In this article, the author examines how the New York State Social Studies Resource Toolkit  supports argument discourse in social studies and then explores a primary teacher’s curricular and instructional decisions regarding the development of children’s argumentation skills. The study provides insights into how teachers can involve some of our youngest students in authentic, inquiry-based social studies learning that fosters argument discourse.

The authors provide an overview of teaching war and explore ways to situate these notions in the elementary classroom. As part of this discussion, they offer a guide for selecting appropriate texts for a thematic text set for children involving issues of war and peace.

This article explores how to teach source evaluation to upper elementary students with a focus on the right to clean water that is recognized in a United Nations resolution of 2010, and based on the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights. 

Handout to accompany Is the “Right to Clean Water” Fake News? An Inquiry in Media Literacy and Human Rights. Please see the article for information on  how to use this handout and full citations with titles, absent here for the students to discover as they go online. 

The article highlights how a class of toddlers spread their message about composting and repacking food. This curriculum emerged out of the students' interests, and it connected students' classroom experiences to their homes and communities, fostering a sense of power and agency in some of our youngest neighbors.

Melanie McCormick and Alycia West implore educators to engage in thoughtful conversations about transnational adoption in “Seen but not Seen: Supporting Transracial and Transnational Adoptees in the Classroom.” The authors draw on their stories of growing up as transracial and transnational adoptees as well as their research on children’s literature on adoption to provide instructional guidelines and resources for teachers to teach about transnational adoption.

In this article, the authors highlight four children’s picture books that can be used to discuss gender diversity with young children in social studies.