We can disrupt inequity in the classroom by generating a more expansive understanding of what and who counts as worthy.

Strategically designed word walls can help students build the vocabulary needed to ask and explore important questions in the social studies.

Many elementary and middle school students are confronted by media messages constantly. They receive messages not only from family and friends, but from television and social media outlets.1 The media messages about current events are often politically biased, polarized in nature, and potentially inaccurate, especially on social media platforms. Teachers can model how to evaluate media for potential biases, showing students that just because something is political does not mean it should be off limits for discussion. This article draws upon experiences from both a sixth grade social studies…

Legendary tour Guides who were Enslaved AmericansCaroline C. Sheffield and Ashley L. Shelton Also in this issue: Giving Up Control: Action Research in Middle SchoolRon Silvis MEMBERS ONLY

Shipwreck: Using Literature and Student Imagination toTeach Geography Donna Kay Mau What Is a Hero? Students Explore Their Conceptions of the Heroic Joseph O’Brien and Steven H.White My Brother and I: Brickyard Laborers in an Ohio Town Martha I. Pallante and Christian Shively Fostering a Critical and Caring Classroom Culture Pamela B. Joseph and Mark A. Windschitl

Lookout Point: Preparing Young People for Longer Lives in an Aging Society Donna P. Couper and Fran Pratt Visiting and Interviewing Older Adults: Service-Learning in the Sixth Grade Alison Parker Using Political Cartoons: An Activity for Students of Every Ability Dwight C. Holliday and Janice A. Grskovic Critical Thinking and Logical Argument James A. Duplass and Dana L. Ziedler Book Review: The Thanksgiving Visitor by Truman Capote Lisa L. Owens Aging in America Donna P. Couper and Steven S. Lapham

Serious Fun in Social Studies for Middle Schoolers Guest Editors: Dan Rea and Robert L. Stevens “The War that Never Ended:” Special Education Students Write History Diane Zigo Freedom Train: Building an Underground Railroad Wayne Hickman Using Computers to Design Historical Communities April Mock A Walk Through Time: A Living History Project Alice Aud, Gini Bland, Barbara Brown, and Bruce Law

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Memorials, and Americans with Disabilities Eric Waples The Erie Canal: An Early Public Works Project S. Kay Gandy  

Lookout Point: Who Influences Social Studies? Tedd Levy Wandering Behind: Talking About Pearl Harbor Daniel J. Ferri Oral History Research: Internet Resources and Report Margaret Hill A World War II Oral History Project for Eighth Grader Thomas E. Gray Book Review: Faithful Elephants Barbara J. Holt The Great Irish Famine: Life and Work in America Notable Irish Americans of the 1800s The “Name It” Game Lou Paliani