小康社会与西部偏远贫困地区少数民族基础教育

西部偏远贫困地区少数民族基础教育中存在着三个突出问题:义务教育不义务、基础教育不基础、语言文化障碍。要解决这些问题,就要处理好东部与西部、公平与效益,数量与质量、主流民族与少数民族等方面的关系。     

浅谈用现代数学观点对初等数学学习和研究的指导作用

现代数学的许多分支，正是由于受到初等数学的某些基本概念和问题的启示而产生发展起来的。因而，它们之间必然存在某种联系。反之，现代数学的许多理论和观点对初等数学的学习和研究又有着积极的指导作用。     

农村小学教师教学语言技能提升探究——以四川省彭山县为例

教学语言技能是教师从师任教最基本的、也是最重要的技能之一。由于教育资源分配不均衡,以及学历层次和个人能力的局限,农村小学教师的教学语言技能与城市教师相比存在一定差距。为推动农村基础教育健康持续发展,提高农村小学教师的教学水平,教师应努力提升自身的语言运用能力,学校应采取积极措施加强教师的语言技能训练,地方教育主管部门也要提供相应的政策支撑,为农村小学教师教学语言技能的提升提供有力保障。     

Community Relationships and the Course in Social Problems

This article describes the Native American History in a Box curriculum which is designed to introduce elementary and middle-level students to Native American cultures. The curriculum consists of a five day unit addressing the following concepts pertaining to Native American Nations: settlements, tools, sustenance, pottery, and contact with Europeans. In addition, the development of the curriculum, the daily lessons, and the activities are discussed. Each daily lesson includes step-by-step instructions and the required materials. Finally, the authors discuss some of the pragmatic issues that influenced the development and implementation of the curriculum.     

Literature as the Guide to History

The author presents a content integration that focuses on social studies and science knowledge and skills. The idea of using folk crafts to help elementary students learn social studies extends from John Dewey's laboratory school to the twenty-first century. Meaningful content is applied to skills, such as blacksmithing, found in the community, and students make connections between school knowledge and their lives outside of school. In this activity, blacksmithing helped students integrate ideas from multiple academic subjects, incorporating content from the social sciences and humanities. The guest content expert with a specialized knowledge base played a large role in making this experience occur for the students and teachers.     

A High School Course in Sociology

Because of the importance that geography plays in our understanding of economics, history, and politics, it has been argued that the subject should be taught to students beginning at the early elementary level, usually focusing on the family unit and local communities. However, when the proper technology tools and strategies are used, students at the kindergarten level can learn more complex concepts of geography and other social studies ideas and Common Core Standards. This article is a narrative about how a kindergarten teacher's discovery of “website widgets” brought the world to her classroom while helping her students learn important social studies knowledge and skills.     

Influence of the Huguenot Refugees on English Manufactures

In the late 1930s several prominent self-described patriotic groups attacked social studies pioneer Harold Rugg as “un-American.” The largest instance of textbook censorship in American history unfolded. Yet little attention was given (and continues to be given by scholars) to Rugg's elementary textbooks that he wrote with Louise Krueger. This article examines Rugg and Krueger's complete “Elementary Series” in light of the un-American criticisms levied at Rugg. It documents how, despite critics’ claims, the books were immediately celebratory of the United States and its people, teaching a traditional patriotism that casts the nation as the supreme level of social analysis through an unquestioning, best-story approach. Furthermore, it shows how the books lack Rugg's justice-oriented philosophy of the “American Problem.” The article concludes by charging elementary social studies teachers, teacher educators, and researchers to consider critical questions related to the teaching of patriotism in the elementary grades.     

Teachers’ Page

Encouraging elementary students to become aware of place and the role it plays in shaping their lives can provide them with a clearer sense of self and a greater appreciation for diversity. To support this premise, this article explores using six National Council for the Social Studies Notable Trade Books to assist primary students in their understanding of place. By using realistic fiction and nonfiction picture books that focus on children's lives in diverse locations, the suggested activities enable teachers to address the five themes of geography and promote cultural awareness to elementary students in meaningful ways. The author provides a summary of each book and describes student-centered activities to develop concepts related to the NCSS thematic strands of culture; people, places, and environments; and individual development and identity.     

A United States History Card Game

Learning social studies curriculum can present challenges for English-language learners (ELLs). The language used to present concepts is often decontextualized and abstract, making it difficult for these students to understand the content and have successful learning experiences. In this article, the authors describe strategies elementary teachers can use to make social studies content more comprehensible to ELLs and engage them to become active participants in their learning. They discuss three strategies in-depth and explain particular teaching techniques, such as the use of graphic organizers. Teaching vignettes illustrate ways these strategies can be implemented in the classroom to help ELLs be successful in acquiring social studies knowledge and inquiry skills while developing critical English language arts proficiencies.