Organized around four commonplaces of education—learners and learning, subject matter, teachers and teaching, and classroom environment—Elementary Social Studies provides a rich and ambitious framework to help social studies teachers achieve powerful teaching and learning results. By blending the theoretical and the practical, the authors deeply probe the basic elements of quality instruction—planning, implementation, and assessment—always with the goal of creating and supporting students who are motivated, engaged, and thoughtful.
Book features and updates to the third edition include:
• New chapter on classroom assessment that outlines and compares existing assessment strategies, contextualizes them within the framework of state standards, and articulates a constructivist approach that moves away from traditional high-stakes testing towards more meaningful ways of evaluating student learning
• New chapter that highlights and explains key elements of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, and shows how the incorporation of critical ELA instruction into the social studies curriculum can foster more ambitious teaching and learning
• Real-classroom narratives that introduce each chapter and provide in-depth access to teaching and learning contexts
• Practical curriculum and resource suggestions for the social studies classroom
• End-of-chapter summaries and annotated teaching resources
Table of Contents:
Part One The Commonplaces of Education: A Framework for Powerful Social Studies Teaching
1 Creating a Framework for the Social Studies Classroom
2 Learners and Learning: Understanding What Students Know and How They Come to Know It
3 Subject Matter: A Threads Approach
4 Teachers and Teaching: Working with Big Ideas
5 Teachers and Teaching: Choosing Strategies, Curriculum Materials, and Assessment Techniques
6 Teachers and Teaching: Assessment
Part Two Putting the Commonplaces into Action
9 Purposes, Goals, and Objectives for Teaching and Learning
10 Unit Planning and the Commonplaces: Pulling It All Together
11 Becoming a Reflective Social Studies Teacher
Appendix
Glossary
References
Index
About the Author :
S.G. Grant is Dean of the Graduate School of Education at Binghamton University, State University of New York.
Bruce VanSledright is Professor of History/Social Studies Education in the Department of Reading and Elementary Education at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.
Review :
“I have been using this textbook for many years and have always appreciated the subtle and sophisticated ways that the authors bridge practice and theory. This latest edition continues and expands on this approach by adding new chapters that situate social studies teaching and learning within the context of state mandated standards and assessments. Both critical and practical, this textbook is a powerful tool.”— Lisa Eaker, PhD, Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, University of Maryland, College Park
“In this third edition, Grant & VanSledright incorporate critical new chapters bringing together assessment and standards that influence social studies instruction. An extremely helpful book for pre-service and in-service teachers, the authors guide educators through approaches to teaching social studies with numerous practical classroom examples. Earlier editions always helped my graduate students to really understand and grasp the concept of teaching with big ideas, in ways that opened new doors for envisioning engaging and thoughtful subject matter instruction, and this new edition provides even more ideas and perspectives on teaching and learning!”—Virginia J. Goatley, PhD, Department of Reading, University at Albany, SUNY
