As Philadelphia has a rich history in the fight for LGBTQ+ justice, this article centers on two examples of LGBTQ+ activism that were based in the city: Dewey's Lunch Counter Sit-In and Reminder Day. Predating the Stonewall Uprising in New York City, which is marked as the start of the contemporary LGBTQ+ Pride movement, the Dewey's Lunch Counter…

Pauli Murray was an activist, legal scholar, author, and she was also queer. Her impact on the civil rights and women's rights movements cannot be overstated. The authors present the reader with the potential for elementary teachers to disrupt and "unmute" curricular silencing by shifting focus to Pauli Murray's story and work in the…

Teaching a civil rights unit in the upper elementary grades can be difficult. Educators must sort through multiple resources, determine the quality and developmental appropriateness of the materials, synthesize and organize the resources into meaningful lessons, and teach the unit in the midst of pressures to minimize or eliminate social studies…

Because of a long tradition of children's literature depicting enslavement, elementary teachers have an expansive assortment of books from which to choose. These books, however, can be filled with inaccuracies, troubling illustrations, and dubious interpretations of the "peculiar institution." The recent controversy over "A Birthday…

It is difficult to overstate the power of visual images, particularly historical primary source photos, to provide a window into the past. Here, the authors outline how educators can utilize historic photos to provide students with a deeper understanding of the past. When students do not see their heritage and culture represented in images, the…

In elementary classrooms, teaching immigration often begins and ends at Ellis Island--without discussions of racist migration policies or engagement with current issues. Although contemporary immigration is rarely discussed with elementary students, the number of young people from immigrant and/or refugee backgrounds in the U.S. continues to rise.…

The debate about how slavery as a central issue in American history should be presented in history education often forces teachers and students alike to wrestle with how their contemporary positionality is reflected in classroom subject matter that cannot, and should not, be avoided. This article is an overview of the historiography of resistance…

The purpose of this APA BEA Racial Disparities Task Force report is to examine the role of racism and bias on educational opportunity and achievement disparities experienced by children. Specifically, we seek to link racism explicitly to opportunity gaps by examining how racism operates on multiple levels. Using critical race theory,…

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson approved legislation to establish the National Park Service (NPS) as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior. It was charged with protecting and managing the 35 National Parks and monuments in the country. One hundred years later, in 2016, the NPS protects and manages more than 400 parks located in all 50…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Student Voice." Contents include: (1) Maybe One Day, the Pain Won't Feel the…

In this article, the authors introduce a series of interconnected, inquiry-based activities from a fifth grade social studies curriculum, "My Place in Time and Space," which was developed in part through a Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Regional Grant Program--Eastern Region. These activities are designed to…

In seeking a disciplinary literacy model that would enable students to express well-developed perspectives and argue contrasting views with the sound use of evidence, the authors developed a student-driven model that emphasized historical investigation, offered substance, and scaffolded reading and writing. To support their project, they created…

This eighth-grade social studies teacher tells the story of how he began to flip his classroom so that students watched videos at home and had more time for discussion in class. He explains the benefits of this teaching approach, discusses the challenges he encountered, and describes how he solved them.

School segregation and inequity are deep-rooted realities in U.S. society. Despite historical efforts at integration, too many schools are de facto segregated, and those serving mostly students of color are routinely under-resourced when compared to those servicing mostly white students. Teachers and students can struggle to talk about this…

This article describes a lesson plan that encouraged the usage of digital tools to enhance inquiry as a key tool in teaching elementary social studies. The lesson revolved around a field trip to the home of Civil War Governor Oliver P. Morton (Centerville, Indiana). The active, investigative, and questioning nature of inquiry in social studies…