Teaching and Learning Elementary Social Studies

by Arthur K. Ellis

Book Overview

With a wealth of lesson plans and practical guidance, this perennial best-seller provides instructional strategies for involving K-8 children in social studies content that emphasize concepts,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 020533752X
• ISBN13: 9780205337521
• Release Date: July 2001
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.7" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Great Book on Social Studies Teaching For Older ELEM Kids

I studied Dr. Ellis' book every night during my first few semesters of my college teaching program. His sections on Jerome Bruner highly influenced my own philosophy of education.

The Joy of Teaching Social Studies

In the most conversational tone, Dr. Ellis invites new teachers to create classrooms that fully engage real children in real situations that result in real understanding. Infused in each chapter is a reminder of the ultimate purpose of education, which is the development of inquisitive and thoughtful people who can investigate life and solve problems cooperatively. He does a remarkable job of avoiding the trap of sacrificing depth for breadth. A good portion of this book is actually a literacy text encouraging every teacher to develop thoughtful and effective reading, writing, and communication by establishing a culture of inquiry and response and shared culture. His introductory chapters are actually short outstanding synopses of educational theory. Ellis communicates a deep respect for the subject matter concepts and how children can grasp them as opposed to the random collection of facts. Considering other texts of its type, this looks like Joy of Cooking compared to Betty Crocker.

Excellent introduction to all the facets of social studies

I enter graduate school in the fall in elementary education. I have no education credits in my bachelors, so I picked up this book to give me some background about social studies. My first graduate class will be "How to teach social studies." This is an excellent overview and is written in a very easy-to-understand fashion. The "sidebars" of information and the "checkups" on assessing your personal values system are very helpful. I am grateful Dr. Ellis took the time to write it and I am sure it will help prepare me for the graduate class on the subject.