Making connections in elementary and middle school social studies /

Includes bibliographical references and index.

This comprehensive, reader-friendly text demonstrates how personal connections can be incorporated into social studies education while meeting standards of the National Council for the Social Studies. Praised for its wealth of strategies that go beyond social studies content teaching--including classroom strategies, pedagogical techniques, activities, and lesson plan ideas--this book presents a variety of methods for new and experienced teachers. Key features of this book are: (1) "Thinking Ahead" invites readers to link their own experiences with the chapter content before reading; (2) "How Do I?" Boxes give explicit, step-by-step instruction that demonstrates how to implement and apply the strategies, techniques, and activities described in the chapter; and (3) "Making Connections" activities help readers make personal connections with the material. The Second Edition has been significantly refined to incorporate new topic coverage and strategies needed by elementary and middle school social studies teachers: (1) New sections divide and organize the text into six thematic sections: foundational concepts, planning and assessment, instructional strategies, literacy, teaching subject area content, and enhancing democracy; (2) Differentiating instruction provides an additional focus on students with special needs and differentiating instruction; and (3) Additional lesson plans and examples are offered throughout the text. Contents of this book are: (I) Building a Framework for Social Studies: (1) Defining Social Studies; (2) Celebrating Diversity in Social Studies Education; (ii) Planning and Assessment in Social Studies: (3) Planning Learning Experiences; (4) Assessing Student Growth; (iii) Instructional Strategies in Social Studies: (5) Instructional Models in Social Studies; (6) Differentiating the Curriculum Using Inclusive and Multi-Level Practices; (7) Teaching Cognitive Processes in Social Studies; (8) Inquiry Learning in Social Studies; (9) Learning Through Human Interaction; (iv) Using Social Studies to Enhance Literacy: (10) Textbooks and Social Studies; (11) Learning Through Literature and Language Arts; (v) Teaching Subject Area Content in Social Studies: (12) Teaching History and Geography; (13) Teaching Civics and Government and Economics; and (vi) Using Social Studies to Enhance Democracy: (14) Using Current Events and the Internet to Teach Social Studies; and (15) The Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Dimensions of Social Studies Education. This book also contains Preface and Epilogue.