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

The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition, provides teachers and teacher educators with a comprehensive guide to teaching social issues in the classroom. This second edition re-frames the teaching of social issues with a dedicated emphasis on issues of social justice. It raises the potential for a new and stronger focus on social issues instruction in schools. Contributors include many of the leading experts in the field of social studies education. Issues-centered social studies is an approach to teaching history, government, geography, economics and other subject related courses through a focus on persistent social issues. The emphasis is on problematic questions that need to be addressed and investigated in-depth to increase social understanding, active participation, and social progress. Questions or issues may address problems of the past, present, or future, and involve disagreement over facts, definitions, values, and beliefs arising in the study of any of the social studies disciplines, or other aspects of human affairs. The authors and editor believe that this approach should be at the heart of social studies instruction in schools. ENDORSEMENTS "At a time when even the world’s most stable democracies are backsliding towards autocratic rule, Ronald Evans has pulled together an essential guide for teachers who want to do something about it. The 2nd edition of the Handbook on Teaching Social Issues is a brilliant and timely collection that should be the constant companion for teachers across the disciplines." Joel Westheimer University Research Chair in Democracy and Education University of Ottawa "The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues (2nd edition) is a fantastic resource for teachers, teacher educators, and professional development specialists who are interested in ensuring that social issues are at the center of the curriculum. The chapters are focused on the most important contemporary thinking about what social issues are, why they are so important for young people to learn about, and what research indicates are the most effective pedagogical approaches. The wide-ranging theoretical and practical expertise of the editor and all of the chapter authors account for why this handbook makes such an exceptional contribution to our understanding of how and why the social issues approach is so important and stimulating." Diana Hess Dean, UW-Madison School of Education Karen A. Falk Distinguished Chair of Education "Democracy, both as a form of governance and a reservoir of principles and practices, faces an existential threat. The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues is a perfectly-timed and wonderfully engaging exploration of what lies at the heart of social studies curriculum: social inquiry for democratic life. The authors provide conceptual frames, classroom strategies and deep insights about the complex and utterly crucial work of education for democratic citizenship. Education like that conceptualized and described in this volume is a curative so needed at this critical moment. Ron Evans and his colleagues have delivered, assembling an outstanding set of contributions to the field. The Handbook underscores John Dewey's now-haunting invocation that democracy must be renewed with each generation and an education worthy of its name is the handmaiden of democratic rebirth." William Gaudelli Dean and Professor Lehigh University "This volume is so timely and relevant for democratic education. Instead of retreating to separate ideological corners, the authors in this handbook invite us to engage in deliberative discourse that requires civic reasoning and often requires us to meet in a place that serves us all." Gloria Ladson-Billings, Professor Emerita Department of Curriculum & Instruction University of Wisconsin President, National Academy of Education Fellow, AERA, AAAS, and Hagler Institute @ Texas A&M "At the heart of our divisive political and social climate is the need to understand and provide clarity over polarizing concepts. Historically, confusion and resistance has hindered the nation's growth as a democratic nation. Typically, the most vulnerable in our society has suffered the most from our unwillingness to reconceptualize society. The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition, is a good step in helping social studies educators, students, and laypersons realize a new society that focuses on equity. With over 30 chapters, Ronald Evans and his colleagues' centered inquiry, critical thinking, controversy, and action to challenge ideologies and connect social studies to student's lives and the real world. The first edition helped me as a young social studies teacher; I am excited to use the 2nd edition with my teacher education students!" LaGarrett King Isabella Wade Lyda and Paul Lyda Professor of Education Founding Director, CARTER Center for K-12 Black history education University of Missouri "Ronald Evans has curated a collection of informative contributions that will serve as an indispensable resource for social studies educators committed to engaging their students in the thoughtful examination of social issues. The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition, articulates the historical, definitional, and conceptual foundations of social issues education. It offers clear presentations of general guidelines for unit planning, discussion methods, and assessment. It identifies specific teaching strategies, resources, and sample lessons for investigating a range of persistent and contemporary social issues on the elementary, middle, and secondary levels through the social studies disciplines. Updated with perspectives on education for social justice that have emerged since the first edition, this edition effectively situates social issues education in the contemporary sociopolitical milieu. The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, is a timely, accessible, and practical guide to involving students in a vital facet of citizenship in a democracy." William G. Wraga, Professor Dean’s Office Mary Frances Early College of Education University of Georgia "The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition is a long-awaited, welcome, and timely volume. It is apparent that the foundational tenets of the first edition have served social studies professionals well over the past 25 years, given the growth of social issues scholarship showcased in this new edition. Notable is the re-framing and presentation here of scholarship through a social justice lens. I appreciate the offering of unique tools on an array of specific, critical topics that fill gaps in our pedagogical content knowledge. This volume will sit right alongside my dog-eared 1996 edition and fortify many methods courses, theses, and dissertations to come. Sincere thanks to the editor and authors for what I am certain will be an enduring, catalyzing contribution." Nancy C. Patterson Professor of Education Social Studies Content Area Coordinator Bowling Green State University "The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues is a tool that every informed social studies educator should have in their instructional repertoire. Helping students understand how to investigate and take action against problems is essential to developing a better world. The articles in this handbook provide explanations and reasonings behind issues-centered education as well as strategies to employ at every age level of learning. I look forward to using this edition with the K-12 social studies teachers in my district in order to better prepare our students for future learning and living." Kelli Hutt, Social Studies Curriculum Facilitator Dallas Center-Grimes CSD Grimes, Iowa "Ron Evans has chosen an appropriate time to create a companion publication to the first Handbook on Teaching Social Issues published in 1996. During the last few years, social studies teachers have been confronted by student inquiries on a plethora of historical and contemporary issues that implores for the implementation of an interdisciplinary approach to the teaching of anthropology, economics, geography, government, history, sociology, and psychology in order for students to make sense of the world around them and develop their own voices. This demands a student centered focus in the classroom where problematic questions must be addressed and investigated in depth in order to increase social understanding and active participation toward social progress. This volume provides crucial upgrades to the original handbook including a greater emphasis on teaching issues in the elementary grades, the inclusion of issues pertaining to human rights, genocide and sustainability to be addressed in the secondary grades, and addressing issues related to disabilities." Mark Previte, Associate Professor of Secondary Education University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Chair, NCSS Issues Centered Education Community

