Social Studies and the Young Learner September/October 2019
Social Studies and the Young Learner September/October 2019
Volume:32
Num:1
MEMBERS ONLY
Editor's Notes
Protest and Civic Participation
In the first article in this issue, “Why are People Marching? Discussing Justice- Oriented Citizenship using Picture Books,” Jessica Ferreras-Stone and Sara B. Demoiny outline how teachers, in accordance with NCSS guidelines, can use picture books to spur discussions about justice-oriented citizenship, including protest marches, as a means to understand the past and present.
William Toledo and Jody Hollins present key concepts related to civic perspective- taking in their piece, “Localizing Civics: A Collaboratively Designed, Second Grade Unit of Study.” The authors’ hope is that their work will help elementary teachers teach about this important topic. They provide tips and ideas for teaching this content that emerged from their teaching and research.
In “Culture Calle: Celebrating Heritage, Diversity, and Dreams in Bilingual Classrooms,” Ariel Cornett, Isabel Vargas, Caitlin Hobgood, Allison McNamara, and Stephanie van Hover describe how the use of children’s literature can support student learning in social studies about culture and famous American contributions. They identify specific activities that helped elementary students build background knowledge and make connections in regards to their familial and personal identities. The same authors created the four-page Pullout for this issue, with handouts for a culture calle, as a complement to the article.
Judy Lindquist details a unit used to teach elementary school students about the civil rights movement, in “Teaching the Civil Rights Movement through the Eyes of Young Participants.” She outlines an approach to using a variety of documents, texts, and close reading strategies, in a literacy-rich way, to bring life to history. In “Mindfulness: Promoting Peace in a Kindergarten Classroom,” Sarah E. Montgomery, Maya Van Driel, and Kim Vandendriessche explore the intersection between mindfulness and social studies education. Detailed examples from a kindergarten social studies unit on mindfulness are provided, including breathing techniques, and children’s literature.
OPEN ACCESS
Why are People Marching? Discussing Justice-Oriented Citizenship Using Picture Books
“Why are people marching?” Given today’s level of activism, this is a plausible question many students may have. Although only some students voice the questions, it is very likely that many more have pondered why people are protesting after seeing reports of events such as the Women’s March (equality for women), March for Our Lives (about gun control), Black Lives Matter (for racial justice), Janitors March (for fair pay), and Keep Families Together (demanding the Trump administration reunite immigrant families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border). As elementary teachers, our subsequent question becomes, “How can I respond?” This article outlines how integrating children’s literature, which presents accurate content regarding political activism, can lay the groundwork for discussing and answering students’ curiosity regarding why people are marching.
MEMBERS ONLY
Localizing Civics: A Collaboratively Designed Second Grad Unit of Study
We live in a world that is becoming increasingly divided, particularly in the United States. In fact, people tend to interact almost exclusively with individuals who hold their shared world views and beliefs. Because of these trends, teaching students from a young age how to engage with others on issues that they may disagree about is of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, this type of social studies learning rarely happens in public schools, particularly in lower elementary school classrooms.
To address this challenge, we formed a collaboration to develop a curricular intervention with the goal of preparing young people to interact with one another on public issues in our community about which there is a diversity of opinions. The second grade teachers on the team taught the resulting unit of study at a public elementary school in the Southwest with a large Latinx population.
OPEN ACCESS
Culture Calle: Celebrating Heritage, Diversity, and Dreams in Bilingual Classrooms
Former President Barack Obama has touched hearts by sharing his inspiring book, Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters, with the children of the world. Together, with the breathtaking illustrations of Loren Long, Obama presents 13 historical figures that have each had a profound impact on America. In a very different book, Calling the Doves/ El Canto de las Palomas, award-winning Mexican American poet Juan Felipe Herrera beautifully illustrates his childhood as the son of Mexican migrant farmworkers. Herrera vividly describes his family’s journey through the mountains and valleys of California from one small farm town to another. These two picture books offer powerful opportunities to teach students about culture as well as individual development and identity.
In this article, we describe how these two books anchor a week-long unit on cultural heritage and the contributions of famous Americans.
MEMBERS ONLY
Pullout
Pullout: The Family Tree Project
Handouts for a culture calle, as described in Culture Calle: Celebrating Heritage, Diversity, and Dreams in Bilingual Classrooms
MEMBERS ONLY
Teaching the Civic Rights Movement through the Eyes of Young Participants
Teaching about the civil rights movement in the elementary grades has, in many schools, focused exclusively on the lives of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. Many students are well versed in the content of King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, and they know well that Rosa did not give up her seat on the bus. While these moments and heroes of the movement are essential in the study of this era in history, the study of more obscure and lesser known people and events is a great way to deepen our students’ understanding of the sacrifices that so many thousands of ordinary people made in the pursuit of equal rights for all.
MEMBERS ONLY
Mindfulness: Promoting Peace in a Kindergarten Classroom
This article describes the month-long social studies unit on mindfulness that the kindergarten teacher co-taught in her classroom with Sarah, an elementary social studies professor, and Maya, then a teacher candidate. After exploring the intersections between mindfulness and social studies education, examples of activities and resources from the unit will be provided, including breathing techniques and children’s literature.