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

by Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath, Christine E. Sleeter (Foreword by)

Overview

Elementary-aged children are often positioned as not developmentally ready to learn about race, racism, and injustice. Yet, the classroom materials used in most schools misrepresent history, withhold knowledge about racial injustice, or fail to uplift stories of resilience and resistance. For almost a decade, this groundbreaking resource has been one of the most highly used textbooks in justice-oriented social studies methods courses for grades 3–8. The author has thoroughly revised her bestseller to provide additional lessons that are more deeply situated within the current context of converging pandemics—COVID-19, racism, and impending environmental catastrophe. Grounded in the daily realities of public schools, Agarwal-Rangnath shows teachers how to use primary and other sources that will offer students new ways of thinking about history while meeting language arts standards for informational text proficiency and critical thinking. Educators will also learn how to teach language arts and social studies as complementary subjects.

New for the Second Edition:

• More concrete connections between theory and practice.
• Additional lesson examples that are centered in today’s context of converging pandemics.
• Reflection questions that challenge readers to think about ways to navigate curricular constraints and standardization in the classroom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807767047
Publisher:	Teachers College Press
Publication date:	09/23/2022
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	640,082
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath is an assistant professor at the University of San Francisco and faculty coordinator of the South Bay Masters of Arts and Teaching Credential program. She is a founding member and executive director of CARE-ED (California Alliance of Researchers for Equity in Education) and founding member and vice-president of the National Association of Multicultural Education, California Chapter. Her books include Planting the Seed of Equity: Ethnic Studies and Social Justice in the K–2 Classroom and Preparing to Teach Social Studies for Social Justice: Becoming a Renegade.

Table of Contents

Foreword Christine E. Sleeter ix

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction 1

What Does It Mean to Teach for Social Justice? 4

What Is Social Studies, and Why Don't I See More Social Studies Being Taught at My School? 6

How Can I Integrate Language Arts, Social Studies, and Social Justice? 8

How to Use This Book 11

1 Inspiring Wonder 12

Building on Students' Prior Knowledge 13

Awakening Students' Questions 17

Artifact Analysis 19

Guiding Simulation 22

Personal Stories 26

Connecting New Learning to Students' Experiences, Interests, and Background Knowledge 29

Conclusion 33

Reflection Exercises 34

2 Painting the Picture 35

Exploring Multiple Perspectives 37

Building Students' Critical Thinking Skills and Reading Comprehension 38

Using Children's Literature 40

Role-Play and Simulations 49

Artifact Analysis 54

Films, Fieldtrips, and Guest Speakers 62

Conclusion 67

Reflection Exercises 68

3 Application 69

Synthesizing Social Studies Content 69

Writers' Workshop 70

Dialogue Poems 72

First-Person Narrative 75

Dramatization and Visual Art 79

Rewriting the Narrative 84

Conclusion 86

Reflection Exercises 87

4 Connecting the Past to the Present 88

Contextualizing the Present Using the Past 89

Allowing Students to Make the Connection 91

Drawing Explicit Connections 94

Providing Opportunities for Students to Make Connections 101

Conclusion 104

Reflection Exercises 105

5 Facilitating Change 106

Reaffirming the Role of Youth 106

Aligning Social Justice Goals 108

Letter Writing 110

Performance and Art 115

Conclusion 119

Reflection Exercises 121

Conclusion 122

References 125

Index 133

About the Author 139

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“In this book, Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath offers a much-needed vision for how social studies can be connected with language arts, and how it can be designed and taught in a way that prepares young people to become actively engaged citizens with a social-justice consciousness.”
—From the Foreword by Christine E. Sleeter, professor emerita, College of Education, California State University, Monterey Bay.

“In our current moment of contested curriculum and abject divisiveness, Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath offers a practical framework that will undoubtedly help guide educators interested in teaching for social justice. Providing a clear pathway, with vivid examples from actual classrooms, this book challenges teachers to find the opportunities for their students to problem-pose, explore perspectives, contextualize the past, navigate the present, and take action for change within the teaching of social studies and literacy. An indispensable resource for critical educators interested in providing young people with the necessary tools to explore and participate in changing our complicated and contested world.”
—Brian D. Schultz, professor, department chair, and Virginia Todd Memorial Scholar of Curriculum Studies, Miami University