How elementary pre-service teacher candidates with considerable experience in clinical field placements identified, photographed, discussed, and categorized samples of what they construed as democratic citizenship education occurring within elementary classrooms was explored in this study. Candidates discussed an initial set of captioned photos…

Online discussions enabled preK-12 teachers (n = 125) from five nations (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and the United States) to share their perspectives of culture and citizenship and the intersections of those concepts. Discussion moved between elements of personal and others' theory into effects of theory on practice. Teachers identified…

Recent research indicates that social studies is being de-emphasized in the elementary school, particularly in favor of greater attention to reading. Historically, there is evidence that social studies has not been a strong component of the curriculum in elementary classrooms although it often appears in state and local courses of study. In the…

Nigerian Social Studies teachers were surveyed to determine their conception of the role, context, and function of citizenship education in primary school. Results showed that overall, Nigerian teachers' attitudes were somewhat conducive to citizenship education for life in a democratic society, but teachers perceived limits upon such education.…

This resource guide of 40 items presents materials for studying various aspects of African life, culture, and history. The materials selected for the guide range from records and filmstrips to books and can be used by community groups as well as students. The guide is organized into 7 sections that include music, art and architecture, theater,…

Meaningful learning of social studies content, skills, and values through a constructivist approach is this textbook's approach. The textbook is designed to help teachers facilitate students' development into problem-solvers and decision-makers who take an active role as citizens of their world. It is designed to illustrate the following: the…

Elementary education teacher candidates (n=62) proposed four criteria they used to identify a best lesson plan developed and taught for posting to their electronic portfolio. Criteria include a lesson that students enjoyed, learned from, actively participated in, and were involved in conducting research. The two criteria shared by all teacher…

Surveyed 181 public and private schools listed in the "American Annal of the Deaf" to determine the state of the art of social studies education for the hearing impaired. The response rate was 52 percent. Half of the programs responding taught little or no social studies. (RM)

Elementary education teacher candidates identified four criteria they used to identify a "best" lesson plan they had developed and taught for posting to their electronic portfolio. Criteria include a lesson that students: liked, learned from, actively participated in, and were involved in carrying out research. Scoring with rubric focusing on…

While research efforts have determined that decision making is of major importance in lesson planning, there has been little work that systematically explores the effect of training in decision making on lesson planning, particularly in terms of preservice teachers. This study used four computer simulations designed to teach decision making skills…

Describes how to initiate an interdisciplinary social studies-art program which assists children in their personal construction of social knowledge. Provides three complete lesson plans for use with specific paintings along with more general activity ideas and objectives. (JDH)

Discusses how audiobooks can be used in the classroom; different settings where audiobooks can be used; and the advantages of listening to audiobooks instead of silent reading. Provides a list of eight audiobooks that can be used for a social studies unit to find a creative solution to childhood struggles. (CMK)

Identifying games as being common to children worldwide, Sunal focuses on Nigerian group games in order to illustrate the range of game variations and their use in a social studies program. Describes hiding games, singing games, and a fine-motor skills game, stating that they help acquaint students with foreign cultures and reveal similarities in…

This study examines how preservice educators utilized Internet resources in an integrated thematic unit at the elementary school level. A cohort of 64 senior-level preservice elementary education students were required to use Internet resources to create lesson plans and teach integrated units during the semester. Three surveys were carried out to…

A total of 102 children through 12 years of age and 10 teachers participated in a pilot interdisciplinary social studies-art program. Of thousands of prints examined, 60 were selected for use as instructional resources in social studies lessons. Three categories of paintings were selected: (1) pictures of children; (2) pictures related to general…