The film "Moana" creates a universe that is at once imaginative and familiar in that it is a fanciful depiction of real-world issues related to the environment. This sets the stage for an engaging series of activities with important content implications integrating environmental issues into elementary social studies. "Moana" is…

In this manuscript, the authors discuss a seven-day research project that occurred within the Birmingham metropolitan area where fourth graders researched the role that public issues played in the creation of two suburban school systems in their city. We coded student work samples to look for themes. Emergent themes from student work samples are…

New Jersey consistently ranks as one of the top-performing states in the country when it comes to education. Most recently, it was ranked third in the nation. A look at the state's standards in any subject shows the state works diligently to vertically align standards while also challenging students in order to better prepare them for the future…

The article utilizes a decolonizing theoretical lens to advocate for the need to engage in a more nuanced approach to conceptualizing local/global aspect of social justice discussions within social studies education. The article engages with questions of social justice by utilizing Noddings's (2006) argument that "educational…

Recent scholarship on civic education has introduced some useful ways to engage students in learning about controversial topics, debating them, and participating in democratic life. However, while those are valuable tools for active citizenship, they're not sufficient. Democratic education should focus on issues that matter intensely to students'…

Recent technological advances have enhanced the accessibility of rephotography, a visual research method and project-based approach valued by social studies educators for engaging students in historical inquiry and place-based exploration. Rephotography projects capture photos from the vantage point of an old image to explore change over time.…

Purpose: Science education literature has indicated that teachers do not always feel comfortable teaching socioscientific issues (SSI) that are infused with several social domains. In order to address this problem in teaching SSI, this study is designed to understand and describe the experiences of a science teacher and a social studies teacher,…

Jamestown is at the heart of any teaching and learning of colonial American history. Stories of John Smith and Pocahontas are learned by elementary and secondary students across the United States. In Virginia, Jamestown is first taught in third grade and revisited five more times from historical, political, economic, and geographic perspectives.…