SOCIAL STUDIES FOR A BETTER WORLD [Paperback]

Giving young people opportunities to grapple with injustices and complex social problems can inspire them to build a better world. In this bestselling book, two experienced social studies educators lay out their vision for an elementary social studies education that will help young people find value in learning about the world as they consider how to make their communities more just, equitable, and healthy.

Rodr?guez and Swalwell?unpack the problems?that so often characterize the elementary curriculumnormalization, idealization, heroification, and dramatizationand show how common pitfalls can be replaced with creative solutions. This timely second edition?discusses?increasingly important topics like book bans and the rise of AI, provides updated research and resources, and?includes strategies for teaching anti-oppressive social studies even when circumstances are less than ideal.

Whether youre a classroom teacher, methods student, or curriculum coordinator, this is a book that can transform your understanding of the social studies disciplines and their power to disrupt the narratives that maintain current inequities.

Part I: Why Social Studies Can Change the World??1. The Social Studies? 2. The Transformative Potential of Social Studies? 3. Sustaining Anti-Oppressive Social Studies? Part II: Common Pitfalls and Creative Solutions??4. Normalization: Families and Holidays? 5. Idealization: Rules, Communities, and Community Helpers? 6. Heroification: The Founding Fathers, Suffragists, and Civil Rights Movement Leaders? 7. Dramatization and Gamification: Immigration, Westward Expansion, and Slavery? Part III: Teaching Anti-Oppressive Social Studies??8. Building Better Curriculum? 9. Frequently Asked Questions about Teaching Anti-Oppressive Social Studies? 10. Epilogue? Appendix A: Recommended Resources: The Tip of the Iceberg? Appendix B: Educatls²