Social Studies Content Area Text Assessment

Beverly McBroom
Deanna Callicutt

              

     North Carolina Standard Course of Study states second graders will study neighborhoods.  Work Together and Meeting Many People are two Social Studies texts used by second grade found in the Instructional Material Center (IMC) at Appalachian State University.
      The structure of the two books was alike in that they both contained a table of contents, glossary, index, but no appendix.  As far as overall content, both books covered the essential concepts of the course, although Meeting Many People was much more broad, blanketing more cultural aspects such as info on other countries, and holidays.  Work Together concentrated on the neighborhood and community.
      The two texts’ content was presented topically and was consistent throughout.  The books were current and up-to-date.  For instance, both books make sure to mention ways of communication, which are not limited to telephone and letter-writing.  Internet and electronic mail were discussed within Work Together and Meeting Many People.  Each text has chapters that were organized similarly.  Work Together does not have focus questions at the beginning and end of the chapters, however both books had chapters with titles that specified the main idea of the chapter.  Also, both had introductory statements and subtopics, which were appropriate for the area.  Work Together had a poem at the beginning of each section.  The very first section had a poem entitled “September” which would fit well for the beginning of the school year.  Literature also held a place within Meeting Many People.  A poem would sometimes be used for reference to a children’s literature book that coincided with the subject at hand.
      The two texts associated lessons with previous knowledge and linked that knowledge to new information.  Work Together did not have summaries, nor did it have conclusions, as did Meeting Many People.  Work Together seemed to have reading, which became more difficult as the book progressed, whereas the other had full paragraphs at the beginning of the book.  Main ideas could be depicted clearly in both books, but through pictures and small sentences in Work Together and through more advanced paragraphs in Meeting Many People.  Meeting Many People was more difficult reading, but both books “spoke” in the active voice, used signals to indicate sequencing of ideas and comparisons, and used words to indicate important concepts.  A good example of using details to develop main ideas was in Work Together on pages 106-107.  The story was about Rosa Parks, an essential civil rights figure.  There was paragraph form, but easy reading, so the main idea could be easily detected.  This book used more bullets and listing than Meeting Many People.  Work Together used many bold words and Italics to show importance.  Meeting Many People had a higher vocabulary density than Work Together.
      Generally, Meeting Many People is a much more difficult text than Working Together.  Both books are loaded with activities for each section.  Meeting Many People had much more in-depth content such as Unit 5 on government, which had approximately ten pages.  There was a lot of map and graph usage (pgs. 153, 161, 180, 181).
      Work Together stayed more on the topic of neighborhoods, but Meeting Many People would provide good background for upper elementary, which deals with state, country, and eastern hemisphere.