Even before the first U.S. death from the mysterious, new coronavirus, Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett and Dr. Barney Graham were in a race against the clock. In 2020, they were research team members at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) Vaccine Research Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Elementary teachers understand the importance of building a strong literacy foundation at the early grades and may feel tempted to reduce or eliminate social studies instruction in favor of additional instruction in reading and writing. As we are building skills for literacy, we recognize that background knowledge is one of the strongest indicators for success with reading comprehension. A strong social studies curriculum at the elementary level not only provides opportunities for students to apply their literacy skills to a variety of texts but is critical for building a knowledge base that…

This article was inspired by the first article in the March/April 2021 issue of Social Studies and the Young Learner. NCSS editor Steve Lapham collaborated with teachers Amanda Wilburn and Lori Dodson to obtain a small collection of student-created artwork. The results are presented in “Sharing Myself through Self-Portraits.” One of those pictures is featured on the cover of this issue.

“The Fresh Market: Connecting Content, Children, Families, and the Community,” outlines the “fresh market project” and lays out an argument for a cross-curricular approach to teach social studies in a preschool classroom. The authors outline a process in which teachers met weekly to think of ways to embed content in science, technology, reading, engineering, art, math, and social studies in an effective and engaging manner. Their narrative highlights the power of interdisciplinary work with young children, with an emphasis on social studies as the connecting thread.

An annotated list of children's books that are high quality, unbiased, and non-stereotypical portrayals of Arabs. It is also a collection that brings the native voices of the MENA region to elementary readers

National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) conducted this Media Literacy Education Town Hall, October 29, 2020 in celebration of Media Literacy Week. The webinar delved deep into the vital impact of media literacy in social studies, and presented recommendations for incorporating media literacy skills.