Social Studies, Literacy, and Social Justice in the Common Core Classroom: A Guide for Teachers

by Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath

Overview

Inspired by the author’s research and work with preservice and beginning teachers, this book presents a unique framework to help educators (grades 3–8) embed their efforts to teach social studies for social justice within the context of literacy. It is a resource for using primary and other sources that will offer students new ways of thinking about history while meeting Language Arts Common Core Standards demands for information text and critical thinking. Grounded in the daily realities of today’s public schools, the framework offers a way of planning that takes into account teaching factors that include pressures for content coverage, preparation of students for high-stakes tests, and the low importance placed by many districts on including social studies in the curriculum. Each chapter explains how teachers can restructure, reshape, and work with mandated curriculum materials to teach from a critical perspective. The book also discusses how to meet most state standards by teaching language arts and social studies as complementary subjects.

Book Features:

• Sample lessons.
• Text boxes indicating connections to Common Core Standards.
• Reflection exercises that help further extend concepts and understandings into classroom practice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807754085
Publisher:	Teachers College Press
Publication date:	04/22/2013
Edition description:	Teachers G
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath is an adjunct professor in elementary education at San Francisco State University, and vice president of the National Association of Multicultural Education, California Chapter (NAME-CA). As an educational consultant she works with schools to develop and enrich their mission of teaching toward equity and social justice.

Table of Contents

Foreword Christine Sleeter vii

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiii

1 Engaging Our Visions 1

What Does It Mean to Teach for Social Justice? 3

What Is Social Studies and Why Don't I See More Social Studies Being Taught at My School? 5

How Can I Integrate Language Arts, Social Studies, and Social Justice? 7

How to Use This Book 10

Summary of the Book 11

2 Inspiring Wonder 13

Building on Students' Prior Knowledge 14

Awakening Students' Questions 19

Artifact Analysis 20

Guiding Simulation 24

Personal Stories 28

Connecting New Learning to Students' Experiences, Interests, and Background Knowledge 31

Conclusion 35

Reflection Exercises 37

3 Painting the Picture 38

Exploring Multiple Perspectives 39

Building Students' Critical Thinking Skills and Reading Comprehension 41

Using Children's Literature 43

Role Play and Simulations 54

Artifact Analysis 60

Films, Field Trips, and Guest Speakers 67

Conclusion 74

Reflection Exercise 75

4 Application 76

Synthesizing Social Studies Content 76

Writers' Workshop 77

Dialogue Poems 80

First Person Narrative 83

Dramatization and Visual Art 89

Rewriting the Narrative 95

Conclusion 98

Reflection Exercises 99

5 Connecting the Past to the Present 100

Contextualizing the Present Using the Past 100

Allowing Students to Make the Connection 102

Drawing Explicit Connections 104

Providing Opportunities for Students to Make Connections 112

Conclusion 115

Reflection Exercises 117

6 Facilitating Change 118

Reaffirming the Role of Youth 118

Aligning Social Justice Goals 121

Letter Writing 123

Performance and Art 130

Conclusion 135

Reflection Exercises 137

Conclusion 138

References 141

Index 145

About the Author 153

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“If you are a teacher educator, this is a book that will help you connect demands on teachers today with a compelling vision of academically rich, student-centered, social justice teaching. You are in for a treat.”
—From the Foreword by Christine Sleeter, professor emerita, California State University, Monterey Bay

"This is an important contribution for preservice teachers and those in districts who are willing to think deeply about how to build content knowledge in an integrated fashion by combining social studies and language arts. This book reveals that much more attention to social studies from the perspective of social justice is needed!"
—Donna Ogle, professor emerita, National-Louis University