Writing is a bridge between the disciplines, offering a way to include social studies content in various lessons. In addition, writing serves as a way for students to process informational text, as they read content, reflect on it, and restate it in various ways--such as in a poem, a faux historical letter, or a caption under an illustration.…

In this article, the author describes three inquiry activities based on a children's book set in the Philippines during World War II. In many U.S. history and modern world history curricula and textbooks, events in the Philippines (and more generally in the Pacific theater) during World War II are not covered well. Because these events cannot be…

The tragic story of Flint has made it increasingly clear that the public needs to know how to evaluate sources of information. All of this is occurring in the age of "fake news," which heightens our awareness of the challenge of determining veracity. Furthermore, a flood of information can be found at our fingertips 24 hours a day. A…

This article describes the month-long social studies unit on mindfulness that the kindergarten teacher co-taught in her classroom with Sarah, an elementary social studies professor, and Maya, then a teacher candidate. After exploring the intersections between mindfulness and social studies education, examples of activities and resources from the…

This guided inquiry launched a year-long study centered on social justice issues and people who have championed change in our communities and nation. The article, offers resources and activities that highlight Patsy Mink's congressional achievements and experiences, and push young students to think about the institution of Congress with a gendered…

Over the course of a year, the first author met with the teachers at Holden Elementary School in Kent, Ohio as they explored each dimension of the C3 Framework's Inquiry Arc, focusing on the creation of compelling questions, understanding each of the disciplinary pathways in depth for grades K-5, and appreciating the value of taking informed…

Before the words are spoken, a bright light shines from the eyes of second grade teacher Mr. Aguilar. "I do not teach poetry," he says, "poetic language is everywhere. It is a kind of movement, a wind." While poetry is typically characterized by its flexible form and accessibility, for Mr. Aguilar, now in his tenth year of…

Teachers strive to design instruction that actively engages all students, but a few "back-benchers" often seem to be left out, due to academic struggles, English language skills, personal disinterest, or other factors. Teachers seek to help these students develop into "active and engaged participants" in their classrooms in…

This article introduces the fifty states project, a year-long study of the United States that uses crowd sourcing to bring authentic materials into the social studies classroom. The project started five years ago, when author Kelly McPherson decided that she wanted to have a care package sent from all 50 states to help students learn about the…

Shana Corey's picture book, "Here Come the Girl Scouts!: The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette 'Daisy' Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure" describes Low's life as one of excitement, boldness, and fun. The "birthday" of Girl Scouts falls conveniently near the middle of Women's History Month, on March…

At the intersection of social studies and world language curricula are opportunities to explore students' prior learning with vocabulary-rich content designed to support language acquisition goals. "Funds of knowledge" is defined as socio-cultural, economic, and historical knowledge from home and community settings. The instructional…

Young children are naturally inquisitive, and teachers often invite them to question, challenge, and create to expand their ever growing knowledge base. This article describes an inspiration one kindergarten teacher had when she overheard two children in her class discussing their recent experiences at an airport. The students were sharing some of…

February 2017 marked the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 (EO 9066), issued on February 19, 1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt two months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. While this domestic aspect of World War II is often taught in secondary history classes, it is rarely studied in elementary schools. However, children's…

Can an easy-to-read, funny picture book spur fifth graders to find their inner feminist? It can, if it's Anthony Browne's "Piggybook", and teachers use the activity ideas in "Every Book is a Social Studies Book". "Piggybook" by Anthony Browne is a tale whose cover tells the story: the mother, Mrs. Piggot,…

School segregation and inequity are deep-rooted realities in U.S. society. Despite historical efforts at integration, too many schools are de facto segregated, and those serving mostly students of color are routinely under-resourced when compared to those servicing mostly white students. Teachers and students can struggle to talk about this…