What to Include or Exclude in Social Studies
Classroom Panel Discussion: Is Social Studies Everything?
Prepare students by looking up definitions of ‘social studies.’
Be sure to read S. Engle’s article: “Decision-making: The heart of social studies.”
Take positions on social studies as content, as process, as activist, as informative.
Present versions of ‘heart and soul’ of the subject: is it history, history plus, the social sciences, or some other combination including STEM or STEAM? Would you include civics, citizenship, driver training, or soccer? Why or why not?
Collect short position papers and grade them not only for content but also emotional commitment!
Multiple Intelligences and Then Some: Extend Your Knowledge and Skills
Enrich social studies by researching related fields, e.g., art, languages, philosophy, math, music, science, engineering, dance, and more. Which intelligences can be served by dance: kinetic, intrapersonal, and auditory?
For example, does dance or song illustrate and typify historical periods? Why does dance have different forms and titles?
Where do dances originate, and what role does dance play in society? Choose a popular dance and learn it for the classroom. Try out a polka, a hora, or a square dance; view YouTube videos of people engaging in these activities. Do the dances have origins in the United States or abroad? Are they still in fashion? What groups perform and engage in these dances?
Call the Questions (Controversial Issues)
p>Debate: Where would you draw the line for social studies: How could science be included or should it be excluded? Make a list of what you would or would not include in social studies and merge ideas, conduct a count for or against inclusion like driver training or law education. Tally the most and least popular proposals and lead an analysis of the reasons behind the results.Writing Your Own Historical Script
Write your own theater piece for the trial of John Brown. Give roles to at least half the class with the other half serving as researchers and audience. Everyone should research at least one aspect of John Brown: history, sociology, supporters, detractors, documentary evidence, life and times, historical causes and consequences; through artwork, novels, and movies. A committee should work on ‘bloody, bloody Kansas’ and every assignment should ask for an update to the present to discover if racism, gender issues, and vote suppression are totally a thing of the past.
Read and report on Russell Banks’s fictional account of the life of John Brown, “Cloudsplitter,” about the famous abolitionist, and compare it to two or three significant primary sources by and about John Brown. Decide if the novelist did an accurate job or turned the life of John Brown into a Hollywood film script.
The John Brown Song
Sing and discuss the famous song (sung to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” tune)
“John Brown’s Body” (public domain, 1890)
