Young children's self-identification and self-identity are essentially a set of conscious and unconscious beliefs built from experiences. Students' self-image, and their understanding of society, can change when they research how women contributed to our nation and to our daily lives. Such lessons can render these historical figures accessible and…

Learning about local government seems boring and irrelevant to most young people, particularly to students from high-poverty backgrounds. The authors explore a promising approach for solving this problem, Storypath, which engages students in authentic learning and active citizenship. The Storypath approach is based on a narrative in which students…

In this article, the authors describe a lesson that helps elementary students build a sense of citizenship and moral consciousness about justice. Children participated in the struggle for civil and voting rights in Selma and in other places in the South during the 1960s. Initially, it was children's literature that sparked these third grade…

Asserts that, although active citizenship is heralded as the goal of social studies, few textbook studies have attempted to define or examine civic participation. Reports on a study of the treatment of citizenship in four widely used third-grade textbooks. Finds that, although the texts are largely supportive of mainstream political values, they…

This unit is designed around a four-week plan integrated into third- and fourth-grade science, social studies, language arts, reading, and art. The unit takes students through specific strategies of creating awareness about issues and to help them become more responsible about pet care, personally and in the community. Each week has a theme,…

Demonstrates teaching citizenship through student involvement in current issues. Presents We-Search--a process using the whole-language approach for group research projects in a Fairbanks, Alaska, third grade class. Highlights class projects, including one concerning transportation of plutonium across international borders. Emphasizes how…

Encourages educators to use participation projects to develop active, socially concerned citizens. Views school as a place where students learn to negotiate problems and issues of society. Provides examples of projects where students and teachers plan integrated units using social studies as the basis for teaching. (NL)

The New York State Social Studies Program's goals focus on skills, content, and concepts. Content refers to historic, geographic, economic, political, and social information taught. Multicultural content is designed to build constructive attitudes toward diversity in society. The skills that are considered important are: (1) gathering information,…

This Fort Bend (Texas) social studies curriculum guide for third grade covers six 6-week periods, and the nine course outlines include topics to be covered, the main goals and their supporting objectives, and a materials correlation key. The nine topics include holidays, maps, community life, cities and towns, farms, resources, citizenship, black…

Students study U.S. national holidays, symbols, songs, and landmarks to understanding and appreciation the meaning and significance of the nation's ideals of liberty, justice, and equality. Through lessons, discussions, discovery activities, and cooperative group work, students understand how and when various U.S. traditions represent and convey…

This resource file contains information for Utah elementary school teachers to help their level 3 students meet the state's instructional objectives in the social studies. This particular student level emphasizes comparative communities and environments. The following disciplines are covered in the resource file: psychology, anthropology,…

This curriculum presents an overview of responsibility as a concept intrinsic to the functioning of a democratic society. The curriculum has been developed to provide students with an increased awareness of the importance of responsibility in their own lives and its place in contemporary society, and to encourage their capacity and inclination to…

This curriculum unit presents an overview of privacy as a concept intrinsic to the functioning of a democratic society. The unit requires students to examine the concept of privacy, some differences among individuals and cultures in relation to it, its benefits and costs, and its proper scope and limits. The curriculum is organized around topical…

This curriculum is designed to help students understand and apply basic principles and considerations useful in examining issues of justice so they can determine for themselves what would be just in a particular situation. From such activities, students should gain an increased awareness of the importance of justice in their own lives and its…

This teacher resource manual focuses on the Alberta, Canada social studies curriculum for grades one through three. The manual has five main sections. (1) "Introduction to the Program" discusses the program goals and objectives. The importance of problem solving and decision making skills are stressed, and strategies are discussed for…