Page 179 - Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students 4th Edition

CHAPTER 7 How Can I Teach the Other Social Sciences Powerfully? 151
the classroom community and society generally. In some school districts, the curriculum features a guidance strand that includes units on moral education and character development.
Within the academic curriculum, most teaching about self and personal identity occurs in social studies classes, especially in the early primary grades. Lessons and activi- ties focusing on physical characteristics are common (e.g., measuring heights and weights, outlining body parts or even entire bodies, or filling out questionnaires on physical char- acteristics such as eye color, then constructing and discussing a table or graph). “Student of the Week” displays and “Show and Tell” activities provide additional opportunities for students to collect information about themselves and discuss it with classmates. Commonly taught lessons focus on topics such as growth and change with development, birthdays, and rites of passage, ways in which individual children are special or even unique, children’s talents and interests and their potential implications for occupational choices, and ways that children can make a difference in the lives of other people. (For examples, see Alleman & Brophy, 2003b.)
The particular activities that teachers use to help students develop their concepts of self and personal identity are not as important as the attitudes and beliefs that teachers project in the process. The goal is to help children articulate tacit knowledge and acquire new information about themselves and others within an overall positive context of acceptance (or where relevant, celebration). Two teaching strategies are especially impor- tant. First, be matter-of-fact, descriptive, and explanatory (but not emotional or judg- mental) when talking about individual characteristics over which children have little or no control (e.g., size, appearance, physical coordination, socioeconomic status). Where relevant, talk about trade-offs (e.g., smaller size is an advantage for certain sports and physical activities). In any case, avoid talking about individuals’ characteristics in ways that are likely to cause them to become objects of pity from classmates. The idea is to socialize students to expect and value diversity as the norm, and thus to respond with matter-of-fact acceptance to unusual personal characteristics and behavior (except for antisocial behavior).
Second, when teaching or talking to individuals about knowledge or skills, portray these as developed through commitment to learning activities, not as limited by genetic endowment or other factors beyond the students’ control. Students who consistently receive these two kinds of messages from their teachers are likely to feel good about both themselves and their classmates and to think in terms of reaching short-term goals as steps toward longer term goals, rather than worrying about embarrassing themselves or feeling the need to put down others.
Children’s literature is an especially rich source for teaching about individual develop- ment and identity. As Krey (1998) notes, good children’s literature provides students with an insider’s perspective that includes the emotions of human events as well as opportunities to identify with characters or emotions that connect to their own personal experiences. Krey’s book includes annotated recommendations of children’s books useful for teaching about all 10 of the NCSS themes. For the theme dealing with individual development and identity, these selections include a book that values human diversity in the context of making observations about physical differences; a portrayal of an eight-year-old, northern, urban African-American girl’s visit to the rural North Carolina farm on which she was born; a book in which a girl tells the story of how she was adopted; and a book in which a wheelchair-mobile boy with muscular dystrophy talks about how his life changed after he acquired a service dog trained to respond to his commands. See also Notable Tradebooks for Young Children, published yearly by the NCSS. Annotators have indicated the NCSS curriculum themes related to each recom- mended book.
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