Teaching Social Studies in the Early Childhood Classroom

Jean Kirshner and Jenny Pettit have renewed my hope for a caring and compassionate society by bringing the complex ideals of democracy into doable actions for our youngest citizens and their teachers. Every early childhood educator needs this book! -- Melanie Reaves, Associate Professor of Literacy Education, Montana State University Billings, USA
I cannot think of another book on teaching social studies in early childhood education contexts that is so good at making complex social-theoretical constructs accessible to early childhood educators who can then make them accessible to their very young students. Among other things, the authors accomplish this remarkable feat by embedding discussions of these constructs within real-life classroom scenarios, by providing their readers with an abundance of children’s books that address these constructs, and by providing language teachers can use to have conversations about these constructs with their students. So, whet your appetite for a read that is as foundational as it is original, as pragmatic as it is transformative. -- George Kamberelis, Professor and Director School of Teaching, Kent State University, USA
In this engaging text Kirshner and Pettit seamlessly connect the research, theory, and practice around teaching social studies to young learners. Through clear writing they provide an understanding of today’s more complex topics for pre-service and in-service teachers. In addition, through children’s literature and examples from classrooms, they provide concrete ideas on how to engage young learners in grappling with these potentially new ideas. This would make a great foundational text for pre-service teachers learning to teach social studies, or in-service teachers who need support in strengthening their practice. -- Elizabeth Kenyon, Social Studies Education, Kent State University, USA