This article situates spoken word poetry as a discussion-based practice for the social studies classroom. Similar to traditional forms of discussion like debate and deliberation, spoken word poetry engages students in multiple perspectives, allows students to make critical arguments about the world, and creates a space for student voices to have…

Africa is the cradle of civilization, yet its rich history and culture is undertaught--especially in elementary P-5 classrooms. In this article, we share Adinkra symbols from West Africa which can be used for interdisciplinary instruction and classroom management. We offer Adinkra symbols as an organizing theme for teaching in the spirit of not…

In the last few years, xenophobic rhetoric and policies have sharply increased across the world and is especially apparent in the rise of far right political parties in Europe, the Brexit vote in Great Britain, and the election of Donald Trump in the United States. In these times, teachers have a responsibility to stand for values of inclusion and…

Between 1854 and 1930, over 200,000 children left New York City, as well as other major east coast cities, bound for families in rural areas. They traveled to towns in New England, the Midwest, the South, and even as far west as Texas, California, Oregon, and Washington. These orphans were the children of immigrant families who were pouring into…

The National Council of Teachers of English (2008) defines "literacy" as a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. Classrooms are cultures in which the development of these practices not only reflects the social studies, but also expands knowledge of the social studies while fostering civic…

This article encourages elementary teachers to offer opportunities for their students to critically analyze maps as part of powerful geography instruction in order to help them become well-informed and civic-minded citizens. The article reviews challenges to powerful geography instruction, including traditional geography textbooks and pedagogy and…

Promoting Social Justice through Pre-K-12 Multicultural Literature is a graduate course at Elmhurst College in which social studies teachers learn to take a leadership role in their classrooms and communities by infusing social justice topics into their existing curricula. The study of multiculturalism alongside issues such as environmentalism,…

Explores the relationship between the Anasazi and their physical environment as a means of helping students understand the impact of geography on the daily lives of people and their culture. Includes suggested learning activities incorporating components from the National Geography Standards. (MJP)

Demonstrates the need for teaching strategies that incorporate the concepts of power and freedom into existing courses. Identifies classroom environments that enable students to make choices as beneficial and describes some strategies for promoting a more democratic classroom. (AEM)

Montessori believed that preschool children were capable of practicing an elementary form of democracy, could direct their own learning, and discipline themselves. How preschool teachers can adapt Montessori ideas to regular classroom instruction is discussed. (RM)

Described is an organizational construct to help teachers integrate the oceanographic and maritime disciplines within a comprehensible framework. The construct considers three areas: aquasphere, human adaptation to the ocean, and integrative prospects. (Author/AV)

Suggests that if the concept of genocide is not integrated into our mental and moral world, we become passive or active participants in processing people for destruction. Provides definitions of the terms genocide and holocaust and eight classroom strategies to help develop understanding. (Author/KC)

Suggests adaptations of curriculum and awareness activities for students to prepare for the arrival of handicapped students who are to be mainstreamed into the general public school environment. (AV)

Lack of courtesy among children is a social trend that, along with the decline of the family, the troubling character of some young people, and the lack of shared ethical values, is of some concern. In this article, the author discusses why it is important to teach pro-social behavior and suggests some ways of doing so in the classroom.

A conceptual approach for teaching conservation so that it relates directly to the pressing resource issues confronting our modern urban-industrial society. (MB)