Recent research shows that growing students’ knowledge of the world through social studies has a greater impact on literacy than increasing English language arts instruction time. 

Listen to moderator Jane Lo as she leads a spirited 20-minute discussion about Project-Based Learning (PBL). Professor Lo's guests are Social Education authors John Larmer, Stacie Brensilver, and Rob Hallock. They examine how they first came to use PBL—and the challenges and rewards it offers to students and teachers over time. They provide beneficial advice to all teachers ready to try PBL for the first time. Read the special section (an introduction and six articles) of the January/February 2018 issue of Social Education for a more in-depth look at PBL. It will make you passionate about…

One way to facilitate productive classroom discussions about racism and unequal power structures is to engage students in developing the discussion guidelines. This demonstrates respect for students’ needs and a willingness to share power.  

“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…

For a pre-kindergarten (preK) class, designing a 3-D map of a newly constructed playground offered authentic opportunities to participate, deliberate, and solve an authentic problem. Responding to the compelling question—“How do we build community spaces that are welcoming to, representative of, and sustaining for all community members?”—the class was able to reimagine the purpose of a neighborhood park with the help of scaffolded inquiry. Through active deliberation (e.g., voting what items to include in the park) and participation (e.g., surveying classmates and families about what they…

Project-based learning not only engages and fosters development in young learners, it enables them to see themselves as change agents in their communities.

Teaching Ancient and Medieval Africa with the History Bento Box ProjectAnna Mariah Mills Racial Literacy Book Clubs in Middle School: Five Things to ConsiderJoanna Batt  

The authors describe five types of inquiry that keep students engaged, promote student agency, and meet the need of teachers for curriculum flexibility.   

Engagement in Economics: Using a Stock Market Simulation in a Middle School ClassroomSamantha Sterns Memoir of Oppression: George Takei and the Imprisonment of Japanese AmericansCaroline C. Sheffield and Jeremiah C. Clabough

Examining photographs of women participating in elections around the world can help students make important connections to the Nineteenth Amendment and prompt a fascinating comparative study of women’s voting rights worldwide.