Social Studies at the Center

For too many years in too many classrooms, social studies has been something that is "done" to studentswith no real bridge between students experiences and the pursuit of social values and moral citizenship. With the publication of Social Studies at the Center, Tarry Lindquist and Douglas Selwyn change all that. For the first time, students actually "do" social studies. They read, write, act, sing, dance, and draw social studies. They compare, organize, investigate, interview, and analyze facts. Most of all, they come to love social studies because in the process of studying content, they are learning more about themselves.

Social Studies at the Center presents a view of teaching and learning that connects what students learn in social studies with how they learn it and what they feel about it. With an emphasis on meaning and understanding over coverage of facts, the authors demonstrate how to customize learning to accommodate students interests. They support an integrated approach to social studies teaching and place the subject at the center of the entire school curriculum.

In addition to providing a large repertoire of learning strategies, Lindquist and Selwyn demonstrate how intermediate and middle school teachers can put social studies skills, content, and knowledge at the center of their school daywith benefits that are reaped beyond the social studies period. Two units are provided as models: one on geography and the other on history. An entire chapter is dedicated to responding to both common and uncommon questions about the teaching and learning of social studies. Another details sixty-eight practical integrative strategies that teachers can put to immediate use. Favorite resources and websites are shared, and a brief review of national standards and assessment strategies are included.

Whether you are a seasoned or novice teacher, new to the profession or new to the grade level, Social Studies at the Center will serve as that veteran educator down the hall who recognizes that the best learning occurs in an integrated, real-world context and that the best vehicles for achieving this are small group work, hands-on projects, kid-centered research, and student-based assessment.
About the Author:

Tarry Lindquist was an enthusiastic presenter and master classroom teacher who worked extensively with both students and teachers in grades K-8. She had more than thirty years of teaching experience both in the United States and overseas. She was a regular presenter with Heinemann Workshops and the Bureau of Education and Research, and was known for the innovative and practical content of her teaching. Tarry was recognized as Elementary Teacher of the Year by the National Council for Social Studies, and as a national Good Neighbor award winner by State Farm. She wrote three Heinemann books: Seeing the Whole Through Social Studies, 2nd edition; Ways That Work: Putting Social Studies Standards into Practice; and Social Studies at the Center: Integrating Kids, Content, and Literacy (with Doug Selwyn).

Douglas Selwyn taught in the Seattle Public Schools for more than fifteen years. He is currently a professor of education at Antioch University and works as an educational consultant. His previous publications include Living History in the Classroom (Zephyr, 1993); and an NCSS bulletin, Arts & Humanities in the Social Studies (1995).