Social studies teachers in language immersion settings are tasked with simultaneously teaching students social studies content while also scaffolding target language acquisition. An abundance of resources exists for teaching social studies, yet language immersion teachers often rely on collaboration with colleagues to create lessons and translate…

This article shares lessons from committed and inspirational educators from across the country with whom the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) worked in 2020. Their experiences reinforce that nonpartisan teaching about democracy is possible (i.e., not teaching who to vote for, but rather how the system…

A notable feature of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts is the attention given to the teaching of reading and writing in history/social studies, science and technical subjects. The Standards for Reading Informational Text that are included in the Common Core State Standards require students to read texts in depth, understand…

If American young learners are to become effective participants in a democratic society, then social studies must be an essential part of the curriculum in each of the elementary years. The purpose of elementary school social studies is to enable students to understand, participate in, and make informed decisions about their world. Social studies…

One of the challenges that social studies educators face daily is how to make student learning relevant. Digital technologies can play an important role by connecting what happens in the classroom to the world beyond. One way to do this is by turning students into producers of information and having them create content rather than simply consume.…

On March 3, 1963, nine-year-old Jack Chase of Torrance, California, wrote a letter to President John F. Kennedy. In his single-page note, featured in this article, Jack described his plans for staying physically fit. He said he would walk to school, the store, and the library "because I know a strong boy makes a strong man and a strong man makes a…

In this article, the authors discuss podcasting and provide ways on how to create podcasts. A podcast is an audio or video file that is posted on the web that can easily be cataloged and automatically downloaded to a computer or mobile device capable of playing back audio or video files. Podcasting is a powerful tool for educators to get students…

The fascination with buried treasures and lost civilizations transcends all ages and serves as an effective magnet for drawing students toward the study of archaeology. Connecting students to the past gives them a better understanding of their own present and future. In this article, the author describes how the scientific method of investigation…

The article profiles Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank (an independent financial institution in Bangladesh), as well as an economics professor at the University of Chittagong. In his birthplace of Bangladesh, 49.8 percent of people exist below the poverty line, and 73.2 percent of the women are categorized as…

As elementary social science methods instructors, the authors observed a need in their student population for instructional methods that would engage students in the content, process, and values of geography instruction. Their initial purpose was to create an instructional model that pre-service teachers could adapt and use in their future…