Social Studies and the Young Learner March/April 2021
Social Studies and the Young Learner March/April 2021
Volume:33
Num:4
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Editor's Notes
Editor's Notes March/April 2021
In the opening article of this issue, “Cultivating Civic Engagement in the Early Grades with Culturally Appropriate Children’s Literature,” Müge Olğun Baytaş and Stephanie Schroeder, examine civic education with younger students. They note that early childhood and elementary educators can take a leading role in fostering civic engagement and agency with even the youngest of children. The authors share an approach where children’s literature can be used to introduce young children to the concept of citizenship as active civic and community engagement.
A presenter at the 2020 NCSS Annual Conference, Philippa Rappoport offers “Making History: Creating a Time Capsule with the Smithsonian Learning Lab” as a way to help students think about the past and their own recent experiences during a pandemic.
Gregory Powell and Anna F. Lyon provide an article, “Wall Street Runs Through Here: A Study in Economics,” and an associated Pullout that focus on economics education in the upper elementary grades. The authors outline the basic ideas behind the stock market along with its ties to consumer economics and how world events impact us all. They argue that this approach is an engaging way to teach elementary students (in grades 4–6) economic responsibility, and they detail some basic steps needed to get started.
In a collaborative effort between seven educators, kindergarten through college, William Toledo, Angela Orr, Esther A. Enright, Stacy Drum, Sarah Brown, Wendy Prince, and Jamie Gustafson provide the third article in this issue. “It’s All Connected: Expanding Students’ Opportunities to Engage in Civic Perspective-Taking” builds upon a previous article in Social Studies and the Young Learner, and it details three new, key elements. The authors provide suggestions for using their model to develop curricula and to facilitate classroom discourse.
An article by Victoria Damjanovic, Elyse Ledford, Alex Ledford, and Eloah Caldas, “The Fresh Market: Connecting Content, Children, Families, and the Community,” outlines the “fresh market project” and lays out an argument for a cross-curricular approach to teach social studies in a preschool classroom. The authors outline a process in which teachers met weekly to think of ways to embed content in science, technology, reading, engineering, art, math, and social studies in an effective and engaging manner. Their narrative highlights the power of interdisciplinary work with young children, with an emphasis on social studies as the connecting thread.
The final item is a short piece, inspired by the first article in this very issue of Social Studies and the Young Learner. NCSS editor Steve Lapham collaborated with teachers Amanda Wilburn and Lori Dodson to obtain a small collection of student-created artwork. The results are presented in “Revealing Ouselves through Self-Portraits.” One of those pictures is featured on the cover of this issue.
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Cultivating Civic Engagement in the Early Grades with Culturally Appropriate Children’s Literature
A number of education theorists propose that promoting civic engagement in classrooms is essential to supporting children in learning how to participate in shaping decisions that affect their lives. Müge Olğun Baytaş and Stephanie Schroeder examine civic education with younger students and note that early childhood and elementary educators can take a leading role in fostering civic engagement and agency with even the youngest of children. The authors share an approach where children’s literature can be used to introduce young children to the concept of citizenship as active civic and community engagement.
MEMBERS ONLY
Making History: Creating a Time Capsule with the Smithsonian Learning Lab
The Smithsonian Learning Lab puts the treasures of the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex within reach of teachers, parents, and students. Philippa Rappoport offers this article as a way to help students think about the past and their own recent experiences during a pandemic using the Learning Lab.
MEMBERS ONLY
Wall Street Runs Through Here: A Study in Economics
The authors outline the basic ideas behind the stock market along with its ties to consumer economics and how world events impact us all. They argue that this approach is an engaging way to teach elementary students (in grades 4–6) economic responsibility, and they detail some basic steps needed to get started.
MEMBERS ONLY
It’s All Connected: Expanding Students’ Opportunities to Engage in Civic Perspective-Taking
An earlier article (by W. Toledo and others) in Social Studies and the Young Learner examined how young students engaged with locally-relevant civics curriculum focused on civic perspective-taking, a process wherein students examine multiple perspectives on public issues and form their own stances on these issues using fact-based reasons with a consideration for the public good. Here, the authors present additional key skills in civic thinking and important strategies for teachers hoping to engage young students in civic perspective-taking.
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The Fresh Market: Connecting Content, Children, Families, and the Community
“The Fresh Market: Connecting Content, Children, Families, and the Community,” outlines the “fresh market project” and lays out an argument for a cross-curricular approach to teach social studies in a preschool classroom. The authors outline a process in which teachers met weekly to think of ways to embed content in science, technology, reading, engineering, art, math, and social studies in an effective and engaging manner. Their narrative highlights the power of interdisciplinary work with young children, with an emphasis on social studies as the connecting thread.
OPEN ACCESS
Sharing Myself through Self-Portraits
This article was inspired by the first article in the March/April 2021 issue of Social Studies and the Young Learner. NCSS editor Steve Lapham collaborated with teachers Amanda Wilburn and Lori Dodson to obtain a small collection of student-created artwork. The results are presented in “Sharing Myself through Self-Portraits.” One of those pictures is featured on the cover of this issue.
