Social studies is a survivor, enduring as a mainstay of the American curriculum for nearly 100 years. Its longevity is not a tribute to its curricular power nor can we credit a cadre of finely trained professionals for maintaining its influence. Rather, social studies' remarkable survival is due to the near-universal acceptance of the idea that…

The notion that one can argue history "versus" social studies requires that one commit to a troublesome dichotomy resulting in a partitioning of the two subjects into separate entities. As practiced in the schools, the courses consistently overlap. In fact, the commonalities are so extensive that often the terms social studies and history are used…

The explanatory power provided by the chaos theory is explored. A dynamic and reciprocal relationship between culture and chaos theory indicates that the progressive cultural work may be formed by the cross-disciplinary resonance of chaos theory.

The term civic virtue has been used to encompass the complementary goals of educating good people and good citizens to foster good government. Although many have put forth proposals for developing civic virtue in young people, they have not always adequately tapped the rich resources that can lead to a better understanding of the term. A more…

In a speech delivered by the author, he used the metaphor of a meal to structure his address. His topic was about social studies and food. He states, that the way to the curriculum's heart is through social studies. It can be through the stomach, as well as the brain, and the spirit. He added, that in social studies, people tend to look at things…

During the past several decades, multicultural education has become an integral part of the social studies as a means to authentically prepare students for living in an inclusive and democratic society. Topics traditionally omitted, such as race, ethnicity, culture, social class, and gender, are now included. Yet, while multicultural education has…

Although adolescent students often do not have knowledge of specific laws, they usually have a keen sense of justice and fairness. In this article, the author discusses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a powerful tool to channel students' sense of fairness into visible actions. Adopted in December 1948 by the General Assembly of…

While incorporating digital technologies into the classroom has offered new ways of teaching and learning into educational processes, it is essential to take a look at how the digital shift impacts teachers, school administration, and curriculum development. "Academic Knowledge Construction and Multimodal Curriculum Development" presents…

The "International Society for the Social Studies (ISSS) Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. The following papers are included in the 2014 proceedings: (1) Legal Profession in the Technological Era with Special Reference to Women Lawyers in…

This paper addresses the strengths and challenges of university-based service learning projects, using preservice elementary teachers in an undergraduate social studies methods course as a model for implementing service learning in university courses. The goal of the project was to provide future teachers with the motivation and experience in…

Schools are complex institutions in which change occurs almost constantly. As each new piece of information is learned, the learner is changed, never to return to the same state they were prior to the act of learning, (Morrison, 2002). This study investigates the impact of interdisciplinary lesson study on teachers' instructional decisions and…

The purpose of this study was to examine elementary students' attitudes toward music in Grades 3, 4, and 5. The sample comprised of 366 Grade 3, 4, and 5 students from two different Southeastern elementary schools. The schools had different socioeconomic identities. Of the two schools selected, one school was a Title I school and one a Non-Title I…

This book by Sheryn Spencer Waterman follows the bestselling "Handbook on Differentiated Instruction for Middle and High Schools." With numerous examples and strategies, it is an all-inclusive manual on assessing student readiness, interests, learning and thinking styles. It includes examples of: (1) Pre-, Formative and Summative assessments; (2)…

An investigation was conducted to determine whether the level of social studies interview questions second graders formulate and use can be increased with questioning instruction in terms of quality, which is defined as depth of response, and in terms of quantity. This was a quantitative study using both qualitative and quantitative data in which…

Stories are a great way to acquaint young learners with geographic locations. A plethora of choices are available in the folktale genre, so librarians and teachers will have little difficulty locating a variety. Folktales provide an accessible and child friendly approach for engaging students. In addition, when connections are made between…