Young Citizens of the World (PDF)

What really counts as social studies? What does good social studies teaching look like? Young Citizens of the World takes a clear stance: Social studies is about citizenship education that is informed, deliberative, and activist - citizenship not only as a noun, something one studies, but as a verb, something one DOES. The holistic, multicultural approach is based on this clear curricular and pedagogical purpose. Straightforward, engaging, and highly interactive, the text lays out a three-part process for civic preparation that helps students understand their world and their place, as citizens, in it: becoming informed, thinking it through, and taking action. Six outstanding teaching strategies bring this framework to life. Each chapter is written as a civic engagement. Teaching/learning projects throughout are invitations to learn through intensive, integrated meaningful studies of special places, important people, and significant times. These civic engagements are teacher-ready for use in elementary classrooms. Readers are encouraged to rehearse the projects in their social studies education courses and then to reinterpret them for their classrooms. Providing a powerful alternative to the Expanding Horizons social studies curriculum, this text is a compelling choice for elementary social studies education courses, as well as for practicing teachers who wish to enhance their social studies instruction.