Teaching Elementary Social Studies during Snack Time and other Unstructured Spaces

Abstract

It is common practice for social studies in the elementary school day to be integrated into other subject areas, especially language arts. Also common in an elementary school day are unstructured spaces such as snack time or recess. In this paper, we present findings from a larger study on social studies integration within various subject areas to explore how two teachers (first and fifth grade) integrated social studies into unstructured spaces. These teachers integrated social studies concepts and experiences into morning work, community building, snack time, and after-lunch reading to varying degrees. This study provides an inroad for conversation among researchers, teacher educators, and practicing teachers about the ideals and reality of elementary social studies with the hope of deepening students’ experiences.

Explicit and Implicit Social Studies: Exploring the Integration of Social Studies Experiences in Two Elementary Classrooms

“…In some cases, the social studies was immediately apparent to students while, in some instances, the connections to social studies concepts and content was less obvious. Over the course of 26 observations in two different schools, we observed social studies integrated into nearly every subject area as well as during non-academic times such as morning transitions or snack time (See Table 2) (Whitlock & Brugar, 2019). Although it would appear to be good news that social studies is observed so often, the quality of social studies matters more than the quantity (Table 5).…”

“…In the case of these two classrooms, we did not limit examples of social studies integration to only language arts lessons. In fact, we found social studies content being "taught" during non-academic times such as snack time or morning meeting (Whitlock & Brugar, 2019).…”

“…Although this was not a planned interaction, Jules did recognize that many of her students continued to be interested in maps. She added more books about countries around the world into her classroom library for students to read during silent reading time and added games and puzzles with maps to her room for students to play with during indoor recess and free choice time-all unstructured spaces (Whitlock & Brugar, 2019). Jules had a keen knowledge of first graders and content thus, she was able to embrace spontaneity and chose to further these discussions.…”

Application of Information Communication Technology in Developing Critical Thinking Among Social Studies Pre-Service Teachers in Kogi State

“…Based on the objectives of Social Studies in Nigerian schools, the emphasis of the subject is more on social phenomena (inductive) than theory (deductive). Social Studies is a field of knowledge and analysis of social symptoms and problems to find solutions to emerging issues and problems in the society (Whitlock & Brugar, 2019;Ollila & Macy, 2019). Therefore, Social Studies learning in schools must emphasize aspects of knowledge, attitudes, and skills from various contextual social problems that exist around students.…”