Parker, Walter. & Beck, Terrance. (2017).

Social studies in elementary education (Enhanced Pearson

eText with Loose-Leaf Version -- Access Card Package) (15th ed). Boston: Pearson

Discussion Questions: Chapter 1

DIRECTIONS: In at least 6 complete sentences per question, answer 2 of the following questions. Write
AND answer 2 of your own questions as well. These should be higher-level, critical-thinking questions
(think inferential and evaluative).

1. Read the quote on P. 3 from the National Council of Social Studies (NCSS). Do you
agree/disagree? Why?
2. What are the two main goals of Social Studies? What three areas do schools/states typically
break these into? How does this fit with your understanding/implementation expectations in K-
12 Ed.?
3. Analyze the three subgoals of Social Studies (pp. 3-5). How will you utilize them in your
classroom?
4. How will you make sure your, “social studies curriculum is not only connected to the child’s life
but also enlarges that life outward to include the less familiar, the far away, and the long ago,”
(p. 6)? Further thoughts: How will you do this when each child’s life is different from another’s?
5. Using figure 1.2, apply the same conceptual themes to a grade level (scope/sequence focus from
p. 7) of your choice.
6. How does good planning lead to the “snowball effect,” (p. 9). What is this and why is it
important?
7. How do social trends influence your classroom? How will you monitor this?
8. Find the CCSS, Idaho/Standards, and NCSS/CCC Framework. Pick a grade/level/topic, and
compare. What do you notice? How will you use one/all of these in your instruction?
9. What problems are associated with poor assessments, particularly “high-stakes, standardized
assessments,” (p. 17)? What will/can you do to counterbalance this?
10. What does this mean to you, “If democracy is to be the vision that holds our diverse society
together, then the people must be educated for it,” (p. 18)?
11. How does integration of subjects influence learning?

Idaho Content Standards: http://www.sde.idaho.gov/academic/shared/social-studies/ICS-Social-

Studies.pdf

Common Core State Standards (make sure to select the History/Social Studies Standards and grade
levels on the right side): http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RH/introduction/

3C Framework: https://www.socialstudies.org/c3