This paper looks critically at the way technology is currently used in social studies education and makes the argument that technology can better serve teachers and students as a tool of engagement and inquiry rather than as a supplement to existing practices. In this paper, social studies...

Increasingly, high school classrooms have access to the Internet. The Avalon Project Internet webpage enables high school students to access primary sources on a variety of American History topics. Literacy strategies are a promising method to help students organize the information they access...

I contend that traditional ways of conceptualizing the “disclosure dilemma” are limited due to a lack of attention to the more subtle ways teachers’ personal experiences and understandings help shape their practices. The decision to “dis-close” personal opinions on a controversial...

This action research project traces how a teacher used images of cultural universals as part of a kindergarten social studies curriculum to help her students develop temporal distinctions between past and present. Students were introduced to the general idea of what cultural universals were, and...

Everybody Works in many ways, indoors, outdoors, at home, at an office, by traveling from place to place, to earn income, or as a hobby. This book is a photographic essay looking at the many ways in which people work and sometimes use animals in work. The learning cycle lesson helps young...

This lesson plan is based on the book, Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel , and is useful for teaching about immigration to the United States. Students create a timeline with Miss Bridie’s life story while also learning about wants and needs. Historical photographs and other sources assist students as...

This lesson seeks to delve into the minds of 3 rd - and 4 th -grade students for their grasp of the concept of patriotic symbols. Reading The Impossible Patriotism Project by Linda Skeers is beneficial for students as they compare and contrast their own emotions and processes of learning...

Following the hundred-year, devastating tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, in 2004 where all was lost along the coast, a leading early childhood educator communicated with graduate students for assistance. Dr. Ratna Megawangi, Executive Director of the Indonesia Heritage Foundation, requested...

Ecology and population studies are among the most important curriculum standards of the NCSS. Population Connection has aligned its various lessons with NCSS national standards. The NCSS standard “People, Places, and Environments” aligns with the state standards of history and geography....

Given the resurgence of Americans’ interest in the national electoral process and civic issues, social studies educators have a unique opportunity to highlight citizenship education and related activities in K-12 teacher preparation programs. Especially at the elementary level, educators can...