California Missions: 7 Qualities of Powerful Social Studies

1. 1. Meaningful: The project that the students' are doing is similar to one they will be doing in grade eight that is a component in order to graduate that grade, thus having the students' do this particular assignment is valuable and authentic for their futures'.

1.1. New node

1.2. New node

2. 2. Value-Based: Students' are engaged in creating questions to ask themselves in order to guide their research. This process allows students' to take more responsibility for their projects instead of the teacher simply assigning questions they students' should be asking themselves.

2.1. New node

3. 6. Challenging: Students' must work in groups on this assignment which will task them to cooperate, communicate, and recognize differing opinions. This type of group work builds on student's ability to work productively with others.

4. 7. Integrative: The teacher is allowing for research and practical application during this project because he is teaching students' of the longitude and latitude of destinations' that are important and relevant within state that the students' live. This is more practical, as the teacher alluded too, then teaching this application of Europe.

5. 3. Integrative: This assignment is cross-disciplinary in Social Studies in that the studies are researching the history, geography, people (anthropology), and structure of the missions' (sociology)

6. 4. Active: This lessons is definitely hands-on and minds-on in the research portion. Students' have to determine what is important and discover (minds-on), and then through the project specifications have to create (hands-on).

7. 5. Challenging: This project helps individuals' demonstrate understanding through a variety of means. By having students' present their finding in: Writing, drawing/painting, poster, technology, and model the teacher is challenging students' to use a variety of tools they may master as well as need improvement in.