This engaging book will show you how to move beyond tests and essay writing to implement authentic assessments in your middle or high school social studies classroom. Award-winning teacher David Sherrin explains the value of authentic assessments and offers practical ways to get started and dive deeper in your own practice. You’ll be encouraged and inspired by the real-life stories of classroom successes and failures that illustrate the points throughout the book. The chapters cover a range of categories, including different types of written, creative, and civic action assessments. The book includes: planning charts and rubrics showing how to use, grade, and give feedback on assessments so they truly aid student learning and progress specific examples, useful tips, and ready-to-go instructions that you can use immediately with your class open-ended assessments encourage scaffolding or adaptation for individual or group work to fit your classroom needs You will learn how to personalize instruction and provide students with avenues for creativity and the types of learning experiences they need to be prepared for a complex world.

The Handbook of Classroom Assessment takes a multi-dimensional approach to classroom assessment. A successful combination of theory and practice, the book emphasizes the assessment of classroom learning within content areas and the development of standards for evaluation. Most chapters are devoted to the assessment of learning and achievement and discuss current theories. The book also features assessment of academic self-concept and subjective well-being in children and adolescents. The Handbook provides successfully field-tested examples of assessment techniques and strategies within the content areas of mathematics, social studies, foreign languages, and the visual arts. Contributing chapter authors share the unique distinction of having backgrounds that include both the development of assessment theory and first hand experience translating theory into practice at the classroom, school site, state, or national level. The book is divided into four sections. Section I discusses the top five theories with respect to what learning is, how it's related to achievement, and how we assess both in the classroom setting. Section II on standardized assessment briefly covers all major standardized achievement tests used in preschool, K-6, and 7-12. Assessment of classroom learning, Section III, presents test instruments and techniques specific to the measurement of math skills, social science skills, and artistic talent across ages and grades. Section IV on classroom practices includes an assessment of general reasoning skills and performance and how to develop a grading philosophy.Key Features* Explains the why, what, and how of classroom assessment* Combines theory and practice for a multidimensional approach to assessment* Presents test instruments and techniques specific to measuring various skills* Uses field-tested examples of assessment techniques* Provides a resource for staff development at the school site

The importance of social studies assessment is beyond question. The National Council of the Social Studies’ C3 Framework recognizes the importance of high?quality assessments—its major objective, a “deep understanding of the sociocultural world,” has as its underpinning the idea that students must be able to investigate the world, and that teachers much be able to assess their understanding of it. However, there is a comparative dearth of research that focuses on effective social studies assessment, particularly with regard to the impact of teacher practice on the development of best practices. Such research is vital to moving social studies away from an emphasis on testing and more towards using assessment as a means of educating our students. In Best Practices of Social Studies Assessment, we focus on an essential question: what is an "effective" assessment? Helping teachers develop practical, creative, curriculum?appropriate strategies is essential, especially in an era in which teachers are faced with the dilemma of creating inquiry?based assessments in the midst of preexisting regimes of standardized summative assessments. In this volume, research conducted between university professors and working teachers is described, focusing on innovative assessment practices. These practices include role?playing activities depicting historical events; Socratic seminars revolving around public policy issues; collaborative student projects on a wide range of social inquiries, including the implementation of UN programs; and the promotion of critical thinking and writing skills, on subjects as diverse as school violence and the impact of imperialism. These adaptive assessments highlight the essential role of the teacher in creating assessments that blend higher?order critical thinking, complex content knowledge, and an understanding of their own students. The strategies described in this volume focus on the ability of expert educators to “[acknowledge] the structures, power, and consequences of high?stakes testing regimes while simultaneously designing and sustaining classroom assessment methods that embody the social?participatory nature of learning and reflect research on effective practice” (p. 289). The volume also describes the shared characteristics of the teachers who created these assessments, especially their emphasis on self?reflection and student autonomy, as well as their professional willingness to take on challenges associated with performance?based assessments, even in the face of institutional pressures and external demands.

The Sage Handbook of Research on Classroom Assessment provides scholars, professors, graduate students, and other researchers and policy makers in the organizations, agencies, testing companies, and school districts with a comprehensive source of research on all aspects of K-12 classroom assessment. The handbook emphasizes theory, conceptual frameworks, and all varieties of research (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods) to provide an in-depth understanding of the knowledge base in each area of classroom assessment and how to conduct inquiry in the area. It presents classroom assessment research to convey, in depth, the state of knowledge and understanding that is represented by the research, with particular emphasis on how classroom assessment practices affect student achieventment and teacher behavior. Editor James H. McMillan and five Associate Editors bring the best thinking and analysis from leading classroom assessment researchers on the nature of the research, making significant contributions to this prominent and hotly debated topic in education.

