As young children engage in their play and daily activities, they show a natural interest in the world around them. Early childhood educators may capitalize on these interests and carefully plan a variety of experiences with social studies in mind, cultivating and extending young children's diverse skills and abilities to form and voice opinions,…

Faster and more efficient coverage on television and the Internet is increasingly exposing children to traumatic images of natural devastation both at home and abroad. Natural disasters, such as the wildfires in California or the trauma caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, have become commonplace. Catastrophic events like these serve as…

In today's society, film is a part of popular culture and is relevant to students' everyday lives. Most students spend over 7 hours a day using media. With the popularity and availability of film, it is natural that teachers attempt to engage students with such a relevant medium. The method of using film and the method of using firsthand accounts…

How elementary and secondary social studies teachers can use nature--plants, animals, habitats, and environments--to provide students with a global perspective is discussed. An interdisciplinary science, language arts, and social studies unit entitled "Microtrek Scavenger Hunt" for use in grades four through six is presented, and…

The College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards published by the National Council for the Social Studies advocates the need for students not just to acquire and produce knowledge, but also to live a life of active engagement in the workings of our democracy. Dimension Four of the C3 Framework articulates this…

The study of world population integrates so many themes and disciplines in the social studies because it encompasses all of human history--the rise of agriculture and civilizations, scientific progress, territorial conflicts, changing gender roles and more. It is also at the heart of human geography and how people came to dominate and alter the…

Jamestown is at the heart of any teaching and learning of colonial American history. Stories of John Smith and Pocahontas are learned by elementary and secondary students across the United States. In Virginia, Jamestown is first taught in third grade and revisited five more times from historical, political, economic, and geographic perspectives.…

An interactive mapping project is revolutionizing the way crises are reported and managed, and is spotlighting the value of citizen journalism. The project, called Ushahidi, which means testimony in Swahili, uses crowdsourcing (gathering information from a large number of people) to map crisis information. This crisis mapping tool has since been…

After a disaster, or in the midst of a conflict, the news that finds its way into people's homes has a uniquely powerful effect on their psyche. Vulnerable people are caught in destructive forces beyond their control. The scenes people see are post-apocalyptic. The stories are gripping, spanning themes of luck, loss, hope, love, and wild fear,…

Considers the global effects of a rapidly growing population combined with dwindling natural resources and how these issues might be addressed in the classroom. Includes a population education lesson plan, guiding principles, list of resources, and suggested activities. (MJP)

Social studies content is more meaningful to students when they can empathize with the people they study. Such empathy can be fostered via content material that is presented in a relevant, emotional, intimate, and even entertaining manner. Folk music offers this type of creative and constructive approach. The elementary school classroom is the…

In the fall of 2007, the Nobel Committee awarded their Peace Prize to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (a scientific intergovernmental body set up by the World Meteorological Organization and by the United Nations Environment Program) and to former Vice-President Al Gore, Jr. The committee praised the United Nations panel for creating…

Defines an ecostudent as one who focuses on understanding the natural environment and protecting fragile ecosystems in different regions of the world. Discusses the differences between ecostudents and ecotourists and emphasizes the importance of ecotourism. Explains how the attributes of the ecotourist may benefit the experiences of students…

There is much that can be learned from a curriculum developed in The Netherlands, a country famous for having been "claimed from the sea." Nothing can be truer than that, but there is more to the story than just the physical aspect of claiming land from the water. The identity of the Dutch, the history of their maritime and seafaring…

In an increasingly complex financial world, personal finance education is more important today than ever. Nevertheless, the number of states incorporating personal finance concepts into their academic standards is not rising significantly, and students are demonstrating few gains, if any, in their knowledge of those concepts. One reason for this…