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This article illustrates the use of the Framing Routine (Ellis, 2008) as a Tier I Evidence Based Practice for the Social Studies content area. The article illustrates how the Framing Routine can be used to make the content in a teacher's lesson plans more accessible to those students who are experiencing academic difficulty academic performance.
The public school teacher in the new millennium has evolved in new and varied ways with respect to their instructional responsibilities. Under the auspices of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), the academic performance of all students has become a primary focus of professional educators. The increasing number of low performing or underperforming students only serves to exacerbate this problem. Indeed, professionals can only expect the condition to grow over time (Blackbourn, Fillingim, Kritsonis, Campbell, Rader, Schillinger, & Ray, 2008).
This condition has resulted in a widespread concern among all teachers,regardless of grade level and/or content area, to "cover the material". Unfortunately, this coverage oftentimes is "a mile wide and an inch deep". Social studies teachers do not find themselves exempted from this dilemma. The challenge for the classroom teacher is to do more than "cover" the content. Indeed, the need to present material in an intellectually honest manner for all students is the foundation of professional integrity.
A variety of means have been applied to provide meaningful instruction to students who are experiencing academic difficulty. Problem Based Learning (Blackbourn, Fillingim, McCelland , Elrod, Medley, Kritsonis, & Ray, 2008; Blackbourn, Fillingim, McCelland, Elrod, & Marshall, 2009), Learning Strategies and the Strategic Instruction Model (Deshler, Ellis, & Lenz ,1996), and the Learning Styles Approach (Dunn, 2003; Dunn & Dunn, 1999), have all been employed as means to achieving this end. Among those procedures implemented in the classroom setting are the Content Enhancement Routines (Lenz, Bulgren, & Hudson, 1990).
Content Enhancement is a process by which the teacher can organize the content of a lesson in a manner which allows all students to have easy access to content and to process information more effectively. Further, Content Enhancement Routines allow educators to foster a sense of community among the students in their classrooms. Ellis & Feldman ( 1994), state that creating a cooperative learning environment in the classroom helps all...