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Social_Studies_is_EVERYWHERE_ Social Media for Teachers: Guides, Resources and Ideas. Although students are evermore connected to the social web, many of these networks remain out-of-class digital playgrounds where students congregate. In a 2014 survey of 1,000 teachers, just one in five said they use social media regularly with students. Of course, it can be a challenge to incorporate social media into lessons.

There are many gray areas for teachers to navigate, like setting guidelines, accessibility at school, and student safety. But to help teachers navigate this ever-changing landscape of social media tools, here are some of the best guides on the web for four popular networks, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. More Great Reads From Edutopia In addition to those great guides, there is a lot of useful information right here on Edutopia. You can explore all things related to the subject on Edutopia's social media page; here are a few of the more popular, recent posts: Ken Robinson: How to escape education's death valley | Talk Video. The Evidence Base for Social Studies: Social Studies in Elementary Education. What We Know According to Seif, there has never been a greater need for social studies programs to prepare students for the future (2003). At a time when a meaningful social studies program is crucial at every level, Seif finds data indicating a reduced emphasis on social studies during the elementary school years (2003).

Evangelina Jones, Valerie Ooka and James Rodriquez go as far as to state that social studies is an invisible subject in many elementary classrooms (2001). William Galston’s research provides hard evidence for these statements: between 1988 and 1998 the proportion of fourth-grade students who reported taking social studies daily fell from 49% to 39% (2003, p. 9). Seixas adds that social studies is not seen as a serious or challenging subject by many elementary school teachers and students (2001, p. 550). Elementary social studies education is important as it provides students the ability to: Two goals of social studies programs are identified in Sunal’s research. Learning to Teach History. Impact of NCLB and Accontability on Social Studies.

SS in Todays Early Childhood Curricula. Powerful and Purposeful Teaching and Learning in Elementary School Social Studies. Rationale The advancement of “liberty and justice for all,” as envisioned by our country’s founders, requires that citizens have the knowledge, attitudes and values to both guard and endorse the principles of a constitutional democracy. Beginning to build this knowledge at an early age involves educators who are well grounded in social studies educational practice.

Social studies at the elementary level should provide students with purposeful and meaningful learning experiences that are challenging, of high quality, and developmentally appropriate. The marginalization of social studies education at the elementary level has been documented repeatedly.1 According to a report by the Center on Education Policy, since the enactment of the “No Child Left Behind” federal education policy (NCLB), 44 percent of districts surveyed have reduced time for social studies.

A. In social studies, as in any knowledge domain, learners benefit from having a variety of ways to understand a given concept.