Using Primary Sources in the Social Studies and Language Arts Classroom, Grades 6 - 8


Book Description

Use technology to bring history to life for students in grades 6–8 with Using Primary Sources in the Social Studies and Language Arts Classroom. The lessons in this 64-page book use online technology to access and examine historical primary documents. Each topic features national standards correlations, activities that promote inquiry-based learning, a list of bookshelf resources, and suggestions for related Web sites. The book supports NCSS and NCTE standards.




Integrating Language Arts and Social Studies


Book Description

With an emphasis on active learning, this supplementary text helps busy elementary and middle school teachers engage all students in the vibrant world of social studies. This inquiry-based book presents hands-on explorations, interaction with primary sources, and critical thinking activities, that provide concrete methods to successfully integrate the language arts into the social studies curriculum. Key Features Promotes the development of literacy skills by authentically integrating language arts Supports differentiated instruction for specific grade levels, English language learners, and students with special needs Connects to standards in language arts, social studies, and technology




The Knowledge Gap


Book Description

The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.







The Use of Literary Sources in Social Studies, K-8


Book Description

The Use of Literary Sources in Social Studies, K-8 is a resource for teachers who wish to include varied literary genres in their social studies instruction along with a required social studies textbook. The literature described and exemplified in this book includes fiction, nonfiction, biographies, autobiographies, historical fiction, poetry, fairy tales, folktales, tall tales, and legends. Throughout this book, different instructional suggestions are presented for inclusion with varied social studies topics and literature sources. Each chapter contains questions and pedagogical strategies for critically reading and responding to varied literary genres, modifications to meet the needs of diverse learners, assessment techniques, information tied to technology and the “new literacies,” and connections to the National Curriculum Standards for the Social Studies: A Framework for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (2010) and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (2010). The final chapter of this book describes the development and implementation of a classroom library for social studies teaching and learning.




Why Learn History (When It’s Already on Your Phone)


Book Description

A look at how to teach history in the age of easily accessible—but not always reliable—information. Let’s start with two truths about our era that are so inescapable as to have become clichés: We are surrounded by more readily available information than ever before. And a huge percent of it is inaccurate. Some of the bad info is well-meaning but ignorant. Some of it is deliberately deceptive. All of it is pernicious. With the Internet at our fingertips, what’s a teacher of history to do? In Why Learn History (When It’s Already on Your Phone), professor Sam Wineburg has the answers, beginning with this: We can’t stick to the same old read-the-chapter-answer-the-question snoozefest. If we want to educate citizens who can separate fact from fake, we have to equip them with new tools. Historical thinking, Wineburg shows, has nothing to do with the ability to memorize facts. Instead, it’s an orientation to the world that cultivates reasoned skepticism and counters our tendency to confirm our biases. Wineburg lays out a mine-filled landscape, but one that with care, attention, and awareness, we can learn to navigate. The future of the past may rest on our screens. But its fate rests in our hands. Praise for Why Learn History (When It’s Already on Your Phone) “If every K-12 teacher of history and social studies read just three chapters of this book—”Crazy for History,” “Changing History . . . One Classroom at a Time,” and “Why Google Can’t Save Us” —the ensuing transformation of our populace would save our democracy.” —James W. Lowen, author of Lies My Teacher Told Me and Teaching What Really Happened “A sobering and urgent report from the leading expert on how American history is taught in the nation’s schools. . . . A bracing, edifying, and vital book.” —Jill Lepore, New Yorker staff writer and author of These Truths “Wineburg is a true innovator who has thought more deeply about the relevance of history to the Internet—and vice versa—than any other scholar I know. Anyone interested in the uses and abuses of history today has a duty to read this book.” —Niall Ferguson, senior fellow, Hoover Institution, and author of The Ascent of Money and Civilization




