This article models the integration of social studies and language arts commonly used in elementary classrooms by using a text that incorporates straightforward social studies content in the context of the daily experiences of a Chinese family in the U.S. The authors illustrate how to use the award-winning novel, Front Desk by Kelly Yang, with…

There is a demographic and democratic imperative for social studies teachers to broach the issue of contemporary immigration in their classrooms. In this study, preservice social studies teachers (PSTs) viewed three documentary films that presented stories of immigration that run counter to the narrative projected by the Trump administration and…

In this mixed methods study, we examined the responses of 82 preservice teachers to the acclaimed documentary "Which Way Home", a film that profiles unaccompanied adolescents who hitchhiked the train system of Central America and Mexico en route to the United States. Using pre- and post-surveys (n = 82) and focus group interviews (n =…

In this content analysis of state U.S. History and Civics standards, we compared the treatment of immigration across three types of states with differing immigration demographics. Analyzing standards from 18 states from a critical race methodology perspective, our findings indicated three sets of tensions: a unified American story versus local…