Spatial thinking skills are competencies individuals will need in their lives in order to know and understand the world and to perceive the space correctly. In order for individuals to have these competencies, effective training in the development of spatial thinking skills should occur. Spatial thinking skills can be acquired through…

This paper examines the ways that political contexts affect the perceptions and practices of social studies preservice teachers (SSPSTs) being prepared in a conservative "Red State" compared to those being prepared in a liberal "Blue State." The researchers analyzed how controversial the SSPSTs in each context considered the…

Scholars contend that disciplinary literacy is a productive route for all secondary learners, including those identified as struggling readers, to build knowledge. Relatedly, scholars point to disciplinary literacy as a socially just alternative to decontextualized skill instruction and deficit positioning. Yet, little research has examined how…

This study aimed to determine the efficacy of a content knowledge and reading comprehension treatment implemented by 8th-grade social studies teachers over the course of 1 school year. We randomly assigned 8th-grade students with reading difficulties to the intervention treatment condition (n = 45) or the business-as-usual comparison condition…

Research Findings: This study compared the effects of content-based shared book-reading instruction versus an explicit vocabulary-only condition on the vocabulary development of preschool dual language learners (DLLs). Using shared book reading as the mode of instruction, we randomly assigned 48 bilingual preschool teachers and 281…

The authors present three lesson ideas that integrate women's history into the curriculum and that support the development of important social studies skills. The first lesson, for teachers to use at the beginning of the school year, encourages students to think critically about the nature of history and the importance of understanding the point…

Math experts developed Formative Assessment Lessons that teachers can incorporate throughout the year's curriculum. Both tools target the "instructional core." A study by Research for Action (RFA) examining the first year of piloting the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) and Math Design Collaborative (MDC) tools (2010-11) found…

This paper describes procedures used by the author in analyzing data obtained from observation of a 9-day fourth-grade social studies unit developed by the Washington University Social Studies Curriculum Project. Analysis included the development of a chart showing the structure of each lesson from two teachers' lesson plans. The actual sequence…

Presents a learning activity in which students compare their state constitution's bill of rights with the federal Bill of Rights. Provides a chart for identifying comparisons of enumerated rights. Includes background information and explains objectives and procedures. (CH)

Global education constitutes a pedagogy of peacebuilding citizenship education for the purpose of empowering teachers in building a more just and peaceful world. In this self-study, I examined simulations of the United Nations General Assembly conducted in a graduate elective course attended by 53 preservice and inservice teachers during three…

Activities for teaching about law in social studies classrooms are presented. Six generalizations have been identified to enable students to conceptualize law and justice and consider the ways in which law and order have been interpreted by different societies at different times in history: (1) society is organized rather than formless, (2) social…

Using selected passages from Japanese and U.S. social studies textbooks, this booklet presents contrasting views and interpretations of historical events or circumstances. The textbooks, review, and supplementary materials collected or developed in conjunction with the Japan/U.S. Textbook Study Project provides much of the basic material for the…

This module contains two African folk tales about death, two descriptions of African funerals, a lesson plan with 11 questions exploring the finality of and customs surrounding death, and a bibliography of five books which deal with African religious beliefs. The folk tales present concepts of death and immortality of the soul. The descriptions of…

This module contains a description of the responsibilities and ceremony of marriage in west Africa, seven discussion questions exploring the differences between Western and African marriage customs, five enrichment activities, and a bibliography of five books about love and marriage in Africa. The general discussion relates the engagement of a…

Student activity pages, teacher background information, and lesson ideas for teaching about the law in social studies classrooms are provided in this supplementary packet. An introductory section provides a rationale for the unit, a guide to bringing law-related resource persons into the classroom, a teacher checklist for helping resource persons…