This study explores social studies teachers' self-reported instruction about teaching the 2020 election in U.S. secondary schools. We analyzed survey responses from 1,723 secondary social studies teachers from 12 states (3 left-leaning, 3 right-leaning, 6 battleground) collected in the weeks after the election, examining self-reported pedagogies,…

Integrating current events and news media in the curriculum is essential to social studies teachers' efforts to promote critical citizenship skills. In this mixed-methods study, Christopher H. Clark, Mardi Schmeichel, and H. James Garrett draw from a survey of more than one thousand social studies teachers to examine factors that influence the…

The purpose of this paper is to take a closer look at the states that have designed strong history standards and note what has made them exceptional so other states might do the same. They include Alabama, California, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, and South Carolina. The report draws on interviews with individuals from each state who sat on…

This article describes a lesson plan that encouraged the usage of digital tools to enhance inquiry as a key tool in teaching elementary social studies. The lesson revolved around a field trip to the home of Civil War Governor Oliver P. Morton (Centerville, Indiana). The active, investigative, and questioning nature of inquiry in social studies…

Building on research conducted over the past twenty years, this study examines teachers' attitudes toward teaching controversial issues in the classroom. Teachers' perceptions, previous research, and this survey indicated that social studies teachers do find value in discussing controversial issues, but perceived consequences may limit teachers in…

The author develops a rationale for teaching about the non-West in the social studies curriculum in public schools. Suggestions are made concerning curriculum development and teaching methods. (SM)

Presents a secondary level teaching unit on the role of rogues and entrepreneurs in Indiana and Florida from World War I through the 1920s. The unit helps students recognize the continuing struggle to maintain basic constitutional freedoms, particularly freedom of speech and religion. Discusses ways to develop the unit and includes a list of…

This collection of materials is designed to assist Indiana educators, administrators, and communities with the textbook selection process. Criteria for making such selections is outlined in the following articles: (1) "Laws, Rules, and Guidelines for Teaching Social Studies in Indiana" (Victor A. Smith); (2) "Indiana's Recommended…

Designed to improve inservice teacher training, this report surveys the kinds of inservice activities needed by social studies teachers in Indiana during 1975. Nearly 40 percent of the state's social studies teachers responded to the questionnaire which focused on how inservice activities should be designed, when they should be held, and what the…