A Practical Guide to Secondary Social Studies

by June R. Chapin

Book Overview

KEY BENEFIT Gives readers a concise, practical look at the crucial, relevant strategies and content they need to be effective teachers of social studies in today's middle and secondary schools KEY... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0321087232
• ISBN13: 9780321087232
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
• Length: 237 Pages
• Weight: 5.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.6" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A fine introduction to social studies education

When I first picked up June R. Chapin's A Practical Guide to Middle and Secondary Social Studies, there was little to lead me to anticipate that, as a prospective secondary school educator, I would get much out of it. Its bland purple cover and a quick flip through the pages did little to whet my appetite (I know we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but we all do it anyway). However, after breezing through it, cover to cover, I must now say that my reservations were unfounded. The book did wonders to address questions which I have had as well as raise relevant ones that I had not. The book is not a "How to" guide, nor does it go into specific social studies material very much. Instead, it assumes that you have a solid social studies/history education and delves into the current problems, advantages, resources, and controversies that a new social studies teacher is likely to face. Additionally, it gives tips and recommendations on how to employ certain materials/subject matter, though this is not the main focus of the book. Topics covered include teacher and student centered instruction, assessments and evaluations, teaching history and civics and, to a lesser degree, geography, economics, and behavioral sciences, and the implementation of technology into lessons. Though this book does not go into great depths in its topics, it will give curious teacher candidates a more clear idea about the profession for which they aspire, and will provide plenty of material that will prompt serious discussion in a social studies education course.

Good, but not good enough?

I'll start by saying this is the best text I've come across for teaching social science. But that's about as far as I'll go. If you're seriously considering the book then I'm sure you can use the table of contents (or your desktop copy) to judge its coverage. What you may not yet be aware of is your student's reactions. Mine have been fairly negative. They find the book boring, over-broad, and predictable. Sort of like most history textbooks....*shrug* To be fair, students (myself too) have a pretty low tolerance for boredom, and the book has to cover everything to qualify as a social science teaching textbook. But one can't help but wish for a bit more social studies content and a bit less educational philosophy. In any credential program the candidates are going to get plenty of ed theory. What they need are research based strategies to improve social science education. To her credit Chapin tries to introduce this, but it seems to slip right by my students. Maybe making the issue more central would not only encourage students to think about what works and what may not, but it would also help with my third criticism...by making the book just a little less predictable. In any event, I continue to assign this text. It works well for the class and has many good points. I'm just always hoping for more.

Just what I've been looking for

I teach the secondary history/social studies methods course and this books comes closest to just what I've been looking for! It has real, practical application. It's a bonus that it also deals fairly with many professional issues that pre-service teachers need to understand - and are covered in our state teacher certification standards. It has information on student-centered learning, assessment, standards controversies, and technology - just to name a few.