Concerned with combining theory with practice, the author, a teacher educator, wrote a grant to combine teaching university social studies methods and teaching sixth-grade social studies in an urban professional development site (PDS). By combining both roles, she created a recursive process of theory, observation, analysis, coteaching, and…

The ability to generate and assess formal arguments is essential if one is to participate effectively in civic and professional life. Developing students' argumentation skills is an important component of developing their capacity for higher-order thinking and their ability to use that skill to understand social issues. Too often, however, social…

Describes an elementary school project in which children learned about the terms, issues, and concepts involved in U.S. economic system and the stock market. Emphasizes the importance of reinforcing delayed gratification to break the cycle of poverty for inner-city families. Discusses project goals, special activities, support, and instructional…

Presents a program for making oral history real to elementary children by sponsoring a senior citizens' tea. Describes the experiences of the children in preparing and giving the tea. Discusses the program's benefits of enhancing the store of information about community history and oral history and promoting student use of language in many forms.…

Argues that a democratic citizenry must be technologically literate and able to analyze data to make wise decisions. Illustrates how one Redmond, Washington, sixth grade social studies class used databases to show the changing nature of information and computer applications in social studies units. Stresses the relationship between information…

Describes the origins, development, and activities of the Elementary School Economics Project at the University of Chicago during the "New Social Studies" era of the 1960s. Maintains that the program was compatible with the social science and inquiry-based instructional strategies popular at that time. (CFR)