| Cynda Wood |
During my 15 years teaching high school social studies, I approached every new school year with the same goal: urging students to think critically about the world around them. Each class would cover different skills and concepts, but the mission was ultimately the same. We want every student to think critically about how social and historical contexts impact today.
Educators use various strategies to achieve this goal. Because students have different needs, learning styles, and understandings of a subject, scaffolding and differentiation become keys to success. Unfortunately, differentiating instructional materials for every student often puts a burden on teachers, consuming valuable time and energy. For effective learning, teachers must find or create variations of the same lessons and assignments, usually with little support. Curriculum is typically centered around one textbook written for one reading level, yet this material isn’t enough to meet every student where they are.
One of the cornerstones of differentiation is tailoring content for various student reading levels. When we ensure that foundational information is at an appropriate level for each student, we can then build the contextualization and basic vocabulary they’ll need for the lesson. If this initial text is too advanced, though, a student may be confused for the rest of the lesson. When a basic understanding is set, educators can build the lesson—through analyzing primary sources, constructing their own arguments, or comparing varying arguments—to ultimately develop the critical thinking and analysis skills that students need.
A New Solution: Differentiating Content with Teacher-Powered AI
Educators now have a valuable new tool to overcome some differentiation challenges. The AI Leveler in Gale In Context: For Educators gives teachers control to seamlessly adjust Gale content to varying student reading levels at scale. With this teacher-powered AI tool, educators can support on-demand differentiation to meet each student’s needs, effectively tailoring materials to engage learners at all levels.
By harnessing the power of generative AI, teachers can share leveled materials that provide an entry point to foster historical understanding and make connections to relevant current events. From history to sociology to civics, Gale In Context content spans an abundance of social studies topics and is consistently updated to provide the latest information. Teachers can not only level content on demand, but they can also ensure that the information they’re sharing is current and relevant. This allows teachers to build high-quality lessons on up-to-date and engaging topics, connecting the past to the present and teaching about modern events and societal trends. For example, I recently used Gale resources to write lessons on the proposed TikTok ban and the global effects of fast-fashion websites like Shein.
Scaffolding Materials to Spur Student Growth
Our goal as educators isn’t only to meet students at their current reading level, but also to increase that reading level through exposure and practice. In my U.S. history classes, I expected on-level students to analyze the same primary sources and complete similar assignments to my AP students, supported by proper leveling and scaffolding. The facts of U.S. history don’t change from one level class to another, and neither do the skills I wanted my students to build. For me, this meant that there wasn’t an easier class or a harder class, but just classes that were taught with different scaffolds, speeds, and depths.
Usually by the end of the school year, my on-level students caught on that they were being asked to do essentially the same work as the advanced students. However, this realization often came with feelings of pride and accomplishment. These students discovered they could succeed when given the right tools to get there.
Fostering Cross-Curricular Skill Development
Gone are the days of history classes based solely on remembering facts. As social studies teachers, we must ensure students can think critically about and interpret the complexity of history. My favorite phrase when teaching was “history is complicated, but this doesn’t mean that it’s hard.” History simply isn’t black and white—it requires interpretation from multiple perspectives. Students must build skills not only to understand the past, but also to analyze its effects on the world we all live in.
Leveling content helps foster students’ critical thinking and analysis skills, both in social studies and beyond. When students can effectively engage with content in one subject, they develop stronger cross-curricular skills that can be applied in other classes. Educators in all subjects can support the development of these skills, using differentiation as a tool to support students at varying levels.
Differentiate on Demand with Gale In Context: For Educators
Differentiation and scaffolding lessons for students have long been best practices in education. However, they’re often difficult to execute at a beneficial level, and the burden of added time and planning usually falls on individual teachers. Fortunately, technology advancements are making differentiating instruction easier and more effective than ever.
The new AI Leveler in Gale In Context: For Educators, paired with the vast collection of relevant instructional materials, opens more paths for teachers to meet students’ needs.
Interested in learning more about how AI can level content and engage students within Gale In Context: For Educators? Get more details here about using the AI Leveler.
Is your school not a subscriber of Gale In Context: For Educators? Connect with your education consultant to learn more about this comprehensive instructional resource.
About the Author
Cynda Wood brings a wealth of social studies education and leadership experience to her current role as a K-12 training consultant at Gale. Cynda taught high school social studies for 15 years, including 10 years as an AP U.S. history teacher. She served as a department head for 10 years and was a College Board training consultant for three years.