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Best Practices in Social Studies

Recommendations for Best Practices in Teaching Social Studies

Students of social studies need regular opportunities to investigate topics in depth

  • Complete coverage

  • In-depth learning experiences

  • Rich variety of resources (documents, artifacts, books, etc)

Students need opportunities to exercise choice and responsibility by choosing their own topics for inquiry

  • Active engagement

  • Provide a list of significant topics to choose from

  • Utilize contractual agreements for students

  • Conduct mini lesson on "How to develop a social science fair and research projects"/media specialist

Social Studies teaching should involve exploration of open-ended questions that challenge students' thinking

  • "Should students wear uniforms to school?"

  • Is there too much required testing in Georgia schools?

  • "Should the U.S. government pay reparations to African Americans?"

  • "Should students be allowed to watch T.V. on school nights? Monday - Friday?

  • "Should Saddam Hussein be judged guilty of crimes against humanity?"

To make real the concepts being taught, social studies teaching must involve students in active participation in the classroom and the wider community

  • Utilize a variety of materials

  • Field trips

  • Draft letters and proposals to newspapers and organizations

Social studies teaching should involve students in both independent and cooperative learning, to build skills and habits needed for lifelong, responsible learning

  • Conduct mini lessons on using cooperative learning strategies

  • Balance individual and group work

  • Plan relevant learning experiences

  • Poll watchers, community volunteers, etc.

Social studies teaching should involve students in reading, writing, observing, discussing, and debating to ensure their active participation in learning

  • Write reflections/questions on note cards

  • Conduct mini lessons on reading and writing skills/activities

Social studies learning should be built on student s ' prior knowledge of their lives and communities, rather than assuming they know nothing about the subject

•  "A day in the life of ______________"

•  "The major players in my community "

Social studies students should explore a full variety of the cultures found around the world, including students' own backgrounds and understanding of cultures

  • Infuse the history and culture African Americans and other ethnic groups into the curriculum

  • Community/family history projects

Social studies teaching should eschew tracking of students because it deprives various groups of the knowledge essential to their citizenship

  • "Every child is entitled to and must have access to excellent instruction"

Social studies evaluations and assessments must reflect the importance of students' thinking, and their preparation to be lifelong responsible citizens, rather than rewarding memorization of decontextuatized facts

  • The stated goal of social studies is to prepare students for democratic citizenship

  • Reflective dialogue assist students in reflecting on their own progress

  • Human issues /implication/common good/significance of the material studied

  • Allow students to select some of the work they will submit for evaluation out of a larger portfolio of their work

  • Utilize teacher - made tests

**Plan and encourage parental involvement in the education of their children.