Social Studies 5
Applications of Social Studies

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

It is expected that students will:

• identify and clarify a problem, issue, or inquiry
• gather and record a body of information from a variety of primary and secondary sources
• develop alternative interpretations from varied sources
• defend a position on a regional issue in light of alternative perspectives
• use an outline to organize information into a coherent presentation
• design, implement, and assess strategies to address community problems or projects

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Applications of Social Studies in other grades click on an icon below.

• Have students choose one news event and compare how it is treated by various secondary sources (e.g., TV, radio, newspapers, CD-ROMs). Ask each to hypothesize about reasons for similarities and differences and to defend the source he or she thinks is the most reliable.
• Show a brief video clip and ask students to individually record what they see and summarize what happens. Invite them to share their observations as a class and suggest reasons for similarities and differences.
• In preparation for a school-wide survey, have the class brainstorm questions they would like to ask about Canadian unity. Ask pairs of students to use the survey questions to obtain information about other students' views (in other classes, school-wide). Each survey question then becomes the responsibility of a group, which must take the survey results, create categories based on the data, graph the results, and make a summary statement.
• Ask students to choose a relevant regional issue to research (e.g., land claims, resource use). In groups, have them collect data reflecting at least two perspectives on the issue, assess reasons for the differences, and use criteria (e.g., consideration of another point of view) to determine which perspective they agree with and why.
• Form small groups of students and have each identify a community problem and create a survey to ask residents their opinions on how to deal with it. Groups then work to assess the data and come up with strategies that synthesize community input. They should also indicate why their strategies would be acceptable to the community.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• When students conduct a school-wide survey on Canadian unity, work with the class to develop criteria for the group reports on specific questions. For example, to what extent does the report:
  • clearly identify the issues associated with the question
  • describe clear and logical categories for the responses
  • present the data in a clear and accurate graph
  • consider more than one interpretation of the data
  • offer a conclusion or summary that is supported by the data
  • When students research a relevant regional issue, note the extent to which they:
  • formulate suitable questions to guide their research and analysis
  • collect information from a variety of current, credible sources
  • clearly describe various perspectives
  • outline evidence to support each position
  • use criteria to evaluate the evidence
  • present personal views that can be supported by their analyses
• After groups identify community problems, conduct surveys, and develop strategies to deal with them, have them self-assess their work by using criteria such as:
  • identifies a community problem
  • designs clear questions to find out people's opinions
  • records answers in a clear and an organized way
  • creates a graph or chart that clearly shows people's opinions
  • chooses a strategy appropriate to the problem
  • explains the strategy in enough detail to put it into action
  • gives logical reasons why the community would accept the strategy