"Thematic Unit Planning in Social Studies: Make it Focused and Meaningful" Article Review

           In Horton and Barnett’s article, “Thematic Unit Planning in Social Studies: Make it Focused and Meaningful,” it is suggested that many teachers create unfocussed units, despite having a theme.  Some teachers put huge amounts of information into each lesson, and this is where depth is sacrificed for breadth.  Horton and Barnett (2008) state that there is a misguided belief in teaching, where thoroughness is achieved by teaching every possible aspect of the topic (p. 2).  It is not just teachers being misguided by this belief, but units designed by textbook companies, corporations, non-profit organizations and even ministries of education (Horton & Barnett, 2008, p. 2). 

            What Horton and Barnett (2008) also state, is that “units are opportunities to address citizenship goals, knowledge, skills, attitudes and values, that we as teachers, parents, schools, communities and provincial and national leaders believe are important for children to learn to be “educated” citizens as well as contributing members of society” (p. 3).  Units therefore need to be more than a series of engaging activities that start to feel like “make work projects.” Students begin to find these pointless.  The units need to give students choice, and need to be clear and focused. 

Six steps were laid out by Horton and Barnett, for teachers to focus on, when constructing unit plans for their Social Studies classrooms:

1.     Limit the Scope – There is too much information on any given topic to teach to students.  Horton and Barnett suggest exploring one or two aspects of the thematic topic in depth and giving students choice about themes to explore.  Students can feel overwhelmed by places and names, when it is critical thinking that they should be learning.  However, it is important to keep students aware of other themes within a unit, to keep the learning as holistic as possible.  It would be poor practice to completely ignore certain aspects of a unit by being too focused. 

2.     Identify Importance – A great way to identify importance in a unit is to consider “what makes any topic important is what it contributes to students’ understanding of themselves and the world around them” (Horton & Barnett, 2008, p. 3).  As teachers, we can see why most topics in the IRP would be important, but to make it meaningful for students, teachers need to take a step back and identify the connections we want students to make.

3.     Create a “Big Understanding” – Instead of naming a unit “Ancient Greece,” we want to create something called a guiding statement.  This needs to be written somewhere in the classroom and referred to consistently for students to remember the theme of the unit.  Horton and Barnett suggest key features to a “Big Understanding”, but basically it comes down to a statement that guides the flow of the unit.  It should be succinct, written in grade appropriate language and be workable (as opposed to definite).  Instead of the unit on “Ancient Greece,” we want the unit to be “Ancient Greece’s similarities and differences to modern society and culture.”

4.     Conclude the Unit – The reason this is ahead of introducing the unit is because “when a traveller plans the route of a road trip s/he always notes the destination first because everything else is dependent on successfully concluding the trip at that point” (Horton & Barnett, 2008, p. 4).  It is so easy to lose sight of the end goal.  This is an excellent reminder of building the process of a journey with an end goal in mind.  It reminds teachers to have purpose with each activity and not to stray too far from that path.  In some cases it also helps students if the end goal is clear, and expectations are clearly defined on how to reach it.

5.     Introduce the Unit – The initial introduction of any topic is crucial to student engagement throughout the unit.  On top of this, for students to be successful, three important pieces of information need to be conveyed to the students.  The first is how students will be assessed, the second is the criteria which student demonstration of learning will be evaluated or judged, and the third is the Big Understanding statement (Horton & Barnett, 2008, p. 6).

6.     Build the Body of the Unit – Teachers need to scaffold the lessons, starting from the introduction.  Each lesson should touch on the Big Understanding and keep the conclusion of the unit in mind.  Horton and Barnett also suggest embracing teachable moments throughout the unit (2008, p. 7).  This is so important to remember as a teacher.  Be prepared to move away from the intended goal of a lesson if something more important comes along “organically from genuine student interest” (Horton & Barnett, 2008. P. 7).

In every unit a teacher creates, there will be variation to structure, theme and outcomes, but considering and including the points in this article can definitely improve unit planning, especially for someone without significant experience (e.g. Student teacher).  Not all units can fit directly into the mold of a thematic unit plan as Horton and Barnett suggest though.  Especially in High School, more than one Big Understanding should try and be attained.  The concept of focused critical thinking and creating meaning to grow students as contributing members of society is a hard idea to oppose however.  The articles strategies and suggestions are ones that every teacher should at least consider when creating units in Social Studies.

References:

Horton, T.A. & Barnett, J.A. (2008).  Thematic Unit Planning in Social Studies: Make it Focused and Meaningful.  Canadian Social Studies (41)1.  Retrieved from http://www2.education.ualberta.ca/css/Css_41_1/ARHortonBarnett_thematic_planning_SS.htm