Comparing international history textbooks creates a perfect opportunity for students to see the complexity and controversy of history interpretation of certain events. Such a critical comparative approach helps students understand how people in different countries perceive and interpret the...

In this article, the authors report the results of their pre-service teachers’ reflections with regards to observed social studies instruction in kindergarten through sixth grade. Fifty-seven elementary education majors were in enrolled in a social studies methods course at a university...

Academic language in social studies lessons is challenging for English Language Learners because of the language barrier. Social studies teachers need to make use of effective techniques that can help English Language Learners overcome the language barrier. Graphic organizers are promising tools...

This lesson plan focuses on the election process that takes place in a K-12 classroom every year, i.e., the election of a class president. Concepts presented parallels in the language and processes involved in electing The President of the United States, so it can be used to support the teaching...

Amy Schlitz’s book Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! set in 1255 England is an extraordinary children’s book that explores life in a medieval village. This is not your typical storybook and is not to be read in the typical fashion. As we learn from the forward, the author—a school...

John Dewey is well known for his progressive ideas and was credited by many historians as the father of progressive education, but where are the mothers? Dewey did not develop his ideas in isolation. Four women from Chicago were highly influential in assisting John in initiating and refining his...

In an effort to counter the effects of the reduction of social studies instruction that has resulted from the pressure to increase test scores in reading and mathematics, many educators promote the idea of integrating the curriculum. For many modern elementary teachers, integrating the...

This paper discusses how Russian and American social studies educators utilized a videoconference for engaging middle school students in the study of environmental issues. The preparation for the videoconference required Russian and American students to explore human-environmental interactions...

Social studies educators have displayed an interest in student-created multimedia, including digital documentaries. The research community has responded with a small but growing body of studies, but the literature to date has not explored students‘ perspectives on these assignments. This study...

Although standardized testing of K-12 student knowledge and understanding garners considerable attention, few observers profess satisfaction with the assessments in place. In this exploratory paper, we report on the data gathered from an open-ended email survey of small, convenience samples of...