When teaching social studies in the future, we plan on using a number of different instructional approaches to help engage our students and assist in their learning of the social studies curriculum. Below we have listed a number of instructional approaches that we plan to use, and have provided a brief description as to why we think those strategies would be useful in teaching social studies, and how they connect to the overall goals of the curriculum (with reference to grade three).
Differentiated Instruction
Differentiated instruction means that we will provide our students with different avenues of learning the material covered in the social studies curriculum. Through our own teaching we plan to make use of differentiated instruction by having students engage with and present information in a number of different ways, and in a way that suits each of our students learning the best. Using this approach, we will be able to help all students see the big ideas presented in any social studies unit, as the differentiated instruction will helpour students to engage more meaningfully with the material as it is presented to them in a way that is suited to their needs.
When implementing inquiry projects and spatial skill activities, differentiated instruction will also play a large role. By being able to tailor assignment topics, the method of instruction, and the resources used, we can ensure that students of all needs are gaining the knowledge and skills the social studies curriculum expects, regardless of any accommodations or modifications that need to be made. In my own practicum experience, I saw a number of students using accommodations such a speech-to-text technology, text-to-speech, picture dictionaries, and online video clips to help them engage with the material being covered in class.
Looking at the grade three social studies curriculum specifically, one of the expectations under Strand A outlines that students need to identify the location of specific historical communities on a map. A lesson that covers this expectation may be differentiated in a number of ways. As the teacher, we could differentiate the material given to the students to create a list of historical communities they are looking to identify (books, primary resources of old maps, the internet/online articles, etc.). We could also differentiate how the students create their map of historical communities (drawing and labeling the map by hand, using a template, creating a digital map, using a mapping program on an iPad). Finally, we could differentiate the way the students wanted to label their map. For more visual learners, the student could create symbols and a legend to identify historical communities in Upper or lower Canada, or they could choose to color code the locations rather then drawing a symbol. The students could also create their own symbols for labeling their map, rather then using ones deiced by the teacher, and finally they could use more words rather than pictures on their map if it was more beneficial to their learning.
Some of the other ways we would use a differentiated instructional approach would be by providing students with a variety of materials to use when exploring social studies concepts.
Some of the materials we would like to include are:
· Textbooks, picture books, novels
· Online media (videos, documentaries, YouTube clips, video games, blogs, online museums)
· Virtual reality
· Primary resources such as journal articles, maps, and newspapers
· Pictures and/or paintings
· Physical artifacts for hands on learning
Compare and Contrast
We believe that the instructional approach of comparing and contrasting would be another great tool to use in our classroom. Comparing and contrasting activities, such as filling out a Venn diagram or a t-chart would allow for students to gain a deeper understanding of certain social studies concepts as it can help them to see a point of reference in their discussions. Using this approach also helps to highlight the citizenship framework, as it provides students with the opportunity to develop an understanding of their role in relation to the world, by revealing a sense of influence and interconnectedness between themselves and the world around them. This instructional approach is also a great way to highlight some of the social studies thinking skills that students will engage in such as interrelationships, perspective, cause and consequence, patterns and trends, as well as continuity and change.
In grade three students can make use of this instructional approach when looking at ways that our own lives are similar and different from the lives of people in the past (Canada 1750 – 1850). Students can also utilize a compare and contrast approach when looking at the challenges faced by different groups and communities in Canada during the 17 and 18 hundreds. Students can then take this activity a step further by comparing and contrasting those challenges to the challenges people of Canada face today; making connections between the past, and current issues and events. 
Field Trips!
As future social studies teachers, we hope to use field study and field trips as a way to enhance our teaching by providing students with real world hands on experiences. Field trips are some of the most memorable moments from both of our elementary school days, and with that in mind we hope to implement opportunities such as field trips and field study into our own teaching. Through field trips, students get to apply the knowledge they have learned in the classroom out in the real world, providing them with the opportunity to see the true impact of different events on our world, or the simulation of an event from the past. Field trips also provide great opportunities for students to explore the framing questions of the unit they are working on, as well as investigate answers to their own questions by using information presented by the real world.
One of the classic trips for grade three students to experience is a visit to pioneer village. Here, teachings of the Stand A: Heritage and Identity Communities in Canada, 1780 – 1850 come to life. Students can engage in a number of activities that allow them to receive a hands on experience of early settler life. Students can use this information to explore questions related to the big ideas of social and environmental challenges that were a part of life in 19thcentury Canada. Students can also use this real world experience to make connections and comparisons to life in Canada during the 19thcentury and Canada today. This field trip experience may also help to spark ideas of inquiry questions/topics related to different communities in Canada from 1780 -1850, or can contribute to the investigation of already formed inquiry projects that students may be working on
Students in grade three could also use less structured field studies to explore the various landforms around their school community. Explorations such as these could help students to explore the interrelationship between the natural features of the environment, land use, and the employment opportunities in the area. We could then do virtual field trips to cities with different landforms to 
Inquiry
The inquiry process is another instructional approach that we plan on using in our own social studies classrooms one day. Using inquiry projects, we will provide our students with opportunities to explore, question, and discover information on topics that they find interesting and meaningful, and will also give them a platform to construct understanding and develop their own opinions on different issues discussed. Inquiry projects will help give our students a sense of importance and independence, as they will be responsible for their own learning, with guidance from us of course! Using inquiry we can help our students to form questions about events from the past, as well as tie in current issues and events that could apply to their investigations. Using the inquiry process students can freely utilize their natural curiosity to investigate issues, developments and/or events that interest them, while building their skills to think critically, make informed decisions, and communicate their ideas. The inquiry process will also help students to use the big ideas presented in each social studies unit, to formulate their own questions about what they are learning.
In both of our practicum experiences, students engaged in a number of different inquiry projects that allowed our associate teachers to create cross curricular connections between social studies and other subjects such as art, language, and drama. In our placements, one thing that stood out to both of us was how engaged and excited students were in the inquiry process. Allowing them to formulate their own questions and investigate their findings, providing students with a sense of autonomy that fostered excited and participation of all students.
In a grade three classroom we would begin inquiry projects by allowing students to discuss and record their wonderings about a topic, and as a class we could transform these wonderings into inquiry questions (formulating questions stage of the inquiry process). Using the questions created as a class, we would group students based on their interests, allowing them to work together to explore and investigate the possible answers to the question they came up with (continuing on through the different stages of the inquiry process). As the classroom teacher, we would help to foster these wonderings by asking prompting questions, and by providing students with primary and secondary resources (books, artifacts, etc.) that could help to spark their interest on a particular topic; such as the tools used by different groups and communities in 19thcentury Canada to get students thinking about the challenges they may have faced. 
Within each of the instructional approaches we described, we would also include a number of different instructional approaches/strategies to help guide our students learning and development within the social studies curriculum and citizenship framework. Some of these strategies/approaches include:
· Group work and partnered activities to help foster cooperation, teamwork, inclusivity and collaboration
· Cross curricular activities and connections
· Four corners activities
· Jig saw activities to help students take charge of their own learning
· Think – pair share activities to help students develop an understanding of how others opinions may differ from their own
· Real world applications to discuss current issues and help students develop a sense of their own identity within their community and our world
· Inquiry projects that are either alone, partnered, or consist of a group of students
· Peer evaluation activities
· KWL (What I know, What I want to know, and what I learned) to help students and ourselves as teachers inform instruction throughout various social studies units