Students learned to perform first-person presentation to display information researched through an inquiry process. Teachers helped students learn inquiry during instructional time. Teachers, parents, and guardians worked together to support student learning in a high poverty and low educational attainment Appalachian community. The character the…

Looking at the effects of globalization from numerous perspectives: economic, spatial, cultural, and environmental, it has become abundantly clear that today's students must possess geographic knowledge and associated skills to be prepared for civic life and informed decision-making. However, the current state of geographic proficiency among U.S.…

This article explores using game theory in social studies classrooms as a heuristic to aid students in understanding strategic decision making. The authors provide examples of several simple games teachers can use. Next, we address how to help students design their own simple (2 × 2) games.

Methods for facilitating students' standards-based consumer literacy are addressed via the use of problem solving with food and product labels. Fifth graders will be able to: (1) provide detailed analysis of food and product labels; (2) understand large themes, including production, distribution, and consumption; and (3) explore consumer…

This article addresses the problem of how to best design authentic writing assessments in history that support learners in demonstrating the types of higher order thinking skills needed for effective citizenship. Recent research has primarily focused on curriculum interventions intended to build disciplinary literacies through various types of…

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…

The authors conducted an online survey of elementary teacher education programs within a large midwestern state to assess preservice teachers' and teacher educators' beliefs about and preparedness to teach financial literacy. Very few preservice teachers had meaningful experiences with personal finance in high school, college, or personal decision…

This article presents an approach that teachers can use to strengthen students' ability to make sense of the past at museums. Specifically, we propose a photography exercise to help students to learn from museums and to view museums critically, weighing both the objective realities and subjective interpretations offered by museums. To get the most…

This article illustrates how community service-learning can be defined and implemented as a group inquiry project in which students apply academic knowledge and social problem-solving skills. The authors examined eleven different community service-learning projects put into practice by elementary and middle school teachers who participated in…

Asserts that the social studies classroom is ideal for the development of students' civic decision-making skills explaining that decision making must include elements of group interaction and creative expression. Describes traditional decision-making models and decision making as a process and performance. Addresses group interaction, cooperative…

In this article, the author emphasizes decision making rather than mere remembering as a tool for teaching social studies. Decision making should be emphasized at two levels: at the level of deciding what a group of descriptive data means, how these data may be summarized or generalized, what principles they suggest; and also at the level of…

In this article, the author describes "community/resource mapping," an activity in which students intellectually engage problems, mine the terrain of their social conditions for solutions, and exercise and accept responsibility for the burden of decision making. The activity, which was developed for use in the public policy sector, can be an…

An excellent method for teaching elementary and secondary history is to have students study historical decisions and decision-making processes and become involved in making some historical decisions as well. This approach is described. (RM)

Offers practical suggestions about how teachers can use skills that they already have to combine their daily history or social studies lesson with an opportunity for students to develop decision-making skills. (Author/AV)

This article discusses techniques for integrating real problem solving and decision making into secondary social studies programs. Approaches to creative problem solving are presented, and various systematic decision making programs currently available for classroom use are identified. (Author/RM)