TE 853E: Improvement of Instruction in Elementary School Social Studies

The authors in this volume share exemplary arts-integration practices across the K-8 curriculum. Rather than providing formulas or scripts to be followed, they carefully describe how the arts offer an entry point for gaining insight into why and how students learn. The book includes rich and lively examples of public school teachers integrating visual arts, music, drama, and dance with subject matter, including English, social studies, science, and mathematics. Readers will come away with a deeper understanding of why and how to use the arts every day, in every school, to reach every child"-- Provided by publisher.

The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition provides teachers and teacher educators with a comprehensive guide to teaching social issues in the classroom. This second edition frames the teaching of social issues with a strong emphasis on issues of social justice. It raises the potential for a new and stronger focus on social issues instruction in schools. Contributors include many of the leading experts in the field of social studies education. The volume includes 31 chapters and 7 sections including (1) Re-Framing the Teaching of Social Issues, (2) Critical Social Issues in the Curriculum, (3) In a Disciplinary Vein: Social Issues in the Subject Areas, (4) You Do Issues and Inquiry with Kids? Social Issues and Inquiry Learning in Elementary Schools, (5) The Heavy Topics: Human Rights, Genocide, Sustainability, (6) On Why and How: Methods for Teaching Social Issues, (7) The Latest and Best Resources and Materials"-- Provided by publisher.

The fight against racism has been ongoing in America for decades, but the long-simmering tensions came to a boil in 2020, sparking a rise in the Black Lives Matter movement. Writers for The Guardian and The Huffington Post note it as the second birth of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. The movement has inspired educators across the US to critically examine their classrooms and curriculum for cultural responsiveness. As schools have been identified as spaces of great racial inequity, educators and administrators realize it is no longer enough for schools to be silent about racism--schools must be actively invested in anti-racism. Anti-racism is a form of action against systemic racism and oppression. Consequently, educators, administrators, and parents need access to resources, support, and professional development to guide them on their journey to being an anti-racist and actively providing quality, equitable education to all students.-- Provided by publisher.

This textbook is a comprehensive resource for teaching multicultural children's literature. Providing foundational information on how and why to integrate diverse children's literature into the classroom, this book presents a necessary historical perspective on cultural groups in the United States and context for how to teach children's literature in a way that reflects and sustains students' rich cultural backgrounds. The historical insights and context on diverse cultural groups at the heart of the book allow readers to deepen their understanding of why teaching about cultural diversity is necessary for effective and inclusive education. Part I offers foundational information on how to teach children's literature in a diverse society, and Part II overviews pedagogy, resources, and guidance for teaching specific culturally and linguistically marginalized groups. Each chapter contains book recommendations, discussion questions, and additional resources for teachers. With authentic strategies and crucial background knowledge embedded in each chapter, this text is essential reading for pre-service and in-service teachers and is ideal for courses in literature instruction, multicultural education, and English methods"-- Provided by publisher.

This book is designed to support K-5 classroom teachers as they integrate music throughout the elementary curriculum. It contains detailed, practical ideas and examples, including full lesson plans and over 100 teaching ideas and strategies for integrating music with visual art, language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics. Following an overview of the interdisciplinary approach, the remaining chapters explore connections between music and other areas of the elementary curriculum. Each chapter also includes a section addressing national standards with tables showing the specific standards that are included in each lesson and activity. This text utilizes the most recent National Core Arts Standards (2015) as well as the most recent standards in language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics. There are growing calls to foster self-expression, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity in school settings and music integration is a path for developing these skills. The challenge for teachers involved in the integration process is to teach interdisciplinary lessons that make meaningful connections between disciplines and do not compromise the integrity of either discipline. The final section of chapter one focuses on strategies that allow teachers to create their own lessons that integrate music with other areas of the elementary curriculum.

The books in the Teacher's Toolbox series are practical resources to be used by middle school and high school teachers of various subjects, in teacher education credential programs, and by staff development professionals and coaches. This series provides innovative and research-based instructional strategies for students of all levels and abilities. Instructional strategies are defined as a teaching tactic, technique, or method that can be used in a class as part of a multiple lessons and across content areas. Each strategy can be incorporated into various classroom lessons. Each book in the series will focus on a specific subject matter or type of learner. The Social Studies Teacher's Toolbox offers educators hundreds of practical strategies to use in the classroom for social studies lessons. The low-prep, high-educational value strategies are accessible and student/teacher-friendly. The format for each strategy follows the practical format established by the series editors: what it is, why we like it, Common Core correlations, research basis, what it looks like in the classroom, what could go wrong, technology connections, and modifications for all types of learners."-- Provided by publisher.

The in-depth reviews demonstrate how to maximize the potential of the featured books for the purpose of teaching social studies effectively and meeting the Common Core standards for English language arts and literacy. The contributors show teachers how to teach social studies using timeless classics such as Make Way for Ducklings and The Little House, as well as more recent books, including You and Me Together, Nina Bonita, Show Way, The Unbreakable Code and Sarah, Plain and Tall. The stories cover the topics of culture and cultural diversity, history, geography, civics and government, global connections, social and economic change, and individual development.

This volume supports educators in integrating meaningful education for social justice and sustainability across a wide range of curricular subjects by drawing on educational theory, innovative pedagogical approaches and creative ideas for teaching and learning. Both practical and theoretical in its approach, it addresses subject areas ranging from mathematics to visual arts to language teaching. Chapters provide subject entry points for teachers seeking to embed social justice and sustainability principles and pedagogies into their work. Transferable across these various areas of learning, a range of pedagogical approaches are exemplified, ranging from inquiry approaches to ethical dilemmas to critical relational pedagogies. Ready-to-use teaching exemplars, activities and resources address issues which are of interest and relevance to children's lives, including gender stereotyping, racism, heterosexism, climate change and species extinction. Practical guidance is provided on how to engage children in dialogue and reflection on these complex issues in a safe and ethical way. This accessible and unique volume is essential reading for student teachers, teachers, educational leaders, teacher educators, and anyone interested in inspiring children to work towards creating a more socially just and sustainable world"-- Provided by publisher.

