The disappointing results of the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Civics and U.S. History have further fueled the call for consistent, high-quality social studies instruction. The response by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) highlighted the imperative for early grades, claiming "the lack of a solid…

Primary sources are tricky documents. They can be excellent texts to use in the classroom to improve content knowledge and build skills, but care must be taken so they promote rather than thwart learning (Eicher, 2007; Newman, 2014). A couple of preliminary steps can eliminate pitfalls and help a primary source fulfill its promise. Traditionally,…

Primary Objective: This study examines student reaction to a unit of instruction teaching war through a more critical lens focusing on anti-war movements and how student sense of civic agency was impacted. Research Design: A design study that centered student voice on activism and experiences of a unit of instruction of the USA at war. Design…

Until the beginning of the 21st century, the Tulsa Race Massacre was omitted mainly from the social studies curriculum and state-mandated standards in the United States. However, the featured lesson provides a valuable springboard to explore the historical perspectives and injustices against the Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 31, 1921.…

There is a renewed interest for the use of inquiry in social studies classrooms; though, research has long shown numerous benefits. This lesson seeks to utilize the inquiry method to invigorate the social studies curriculum as well as explore a controversial topic of gender equality in historic representation. Women are often underrepresented in…

In this article, the authors discuss a month-long research study where sixth grade students researched three women for the half-century after the U.S. Civil War War that worked to change their respective communities to address public issues: Jane Addams, Clara Lemlich, and Ida B. Wells. The sixth graders read a picture book for each of the three…

There are notable historical figures commonly taught in social studies curriculums across the country, often without much controversy. Because they are seen as "elemental" to many World and U.S. histories, they mostly remain in standardized curriculum while recent censorship of content concerning race, gender, and sexuality has…

In 2020, as the nation experienced a racial reckoning, the North Carolina State Board of Education was in the process of adopting new social studies standards. The racial reckoning constituted a policy window to advocate for standards that better included marginalized experiences. In response, conservative lawmakers engaged in a political…

This study explores how a Black oral history project can be used in a secondary social studies classroom as a culturally sustaining practice. This study uses case study methodology to answer the research question, how are Black oral histories a form of culturally sustaining practice in secondary social studies classrooms? This dissertation…

The role of literacy in social studies education has been greatly elevated over the last decade. The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) models through the indicators of its C3 Framework how to strengthen K-12 students' disciplinary thinking, literacy, and argumentation skills in the four core social studies disciplines: civics,…

This article explores the extent to which official social studies curriculum documents acknowledge difficult questions raised by the persistence of poverty in the United States. As it turns out, just as some parts of social studies curricula tell distorted stories about U.S. history, other parts tell misleading stories about the nation's present…

Students, especially young children, recognize differences. This guided inquiry positions elementary students to consider the (dis)abilities they see and do not see. This article couples trade books emphasizing diverse perspectives--general, American, people of color, international contexts, fiction, and disparate (dis)abilities--with evocative…

Historians of social studies and race have focused overwhelmingly on formal educational settings, textbooks, and curriculum, thereby overlooking the informal educational spaces valued by African Americans. This study examines civic education in informal settings by considering the educational programs of Black voluntary organizations. Hundreds of…

Background: Mission US is a series of interactive first-person role-playing history games and curricular materials that address a critical problem: students lack fundamental knowledge of our nation's history. According to the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, 2018), only 13% of Grade 8 students were proficient on the…

Second-graders engaged in complex reading, writing, and thinking about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Close readings of secondary and primary sources situated students to discover incongruencies between what is reported within trade-books and what is revealed within historical documents. Scaffolding directed students' scrutiny of…