By nurturing a sense of respect and value for self, others, and the world, teachers encourage children to become stewards of their school and home communities. Developing young children's sense of responsibility (understanding that their actions can have important and enduring impacts on others and on the environment) is a core value of Montessori…

People all over the world relish the opportunity to count down the final moments of the year and welcome an exciting New Year full of opportunities and fresh beginnings. Different cultures have historical traditions of welcoming in the New Year, from eating black-eyed peas in the American South to creating geometric "Rangoli" (a form of…

Inspired by the life of Marian Wright Edelman, a kindergarten class from Capitol Hill Day School conducted a demonstration for the needs and rights of children and marched across the brick paths of Lafayette Park in Washington, DC, directly across the street from the White House. Marian Wright Edelman was the subject of a school-wide Black History…

Young children can make real-life connections to the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship through Service Learning, a teaching pedagogy and philosophy that addresses real community needs while fulfilling academic goals that meet specific national and state curricula and standards. Authentic and effective service learning projects offer…

As a teacher in the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) for the past 16 years, the author has grown used to dismal budget cut news arriving each February. Although cuts are always frustrating and their results burdensome, the school has been able to "hang on" reasonably well. This year, however, the budget cuts were extreme. In this article, the author…

Social studies teachers are charged with the task of developing students' understandings as students engage in critical examination of social studies issues and topics. Teachers often use test items from textbooks or instructional resources, or create their own classroom assessments with no specific pedagogical foundation. All too often, these…

Student-centered instruction incorporating authentic assessments can provide an alternative instructional model. Student-centered instruction generally requires learners to take on alternate roles such as that of historian, advocate or op-ed writer in order to complete a project. It is often both collaborative and constructivist in nature. In…

While social studies content about communities, neighborhood jobs, and maybe even some state history is taught in the early elementary grades, often the upper elementary grades are the first time students learn about the larger progression of history. How do teachers begin to teach the progression of U.S. history and the themes and questions that…

In this article, the author introduces a social studies lesson that allows students to learn history and practice reading skills, critical thinking, and writing. The activity is called History Scene Investigation or HSI, which derives its name from the popular television series based on crime scene investigations (CSI). HSI uses discovery learning…

Instructional time for social studies has been reduced nationwide, particularly in the elementary grades. Yet states continue to promote content standards in history, economics, civics, and geography for young learners. Purposeful integrative content that is appropriate for grades K-6, while sometimes difficult to find, seems to many elementary…

The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) curriculum standards offer a set of principles for creating good social studies lessons, units of study, and curriculums. This article presents excerpts from "National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: A Framework for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment." The revised standards (published in…

This article is a call for classroom teachers to become authors. The authors briefly describe a process that teachers can follow to write down their ideas, submit a paper for peer review, revise it, and celebrate its publication--whether as an article in "Social Studies and the Young Learner" ("SSYL") or as a handout to share with colleagues in…

As anyone in the classroom knows, connecting historical learning to a real situation magnifies that learning tremendously. Helping students understand that they can indeed play a role in policymaking is invaluable. In this article, the author invites young students to consider weighing the importance of different historical figures--and possibly…

In 1998, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center launched OurStory: History through Children's Literature, a history and literacy program series for family visitors to the Museum that was designed to help children and adults enjoy exploring history together. Ten years later, to reach a broader, national…

Each year, third graders in a rural Missouri intermediate elementary school are presented with a challenge--to collaborate on a virtual adventure to the nation's capital to find answers to these questions: (1) What were the main purposes of the Declaration of Independence?; (2) What is the purpose of the United States Constitution?; and (3) Why is…