A Change in Attitude and a Change in Action: How to Best Teach the Social Studies in a K8 Classroom
When I was in elementary school, I rarely found social studies lessons to be engaging. Though we did have some interesting projects, most of our social studies time was spent reading bland history textbooks. Upon learning how to teach inquiry-based social studies, however, my viewpoint on the subject has drastically changed. As a future educator, I conceptualize the social studies as a practice by which we make sense of the world. Overall, the differences between my former and current conceptualizations of the social studies can be divided into four categories, each of which highlights an invaluable practice which exceptional social studies teachers employ.
Difference #1: Interdisciplinary Social Studies
Social studies can include history, civics, geography, and economics while also integrating subjects such as media literacy, sociology, and psychology. Despite this interdisciplinary potential, these subjects seemed distinct in my elementary-school learning of the social studies; disciplines rarely overlapped purposefully. While studying social studies as an educator, though, I came to recognize the potential of interdisciplinary learning. When social studies concepts are integrated with other disciplines like literacy, practical skillsets emerge. Students can see how these abilities — making claims from evidence or devising a plan for social change, for example — are useful in everyday experiences. Further, when learning is embedded within a disciplinary context, students are more likely to remember and reapply the skills they acquire. Thus, interdisciplinary learning is realistic and engaging. Ultimately, teachers should ensure that most of their social studies lessons create meaningful connections between concepts and practice. Some examples of interdisciplinary social studies lessons can be found here and here.
Difference #2: Inquiry-based Learning
As previously mentioned, much of my social studies learning focused on the memorization of facts. On their own, these bits of information do not provide meaning to students’ everyday lives. Fact-based learning is merely something students do to pass a test. By contrast, social studies learning can be organized such that it gives students the chance to derive meaning from a collection of truths. This can be done through inquiry. Inquiry-based learning requires students to extract facts from articles, images, artifacts, informational texts, and personal experience to answer a compelling question. Such compelling questions are directly related to students’ past, present, and future experiences. When students apply knowledge gained from studying the social studies to answer a question that interests them, learning becomes an act of meaning-making. As a result, students are more engaged and reach conclusions that will lead them to greater success. Some examples of inquiry-based social studies can be found here and here.
Difference #3: Taking Informed Action
One of the most valuable assets of partaking in the social studies is learning how to engage with our world. Regardless, many social studies teachers — including mine — spend more time informing students about past action-takers than teaching students about how they, too, can take social action. I recall studying Civil Rights Movement leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. Rarely, though, did we discuss how our actions today can parallel the motivating actions of others. This made it difficult for me to envision myself making a difference in my community. However, by engaging in inquiry, students can answer a compelling question by completing a project which affects their communities. This is often referred to as place-based social studies: an authentic education which focuses on how we can use our social studies knowledge to benefit our communities. Students learn how to formulate arguments, study the past to inform the future, and engage with society when the goal of social studies learning is authentic. While imagining the differences that historical figures have made in the past is impactful, using that information to take actual social action is even more so. An example of students taking informed action can be found here.
Difference #4: Providing Multiple Perspectives
Students come from various backgrounds, but mainstream social studies content often ignores the perspectives to which many students relate. In my own social studies education, few perspectives other than those of European-Americans were presented. Though some of these people are inspiring, their perspectives are not relatable to all students. Further, marginalized perspectives were only discussed where convenient — for instance, the women’s suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, and the abolition of slavery. By representing marginalized groups in this way, students are subconsciously taught that these people are less important. To counteract this effect, social studies teachers can supplement their curriculum with materials that present information through multiple perspectives. Some exemplars include discussing articles which uncover the truth behind the Black Panther Party or inspiring students to lobby for the addition of Mexican Repatriation to their statewide curriculum. Students will then realize that all perspectives are valuable, not just those highlighted in mainstream society.
In sum, the presentation of each of these social studies practices has drastically changed my view of the discipline, especially with respect to how teachers relay it to their students. As a result, I believe teachers should seek to implement the abovementioned practices into their social studies units to best engage and prepare students for their lives outside the classroom.