Busy elementary librarians need help applying the new AASL Standards Framework, especially in collaboration with social studies teachers seeking to apply the social studies standards framework. This book shows a path forward for both"-- Provided by publisher.

Now in its third edition, this indispensable text offers a critical perspective on how to integrate children's literature into the curriculum in effective, purposeful ways. Structured around three "mantras" that build on each other-Enjoy; Dig deeply; Take action-the book is rich with real examples of teachers implementing critical pedagogy and tools to support students' development as enthusiastic readers and thinkers. The materials and practical strategies focus on issues that impact children's lives, building from students' personal experiences and cultural knowledge by using language to question the everyday world, analyze popular culture and media, understand how power relationships are socially constructed, and consider actions that can be taken to promote social justice. Each chapter features classroom vignettes showcasing the use of literature and inviting conversation; three key principles elaborating the main theme of the chapter and connecting theory with practice; and related research on the topics and their importance for curriculum. Thoroughly revised, the third edition includes new recommendations for teaching with a critical edge and exploring alternative approaches to standardized assessment. With more attention to culturally and linguistically diverse learners and addressing new topics such as censorship and controversial texts, the new edition is essential for courses on teaching children's literature, ELA methods, and for every preservice elementary and middle school English teacher. A companion website to enrich and extend the text includes an annotated bibliography of literature selections, suggested text sets, resources by chapter, ideas for professional development, and recommendations for further reading"-- Provided by publisher.

This book features an inquiry-based framework for enhancing social studies state standards and linking social studies education to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies. The book includes the entire C3 Framework, plus exclusive introductory chapters that interpret the Framework, and discuss its context, the central concept of the Inquiry Arc, the connections between C3 and the Common Core standards, the links between C3 and the national social studies standards, and appropriate assessments for C3.

The Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery is often presented as an exciting adventure story of discovery, friendship, and patriotism. However, this same period in U.S. history can be understood quite differently when viewed through anticolonial lens and the Doctrine of Discovery. How might educators critically interrogate the assumptions that underlie this adventure story through their teaching? This book challenges dominant narratives and packaged curriculum about Lewis and Clark to support more responsible social studies instruction. The authors provide a conceptual framework, ready-to-use lesson plans, and teaching resources to address oversimplified versions of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Indigenous perspectives, along with contemporary issues, are embedded in each lesson to encourage active and critical engagement with history and the legacies of conquest those living in what is now called the United States have inherited--Publisher's description.

The field of elementary social studies is a specific space that has historically been granted unequal value in the larger arena of social studies education and research. This reader stands out as a collection of approaches aimed specifically at teaching controversial issues in elementary social studies. This reader challenges social studies education (i.e., classrooms, teacher education programs, and research) to engage controversial issues those topics that are politically, religiously, or are otherwise ideologically charged and make people, especially teachers, uncomfortable in profound ways at the elementary level. This reader, meant for elementary educators, preservice teachers, and social studies teacher educators, offers an innovative vision from a new generation of social studies teacher educators and researchers fighting against the forces of neoliberalism and the marginalization of our field. The reader is organized into three sections: 1) pushing the boundaries of how the field talks about elementary social studies, 2) elementary social studies teacher education, and 3) elementary social studies teaching and learning. Individual chapters either A) conceptually unpack a specific controversial issue (e.g. Islamophobia, Indian Boarding Schools, LGBT issues in schools) and how that issue should be/is incorporated in an elementary social studies methods courses and classrooms or B) present research on elementary preservice teachers or how elementary teachers and students engage controversial issues. This reader unpacks specific controversial issues for elementary social studies for readers to gain critical content knowledge, teaching tips, lesson ideas, and recommended resources.

Table of contents: Should citizenship be revolutionary? -- What does liberty look like? -- How can you make a flag sing? Investigating stories in the Star-Spangled Banner -- Is the necessary and proper clause really necessary and proper? MCCULLOCH V. MARYLAND (1819) -- How are productivity and standards of living impacted by technology? -- What did I get myself into? Guiding students through the National History Day process -- What's the question? Inquiry with the National Archives DOCTEACH -- Why did the Suffragists choose public protest tactics? -- Do our choices matter? The fragility of Democracy -- Why do we call it the "Great" Depression? -- What don't you know about Civil Rights? -- How can rivers be managed to decrease conflict between groups? -- Whose job is it to fix environmental problems? Case studies from Native America -- Are the principles of the U.S. Constitution reflected in your school? -- Why vote? Understanding elections, the candidates, and why any of this matters

Dedication to social justice teaching is important, yet putting one's ideals into practice in American schools is a challenging task. This book goes beyond theory and idealism to fully explore the value and impact of implementing social action and social justice activities in the elementary school classroom. Informed by the experiences of more than forty teachers across the country, this thoughtful resource: (1) examines how elementary teachers, from inner cities to rural towns, use the social studies curriculum to teach about and for social justice; (2) focuses on how teaching social studies for social justice relates to standardized testing, state curricula, and the local challenges teachers face; (3) offers classroom activities and "Reflection Exercises" and "Teaching Ideas" to provide teachers with practical applications for the topics discussed; and (4) includes a list of children's literature books, curriculum materials, and websites.