The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition, provides teachers and teacher educators with a comprehensive guide to teaching social issues in the classroom. This second edition re-frames the teaching of social issues with a dedicated emphasis on issues of social justice. It raises the potential for a new and stronger focus on social issues instruction in schools. Contributors include many of the leading experts in the field of social studies education. Issues-centered social studies is an approach to teaching history, government, geography, economics and other subject related courses through a focus on persistent social issues. The emphasis is on problematic questions that need to be addressed and investigated in-depth to increase social understanding, active participation, and social progress. Questions or issues may address problems of the past, present, or future, and involve disagreement over facts, definitions, values, and beliefs arising in the study of any of the social studies disciplines, or other aspects of human affairs. The authors and editor believe that this approach should be at the heart of social studies instruction in schools. ENDORSEMENTS "At a time when even the world’s most stable democracies are backsliding towards autocratic rule, Ronald Evans has pulled together an essential guide for teachers who want to do something about it. The 2nd edition of the Handbook on Teaching Social Issues is a brilliant and timely collection that should be the constant companion for teachers across the disciplines." Joel Westheimer University Research Chair in Democracy and Education University of Ottawa "The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues (2nd edition) is a fantastic resource for teachers, teacher educators, and professional development specialists who are interested in ensuring that social issues are at the center of the curriculum. The chapters are focused on the most important contemporary thinking about what social issues are, why they are so important for young people to learn about, and what research indicates are the most effective pedagogical approaches. The wide-ranging theoretical and practical expertise of the editor and all of the chapter authors account for why this handbook makes such an exceptional contribution to our understanding of how and why the social issues approach is so important and stimulating." Diana Hess Dean, UW-Madison School of Education Karen A. Falk Distinguished Chair of Education "Democracy, both as a form of governance and a reservoir of principles and practices, faces an existential threat. The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues is a perfectly-timed and wonderfully engaging exploration of what lies at the heart of social studies curriculum: social inquiry for democratic life. The authors provide conceptual frames, classroom strategies and deep insights about the complex and utterly crucial work of education for democratic citizenship. Education like that conceptualized and described in this volume is a curative so needed at this critical moment. Ron Evans and his colleagues have delivered, assembling an outstanding set of contributions to the field. The Handbook underscores John Dewey's now-haunting invocation that democracy must be renewed with each generation and an education worthy of its name is the handmaiden of democratic rebirth." William Gaudelli Dean and Professor Lehigh University "This volume is so timely and relevant for democratic education. Instead of retreating to separate ideological corners, the authors in this handbook invite us to engage in deliberative discourse that requires civic reasoning and often requires us to meet in a place that serves us all." Gloria Ladson-Billings, Professor Emerita Department of Curriculum & Instruction University of Wisconsin President, National Academy of Education Fellow, AERA, AAAS, and Hagler Institute @ Texas A&M "At the heart of our divisive political and social climate is the need to understand and provide clarity over polarizing concepts. Historically, confusion and resistance has hindered the nation's growth as a democratic nation. Typically, the most vulnerable in our society has suffered the most from our unwillingness to reconceptualize society. The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition, is a good step in helping social studies educators, students, and laypersons realize a new society that focuses on equity. With over 30 chapters, Ronald Evans and his colleagues' centered inquiry, critical thinking, controversy, and action to challenge ideologies and connect social studies to student's lives and the real world. The first edition helped me as a young social studies teacher; I am excited to use the 2nd edition with my teacher education students!" LaGarrett King Isabella Wade Lyda and Paul Lyda Professor of Education Founding Director, CARTER Center for K-12 Black history education University of Missouri "Ronald Evans has curated a collection of informative contributions that will serve as an indispensable resource for social studies educators committed to engaging their students in the thoughtful examination of social issues. The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition, articulates the historical, definitional, and conceptual foundations of social issues education. It offers clear presentations of general guidelines for unit planning, discussion methods, and assessment. It identifies specific teaching strategies, resources, and sample lessons for investigating a range of persistent and contemporary social issues on the elementary, middle, and secondary levels through the social studies disciplines. Updated with perspectives on education for social justice that have emerged since the first edition, this edition effectively situates social issues education in the contemporary sociopolitical milieu. The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, is a timely, accessible, and practical guide to involving students in a vital facet of citizenship in a democracy." William G. Wraga, Professor Dean’s Office Mary Frances Early College of Education University of Georgia "The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition is a long-awaited, welcome, and timely volume. It is apparent that the foundational tenets of the first edition have served social studies professionals well over the past 25 years, given the growth of social issues scholarship showcased in this new edition. Notable is the re-framing and presentation here of scholarship through a social justice lens. I appreciate the offering of unique tools on an array of specific, critical topics that fill gaps in our pedagogical content knowledge. This volume will sit right alongside my dog-eared 1996 edition and fortify many methods courses, theses, and dissertations to come. Sincere thanks to the editor and authors for what I am certain will be an enduring, catalyzing contribution." Nancy C. Patterson Professor of Education Social Studies Content Area Coordinator Bowling Green State University "The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues is a tool that every informed social studies educator should have in their instructional repertoire. Helping students understand how to investigate and take action against problems is essential to developing a better world. The articles in this handbook provide explanations and reasonings behind issues-centered education as well as strategies to employ at every age level of learning. I look forward to using this edition with the K-12 social studies teachers in my district in order to better prepare our students for future learning and living." Kelli Hutt, Social Studies Curriculum Facilitator Dallas Center-Grimes CSD Grimes, Iowa "Ron Evans has chosen an appropriate time to create a companion publication to the first Handbook on Teaching Social Issues published in 1996. During the last few years, social studies teachers have been confronted by student inquiries on a plethora of historical and contemporary issues that implores for the implementation of an interdisciplinary approach to the teaching of anthropology, economics, geography, government, history, sociology, and psychology in order for students to make sense of the world around them and develop their own voices. This demands a student centered focus in the classroom where problematic questions must be addressed and investigated in depth in order to increase social understanding and active participation toward social progress. This volume provides crucial upgrades to the original handbook including a greater emphasis on teaching issues in the elementary grades, the inclusion of issues pertaining to human rights, genocide and sustainability to be addressed in the secondary grades, and addressing issues related to disabilities." Mark Previte, Associate Professor of Secondary Education University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Chair, NCSS Issues Centered Education Community

