This book anchors the social studies as the central unifying force for young children. Teachers use the inquiry process to foster child development of social skills and citizenship ideals in their first classroom experiences. Curriculum is built starting with children’s natural curiosity to foster literacy in all its form—speaking, listening, reading, writing. Along the way, young children acquire knowledge and academic skills in civics, economics, geography and history. Shown throughout are ways to promote social learning, self-concept development, social skills and citizenship behaviors. Featured here are individually appropriate and culturally relevant developmental practices. Considered are the importance of family collaboration and funds of knowledge children bring to early care and education. Contributors to this edition bring expertise from bilingual, early education, literacy, special education and the social studies. Beginning with citizenship and community building the authors consider all aspects of teaching young children leading to a progression of capacity to engage civically in school and community.

Social Studies and Young Children presents developmentally appropriate strategies for teaching social studies to young children, with a focus on NCSS and NAEYC standards and using trade books, activities, and other resources designed to reach young children. Written in an easy-to-understand style, the book weaves current research-based principles of developmentally appropriate practice throughout. Through the book's experiential, hands-on learning approach, teachers see how to reach young learners, pique their interest, and use their natural curiosity to develop more critical thinking. The developmental learning focus promotes the idea that by understanding how young children learn, teachers will be more successful in presenting material in a way that children are able to comprehend, further allowing them to build knowledge as they are developmentally able to make sense of the material. Cross-curricular teaching and learning is promoted through the inclusion of a list of trade books in each chapter. A variety of strategies, activities, resources, and key chapter sections illustrate the concepts and help students make the connections to daily classroom practice. The First Edition of Social Studies and Young Children includes: Students make the connections between the theory and learning of social studies. Chapter 1 presents helpful background information about learning theory, including an illustrative table that summarizes theorists and their ideas about young learners. Learning and understanding of the text concepts, diversity, and inclusion are enhanced through a variety of key chapter sections. Students become familiar with what children should be learning as they plan for learning goals. Included are 10 NCSS themes and relevant NAEYC standards listed in every chapter. An understanding of what is developmentally appropriate for teaching social studies content and concepts is accomplished through references to child development and DAP throughout the book. Concepts and ideas are illustrated and clarified. Numerous practical and useful examples, activities, and resource ideas relevant for different age groups appear at the end of each chapter. Teachers see how to provide relevant, appropriate assessment for young children in a full chapter devoted to the topic. (Chapter 9) Teachers see how to integrate social studies into the everyday lives of their students, and to teach social studies with other subjects through the book's interdisciplinary experiential method presented throughout.

Young children are naturally interested in their world. They are learning to understand who they are, who their family members are, and what it means to have friends. They are curious about their communities, who lives and works there, how things are made, and what they cost. They are beginning to ask questions about their environment and the greater world. With Social Studies and Me! teachers can support children's curiosity by using storybooks to engage them in social studies and literacy learning and deepen their understanding of skills and concepts. Themes include: I Am a Person; Families, Friends, Communities; and The Big World.

When engaged in social studies, with guidance and encouragement from adults, children develop awareness of self and family and become active participants in the larger community. The knowledge and skills learned through social studies prepare children to become informed and engaged citizens of their country and the world. In this collection of articles from Young Children and Beyond the Journal, experts discuss the historic roots of the social studies field, explain how quality books can help children understand themselves and others, and provide many examples of teachers and children engaged in meaningful social studies. The book includes a list of key resources as well as questions and activities designed to aid readers in reflecting on the articles. This volume is part of NAEYC's best-selling Spotlight series--great resources for the college classroom and for staff development.

By linking theory to practice with an emphasis on national and state standards, Head Start Performance Standards, No Child Left Behind, and IDEA, the authors coherently combine principles of child development and social studies content to create a solid program for preschool through grade three. The authors maintain the overriding idea throughout the Teaching Young Children series—that strategies derived from knowledge of child development are used to teach content knowledge. It is this concern that makes this volume an excellent resource for teachers and parents. In addition to specific discussions of how to build and conduct a social studies curriculum, the work includes vignettes of teachers and children in the classroom; graphics illustrating concepts and methods; and matrices, charts and tables to enhance understanding. The authors effectively intertwine social learning in young children and development of self-concept with the theme-based curriculum of the National Council for Social Studies, the principles of multicultural education, parent collaboration to support learning, and creating connections between classroom and community.

The Handbook of Research on the Education of Young Children is the essential reference on research on early childhood education throughout the world. This singular resource provides a comprehensive overview of important contemporary issues as well as the information necessary to make informed judgments about these issues. The field has changed significantly since the publication of the second edition, and this third edition of the handbook takes care to address the entirety of vital new developments. A valuable tool for all those who work and study in the field of early childhood education, this volume addresses critical, cutting edge research on child development, curriculum, policy, and research and evaluation strategies. With a multitude of new and updated chapters, The Handbook of Research on the Education of Young Children, 3rd Edition makes the expanding knowledge base related to early childhood education readily available and accessible.