Using Primary Sources to Meet Common Core State Standards, Grades 6 - 8


Book Description

Using Primary Sources to Meet Common Core State Standards is designed to help students learn how to analyze, interpret, and evaluate primary sources. The activities in the book are aligned with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (ELA). Some of the ELA literacy skills covered are making inferences, summarizing text, citing evidence, and analyzing the connection between primary and secondary sources on the same topic. Topics covered include: The Charters of Freedom, The Civil War and The Great Depression. --Mark Twain Media Publishing Company specializes in providing captivating, supplemental books and decorative resources to complement middle- and upper-grade classrooms. Designed by leading educators, the product line covers a range of subjects including mathematics, sciences, language arts, social studies, history, government, fine arts, and character. Mark Twain Media also provides innovative classroom solutions for bulletin boards and interactive whiteboards. Since 1977, Mark Twain Media has remained a reliable source for a wide variety of engaging classroom resources.




Social Studies, Literacy, and Social Justice in the Elementary Classroom


Book Description

Elementary-aged children are often positioned as not developmentally ready to learn about race, racism, and injustice. Yet, the classroom materials used in most schools misrepresent history, withhold knowledge about racial injustice, or fail to uplift stories of resilience and resistance. For almost a decade, this groundbreaking resource has been one of the most highly used textbooks in justice-oriented social studies methods courses for grades 3-8. The author has thoroughly revised her bestseller to provide additional lessons that are more deeply situated within the current context of converging pandemics--COVID-19, racism, and impending environmental catastrophe. Grounded in the daily realities of public schools, Agarwal-Rangnath shows teachers how to use primary and other sources that will offer students new ways of thinking about history while meeting language arts standards for information text proficiency and critical thinking. Educators will also learn how to teach language arts and social studies as complementary subjects. New for the Second Edition: More concrete connections between theory and practice. Additional lesson examples that are centered in today's context of converging pandemics. Reflection questions that challenge readers to think about ways to navigate curricular constraints and standardization in the classroom.




Reading Like a Historian


Book Description

This practical resource shows you how to apply Sam Wineburgs highly acclaimed approach to teaching, "Reading Like a Historian," in your middle and high school classroom to increase academic literacy and spark students curiosity. Chapters cover key moments in American history, beginning with exploration and colonization and ending with the Cuban Missile Crisis.




The Social Studies Teacher's Toolbox


Book Description

Social studies teachers will find classroom-tested lessons and strategies that can be easily implemented in the classroom The Teacher’s Toolbox series is an innovative, research-based resource providing teachers with instructional strategies for students of all levels and abilities. Each book in the collection focuses on a specific content area. Clear, concise guidance enables teachers to quickly integrate low-prep, high-value lessons and strategies in their middle school and high school classrooms. Every strategy follows a practical, how-to format established by the series editors. The Social Studies Teacher's Toolbox contains hundreds of student-friendly classroom lessons and teaching strategies. Clear and concise chapters, fully aligned to Common Core Social Studies standards and National Council for the Social Studies standards, cover the underlying research, technology based options, practical classroom use, and modification of each high-value lesson and strategy. This book employs a hands-on approach to help educators quickly learn and apply proven methods and techniques in their social studies courses. Topics range from reading and writing in social studies and tools for analysis, to conducting formative and summative assessments, differentiating instruction, motivating students, incorporating social and emotional learning and culturally responsive teaching. Easy-to-read content shows how and why social studies should be taught and how to make connections across history, geography, political science, and beyond. Designed to reduce instructor preparation time and increase relevance, student engagement, and comprehension, this book: Explains the usefulness, application, and potential drawbacks of each instructional strategy Provides fresh activities applicable to all classrooms Helps social studies teachers work with ELLs, advanced students, and students with learning differences Offers real-world guidance for addressing current events while covering standards and working with textbooks The Social Studies Teacher's Toolbox is an invaluable source of real-world lessons, strategies, and techniques for general education teachers and social studies specialists, as well as resource specialists/special education teachers, elementary and secondary educators, and teacher educators.