Social Studies Research and Practice: Volume 15 Issue 2

NCSS notable trade book lesson plan: the girl who buried her dreams in a can

Takisha Durm

The Girl Who Buried Her Dreams in a Can, written by Dr Tererai, profiles a cultural, yet global experience of the power of believing in one's dream. Through this study of the…

I need to know my past: Black fifth-graders on race and racism

Irenea Walker, William B. Russell

This research study focuses on fifth-grade African American students who attend an all-Black charter school whose administration and teachers are committed to providing Black…

What if you are someone new?

Oluseyi Matthew Odebiyi, Cynthia Sunal, Dennis Sunal

This early grades lesson set for the age group of 4–8 years explores the concepts of diversity, inclusion and friendship, involving three young students who are recent immigrants…

Scoundrel or freedom fighter? Creating historical empathy inquiries

Carly C. Muetterties, Erin A. Bronstein

This work explores the creation and purposes of an inquiry about Emilio Aguinaldo, a Filipino revolutionary and sometimes United States ally, as a means to discuss the value of…

Thinking with theory in a civil rights center

Erin C. Adams, Sohyun An

The purpose of this theoretical paper is to propose that museums can be useful sites in intervening the theory–practice divide in teacher education. The authors draw from their…

Gender discourse in the social studies curriculum: an international literature review

Molly D. Siebert

The purpose of this paper is to explore research on the inclusion of women and discourses on gender in the social studies curriculum, with the goal of promoting gender equality.

Hierarchical discourse in elementary social studies: a teacher's view of decision-making

Adam Huck

As school districts continue to devalue social studies through a narrowed focus on English language arts (ELA) and mathematics, this study investigated elements of curricular…

Religious freedom, civic responsibility and local history: an embedded action inquiry

John H. Bickford, Zarek O. Nolen, Andrew A. Cougill

This theory-into-practice article centers on American history through the optics of one religious organization's contestations – the Elim Springs Church of Jesus Christ, or…

Empathic concern and perspective taking: a tale from middle school history

Jared P. Collette, Suzanne H. Jones

This empirical quantitative research study aimed to test whether historical texts could activate empathic concern and perspective taking in a US History classroom with adolescent…

Supporting English learners in secondary social studies classrooms through collaboration

Anthony Pellegrino, Clara Lee Brown

The number of English learners (ELs) has increased dramatically in the public schools across the nation. In 2000, 3.8 m students, or approximately 8% of the US public school…