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Social studies is the study of history, geography, civics, sociology, economics, and other social science subjects in primary and secondary schools in North America.
Social studies can also refer to the study of particular aspects of human society at certain post-secondary and tertiary schools worldwide. Such institutions provide courses, programs of study, or possibly certificates, diplomas, or degrees in 'social studies'. The subject matter varies from institution to institution but tends to include both pure and applied social sciences. Examples of the former include sociology, psychology, and linguistics. Examples of the latter include business, economics, criminology, and mass media. These schools may exclude certain humanities and natural sciences (such as earth sciences and climatology) which are included in many North American social studies classes.
Social studies are known as studies of "Human Society and its Environment" within the public school system of New South Wales, Australia.
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Education :: Social Sciences
Education :: History
The Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature
The Hispanic Division and the Center for the book invite everyone to join them and the Consortium of Latin American Studies program for the awarding of the Americas Award for Children and Young Adult Literature to Pat Mora and Rafael López the author and illustrator of Yum! ¡Mmmm! ¡Qué Rico! America’s Sproutings and Laura Resau, the author of Red Glass. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 4th from 10am-12 at the Mumford Room in the James Madison Building at the Library of Congress. The Américas Award is given in recognition of U.S. works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected non-fiction (from picture books to works for young adults) published in the previous year in English or Spanish that authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States. Please call 202-707-2013 to confirm your attendance. We hope you can join us.
National Book Festival and Young Readers Toolkit
Please join us at the National Book Festival September 27th on the National Mall. Among some 70 authors and illustrators participating this year are Tiki Barber, Marc Brown, R. L. Stein, Judith Viorst, Sharon Draper, Neil Gaiman, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Robert Sabuda, Dorren Cronin and Steven Kellogg. Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and Pat Ryan, the new Poet Laureate, will also be in attendance. Also meet illustrator Jan Brett who created this year’s Book Festival poster. Make sure to visit the Library of Congress Pavilion to learn about the new Library of Congress experience, the World Digital Library, our collaboration with Flickr and how to preserve your home library. Visit the Pavilion of the States to learn about reading programs in your state and the Let’s Read America Pavilion with fun activities to spur families to enjoy reading. For those who cannot attend the book festival think about planning one of your own. The Young Readers’ Toolkit helps to bring the National Book Festival into libraries, schools and homes across the country. The Toolkit features information about National Book Festival authors who write for children and teens, podcasts of their readings, teaching tools and activities for kids. This interactive resource also shows educators, parents and children how they can host their own book festival. The Young Readers Toolkit can be found at http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/
Celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day - Friday, September 19th
Does your school celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day? Here are some links to pirate resources to add some educational heft to a fun activity: Watch one of the webcasts from the day long symposium on Pirates and Corsairs of the Americas in History and Literature. Find the list at http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/webcasts.html Explore the book The Buccaneers of America from the Exploring the Early Americas collection http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/earlyamericas/buccaneers/html/. Also share maps documenting early treasure ships and the treasures they found and the work that was done to stop pirates in the Americas at <http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/earlyamericas/online/aftermath/aftermath2.html#object119> Read Gerald Gawalt’s Essay on the Barbary Pirates at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/mtjprece.html Play some pirate related sheet music. The Music for the Nation collection http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/smhtml/smhome.html has the Pirates March and the Pirates Cave March. Or listen to the song Down Around the Coast of La Barbaree from the California Gold Collection. <http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/cowellbib:@field(NUMBER+@band(afccc+a3812b1))> Watch an Edison Film of Police Arresting Pirates <http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/papr:@filreq(@field(NUMBER+@band(lcmp002+m2b48027))>
Constitution Day Resources and Internet Archive Project
Here are two special announcements: Apply to be part of the Internet Archive k-12 project http://www.loc.gov/teachers/ Could your school be one of 10 middle or high schools helping to capture and archive today’s primary source materials on the Web? A small number of individuals and institutions recognize the importance of archiving and preserving the often transitory digital cultural artifacts that are distributed over the Web. But so far, the vast majority of decisions about what Web sites will live into the future have been made by adults, and reflect adults’ sensibilities about what constitutes the important stuff of history. The Internet Archive, the Library of Congress and California Digital Library are collaborating on a project that explores archiving the Web from the perspective of adolescents. Find a complete project description and the brief application in the "Featured Resources" section at http://www.loc.gov/teachers/. Apply by September 30 for full consideration. Constitution Day Resources from the Library of Congress http://thomas.loc.gov/teachers/constitution.html In celebration of Constitution Day, the Library of Congress has compiled a variety of materials from across its collections. This year, the Library introduced two lesson plan that help students analyze drafts of the Constitution and Bill of Rights to discover the process involved in creating the new nation. New online activities for secondary students help students connect particular phrases and ideas set down in these two documents with the texts that preceded them. A third new online activity for elementary students helps them get acquainted with some of the words related to the founding documents of the United States. Explore these rich resources and features to learn more about one of America’s most important documents.
