Putting Reading First: Teaching Social Studies in Elementary Classrooms

Boyle‐Baise, Marilynne; Hsu, Ming-Chu; Johnson, Shaun; Serriere, Stephanie C.; Stewart, Dorshell

doi:10.1080/00933104.2008.10473374

Cited by 85 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…These external pressures were commonly identified with standardization and high-stakes testing (Crocco & Costigan, 2007;Wills, 2007). Elementary school teachers found themselves compromising social studies instructional time in order to meet the demands of a restrictive curriculum (Boyle-Baise, Hsu, Johnson, Serriere, & Stewart, 2008;Thornton & Houser, 1996). In addition, teachers developed negative attitudes toward social studies due to its perceived lack of value (Houser, 1995;Leming, Ellington, & Schug, 2006b).…”

Section: A Context For the Trivialization Of Elementary Social Studiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In its diminished capacity, social studies fails to stand alone as an important, time-worthy subject within the elementary curriculum, instead falling to a subsidiary role of a topic for promoting literacyacquisition or other forms of subject integration (Boyle-Baise et al, 2008;McGuire, 2007). Many teachers, administrators, and policymakers acknowledge, without question, this new ancillary role of social studies.…”

Section: Grade Level Disparitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A National Perspective on the Effects of High-Stakes Testing and Standardization on Elementary Social Studies Marginalization

Fitchett

Heafner

2010

Theory & Research in Social Education

143

106

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Section: A Context For the Trivialization Of Elementary Social Studiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Grade Level Disparitymentioning

confidence: 99%

A National Perspective on the Effects of High-Stakes Testing and Standardization on Elementary Social Studies Marginalization

Fitchett

Heafner

2010

Theory & Research in Social Education

143

106

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The mandates of No Child Left Behind legislation require an emphasis on reading at the expense of other subjects (Boyle-Baise et al 2008; Center on Education Policy 2008). However, curriculum integration of social studies can help teachers address more than one subject area in the same time period while providing meaningful connections to real-life problems (Hinde 2005).…”

Section: Importance Of Integrated Curriculamentioning

confidence: 98%

Defining the Difference: Comparing Integrated and Traditional Single-Subject Lessons

Zhbanova

Rule

Montgomery

et al. 2010

Early Childhood Educ J

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Early childhood curricula should be authentic and child-centered, however, many teachers still rely on direct instruction lessons. To better define how an integrated curriculum meets the needs of students, this study examined teacher talk and actions during instructional activities with first and second graders under two conditions: (1) subject-integrated social studies lessons of an integrated curriculum unit (experimental condition); and (2) single subject-focused mathematics lessons of a traditional separate subject curriculum (control condition). The mixed-methods study sought to define and compare characteristics of both curriculum approaches. Fourteen hours of observations were collected in each setting. In the integrated curriculum setting, the teacher was a facilitator of teamwork, offering choices, and giving praise; students made choices, decisions, and worked collaboratively. In the traditional setting, the teacher delivered direct instruction and controlled behavior; students followed directions, recalled knowledge, and worked individually. Less teacher energy was expended for behavior management in the integrated curriculum setting, indicating intrinsic motivation of students. Implementation of integrated curricula is recommended because of the student-centered focus that results in greater motivation, ownership, and teamwork, along with deeper knowledge connections. Because many factors hinder implementation, teachers need support when first teaching with this approach.Effective early childhood education addresses the needs of the whole child in an authentic way. Four components of such ''authentic learning'' (Rule 2006) are real-world problems that engage learners in the work of professionals, inquiry activities that employ higher order thinking skills, discussions and collaborations among a community of learners, and student empowerment and ownership through choice. These elements come together well in an integrated curriculum. For example, Molenda and Bhavnagri (2009) showed that integrating children's literature with movement resulted in cooperation among a community of learners in the following ways: through social interaction when students discussed the stories, emotional involvement as they transformed the stories to physical movements, and effective communication as they gave verbal directions and cues to each other in preparation for a performance. The Reggio Emilia approach (Stegelin 2003; Lim 2004), a wellknown child-centered approach, emphasizes the organization of learning around discovery questions formulated by learners that reach into different subject areas, resulting in integrated curriculum projects. The positive aspects of such intriguing projects with multiple connections between concept areas seem obvious, but many teachers still employ

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“…Instead classrooms, particularly in urban settings, are fast becoming authoritative, test-fueled, alienating environments. Moreover, the field of social studies has become a marginalized course of study in the early and middle-school years (Boyle-Baise et al 2008). With the focus on literacy and math skills development, federal policy such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB 2002) has created an educational climate in which limited time or value is given for children to gainfully participate in content-rich, civic-related classroom experiences.…”

Section: Catherine Franklinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge, Pedagogy, and Postmulticulturalism

2013

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Putting Reading First: Teaching Social Studies in Elementary Classrooms

Cited by 85 publications

References 12 publications

A National Perspective on the Effects of High-Stakes Testing and Standardization on Elementary Social Studies Marginalization

A National Perspective on the Effects of High-Stakes Testing and Standardization on Elementary Social Studies Marginalization

Defining the Difference: Comparing Integrated and Traditional Single-Subject Lessons

Knowledge, Pedagogy, and Postmulticulturalism

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