EDD 495: Elementary Social Studies Methods

100 Experiential Learning Activities for Social Studies, Literature, and the Arts, Grades 5-12 focuses on using active learning to engage students in critical thinking and reflection about complex content knowledge in the humanities and the arts. Through easy-to-use matrices, the authors link lessons investigating history, economics, literature, music, and visual arts to McREL, NCTE, and NCSS standards. The 100 activities address significant social issues, including social justice, culture, language, and diversity.

Preparing students to be active, informed, literate citizens is one of the primary functions of public schools. But how can students become engaged citizens if they can't read, let alone understand, their social studies texts? What can educators--and social studies teachers in particular--do to help students develop the knowledge, skills, and motivation to become engaged in civic life? "Building Literacy in Social Studies" addresses this question by presenting both the underlying concepts and the research-based techniques that teachers can use to engage students and build the skills they need to become successful readers, critical thinkers, and active citizens.

Geography as Inquiry invites teachers and learners to explore geography in exciting ways, across key concepts, connected to history and the social sciences, reestablishing its place in the social studies and history curriculum.

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is a learner-centered and active learning environment where deep learning is cultivated by a process of inquiry owned by the learner. IBL has its roots in a constructivist educational philosophy and it is oriented around at least three components: 1) exploration and discovery (e.g. problem-based learning, open meaning-making), 2) authentic investigations using contextualized learning (e.g. field studies, case studies), and 3) research-based approach (e.g. research-based learning, project-based learning). IBL encourages more self-regulated learning because the primary responsibility is on the learners to determine the issues and research questions and the resources they need to address the questions. In this way, learning occurs across all learning domains (affective, cognitive, and social) because different types of knowledge are acquired though experience with complex, real-life problems. This volume serves as a conceptual and practical resource and guide for educators and offers practical examples of IBL in action and diverse strategies for how to implement IBL in different contexts.

Create a whole new world of understanding in your classroom! Inquiry is a fundamental step in the student learning process, and often the least understood. In Integrating Inquiry Across the Curriculum, the authors offer a collection from leading experts on how to integrate inquiry across the K-12 curriculum.

Investigating Family, Food, and Housing Themes in Social Studies asks students to critically examine their own culture by contrasting it with the daily lives of average people in the past. What people ate, where people lived, and the functions of families are examined and contrasted to subjective, cultural ideals prescribing what families, food, and housing ought to have been. The relationship between housing, food, and family and social class, status, and gender are emphasized. Each chapter includes essential questions to focus student inquiry; historical overviews focused on changes in family, food, and housing from the pre-industrial era, through its transformation during the Industrial Revolution and into the twentieth century; learning activities; and primary source documents and images. This unique approach to teaching history and social studies supports thematic instruction, culturally responsive teaching, place-based education, and literacy in the elementary, middle, or secondary classrooms.

Primary teachers, you won't want to miss this: if you're looking for a single resource to foster purposeful content discussions and high-quality interpersonal engagement, then put Jeff Zwiers and Sara Hamerla's K-3 Guide to Academic Conversations at the top of your reading list. Whether your students love to talk or not, all must be equipped with key conversation skills such as active listening, taking turns, posing, clarifying, supporting with examples, and arguing ideas. This ready resource comes packed with every imaginable tool you could need to make academic conversations part of your everyday teaching.

LET THE MUSIC PLAY! Harnessing the Power of Music for History and Social Studies Classrooms provides readers an accessible introduction to employing music in history and social studies classrooms. Teachers who wish to develop lessons using music as a resource will find coverage of the significant relationship between music and social studies, pedagogical models designed to facilitate using music within history and social studies lessons, and coverage of salient historical themes in which music has been integral.

A practical, holistic approach to integrating social studies with language arts and other content areas This comprehensive, reader-friendly text demonstrates how personal connections can be incorporated into social studies education while meeting standards of the National Council for the Social Studies.

From Universal Design for Learning, mnemonics, graphic organizers, and big ideas, to co-teaching, screen readers and the Virtual History Museum, this book offers hands-on, practical ideas general educators can use when teaching K-12 social studies in inclusive classrooms.

The book is unique in that it mixes theory and practical applications in rethinking traditional social studies education. It focuses on essays integrating media, popular culture, and alternative texts for teaching and learning in social studies and history education through a social education lens. Social education integrates social studies, media / popular culture, and cultural studies all within a social justice framework.The text provides 20+ curriculum themes with strategies to connect in teaching and learning, along with resources to extend depth of understanding. In addition, the pedagogical philosophy inherent in the essays is student-centered learning focusing on issues, problem, and project-based instruction. Although the themes are generally social studies and history focused, the links to media and popular culture can be integrated in other disciplines.

Teaching controversial social issues can be a daunting, and oftentimes terrifying, prospect for social studies teachers. In many ways, this fear is warranted given the politically polarized nature of American society in the 21st century. However, effective social studies instruction requires that students begin to grapple with difficult issues in tolerant ways. The chapters in this book, many of which are written by leading scholars within the field of social studies education, cover a range of 21st century social issues, including politically volatile issues such as gun control, marriage equality, the Black Lives Matter movement, and immigration. This book offers both a theoretical justification for engaging students with controversial social issues and practical suggestions for how to successfully implement discussions of these types of issues in K-12 classroom settings.

Presenting U.S. history as contested interpretations of compelling problems, this text offers a clear set of principles and strategies, together with case studies and "Mystery Packets" of documentary materials from key periods in American history, that teachers can use with their students to promote and sustain problem-finding and problem-solving in history and social studies classrooms. Structured to encourage new attitudes toward history as hands-on inquiry, conflicting interpretation, and myriad uncertainties, the whole point is to create a user-friendly way of teaching history "as it really is" ─ with all its problems, issues, unknowns, and value clashes. Students and teachers are invited to think anew as active participants in learning history rather than as passive sponges soaking up pre-arranged and often misrepresented people and events. New in the Second Edition: New chapters on Moundbuilders, and the Origins of Slavery; expanded Gulf of Tonkin chapter now covering the Vietnam and Iraq wars; teaching tips in this edition draw on years of teacher experience in using mysteries in their classrooms.

Everything you need to know to lead effective and engaging project-based learning! Are you eager to try out project-based learning, but don′t know where to start? How do you ensure that classroom projects help students develop critical thinking skills and meet rigorous standards? Find the answers in this step-by-step guide, written by authors who are both experienced teachers and project-based learning experts. Thinking Through Projects shows you how to create a more interactive classroom environment where students engage, learn, and achieve.

The key to creating wonder and empathy in class? Questions! Socrates believed in the power of questions rather than the efficiency of lecturing his students. And yet, if we revere Socrates as one of the greatest teachers in history, how did we get so far away from his method of inquiry? Shanna Peeples, 2015 National Teacher of the Year, is here to flip the script and show you how teachers can create a welcoming and engaging atmosphere that encourages student questions and honors their experiences. This resource provides Practical strategies for creating a classroom that runs on dialogue, curiosity, inquiry, and respect.