When students are in the initial stages of acquiring information, they require more teacher modeling and explanation. As students acquire knowledge and skills, the need for guidance decreases. Eventually they can apply, transfer, and extend their knowledge and skills independently. Finally, considerate methods and tasks echo the coherence and unity reflected in the instructional materials. The pulling through of important concepts within the considerate text is also built into the instructional methods and tasks.
Unity demands that the instruction focus on a limited number of ideas and concepts.
Coherence demands that the instruction incorporate exercises and activities that tie the important concepts together and connect the big ideas. By integrating authentic materials with considerate methods and tasks, students learn the disciplinary content in a way that permits them to apply and extend important themes and concepts. In essence, students learn how to learn. As students develop strategies for accessing information, they are better able to take responsibility for their own education and employ the lessons of social studies in their own world. Karen K. Wixson is an author of the Houghton Mifflin Social Studies textbooks.