Dynamic Social Studies for Constructivist Classrooms: Inspiring Tomorrow's Social Scientists - Softcover

Maxim, George W.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0132849488 ISBN 13: 9780132849487

Publisher: Pearson, 2013

Synopsis

Dynamic Social Studies for Constructivist Classrooms is a brief, manageable, practical, and widely-popular guide to the most effective ways to teach social studies to elementary school students—and to motivate them to become social scientists. Using a constructivist framework, key instructional approaches, literacy-based pedagogy, text sets, activities, and illustrative classroom scenarios, the book focuses on motivation, creativity, and the good examples of excellent teachers to help educators breathe life into theory social studies teaching.  

• Now easier than ever to navigate, the text includes a new design and presentation throughout.
• In keeping with current interest in learning about the economy, a new, comprehensive treatment of economics is included in Chapter 11.
• Providing a complete look at the six social sciences is possible through the book’s added content on anthropology and sociology in Chapter 10.
• How to include social studies in a crowded instructional program is covered in a new Chapter 6 on interdisciplinary curriculum.
• Determining what to teach in the social studies curriculum is aided in the marginal notes that match illustrative activities to professional standards throughout the text.
• Teachers get invaluable help for dealing with individual and group characteristics and differences in the book’s increased emphasis and new material on such contemporary concerns as bullying and gender specific behavior.
• Valuable suggestions for short- and long-term planning is provided in Chapter 3’s look at the Wiggins/McTighe Understanding by Design (UbD) approach.
• Teachers are able to integrate the use of the latest technology and social media into the classroom—whiteboards, webquests, mobile devices, and more—through the increased emphasis presented throughout the text.
•  Ways to improve group and individual learning experiences are presented in the new section on learning centers in Chapter 6.
• Also included are expected learning outcomes at the beginning of each chapter and “Teaching Tips” boxes highlighting successful teaching strategies throughout.

About this title

About the Author

George Maxim began his professional career in rural Appalachia and ultimately taught in varied settings and at different levels from preschool through the elementary school grades. After completing a very enjoyable early childhood and elementary school teaching career, he pursued a PhD in Elementary Education from Penn State University, specializing in early childhood and social studies education. He accepted a position at West Chester University, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in early childhood education, creativity, social studies methods, and literacy. In addition, Dr. Maxim has spoken to various groups, conducted in-service programs, and delivered workshops to teachers throughout the region. He has been invited to speak to audiences in locations as distant as Seoul, South Korea.

 

   Dr. Maxim has received a number of teaching awards, including the Certificate of Excellence in College Teaching from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Dr. Maxim’s articles have appeared in various journals, including Childhood Education, Social Education, Social Studies and the Young Learner, Science and Children, The Arithmetic Teacher, and other relevant professional journals. He has written several books, including The Very Young, The Sourcebook, Learning Centers for Young Children, and Dynamic Social Studies for Constructivist Classrooms.

 

From the Back Cover

Practical and dynamic are the hallmarks of this widely-popular social studies methods text, and this new edition steps up its focus on motivation and creativity with a fresh, new design and a number of updates that give readers a clear vision of the most effective ways to teach social studies to elementary school students—and to motivate them to become social scientists.

 

Chapter-opening, real-life scenarios set the theme for each chapter and place the content into a meaningful context. And authentic scenarios within the chapters enhance reader understanding and show visually how teachers have used suggested teaching strategies in their classrooms.

 

And in this new edition, the principal focus of previous editions is maintained, while the book has been thoroughly redesigned, revised, and updated to include:

 

• NEW classroom scenarios
• NEW fresh photos, illustrations, and figures
• NEW chapter on Curriculum Integration (Ch. 6)
• NEW chapter on Anthropology and Sociology (Ch. 10)
• NEW chapter on Economics (Ch. 11)
• NEW material on the spiral curriculum, differentiated instruction, learning centers, collaborative learning, concept attainment, concept formation, technology integration, WebQuests, Web Scavenger Hunts, Web-based inquiry, digital storytelling digital peripheral devices, digital cameras, smart phones, PDAs, tablet computers, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Edition details

• Publisher: Pearson
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0132849488
• ISBN 13: 9780132849487
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 528