People are inundated with visual information. In this study, I address the question: "When preservice elementary teacher candidates include visuals and graphics into social studies lessons, in what ways do they integrate these materials?" As part of a social studies methods course, participants created lesson plans. These plans included…

In this article, we present the Graphical Rating Tool (GRT), which is designed to evaluate the graphical devices that are commonly found in content-area, non-fiction texts, in order to identify books that are well suited for teaching about those devices. We also present a "best of" list of science and social studies books, which includes…

Many researchers, teacher educators, teachers and students view graphics in text as an aspect of student learning (e.g. engagement, comprehension). However, as a field we have not addressed teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and decision-making associated with the use of graphics, student learning and issues of access. This mixed methods…

The purpose of this study is to describe upper elementary students' understandings of four graphical devices that frequently occur in social studies texts: captioned images, maps, tables, and timelines. Using verbal protocol data collection procedures, we collected information on students' metacognitive processes when they were explicitly asked to…

In this article we identify opportunities for students to use timelines and textbooks to meet standards. Through the use of timelines, textbooks, and selected activities, upper elementary and middle school students are able to (1) be engaged in content area reading and writings; (2) understand large themes in social studies including time,…

Symbols have always had an important role in shaping our identity as a nation. The American flag, the Statue of Liberty, the White House, and the bald eagle all help to convey American values such as liberty, freedom, democracy, and independence. But how do elementary students understand these symbols and the values behind them? In this article,…