The exemplars in this packet are intended to model instruction (grades K, 1, 2, 3) and assessment (grade 3) for the Maryland Content Standards in social studies. Rather than examine the exemplar for the grade you teach only, it might be beneficial to examine all of the materials in this packet. In doing so, you will note that some exemplars focus on a single content outcome—Political Systems, Peoples of the Nation and World, Geography, or Economics, while some include more than one. This is intended to mirror actual instruction and assessment practice.

In perusing the exemplars, you should also note developmentally appropriate activities of increasing complexity from grades K through 2. These are intended to provide opportunities for students to gain experience performing activities related to outcomes and indicators which they are not expected to master until grade three. This reminder will also be found in the exemplars.

The "Standard/Indicator Activity Match" at the beginning of each exemplar indicates the relationship of specific activities and/or steps within activities, to the grade three standards and indicators. Please note that part of an indicator may be used to design or create a specific step or activity and to measure student achievement. Remember, an activity completed by the students at an earlier grade may be a building block toward mastery of the content or skill prescribed.

You will probably find the format of the lesson exemplars somewhat different from any that you have used. Beginning with grade 1, "Carts, Candles, and Cabbages," there is a Student Booklet that contains most of the activities that students will complete. Please remember that the intent is to mirror the assessment process, not to provide a required format for your teaching. An exemplar, like a lesson plan, is only a beginning. It provides a model or guide for the instructional decisions you must make based on your knowledge of the students you teach, the school’s policies, the content of the designated curriculum, and a variety of other factors.

Please look at the contexts of the tasks with a critical eye. One tenet of performance- based assessment and instruction is that students work within a context that establishes a realistic and authentic purpose for the product or performance they are expected to complete. Those provided in the exemplars may need to be changed or modified depending on the location of your school or any of the factors mentioned in the previous paragraph.

These exemplars are the result of the best efforts of some of the best teachers in the state of Maryland. They reflect high standards for both teachers and students. They will probably engender much discussion of both content and process, and that is both appropriate and encouraged.

Peggy Altoff, Social Studies Supervisor, Carroll County Public Schools
Bob Jervis, Social Studies Supervisor, Anne Arundel County Public Schools