a score of
1
Men’s Clothing:
Winter

 Describes four clothing items and explains the function of each.
 Describes three clothing items and explains the function of each
 Describes two clothing items and explains the function of each.
 Describes one clothing item and explains its function.
Men’s Clothing:
Summer

  
  
  
  
Men’s Clothing:
Summer

  
  
  
  
Women’s Clothing:
Winter

  
  
  
  
Women’s Clothing:
Summer

  
 
  
  
Women’s Clothing:
Ceremonial

  
  
  
  
Etc.
  
  
  
  
Inuit Presentation Rubric

The teacher facilitates the class in a discussion of the dimensions of a good presentation.  Dimensions to be teased out include:
  • Timelines
  • Smooth transitions from one topic to another
  • Thoroughness of content coverage
  • Poise
  • Voice level
  • Eye contact
  • Audience attention
General Inuit Unit Assessment
  • Each group develops essay test questions (possibly with scaffolding) on its subcategory of the Inuit Unit.
  • The teacher combines these questions into a unit test.
  • The groups use their questions to tutor those who ask for assistance prior to the unit test.
Resources to Be Made Available to Students
For an extensive list of resources, see The Inuit People lesson on the New York State Academy for Teaching and Learning website at http:unix32.nysed.gov:9290/SocStudies/inuit/html
Suggestions for the Teacher
  • Who will coordinate the transitions?  Will it be a student?  Will it be the teacher?
  • What kind of debriefing will you initiate to continue the continuous improvement cycle?
  • Think about having a different member of each group be the primary presenter at each Inuit presentation.