Social studies for secondary schools : teaching to learn, learning to teach

Summary: Social Studies for Secondary Schools: Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach, Second Edition integrates discussions of educational goals and the nature of history and social studies with practical ideas for organizing social studies curricula, units, lessons, projects, and activities. A major theme woven throughout the text is that what we choose to teach and the way we teach reflect our broader understanding of society, history, and the purposes of social studies education.

Each chapter opens with a broad question about social studies education; provides many examples of lessons, including lesson ideas developed by new and experienced middle school and high school social studies teachers; features a rich variety of teaching, learning, and classroom activities designed to provoke discussion and illustrate different approaches to teaching social studies; and concludes with essays about related social studies topics.

Part I focuses on philosophical issues, social studies goals and standards, and the design of social studies curricula. Part II examines and offers examples of strategies for planning units and lessons. Part III explores topics, such as thematic and interdisciplinary teaching, a project approach to social studies, as well as assesses student learning and one's own performance as a teacher, and provides a guide to social studies resource materials and organizations.

New in the Second Edition:

*Every chapter has been updated and includes a number of new lesson ideas.

*The lesson ideas are designed especially to help beginning teachers address learning standards; work in inclusive settings; and promote literacy and the use of technology in social studies classrooms.

*Sample activities developed with members of the Hofstra New Teachers Network reflect the current focus on document-based instruction and assessment, and can serve as tools for assessing student learning.

*Increased attention is given to project-based social studies instruction and to multicultural education.

Intended as a text for undergraduate and graduate preservice social studies methods courses, this text is also useful for in-service training programs, as a reference for new social studies teachers, and as a resource for experienced social studies educators who are engaged in rethinking their teaching practice.