In the upper elementary grades, content-area text gains increasing importance as a primary source of reading and information. This article focuses on the specialized vocabulary demands of social studies texts and presents a framework of teaching and learning strategies based on vocabulary research. Strategies are introduced before, during, and…

This article looks at the evolution of the social studies curricula in Pakistan, which are of critical importance in shaping the outlook of many young Pakistanis, who are affected by this polarised discourse. The author argues that this trend of polarisation springing from dynamics of education also effectively contributes to a widening social…

Across the United States, the Great Depression was a period of tremendous upheaval. Economic, family, political, and educational institutions shook mightily as the tremors of widespread financial downturn were felt. Public schools faced increasing hardships, which included financial problems such as a weakened tax base due to the non-payment of…

This case study of self-identifying global educators investigated factors that they attributed to the development of their global perspective and how it influenced curricular decision-making. Analysis resulted in seven themes identified by the participants as having attributed to the development of a global perspective: (a) family, (b) exposure to…

The everyday reality of children's multilingualism is a significant resource for expanding students' perspectives on the world, but many questions remain regarding the negotiation of these resources in mainstream classrooms. Drawing on research from a long-term Canadian study of multiliterate pedagogies, this paper explores mediation of home…

Technological change has proven one of the few constants of the early 21st century, providing social studies educators with the challenge and opportunity of preparing digital citizens in a global setting. This requires rethinking the type of social studies learning necessary in the 21st century. As the National Academies concluded in the…

In this paper we share findings of a textbook analysis in which we explored the treatment of segregated education in eight, widely-used secondary United States history and government textbooks. We positioned our findings within the historiography related to the African American school experience which challenges the notion that the lack of…

Despite a decade of concentration on closing the pervasive achievement gap in America, White students and Black students still attend schools with unequal results. Many strategies aimed at closing the gap exist, including increasing the number of African American teachers, but the majority of urban teachers are White, which will remain the case…

Throughout this action research project report, the teacher-researchers explored the problem of test anxiety among students. The purpose of this project was to alleviate test anxiety among students with various interventions in grades five through seven in the subject areas of social studies, science, and language arts. There were 66 student…

Educators seek to guide students through appropriate programs and courses that prepare them for future success, in more advanced coursework and in other challenges of life. Some middle schools offer Challenge, or honors, courses for students who have demonstrated high ability. High schools often offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which are…

This study investigated the use of the instructional strategy of response cards during social studies instruction in five middle school emotional support classrooms. Twenty-nine middle school students identified as emotionally and behaviorally disordered from four public school campuses participated using a crossover design, in which all students…

The resilience approach is rooted in ecology and is being advanced as a means to understand change in social-ecological systems. How can resilience be applied to understanding change in social systems, including in environmental education? In probing this question the main resilience approaches are described, the manner in which they may be…

Basal textbooks are rather popular for social studies teachers to use in the classroom setting. There are selected reasons for this occurring. They do provide beginning and new teachers a framework for ongoing lessons and units of study. The accompanying Manual provides suggestions for learning activities for learners to pursue. Evaluation…

Now administered in 27 states and affecting 65 percent of all students, high school exit exams are gaining influence on teaching and learning because they constitute tests with extraordinarily high stakes. But what happens when students fail a high school exit exam? Few studies address the best way to remediate students in these situations.…

I explore Darwin and his Theory of Natural Selection from a Social Science perspective and a social studies approach of inquiry into contemporary issues. This approach augments the more common natural science focus on the mechanics of natural selection and evolution in favor of a focus on social issues, controversy, and dialog necessary to support…