Social Studies for the Elementary and Middle Grades A Constructivist Approach

Social Studies for the Elementary and Middle Gradesdiscusses flexible strategies for teaching today's diverse learner, the structure of the knowledge to be learned, how to help students reconstruct present ideas, and how to translate theory and recent research into lesson plans and units. All within a constructivist framework!What's NEW in the second edition? "Building on Diversity"boxes identify important diversity issues and their impact within the social studies curriculum and discuss how to address those issues throughout instruction. The discussion on teaching meaningful social studies to all students has been expanded toconsider culture and cultural diversityin more depth, to consider the needs of special education identified students in more depth, and to considerEnglish Language Learners. "Making a Literature Connection"boxes instruct students on how to select and integrate children's literature into their social studies teaching program. NCSS iconsappear throughout the book margin, prompting students to note content with specific relevance to the 10 major themes identified in theNCSS National Standards for Social Studies Teachersdocument. "Using Technology"boxes have been added to each chapter to highlight the use and application of an aspect of technology in social studies teaching. In addition,Recommended Websiteshave been added to the end of every chapter. Companion Website iconsconnect the text content with a rich array of related resources found on the companion website for the book ( http://www.ablongman.com/sunal2e ). "Expanding on this Chapter"sections appear at the end of each chapter to apply the main ideas of each chapter to related contexts, thereby promoting a deeper understanding of the subject matter. About the Authors Cynthia Szymanski Sunalis Professor of Social Studies Education at The University of Alabama in the Department of Elementary Education Programs. She taught social studies at the early childhood, elementary, and middle school levels in several states and overseas. Her research focuses on constructivist teaching and on facilitating students' use of evidence as they carry out social studies investigations. She has authored numerous journal articles, chapters, and books on social studies education.Mary Elizabeth Haasis Professor of Social Studies in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice at West Virginia University. She taught social studies in grades 7, 8, and 9 in Indiana and social studies methods at universities in Arkansas and Mississippi. Her research concentrates on the teaching of social studies content, particularly geography, political science, and history. She has published extensively and collaborated with Dr. Sunal on four books in social studies education. She is currently serving as a senior editor for the NCSS journalSocial Education. "I like the way that the book is organized. It provides a foundation for pre-service and in-service teachers' pedagogical instruction in the form of unit and lesson plan ideas and practice. I also like the topics that are covered in the book. I feel that it provides a comprehensive source of information for the elementary or middle school teacher who uses it." --Mary Ann Maslak, St. John's UniversitySunal, Cynthia S. is the author of 'Social Studies for the Elementary and Middle Grades A Constructivist Approach', published 2004 under ISBN 9780205412587 and ISBN 0205412580.