Making Connections in Elementary and Middle School Social Studies

Book excerpt: A practical, holistic approach to integrating social studies with language arts and other content areas 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 Thinking Ahead invites readers to link their own experiences with the chapter content before reading 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 Making Connections activities help readers make personal connections with the material New to This Edition The Second Edition has been significantly refined to incorporate new topic coverage and strategies needed by elementary and middle school social studies teachers 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 Differentiating instruction provides an additional focus on students with special needs and differentiating instruction Additional lesson plans and examples are offered throughout the text