Social Studies Lessons

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I'm working on a new series of products for elementary Social Studies. With excitement, but also with hesitation. The excitement because the unit is called "Heroes and Change" for 3rd-5th grade students. It's been really fun trying to find just the right questions and just the right information to present these incredible biographies: Rosa Parks, Louis Pasteur, Todd Beamer, and Bill Gates. These historical and contemporary figures each are special in their own ways. And each have truly impacted our culture and the way we live. However...

 ...The hesitation. The concern that no one will use these products. When talking to colleagues, you and I have heard it, probably thought it once or twice. Concerns. The reasons why we can't go into depth in social studies, or the reasons why we have to make it "cutesy" and avoid tough topics.

  • "Parents don't want their kids learning about civil rights, civil disobedience, or change...it's too touchy."
  • "We don't have time. We have to teach reading and math. The tests, you know."
  • "We don't have the right textbooks."
  • "We can't...we don't...we haven't..."
STOP IT!!! Please, pleeease, allow the students to learn lessons that can broaden and impact their views of life and of possibilities. Learn about these issues and problems solved by these incredible heroes. Learn about the characteristics embodied in these heroes. Learn how individuals can change our culture. Instead of presenting a boogie man who doesn't exist, present the lessons of heroes and change that can inspire and transform.

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