This resource has been developed for pre-K-20 educators in order to help students use primary sources to go beyond simple acquisition of content knowledge and rote memorization. The procedures and approaches outlined in this book are designed to help students use primary sources in discipline- and inquiry-based ways to develop and enhance cultural…

Political history lends itself to traditional patterns of teaching and learning in social studies such as students memorizing facts presented in lectures or textbooks. This article presents a recurring activity structure for teaching U.S. political history--Consensus Circle Presidential Rating (CCPR)--which requires students to read across…

Courses: Communicating Identity, Intercultural Communication, Organizational Communication. Objectives: The goals of this unit are to stimulate communal, group-oriented thinking and to prompt civic engagement. By the end of the unit, students will be able to (1) articulate connections between class status, home ownership, and neighborhood…

We often hear that a key purpose of schooling is to prepare students for informed and active citizenship. But what does this look like in practice? How do teachers pursue this goal amid other pressing priorities, including student mastery of both academic content and social-emotional competencies? "Students Taking Action Together," based…

As every elementary science teacher knows, children sometimes ask questions that can not easily be answered by science. The "messiness" of these questions may stem from the fact that scientific understanding is often incomplete and ever changing, a situation that can lead students (and the public) to be confused about the information…

This classroom narrative explores how teachers can build and sustain an intellectually and emotionally fulfilling teaching practice while changing the way students experience school. Written by an English and history teacher in a Philadelphia public high school, this book presents a framework of teaching for a living democracy--supporting learners…

The abilities to listen reflectively and speak respectfully concerning another person's opinion, as well as to think critically about that opinion and one's own, are essential to a functioning democracy. The teaching and learning of these abilities is well incorporated into the social studies and English language arts standards that are used to…

Students engage in a pedagogy that fosters deliberation on civic issues that elicit different perspectives relevant to a community through a semester-long project that culminates in the execution of public dialogue forum. This project facilitates three learning objectives: dialogic praxis, communication as design, and facilitative leadership.…

A common observation on college campuses today is "students do not look up when walking on campus." It is often thought that such attachment to communication devices demonstrates a lack of connection to the "real world." This perspective exemplifies the need for faculty to connect with the "digital generation" and do…

Educating Globally Competent Citizens, a product of AASCU's American Democracy Project and its Global Engagement Initiative, introduces readers to a set of global challenges facing society based on the Center for Strategic and International Studies' 7 Revolutions. The toolkit is designed to aid faculty in incorporating global challenges into new…

"Principled Resistance: How Teachers Resolve Ethical Dilemmas" brings together senior scholars and activist teachers to explore the concept of resistance as a necessary response to mandates that conflict with their understanding of quality teaching. The book provides vivid examples of the pedagogical, professional, and democratic…

Supported by critical theoretical frameworks, this book is a purposeful engagement with bodies of knowledge rooted in popular culture, yet routinely excluded from "common sense" visions of curriculum. Aimed at teachers as well as teacher-educators, the book examines areas such as Disney, African American stand-up comedy, intersections of…

In his new book, popular author Patrick Shannon examines reading as agency--why reading critically is essential to civic engagement and a healthy democracy. We follow the author on a journey of self discovery as he practices "wide-awake reading" with a variety of everyday texts, from radio programs to legal documents to more traditional books and…

Exposure to ideas helps young children articulate their own beliefs and sharpens their connections. Teachers can provide opportunities for children to advance their knowledge about democratic conditions through sustained discourse, or, as described in this article, purposeful class discussions followed by hands-on activities. The author describes…

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. Praised for its wealth of strategies that go beyond social studies content teaching--including classroom strategies, pedagogical techniques,…