Standard 1: Middle level Social Studies teachers have a broad knowledge of world cultures, understand the interdisciplinary nature of Social Studies, and use this knowledge in their teaching.
Social Studies content includes a vast spread of subjects and skills. To fully master the subject, the students must be proficient in mapping, economic principles, and political skills as well as remember the key events and people. A useful tool for this is the concept of "EGGCT," pronounced as "egg-cite." In my classroom, we utilize these 5 perspectives of Social Studies and analyze each time period with the lenses of economic, geographic, governmental, cultural and technological principles. This may occur in a discussion, in a creative project or in individual assignments. With all of these criteria being considered, students not only understand what happened but are able to explain and critically analyze the event or concept. The above images reflect the geographic and cultural perspectives respectively.
