Organized around four commonplaces of education--learners and learning, subject matter, teachers and teaching, and classroom environment--Elementary Social Studies provides a rich and ambitious framework to help social studies teachers achieve powerful teaching and learning results. By blending the theoretical and the practical, the authors deeply probe the basic elements of quality instruction--planning, implementation, and assessment--always with the goal of creating and supporting students who are motivated, engaged, and thoughtful.

Book features and updates to the fourth edition include:

* Two new chapters on using the Inquiry Design Model (IDM) to understand inquiry-based teaching and learning and to develop IDM inquiries.

* Revised chapter on ideas and questions.

* Revised chapter on literacy to more fully incorporate digital literacy.

* Real-classroom narratives introduce chapters and provide in-depth access to teaching and learning contexts

* Practical curriculum and resource suggestions for the social studies classroom

* End-of-chapter summaries and annotated teaching resources