What Does Research Say About Elementary Social Studies: F 1051 telephone interviews - 15 minutes F Randomly selected 2, 5, 8th grade teachers Leming, James. S, Lucien Ellington, and Mark Schug. (2006) “The State of Social Studies: A National Random Survey of Elementary and Middle School Social Studies Teachers.” Social Education. 70(6):

Key Findings F Social Studies Gets Little Time in Elementary Schools F Social Studies Teachers Report that Schools Social Studies Low Importance Compared to Other Subjects F Teachers Rate Acceptance of Cultural Diversity as a More Important Rationale for Teaching Social Studies than Learning about American Heros

Key Findings (cont

Key Findings Cont’d F Rate “Student-centered” as Preferred Style but most recently employed “Teacher- centered” in their last social studies teaching F Social Studies Teacher Preparation less than Top Quality in History and Social Science Courses F Top Professional Development Needs: –Subject Matter Knowledge –Better Content Teaching Methods

Key Findings Cont’d F Don’t Perceive Standards, Testing, and NCLB as Harmful F Personal Beliefs as Liberals or Conservatives Influence Their Teaching

Basic Assumptions About Ideal Elementary Social Studies Curriculum

More Basic Assumptions about Ideal Elementary Social Studies Needs to be driven by major long-goals not coverage lists Organize content around important ideas taught for understanding and application to life outside of school Activities are means to accomplish major curriculum goals not self-justifying ends in themselves

More Basic Assumptions about Ideal Elementary Social Studies Integrate knowledge and skills in ways consistent with the above Embed activities in the curriculum that serve different functions Assess activities with an eye toward their costs as well as benefits

Final Assumptions about Ideal Elementary Social Studies The Key is the cognitive engagement potential Teacher -student discourse before, during, and after experiences makes the difference in social studies

Powerful and Authentic Social Studies

Centering Social Studies History Geography Civics and Moral Development

Organizing the Curriculum for the Early Grades Cultural Universals Housing Employment Clothing Family Food Maps and the Neighborhood Historical Literature

Upper Grades Fourth Grade – U.S. and Regional Geography Fifth Grade – American History (the revolution, civil war, and civil rights) Sixth Grade – World Geography with an emphasis on the Environment.

Strategies Concepts for Creating Connections Discussion Magic Circle Makah and Public Issues Social Moral Decisions Scored Discussions Technology – Data Bases, Spreadsheets, and Webpages Content Area Reading: primary source vs. texts

Favorite Resources Tom Snyder Productions Social Studies Resources Engaging instruction

Review and Development In groups of three to five Summarize the key points Expand and add ideas Raise questions for clarification