Portals to the World
Looking for information about foreign countries? Visit Portals to the World to find links to high quality websites vetted by Library of Congress staff members. Many of them are in the language of the country; perfect for those teaching foreign languages.
Folklore in the Classroom
Interested in bringing folklore materials into your classroom? Visit the American Folklife Center where you can learn about their heritage projects where they work to encourage students to learn more about their communities, see lesson plans using folklore activities, link to American Memory collections that highlight folklore materials and learn how to send for a poster providing additional ideas to use in your classroom.
Andy's American History Worksheets - Middle school topics in American history with rhyming couplets on the front and questions on the back.
Canadian Provinces and Territories - Canadian map activity that plays the national anthem.
Meta Description: [ Printable worksheet, blank map of Canada, for testing names and locations of Provinces and Territories. ]
Columbia Education Center: Social Studies Lesson Plans - Lessons for elementary, middle and high school students.
Coming to a New Land - This webquest will increase student understanding of Ellis Island and the immigrant experience in the U.S. The webquest is designed for fourth grade students.
Meta Description: [ WebQuest: an inquiry-oriented learning environment that makes good use of the Web., WebQuest: an inquiry-oriented learning environment that makes good use of the Web. ]
Die Like An Egyptian - A study of the ancient Egyptian afterlife incorporating the multiple intelligences and internet use.
History For Children - Features weekly articles and links on a variety of topics in American and World History. Also provides a listing of history web resources and reading lists for kids, parents, and teachers in history. (For Grades 3+)
Meta Description: [ ,This topic looks at subjects of particular interest to children in the fields of American and World History. Articles focus on famous people, places, and events, and the role of children throughout key periods in history. Also included are reading and additional Internet resources. - dewey decim... ]
500
Library in the Sky Social Studies Lesson Plans - Links to social studies lesson plans available online.
National Council for the Social Studies - Junior and senior high lesson plans, all in pdf format.
Social Studies for Kids - Offers has articles, links, and fun facts, on history, geography, cultures, holidays, economics, and archaeology.
Meta Description: [ Social Studies for Kids is a site with articles, subjects, and tons of links for all subjects of social studies, with a focus on what kids and their teachers/parents are learning. ]
Social Studies Lesson Plans - Plans based on field trips to various museums along the United States' Eastern coast.
Social Studies Lessons - Links to both lesson plans and strategies for teaching social science, history, and government.
The Big Myth - An experimental learning module designed for use in European primary school classrooms. It is a sociology textbook for the comparative study of world creation mythology. The myths are told using Flash animation and are accompanied by an overview of the culture, the pantheon of the gods and a series of exercises based on that culture.
Meta Description: [ A Flash-based learning tool on world
creation mythology for children 12-14 years of age. In Dutch and English.
Lessons are created using cooperative learning techniques. ]
The Castle of King Edward - Virtual tour of a medieval castle explaining the history, architecture, culture, religion, food, royalty, knights, armor and traditions. Designed for teachers, students and kids.
UNICEF Social Studies Lesson Plans - Click on quick search and select teaching tools to be routed to unit plans.
Wenzels World - Teacher shares resources designed for the middle school classroom.
Westward Ho - Collaborative, online, simulated journey on the Oregon Trail for K-12 classrooms. Starts January 2002 and free registration is required.
Meta Description: [ Collaborative, online, simulated journey on the Oregon Trail for K-12 Classrooms ]
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