This textbook introduces teachers to the world of social studies teaching and learning in elementary and middle schools. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1, "Orientation to Social Studies Education," consists of sections (1) "Social Studies Education: What and Why?" and (2) "The Children We Teach." Part 2, "The Social Studies Curriculum," includes sections (3) "Citizenship Education and Democratic Values," (4) "History, Geography, and the Social Sciences," (5) "Time Lines, Maps, Globes, and Graphics: Key Tools for the Social Studies," and (6) "Current Events and Public Issues in Social Studies." Part 3, "Planning and Teaching Social Studies," is divided into sections (7) "Strategies for Teaching Social Studies Subject Matter," (8) "Planning Units, Lessons, and Activities," (9) Assessing Student Learning," (10) "Cooperative Learning, (11) "Reading to Learn Social Studies," and (12) "Social Studies as the Integrating Core." Each chapter ends with a summary, lists of discussion questions and suggested activities, and selected references. Many chapters include lesson plans. The text continually discusses ways that social studies instruction can use, address, and incorporate various issues such as multiple intelligences, forms of assessment, learning disabilities, classroom management, and cognitive development. The volume also addresses how the National Council for Social Studies Standards can be realized in the classroom and provides examples. The text incorporates a wide array of photographs, maps, illustrations, tables, graphs and time lines. Early chapters include examples of unit topics for each grade level. Individual chapters contain references. (MJP)