I am a teacher educator from South Korea. In this article, I introduce two international children's books on the Korean War and a fifth grade lesson based on the books to teach the Korean War through a critical lens. Before proceeding, I first explicate why teaching about wars critically, including the Korean War, is vital.

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…

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…

Integrating digital video into history lessons can generate enthusiasm and excitement among students about learning history. While some students perceive history to be dull or boring due to lack of personal relevance or applicability, the authors found that creating digital video biographies during a unit of study on the American Revolution…

In "History and Imagination," elementary school social studies teachers will learn how to help their students break down the walls of their schools, more personally engage with history, and define democratic citizenship. By collaborating together in meaningful investigations into the past and reenacting history, students will become…

Decision making is one of the essential skills advocated by the National Council for the Social Studies for effective citizenship in a democratic society. Leaders in any society make decisions that influence many lives. In a democratic society, we expect that deductive and inductive reasoning guide decisions made for the common good. However, what…

Using an approach based on a Harvard study that found "when the whole body is involved, the number of brain cells brought to the learning activity doubles," the author offers over one hundred kinesthetic activities for classroom use. Activities are organized by content area, include directions for number of players, objective, and…

Presents study results of fifth graders' attitudes toward history. Includes interviews with the student subjects concerning what they know about history, what they want to know, and reasons to study history. Concludes that fifth graders are interested in history and familiar with the past but vague on the interpretive nature of history. (DK)

Because students should not only know stories about the past, but also understand the interpretive nature of historians' work, this study sought to discover whether instruction can develop elementary students' ability to engage in some aspects of historical interpretation. The study focused on fifth grade students. The research consisted of direct…

A fifth-grade teacher discusses why she teaches with historical fiction, presenting tips on choosing good historical fiction, reviewing her favorite new historical fiction books, and highlighting how to use historical fiction to teach by discussing Pocahontas to help students differentiate between make-believe and history. (SM)

Presents an annotated bibliography of 23 computer software programs selected for their applicability to the fifth-grade curriculum outlined in California History Social Science Framework. Categorizes the recommended software programs by eight chronological units in the course. Includes the current price for each program and a list of sources for…

This article describes one of many inquiry investigations the author designed for her fifth grade students in order to provide real and meaningful reading experiences through primary documents. There are two main goals for such a lesson: students will comprehend historical events accurately and in a way meaningful to them, and they will develop…

Describes a two-day lesson plan for teaching U.S. history at the fifth-grade level. Focuses on the cause and effect relationship between historical events of 1763-76 and how they led to the American Revolution. Includes a flow chart to be used as a test question and a basis for class discussion. (DK)

California State Standard 5.8 is delineated in the following way: "Students trace the colonization, immigration, and settlement patterns of the American people from 1789 to the mid-1800s, with emphasis on the role of economic incentives, effects of the physical and political geography, and transportation systems." Students answer six…

This publication is a response to teachers' requests for practical assistance in implementing the history and social science framework for California's public schools. The document sets out resources that are useful in teaching U.S. history and geography for fifth grade students. Participants in a summer institute worked in grade level groups to…