Elementary Social Studies : Constructing a Powerful Approach to Teaching and Learning

by Grant, S.G.; VanSledright, Bruce

• ISBN13: 9780618443604
• ISBN10: 0618443606
• Additional ISBN(s): 9780395811214
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-04-01
• Publisher: Cengage Learning
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

This text frames and develops a coherent, practical, and engaging approach to teaching and learning elementary social studies. The authors combine the latest research on learning patterns, curriculum structure and presentation, and assessment with practical issues like classroom management, goal establishment, and creative lesson planning. Elementary Social Studies is organized according to four commonplaces of education--learners and learning, subject matter, teachers and teaching, and classroom environment--to help teachers create a powerful learning environment for their students. The Second Edition includes additional emphasis on issues of multiculturalism and diversity, and teaching in the lower primary grades. New! More Theory-to-Practice examples are included throughout the text. Now identifiable by marginal icons, the examples in Chapter 2 concentrate on incorporating constructivist principles into the teaching/learning process, while those in Chapter 5 focus on choosing teaching strategies, curriculum materials, and classroom assessments. New! More references to social studies standards and standardized assessments are presented throughout the text to help teaching students understand how their lessons relate to the certification process and the assessment of schools, teachers, and students. New! More explicit connections between social studies and language arts instruction (Chapter 4) are drawn to provide guidance on teaching in schools that have marginalized social studies instruction in order to concentrate on reading and math in preparation for standardized testing. New! Expanded content allows the author to provide the most comprehensive updates and information on all topics presented. New! Marginal icons have been reduced from six categories to four--diversity, standards, theory-to-practice examples, and relevant research--for purposes of clarity. These icons help call out where relevant information is presented in the text. In Your Classroom boxes offer practical teaching suggestions such as the use jigsaw puzzles, book talks, and mini-lessons. An appendix of Children's Literature provides approximately 100 specific titles that correspond to the various unit ideas throughout the text.

Table of Contents

Note: Each chapter concludes with a Chapter

Summary and Teaching Resources

The Commonplaces of Education: A Framework for Powerful Social Studies Teaching

Creating a Framework for the Social Studies Classroom Introducing the Commonplaces Looking at the Commonplaces in Interaction

Learners and Learning: Understanding What Students Know and How They Come to Know It Knowing and Learning About Social Studies

A Constructivist View of Learning Social Studies

Subject Matter

A Threads Approach But There's Just Too Much Here! The Threads Approach

Teachers and Teaching

Working with Big Ideas Teachers and Teaching Putting It All Together with Big Ideas

The Big Idea as Key to Pedagogical Action

Teachers and Teaching

Choosing Strategies

Curriculum Materials, and Assessment Techniques Pulling Together a Pedagogical Plan Teaching Strategies

Curriculum Materials Assessment Influences on Teachers Content and Instructional Decisions

The Classroom Environment

Creating a Genuine Community

The Complex Nature of Social Studies Classrooms

Traditional Classroom Environments

The Promise of Genuine Classroom Communities

Putting the Commonplaces into Action

Purposes, Goals, and Objectives for Teaching and Learning

Goal Frameworks and Good Citizens Educational Goal Frameworks and the Supporting Arguments Sources for Guidance About Goals Building a Goal

Framework Some Parting Thoughts About Goals

Unit Planning and the Commonplaces

Pulling It All Together Applying the Commonplaces Creating the Unit Plan Parting Thoughts

Becoming a Reflective Social Studies Teacher Defining Reflective Practice Reflectiveness in Teaching

An Illustration Reflection and the Social Context of Teaching Review of Key Themes

Some Parting Thoughts

Appendix: Content Resources from Children's Literature

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.