A lesson exploring the Pledge of Allegiance, its history and the addition of the phrase under God, can serve as a jumping off point into major themes of U.S. history and First Amendment freedoms.

An information section prepared by the staff of Social EducationThe special section provides background information on a country and regime that looms large in the news. 425

Using Material Culture to Teach Inclusive U.S. History; Empower Students to be Keepers of their own History Through Artifacts “Archives are the factories and laboratories of the historian. . . they are the warehouses from which we acquire the materials to build the history we write.” But what of the histories not captured in traditional archives? Historian Tiya Miles calls this the “conundrum of the archives–the way that written records have favored those with the means to document their lives. Such archives have skewed toward power, meaning white and male, and have largely…

While most of the media attention around literacy has focused on the need for phonics instruction, the science of reading calls for much more. Where does the importance of building background knowledge fit into this paradigm shift – and what critical role can social studies instruction play in building this knowledge? Join NCSS and inquirED as we dig into these important issues with a cross-disciplinary panel of educators and researchers. With moderator Sarah Schwartz (EdWeek) and panelists Nell K. Duke (Executive Director of the Center for Early Literacy Success, Stand for Children),…