SUMMARY:Provides a practical guide for prospective and experienced teachers, accenting lesson and unit planning, resources and methods, as well as outlining the purposes and aims of social studies learnings.

Instructional Strategies for Middle and High School Social Studies: Methods, Assessment, and Classroom Management is an exciting methods-based text that integrates appropriate management and assessment techniques with seven distinct teaching strategies. Writing explicitly for pre-service social studies teachers, veteran teacher educator Bruce E. Larson offers detailed descriptions of a range of instructional strategies, along with guidelines for deciding how and when to use each. Part I offers the foundations for teaching and learning in a social studies classroom, and explores contextual, theoretical, and policy factors that all teachers need to consider before entering the classroom. Part II delivers a range of comprehensive strategies for providing instruction that is appropriate for particular lessons, student abilities, and classroom environments. The practical strategies in Part II build upon the learning theories described in Part I, positioning Instructional Strategies for Middle and High School Social Studies to be the go-to, all-inclusive teacher’s guide to the social studies classroom. New to this Edition A list of goals before each chapter presents an overview of the chapter’s content focus, and provides an outline for the chapter review. Extensively revised Part I (chapters 1–4) provides an updated review of national standards developed for teaching history, geography, civics, and economics. In-depth applications of the Common Core State Standards for the social studies are also explored. New "Reality Check" feature provides directions for integrating field-based experiences into the chapters, and contextualizes the ideas in the book for a classroom setting. Each chapter in Part II (chapters 5–11) has been expanded to include a section labeled "Enhancing Student Learning with Technology," offering websites, links, and other resources for integrating recent technologies into the classroom. Chapters 5–11 include a new "Making Your Lesson More Meaningful for ELLs" feature, which provides ideas—based on current research and theories about learning language—for engaging ELLs, specific for each instructional strategy. Expanded discussion of the "Understanding by Design" model equips teachers to design learning experiences that promote student understanding by intentionally designing what happens in the classroom, and developing authentic formative assessments of student learning.

Instructional Strategies for Middle and High School is an accessible, practical, and engaging methods textbook that introduces pre-service teachers to various instructional strategies and helps them to decide how and when to use these methods in the classroom. Classrooms are comprised of diverse learners, and aspiring teachers will face complex decisions about the assessment of student learning and classroom management. Veteran teacher educators Bruce Larson and Timothy Keiper offer practical suggestions for ways to integrate effective classroom management and valid assessment techniques with each instructional strategy. Instructional Strategies for Middle and High School equips pre-service teachers with the methodological tools to promote understanding, conceptual awareness, and learning for every child in the classroom. Features and updates to this new edition include: Clear, step-by-step descriptions and illustrative in-class videos of seven instructional techniques and that pre-service teachers can realistically implement within the classroom setting Increased coverage on teaching English language learners, including a "Making Your Lesson More Meaningful for ELLs" feature now included in every instructional strategy chapter "Enhancing Your Teaching With Technology" feature included in every instructional strategy chapter Fresh interior design to better highlight pedagogical elements and key features, all to better engage students Fully revamped and comprehensive companion website, with both student and instructor materials that stress real-world application of strategies, classroom assessment and management.