In this article, Sohyun An presents a lesson that she was invited to teach at an elementary school in Georgia for the celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. As a social studies teacher educator and mother of Asian American children attending the school, she has worked with some of the teachers to advance critical…

Historical significance is a historical thinking concept. Being able to identify historical significance is viewed as important for understanding change and continuity in the past, and for understanding the way 'history' is constructed by present society. This article discusses how Swedish students in Grade 5 (age 11 years) perceive and understand…

This study aims to determine the ways how the 5th grade (ages 10-11) students interpret historical knowledge based on historical sources. To study this student were given a worksheet containing historical sources and an open-ended question based on the historical sources. The data of this study is collected through one of the answers provided to…

The author discusses the benefits of nontraditional assessments and shares how she has used them in her 5th-grade classroom in rural South Carolina. The examples include doing a Gallery Walk, writing poetry, integrating the arts into other subjects, having students reenact historical scenes, using social media, and rewriting popular songs with…

In "History and Imagination," elementary school social studies teachers will learn how to help their students break down the walls of their schools, more personally engage with history, and define democratic citizenship. By collaborating together in meaningful investigations into the past and reenacting history, students will become…

Over the last decade there has been an increased focus on high-stakes standardized tests in reading and math. Social studies has been devalued in the classroom as many teachers and administrators focus their attention on reading and math instruction to avoid the punitive consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act. (2001). Based on this…

The purpose of this study was to examine a group of fifth graders experiences, beliefs, and opinions during the construction of digital historical agent profiles. This research study examined a project in which students were engaged in the learning of historical content and were asked to convey information about the life of someone from the past…

This article describes an extracurricular social studies enrichment program called the Clio Club. "Clio" is derived from the Greek muse of history, and the club offers a variety of activities to help students discover and interpret social studies beyond the traditional school hours. They meet after school and on weekends both at their…

Community festivals allow students opportunities to meet key contact people and investigate local resources. Further, the excitement of the social festival is infectious; it encourages learning among people of multiple ages in a common area. Festivals serve to define the community, transmit culture, and allow the community to participate in…

Broadly defined, digital moviemaking integrates a variety of media (images, sound, text, video, narration) to communicate with an audience. There is near-ubiquitous access to the necessary software (MovieMaker and iMovie are bundled free with their respective operating systems) and hardware (computers with Internet access, digital cameras, etc.).…

Authentic and constructive learning experiences that include analysis of primary source documents are necessary elements of effective social studies teaching (Bailyn, 1994; Leinhardt, Stainton, & Virji, 1994; Wineburg & Wilson, 1991; Young & Leinhardt, 1998). This study examines the abilities of 70 fifth and seventh grade students to complete…