Lessons For The Social Studies Classroom

Teaching Social Studies: A Methods Book for Methods Teachers, features tasks designed to take preservice teachers deep into schools in general and into social studies education in particular. Organized around Joseph Schwab's commonplaces of education and recognizing the role of inquiry as a preferred pedagogy in social studies, the book offers a series of short chapters that highlight learners and learning, subject matter, teachers and teaching, and school context. The 42 chapters describe tasks that the authors assign to their methods students as either in?class or as outside?of?class assignments. The components of each chapter are: > Summary of the task > Description of the exercise (i.e., what students are to do, the necessary resources, the timeframe for completion, grading criteria) > Description of how students respond to the activity > Description of how the task fits into the overall course > List of readings and references > Appendix that supplements the task description

"Randi Stone has assembled an exciting collection of teaching methods to benefit all learners. The book brings together an esteemed group of teachers who are to be congratulated for sparking interest in a subject that is too often taught solely from a textbook." —Heather E. Robinson, Fifth-Grade Teacher Desert Canyon Elementary School, Scottsdale, AZ Adopt or adapt these exemplary social studies strategies from the nation′s best teachers! Randi Stone transports readers into the lively classrooms of award-winning teachers in this collection of outstanding methods for teaching social studies to diverse elementary, middle, and high school learners. Like its companion volumes for teaching writing, mathematics, and science, Best Practices for Teaching Social Studies presents firsthand accounts from educators offering fresh ideas and inquiry-based techniques to build student confidence, increase academic achievement, and develop critical thinking skills. Highlights include master teachers′ tips on how to: Organize and produce oral history projects Use technology to explore diversity Teach the art of geography and the geography of art Put the "social" back into social studies, and more! Beginning and experienced teachers alike will discover an abundance of creative teaching practices to strengthen the social studies curriculum.

This book, resulting from a collaboration among an educational psychologist, a social studies educator, and a primary teacher, describes in rich detail and illustrates with excerpts from recorded lessons how primary teachers can engage their students in social studies lessons and activites that are structured around powerful ideas and have applications to their lives outside of school.

!--1724Q-6, 0-13-117244-1, Martorella, Peter H., Teaching Social Studies in Middle and Secondary Schools, 4/E//-- This readable, accessible book offers prospective teachers a comprehensive introduction to teaching social studies to middle and secondary school students. With the purpose of social studies being the development of reflective, competent, concerned citizens, the book first examines the origins and evolution of social studies and citizenship education across the United States. Following this, targeted chapters address the art, science, and craft of social studies teaching as a means for engaging learners in knowledge construction. In the final section, the authors look at ways to improve social studies instruction through the incorporation of emerging technology into the social studies curriculum. For middle and secondary school social studies teachers.

Engage your students AND keep your sanity with classroom-tested tools. Tools for Teaching Social Studies delivers a wealth of practical solutions for classroom success — all grounded in solid educational philosophy. A lifeline for new social studies teachers and a source of inspiration and ideas for experienced teachers, this book offers you a boost at every stage of your career. Based on a master teacher’s four decades of experience, this top-notch toolkit is packed with strategies: Learn five key teaching principles that put you and your students on the path to success. Discover your unique style. Connect with your students. Set and achieve realistic professional and personal goals. Stay organized and manage your time effectively. Empower yourself as a teacher. Avoid burn-out. Facilitate effective group work. Create engaging learning plans. Make the right use of social media. And much more!

The idea for this book came while I was observing a student teacher and a master teacher. I realized that most student teachers while in training do not have the opportunity to think creatively about their lessons. I also noticed that teachers new to the fi eld of teaching suffer the same fate; they are too busy trying to survive the day and are not sure how to plan and organize their teaching. Lesson plans are one of the most important tools for a teacher and more important for the novice teacher. I believe that during student teaching or during their undergraduate years, if students were equipped with this book their fi rst year teaching will not look so fi rst year. Imagine an undergraduate class fi lled with soon to be Social Studies teachers discussing these selected lesson plans, improving upon them and making them their own. Most fi rst year teachers over teach or under teach and both types still miss the marks on the standardized test. These lesson plans will give the new teacher a place to begin.

Social Studies for Secondary Schools: Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach, Second Edition integrates discussions of educational goals and the nature of history and social studies with practical ideas for organizing social studies curricula, units, lessons, projects, and activities. A major theme woven throughout the text is that what we choose to teach and the way we teach reflect our broader understanding of society, history, and the purposes of social studies education. Each chapter opens with a broad question about social studies education; provides many examples of lessons, including lesson ideas developed by new and experienced middle school and high school social studies teachers; features a rich variety of teaching, learning, and classroom activities designed to provoke discussion and illustrate different approaches to teaching social studies; and concludes with essays about related social studies topics. Part I focuses on philosophical issues, social studies goals and standards, and the design of social studies curricula. Part II examines and offers examples of strategies for planning units and lessons. Part III explores topics, such as thematic and interdisciplinary teaching, a project approach to social studies, as well as assesses student learning and one's own performance as a teacher, and provides a guide to social studies resource materials and organizations. New in the Second Edition: *Every chapter has been updated and includes a number of new lesson ideas. *The lesson ideas are designed especially to help beginning teachers address learning standards; work in inclusive settings; and promote literacy and the use of technology in social studies classrooms. *Sample activities developed with members of the Hofstra New Teachers Network reflect the current focus on document-based instruction and assessment, and can serve as tools for assessing student learning. *Increased attention is given to project-based social studies instruction and to multicultural education. Intended as a text for undergraduate and graduate preservice social studies methods courses, this text is also useful for in-service training programs, as a reference for new social studies teachers, and as a resource for experienced social studies educators who are engaged in rethinking their teaching practice.

No plan to increase achievement and enact reform in the social studies classroom will succeed without recognizing the central importance of the teacher as the “gatekeeper” of instruction. In this book, Thornton details why teachers must develop strong skills in curriculum planning and teaching methods in order for effective instruction to occur. Thornton helps teachers to develop a vision of their practice that will build strong social studies programs and inspire students to learn. Features: An approach to preparing purposeful teachers, acknowledging that teachers make daily decisions concerning what to teach and how to teach it. Replicable examples of the kinds of reflective practice that will enable teachers to animate classroom instruction and create a dynamic social studies curriculum. An analysis of how teachers adapt and shape state and district level curricula and classroom materials to fit the specific needs of their students—a model of how to develop an instructional program with suggestions for lesson planning. In-depth examinations of alternative ways of educating teachers in subject matter and teaching methods. “In this important book, Steve Thornton brings a Deweyan perspective to current problems in social studies education. He does more, however, because his analysis can be extended profitably to every subject in the curriculum.” —From the Foreword by Nel Noddings “A thoughtful and carefully documented analysis. . . . Let us hope that this book encourages a richer dialogue than the now-tedious and generally unproductive separate disciplines v. integrated social studies debate.” —Linda S. Levstik, University of Kentucky, Lexington “A refreshingly clearheaded, historically grounded, altogether enlightening analysis. This is the book I've been waiting for.” —Walter Parker, University of Washington