Explore resources and activities relevant to courses that focus on the content and instruction of social studies concepts for grades PreK – 2. These types of courses emphasize instructional strategies, planning, and assessment through an inquiry model of instruction.

Course Activity 1: Children’s Votes Count

Read the Tip Sheet, Children’s Votes Count. Students can discuss examples of when children’s votes can be embedded across the daily routines. Questions for reflection/discussion: When have students observed teachers include children’s votes in their practicum setting? What do children learn from participating in classroom voting?

Including a project on voting (Voting Project) provides children with a more in depth understanding of what it means to vote. Questions for reflection/discussion: How might students plan a project like this? What materials would be needed? How do teachers of young children make sure this project is viewed in a positive light by families? Who might be invited as a guest expert to discuss voting with the children?

Course Activity 2: Celebrating Birthdays

This project focused on birthday celebrations (How Do People Celebrate Birthdays?) and how different families celebrate birthdays. Teachers would need to be aware of the children’s family traditions (e.g., some religions do not celebrate birthdays) before embarking on this type of project. Questions for reflection/discussion: Which Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards(IELDS) are addressed in this type of project work? What did the teachers do to engage the children’s families in this project? How might learning about the ways different families celebrate birthdays support young children’s understanding about cultural and linguistic differences?

Course Activity 3: Caring for the Environment

The Tip Sheets, Toys from Throwaways: Let’s Recycle and Toys from Throwaways: Boxes demonstrate how to recycle items into fun toys. Students can describe how they or their cooperating teacher have used boxes and other recycled items to create learning activities in their practicum settings. Questions for reflection/discussion: How can using throwaways in the classroom address the social studies IL Learning and Development Standards (IELDS)? What are some activities students recommend to encourage young children’s understanding about recycling?

Course Activity 4: Partnering with Families (Social Studies)

This slide series, Tips for Helping Your Child Learn About Social Studies is a family resource that teachers may post on their class website, in a newsletter, or as a topic during parent/teacher meetings. Teachers may want to include short video clips of the children demonstrating examples described on the slides. For instance, a video clip of children discussing who is the line leader today and what those duties entail, or a clip of two children negotiating about using highly desirable classroom materials. Students may want to work in pairs to plan how they can use these activities to help families partner with them to support children’s learning at home. Students may have some additional ideas to engage families in helping their child learn social studies concepts at home and in the community.

Course Activity 5: Teaching Young Children about Native Americans

Read these two blogs by Dr. Jean Mendoza, Getting Ready to Teach Young Children about Native Americans and Teaching Young Children about Native Americans. Students can discuss specific ways they may use the information in the blogs and the resource list to prepare culturally appropriate activities to teach young children about Native Americans. Questions for reflection/discussion: What activities can teachers of young children plan that ensure that Native Americans are accurately portrayed? What are students’ experiences with observing anti-bias education principles in their practicum setting?  How might teachers of young children intentionally embed information about Native American culture when discussing homes, foods, families, or other common topics with young children?

Students may write a short reflection paragraph about their philosophy concerning teaching young children about Native Americans using the writing prompt: “If I believe. . .  then my teaching practice will look like. . .

Course Activity 6: Economics for Preschoolers

This Tip Sheet, It Takes Money: Economics for Preschoolers contains several ideas for helping young children understand some basic ideas about money and how people use it. Students may bring in books about money (either one listed on the Tip Sheet) or another one they would like to read with young children. Class discussion can focus on the book topics (make a list for students to use in the future) and how setting up the dramatic play area as a “business” can enhance young children’s learning about money. Students may want to create a list of materials a teacher collects to create a “business” in the dramatic play area.

A second Tip Sheet, Things We Need: Economics for Preschoolers contains several more ideas for teaching young children about basic economic principles. Students may try some of the examples listed in the tip sheet in their practicum setting. Questions for reflection/discussion: What worked? What was difficult? How do young children learn about balancing needs and resources? Help students expand their knowledge about ways young children can learn about limited resources. What might teachers do to show children how to conserve necessary resources (e.g., turn off water faucet after washing hands).