This sourcebook contains more than twelve hundred easy-to-follow and implement classroom activities created and tested by veteran teachers from all over the country. The activities are arranged by grade level and are keyed to the revised National History Standards, so they can easily be matched to comparable state history standards. This volume offers teachers a treasury of ideas for bringing history alive in grades 5?12, carrying students far beyond their textbooks on active-learning voyages into the past while still meeting required learning content. It also incorporates the History Thinking Skills from the revised National History Standards as well as annotated lists of general and era-specific resources that will help teachers enrich their classes with CD-ROMs, audio-visual material, primary sources, art and music, and various print materials. Grades 5?12

No plan to increase achievement and enact reform in the social studies classroom will succeed without recognizing the central importance of the teacher as the “gatekeeper” of instruction. In this book, Thornton details why teachers must develop strong skills in curriculum planning and teaching methods in order for effective instruction to occur. Thornton helps teachers to develop a vision of their practice that will build strong social studies programs and inspire students to learn. Features: An approach to preparing purposeful teachers, acknowledging that teachers make daily decisions concerning what to teach and how to teach it. Replicable examples of the kinds of reflective practice that will enable teachers to animate classroom instruction and create a dynamic social studies curriculum. An analysis of how teachers adapt and shape state and district level curricula and classroom materials to fit the specific needs of their students—a model of how to develop an instructional program with suggestions for lesson planning. In-depth examinations of alternative ways of educating teachers in subject matter and teaching methods. “In this important book, Steve Thornton brings a Deweyan perspective to current problems in social studies education. He does more, however, because his analysis can be extended profitably to every subject in the curriculum.” —From the Foreword by Nel Noddings “A thoughtful and carefully documented analysis. . . . Let us hope that this book encourages a richer dialogue than the now-tedious and generally unproductive separate disciplines v. integrated social studies debate.” —Linda S. Levstik, University of Kentucky, Lexington “A refreshingly clearheaded, historically grounded, altogether enlightening analysis. This is the book I've been waiting for.” —Walter Parker, University of Washington

Plan and deliver a curriculum to help your students connect with the humanity of others! In the wake of 2020, we need today’s young learners to be prepared to develop solutions to a host of entrenched and complex issues, including systemic racism, massive environmental problems, deep political divisions, and future pandemics that will severely test the effectiveness and equity of our health policies. What better place to start that preparation than with a social studies curriculum that enables elementary students to envision and build a better world? In this engaging guide two experienced social studies educators unpack the oppressions that so often characterize the elementary curriculum—normalization, idealization, heroification, and dramatization—and show how common pitfalls can be replaced with creative solutions. Whether you’re a classroom teacher, methods student, or curriculum coordinator, this is a book that can transform your understanding of the social studies disciplines and their power to disrupt the narratives that maintain current inequities.

Social Studies for the Twenty-First Century, Third Edition weaves theory, curriculum, methods, and assessment into a comprehensive model to guide middle and secondary teachers in setting objectives; planning lessons, units, and courses; choosing classroom strategies; and constructing tests for some of the field's most popular and enduring programs. It offers practical, interesting, exciting ways to teach social studies and a multitude of instructional and professional resources for teachers. The text includes separate chapters on teaching each of the major areas of the social studies curriculum. Its reflective and integrative framework emphasizes building imagination, insight, and critical thinking into everyday classrooms; encourages problem-solving attitudes and behavior; and provokes analysis, reflection, and debate. New in the Third Edition: *summaries of recent research, particularly in history education, that have been published since the last edition; *increased attention to social studies standards, as well as those for civics, economics, and history; *an enriched view of teaching history and social studies with a wide array of sources ranging from material objects through primary sources on to art, music, and literature; *tightening of the text to make it shorter and more pointed, including a few provocative new ideas; *more and better-organized ideas for classroom group and individual activities and cooperative learning; *expanded appendices on instructional resources include the rapidly growing use of Web sites; *new visuals that are better integrated into the text and which teachers can use in their classrooms as lessons in visual literacy; and *continued efforts to inject a bit of humor and self-criticism into a field of education most students view as a sizeable trunk of dead and deadly facts. Social Studies for the Twenty-First Century, Third Edition is a primary text for secondary and middle social studies methods courses.

