Teaching Social Studies Today

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This second edition of Teaching Social Studies Today has been updated to reflect the latest research and today's best practices in social studies instruction. Authored by Kathleen Kopp, this invaluable resource focuses on implementing social studies instruction with a language arts instructional lens. It addresses effective research-supported ways to differentiate instruction, as well as how curriculum can be extended, accelerated, and enriched for the C3 framework. Packed with various teaching methods and techniques, up-to-date research-based theory and practical applications, and easy-to-implement strategies and techniques, this book is essential reading for both novice and seasoned teachers.

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

Featuring sound educational strategies based on solid research and proven methodology, this exceptional resource provides teachers with best practices in social studies instruction that can be immediately implemented in the classroom. Authored by two social studies experts with more than 60 years combined classroom experience, this resource is designed for anyone who is interested in current educational theory and best practice. Packed with various teaching methods and techniques, up-to-date research-based theory and practical applications, this book is great for new and experienced teachers. This resource is aligned to the interdisciplinary themes from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. 200 pp.

Best practices in social studies instruction for K-12 teachers.

Preparing students to be active, informed, literate citizens is one of the primary functions of public schools. But how can students become engaged citizens if they can't read, let alone understand, their social studies texts? What can educators—and social studies teachers in particular—do to help students develop the knowledge, skills, and motivation to become engaged in civic life? Building Literacy in Social Studies addresses this question by presenting both the underlying concepts and the research-based techniques that teachers can use to engage students and build the skills they need to become successful readers, critical thinkers, and active citizens. The authors provide targeted strategies—including teaching models, graphic organizers, and step-by-step instructions—for activities such as * Building vocabulary, * Developing textbook literacy skills, * Interpreting primary and secondary sources, * Applying critical thinking skills to newspapers and magazines, and * Evaluating Internet sources. Readers will also learn how to organize classrooms into models of democracy by creating learning communities that support literacy instruction, distribute authority, encourage cooperation, and increase accountability among students. Realistic scenarios depict a typical social studies teacher's experience before and after implementing the strategies in the classroom, showing their potential to make a significant difference in how students respond to instruction. By making literacy strategies a vital part of content-area instruction, teachers not only help students better understand their schoolwork but also open students' eyes to the power that informed and engaged people have to change the world.

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

Featuring sound educational strategies based on solid research and proven methodology, this exceptional resource provides teachers with best practices in social studies instruction that can be immediately implemented in the classroom. Authored by two social studies experts with more than 60 years combined classroom experience, this resource is designed for anyone who is interested in current educational theory and best practice. Packed with various teaching methods and techniques, up-to-date research-based theory and practical applications, this book is great for new and experienced teachers. This resource is aligned to the interdisciplinary themes from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.