Ch.1 #2
-When I imagine a classroom where social studies is being taught really well I imagine it being run by a versatile teacher. The teacher would make the classrooms environment a welcoming and nurturing place that would make the kids encouraged to learn. The teacher would be able to connect different subjects to social studies such as reading. There would be pictures of places, events, and influential people in history on the walls that would entice the student’s curiosity and encourage reflective thinking. The students would be involved in a lot of hands on activities that would assist in their comprehension. The students would be crating dioramas, researching online and would have access to journals, articles, and books that contain a lot of information that would relate to social studies in order to promote a hands-on experience.
Ch.2 #1
-I believe that there are a few reason that contribute to low voter turnouts in elections in the U.S.. The senior population many times has a hard time not only finding transportation to vote but also finding out when voting is being take place and where. People in general lead very busy lives and they may not feel like they have the time to vote or may not have found out where voting is going to be held. Another reason that I believe adds to low voter turnout is that people really don’t believe that their vote will really make a difference in the way the country will be run.
Ch. 3 #2
- When it comes to diversity and the way students study the social sciences it is important for the teacher to make sure that more than one point of view of a subject is presented. When children learn of the battle of the Alamo they need to be presented with not just the Texans point of view but also that of the Mexicans. The same goes for when the students are exploring Columbus the point of view of the Native Americans should be included. Children need to study and receive a broad and diverse form of information on the social sciences.
Ch.4 #1
Differences:
The study of social studies is mostly centered on the aim of human society. This is because the social studies that is being taught is different for every country. Social studies is focusing on how events shaped the society that the children live in today so because of this every country has their own curriculum that they teach in the subject of social studies. Social science is a subject that deals with the study of social life of people or groups of individuals. Social science includes subjects such as geography, economics, psychology, political science, and sociology. Similarities: Both deal with people, places, and events. Both have aspects of the past. The list of the differences of social studies and social sciences was longer than the similarities list. I think that this is because social sciences deals with a wider range of subjects compared to social studies.

Ch. 5 #2
- One piece of evidence I found that went with the learner centered approach in social studies book was having students illustrate what they had just read in the chapter. Another piece of evidence that went with the society centered approach was found in a chapter discussing citizenships. The “exploration” part at the end of the chapter had the children get into groups and collaboration about democracy. The last piece of evidence I found approach was at the end of a chapter where the students are asked to reflect on what they just learned and write a one page summary on what they learned.
Ch. 6 #2
-An argument that is for planning a social studies lesson is that pre planning a lesson helps the instruction go smoother. An argument that is against planning a lesson for social studies is that there is typically no creativity in the instruction and everything feels stifled. I personally feel that planning a social studies lesson is the right way to go. I feel that if a teacher just wings their lesson that there is a greater chance for students to get lost in the instruction only grasp half of what the teacher had intended.
Ch.7 #1
-History is a social science that can be taught in different instructional strategies. “Cooperative learning” is a great instructional strategy that gets students engaged with their peers about their learning and can increase their comprehension of the content. Using “teacher presentation” is also a instructional strategy that could be used to teach history. The presentation should be short and to the point and the there is a lot preplanning in this strategy. “Computer simulations” is also a instructional strategy that is useful for teachers. By using computer simulations the students are being given oral, visual, and textual information all at the same time. Using this strategy can also help when the teacher wants to activate “prime background knowledge” since the student have now been exposed to a lot of information.
Ch. 8 #1
-Something that I learned by reading this chapter was just how important and useful integrated assessment strategies are to teachers and students. They help with achieving both instructional and learning goals simultaneously. It gives the teacher real insight into just how well their teaching and how well their students are learning. I also learned that when teachers implement these strategies that student achievement is more likely to go up as well as an improvement in their test scores.