Social Studies for the Twenty-First Century, Third Edition weaves theory, curriculum, methods, and assessment into a comprehensive model to guide middle and secondary teachers in setting objectives; planning lessons, units, and courses; choosing classroom strategies; and constructing tests for some of the field's most popular and enduring programs. It offers practical, interesting, exciting ways to teach social studies and a multitude of instructional and professional resources for teachers. The text includes separate chapters on teaching each of the major areas of the social studies curriculum. Its reflective and integrative framework emphasizes building imagination, insight, and critical thinking into everyday classrooms; encourages problem-solving attitudes and behavior; and provokes analysis, reflection, and debate. Throughout the text, all aspects of curriculum and instruction are viewed from a tripartite perspective that divides social studies instruction into didactic (factual), reflective (analytical), and affective (judgmental) components. These three components are seen as supporting one another, building the groundwork for taking stands on issues, past and present. At the center is the author's belief that the heart and soul of social studies instruction, perhaps all teaching, lies in stimulating the production of ideas; looking at knowledge from others' viewpoints; and formulating for oneself a set of goals, values, and beliefs that can be explained and justified in open discussion. New in the Third Edition: * Summaries of recent research, particularly in history education, that have been published since the last edition; * Increased attention to social studies standards, as well as those for civics, economics, and history; * An enriched view of teaching history and social studies with a wide array of sources ranging from material objects through primary sources on to art, music, and literature; * Tightening of the text to make it shorter and more pointed, including a few provocative new ideas; * More and better-organized ideas for classroom group and individual activities and cooperative learning;* Expanded appendices on instructional resources include the rapidly growing use of websites; * New visuals that are better integrated into the text and which teachers can use in their classrooms as lessons in visual literacy; and * Continued efforts to inject a bit of humor and self-criticism into a field of education most students view as a sizeable trunk of dead and deadly facts. Social Studies for the Twenty-First Century, Third Edition is a primary text for secondary and middle social studies methods courses.

Now in its 4th edition, this popular text for secondary social studies methods courses integrates discussions of educational goals and the nature of history and social studies with ideas for organizing social studies curricula, units, lessons, projects, and activities. A major theme throughout is that what teachers choose to teach and the way they teach reflect their broader understanding of society, history, and the purpose of social studies education. Advocating an inquiry and activity-based view of social studies teaching that respects the points of view of students and teachers, and based in practice and experience, it offers systematic support and open, honest advice for new teachers. Each chapter addresses a broad question about social studies education; sub-chapters begin with narrower questions that direct attention to specific educational issues. Lesson ideas and materials in the book and online are especially designed to help new teachers to address common core learning standards, to work in inclusive settings, and to promote literacy and the use of technology in social studies classrooms. Chapters include highlighted Learning Activities, Teaching Activities, nd Classroom Activities designed to provoke discussion and illustrate different approaches to teaching social studies, and conclude with recommendations for further reading and links to on-line essays about related social studies topics. Activities are followed by four categories: "Think it over," "Add your voice to the discussion," "Try it yourself," and "It’s your classroom." All of these are supported with online teaching material. Designed for undergraduate and graduate pre-service social studies methods courses, this text is also useful for in-service training programs, as a reference for new social studies teachers, and as a resource for experienced social studies educators who are engaged in rethinking their teaching practice. New in the Fourth Edition Provides a number of new lesson ideas paired with online lesson plans and activity sheets in every chapter Takes a new focus on data-driven, standards-based instruction, especially in relation to the common core curriculum Addresses the interactive nature of learning in updated technology sections Reflects current trends in history education Includes more of what the author has learned from working teachers Offers a wealth of additional on-line material linked to the text