The purposes of this paper are to identify the current trends in social studies curriculum and teaching strategies and to make some projections about the future. Three conflicting movements, or paradoxes, are identified. The first paradox is the back-to-the-basics movement vs. an expanded curriculum. This is due to conservative reactions to…

United States state history is a required component of the upper elementary social studies curriculum in all 50 states. Noting that few resources exist on the subject of state history, this book aims to show teachers how to plan a state unit using a culturally relevant, social constructivist pedagogy with connections to literacy, a focus on…

A social studies curriculum project is described which presents a blueprint for a Colorado community social profile study and suggests ideas for design of a national community model. The purpose of the project, intended for use on the elementary, intermediate, and secondary levels, is to help students develop skills to deal with mobility from…

This guide is designed to take teachers through a step-by-step process for developing an integrated, standards-based curriculum that focuses on the stories, history, folkways, and agrarian traditions of the local community. Such a place-based curriculum helps students to become culturally literate, makes learning relevant and engaging, draws on…