Inquiry is the essence of social studies, and inquiry "looping" in social studies curricula means offering students opportunities to engage in inquiry in regular intervals and in a coherent fashion within and across grade levels. This can benefit the youngest students since they are filled with hope and want to make a difference in the…

This article details how a team of fourth-grade teachers in Rockingham County, Virginia used the Inquiry Design Model (IDM) to deepen student understanding of Barbara Johns and the Moton Student Strike's fight for racial justice in Virginia and to reframe their overall approach to Black history in general. Although Rockingham County Schools are…

In this article, the author describes three inquiry activities based on a children's book set in the Philippines during World War II. In many U.S. history and modern world history curricula and textbooks, events in the Philippines (and more generally in the Pacific theater) during World War II are not covered well. Because these events cannot be…

The tragic story of Flint has made it increasingly clear that the public needs to know how to evaluate sources of information. All of this is occurring in the age of "fake news," which heightens our awareness of the challenge of determining veracity. Furthermore, a flood of information can be found at our fingertips 24 hours a day. A…

Both the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework and Problem Based Learning (PBL) pedagogy encourage the use of compelling and supporting questions as a central element of the teaching and learning process. Some researchers, however, assert that the ideals of constructivist PBL may fall short of intended outcomes by leaving too much at the…

Researchers have proposed integration as an approach to effectively teach social studies in primary grades. Many teachers integrate by teaching social studies content and skills during time allocated for other subjects, such as literacy, science, or math. Integration clearly uses time efficiently to allow for more social studies content. However,…

Even the most commonplace object can be a powerful learning tool for a young child. In the case described in this article, shoes provided an opportunity for children of all abilities to leave their classroom and explore the places, spaces, and faces of their own community. The study of shoes also demonstrated how one teacher reached each and every…

This article introduces the fifty states project, a year-long study of the United States that uses crowd sourcing to bring authentic materials into the social studies classroom. The project started five years ago, when author Kelly McPherson decided that she wanted to have a care package sent from all 50 states to help students learn about the…

In this article, the authors describe a recent project undertaken at the University of South Florida's (USF) Preschool for Creative Learning. To align with the inquiry approach of their laboratory school, the environment at the Preschool is designed so that children can learn through exploration and individual initiative. The administration and…

Outlines an instructional unit where students construct culture kits illustrating a specific culture. Culture kits are constructed out of realia and other material including maps, travel brochures, photographs, newspapers, souvenirs, and other items. Discusses collecting these items and possible multicultural applications. (MJP)

Maintains that, because elementary students and teachers are together all day for an entire school year, the opportunity to teach social justice and democratic values is great. Contends that the transmission model of social studies must be discarded in favor of a transformational model. (CFR)

Discusses how teaching about quilts and quilting in elementary social studies provides a more complete view of social history and includes the voices of women and men of different races, cultures, and social classes. Provides suggestions on teaching about quilts and identifies seven children's books on the topic. (CFR)

Outlines a dozen alternative formats for oral book reports that can turn this often boring ritual into an engaging learning experience. These creative formats emphasize the inherently important concepts of the books and build in listener accountability through authentic assessment. The formats include creating comic books, mock trials, and…

Recounts a series of primary grade-level literacy-related activities using Margaret Miller's, "Who Uses This?" The book features the occupational tools of various professions and the activities emphasize word construction and recognition, problem solving, shared reading, and interactive writing. Includes a nine-item selected bibliography. (MJP)