Learning about world religions (as opposed to teaching religious beliefs) as part of social studies can provide a space for students and teachers to have conversations about religious diversity in a respectful, balanced manner. In this article, the authors discuss reading stories and discussing religious diversity as a vehicle to open conversations about religion and diversity, and use the book Lailah’s Lunchbox to provide an example of content and questions teachers can use in their classroom. 

This article models how to teach civic dispositions using popular trade books that do not have an obvious connection to critical themes (e.g., power, privilege, identity). In doing so, the authors show how to create opportunities to teach civic dispositions within a school environment that may forbid some books as “too controversial” or that might accept lessons that gradually introduce students (and their parents) to a topic that may be controversial.  While focusing on the read aloud as an opportunity for civic learning, the authors describe how the pedagogical frameworks of critical…

The authors argue that with the continued marginalization of social stud- ies in the elementary classroom, integration has become a popular and effective method for the inclusion of social studies content in the daily curriculum. Using controversial issues, they highlight a model for this integration with a focus on children’s literature.

In this article, the authors explain how to use the "evidence on the U" strategy support deep and complex thinking i elementary students, and give examples of scaffolding activities that gradually place much of the responsibility for learning on the students themselves over the course of a year. They also describe how this teaching strategy supports the goals of social studies education in the elementary grades and beyond.

Pauli Murray was an activist, legal scholar, author, and she was also queer. Her impact on the civil rights and women’s rights movements cannot be overstated. The authors present the reader with the potential for elementary teachers to disrupt and “unmute” curricular silencing by shifting focus to Pauli Murray’s story and work in the civil rights movement.  In this C3 inquiry, students explore ways Pauli “pushed for the promise” of America, revealing a more diverse citizenry within the social studies curriculum.

This article offers examples of classroom texts as vehicles for teaching each BHC principle as encouragement for teaching Black histories long beyond Black History Month. For summaries of the texts suggested in this article, see the Pullout in this issue, which pairs each Black Historical Consciousness principle with children’s books and ideas for further investigation.

The Educating for American Democracy initiative introduces an inquiry framework, or roadmap, organized around themes and questions to advance excellence in civic and history education. 

An increasing number of U.S. states use the inquiry-based C3 Framework when developing new social studies standards, ensuring that more students have the opportunity to engage in ambitious social studies learning.