As the development of active, democratic citizens has become, arguably, the primary purpose of social studies education, the model of instruction in citizenship education varies significantly. Although current models of citizenship education typically foster a sense of societal conformity and law-obeyance to the exclusion of social change, this…

Latitude and longitude are foundational concepts for geography education, yet they are typically poorly understood by students and receive indifferent attention from instructors and publishers' materials. Social studies teachers can take advantage of increasingly ubiquitous geolocating devices such as Global Positions Systems (GPS) to provide…

This collaborative self-study article explores experiences teaching a cross-curricular undergraduate course that aimed to integrate social studies and science. The course differs from other compulsory components of the teacher candidates' program of study in that it concentrates on disciplinary structure, as opposed to methods, and it treats…

With the realities of standards-based accountability, it is imperative to model and demonstrate for students how subject areas and teaching methods transcend across traditional boundaries. In an effort to prepare future social studies educators to teach for global awareness and to meaningfully integrate critical literacy skills into their…

This article offers a contextual analysis of contemporary immigration issues impacting the institutions in the United States, in particular the school. It discusses the importance of addressing this theme in the classroom and presents its curricular value in the elementary and middle school social studies and interdisciplinary curricula. Using a…

High-stakes standardized tests in reading and limited instructional time are two powerful disincentives for teaching economics in the elementary classroom. In this article, integrating instruction in poetry and economic decision-making is presented as one way to maximize the use of scarce instructional time. Following a brief introduction to the…

A review of "The September 11th Education Program: A National Interdisciplinary Curriculum" reveals a sensitive and well-created program for the 5-12 social studies teacher to use in teaching about the challenging subject of 9/11. This program provides an opportunity for teachers to find a balance among understanding, critical analysis,…

Place-based education is a growing trend in education. This article defines place-based education and briefly examines its use across the disciplines. So as to better understand the wider concept, meanings of the geographical term "place" are analyzed. Place-based education in a social studies classroom is examined using two hypothetical…

The authors describe how three elementary teachers working in very different parts of the United States teach about Mexico. These teachers' practices allow them to enhance the traditional social studies curriculum, help children learn about themselves and other people, and increase children's capacities for global citizenship. (Contains 1 figure.)

Population trends--birth and death rates, immigration patterns, sex ratios, and life expectancies--are one of the most important issues facing the international community. These trends' relationship to the world economy, the environment, and developing countries' ability to meet the needs of growing populations is a topic appropriate for the…

The author presents a content integration that focuses on social studies and science knowledge and skills. The idea of using folk crafts to help elementary students learn social studies extends from John Dewey's laboratory school to the twenty-first century. Meaningful content is applied to skills, such as blacksmithing, found in the community,…

When teachers ask upper middle school and high school students what they know about the Westward movement, the students usually draw on their experiences with simulation games. Rather than rely on simulation games or texts to help students understand that era, these authors advocate moving middle or high school students from a simplistic to a…

Much of Mesoamerica's rich cultural heritage is slowly eroding because of acid rain. Just as water dissolves an Alka-Seltzer tablet, acid rain erodes the limestone surfaces of Mexican archaeological sites at a rate of about one-half millimeter per century (Bravo et al. 2003). A half-millimeter may not seem like much, but at this pace, a few…

From the emphasis on lower-level test-prep materials to the disappearance of the subject altogether, elementary social studies is, in the best case scenario, being tested and, thus, taught with a heavy emphasis on recall; and, in the worst-case scenario, not being taught at all. In this article, the author responds to Jeff Passe's views on…

This article is the author's reflective analysis of an extended, interdisciplinary unit, which culminated with fifty or so middle school students installing a history museum in their local town hall. He describes the unit, focusing primarily on its planning and implementation and also offer a series of general reflections about the nature of…