First Published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Building on the success of a much-loved elementary text, Essentials of Middle and Secondary Social Studies focuses on the key issues central to the actual teaching of middle and high school social studies, including lesson planning and inclusive instructional strategies. Written in an engaging, conversational style, the text encourages teachers in their development as professionals and enables them to effectively use creative and active learning strategies in the everyday classroom. Features of the book include: • A full chapter on lesson plans designed to provide middle and secondary social studies teachers with classroom tested lesson plans. The chapter includes two classroom tested lessons for each social science discipline---U.S. History, World History, Geography, Government, Economics, Psychology, & Sociology. • A chapter on technology that is designed to better prepare middle and secondary social studies teachers to effectively teach social studies with technology. Attention is given to digital history, media literacy, teaching with film and music, and numerous other types of impactful technology. • Each teaching methodology and lesson plan discusses how the strategy can be used to meet the individual needs of diverse learners, including English Language Learners and exceptional education students. • A section in each chapter provides various resources for further development. The section includes articles, books, and web resources. • Each chapter includes an “Extension” activity offering readers with the opportunity to extend the learning experience with relevant and meaningful real-life scenarios. • “Focus activities” give readers the opportunity to prepare for the learning experience with relevant and meaningful scenarios. • Covers current topics such as NCSS Standards, Common Core State Standards, Technology, Media, Skills, Character Education, and Literacy.

A practical, holistic approach to integrating social studies with language arts and other content areas This comprehensive, reader-friendly text demonstrates how personal connections can be incorporated into social studies education while meeting standards of the National Council for the Social Studies. Praised for its wealth of strategies that go beyond social studies content teaching—including classroom strategies, pedagogical techniques, activities, and lesson plan ideas—this book presents a variety of methods for new and experienced teachers. Key Features Thinking Ahead invites readers to link their own experiences with the chapter content before reading How Do I? boxes give explicit, step-by-step instruction that demonstrates how to implement and apply the strategies, techniques, and activities described in the chapter Making Connections activities help readers make personal connections with the material New to This Edition The Second Edition has been significantly refined to incorporate new topic coverage and strategies needed by elementary and middle school social studies teachers New sections divide and organize the text into six thematic sections: foundational concepts, planning and assessment, instructional strategies, literacy, teaching subject area content, and enhancing democracy Differentiating instruction provides an additional focus on students with special needs and differentiating instruction Additional lesson plans and examples are offered throughout the text

The third edition of The Social Studies Curriculum thoroughly updates the definitive overview of the primary issues teachers face when creating learning experiences for students in social studies. By connecting the diverse elements of the social studies curriculum—history education, civic, global, and social issues—the book offers a unique and critical perspective that separates it from other texts in the field. This edition includes new work on race, gender, sexuality, critical multiculturalism, visual culture, moral deliberation, digital technologies, teaching democracy, and the future of social studies education. In an era marked by efforts to standardize curriculum and teaching, this book challenges the status quo by arguing that social studies curriculum and teaching should be about uncovering elements that are taken for granted in our everyday experiences, and making them the target of inquiry.

Technology in the Middle and Secondary Social Studies Classroom introduces pre-service teachers to the research underpinning the effective integration of technology into the social studies curriculum. Building off of established theoretical frameworks, veteran social studies teacher educator Scott Scheuerell shows how the implementation of key technologies in the classroom can help foster higher-level thinking among students. Plentiful, user-friendly examples illustrate how specific educational tools—including games, social media, flipped classrooms, and other emerging technologies—spur critical thinking and foster authentic intellectual work. A rigorous study, Technology in the Middle and Secondary Social Studies Classroom provides a comprehensive, up-to-date research framework for conceptualizing successful, technology-rich social studies classrooms.