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Southern United States folk music is rich in not only sound, but in voices of the past. Folk songs were created by working class individuals who described aspects of their life in connection with societal issues and events. Folk songs, now digitally archived, can serve as primary historical sources that can be used to enhance the secondary social studies U.S. history curriculum. The vast offerings of folk songs can allow students to listen, read, and analyze the lyrics to gain a deeper understanding of the U.S. South, shed the hillbilly stereotype that Southerners have been historically subjected to, understand why and how Southerners spoke out against injustices through song, and analyze the lyrics that portray the history of southern folklife. Based on the National Council for the Social Studies' Themes of Social Studies and integrating folk songs from such online sites as the Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institute, curriculum implications are presented for students to reflect on the Southerners' settings, perspectives of events and issues, and methods of protest. Modern technology's preservation of folk songs that would otherwise be absent from history not only has the power to educate, but also to keep southern folk music alive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Elementary social studies is often viewed as less important than mathematics and reading. Although part of the curriculum, social studies is often overlooked by teachers due to testing demands. Therefore, it was important to investigate preservice teachers' perceptions and attitudes about social studies upon entering their methods courses to determine what may be needed to enrich the course. The study's findings suggest preservice teachers often hold negative views of social studies and fail to connect it to citizenship, the goal of social studies. The results have assisted educators in strengthening the methods courses to help preservice teachers teach social studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Although finding fault with someone or something is part of human nature, blame is merely a perception. Before assigning blame in the causation of historical events, students should be given the opportunity to look past textbook generalizations and establish sociological imagination, or the ability to recognize history's connection to society and its people. By instituting sociological imagination, societal and cultural factors could be emphasized, various perspectives could be examined, and empathy could be evoked from the voices of people who lived during, or participated in, these historical happenings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

In many parts of the less developed world it is women and girls who are expected to provide water for their family. Frequently, young girls are unable to complete school or get jobs because water scarcity means they are forced to walk miles daily to obtain this most basic need. Since the creation of the United Nations Millennium Goals, progress has been made in providing clean water and sanitation to billions of people. Although there are still many regions where water scarcity and gender inequity exclude women from schooling and the workforce. With the new Social Studies C3 Framework students are expected to apply and evaluate civic concepts and take action by engaging in global citizenship. In the “How DoYouGet Your Water?” Curriculum students' apply the concepts of structural violence and universal human rights to a case study on the connection between women, social inequity, and water. A writing extension gives students the reflective time to cultivate empathy for families experiencing water insecurity. Simulations meant to evoke emotional responses make the experience of water stress a reality and a culminating service-learning project fosters global citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Iranian women have endured more than 30 years of an Islamist dictatorship that uses religion as a validation for unjust control. Human rights violations against women in Iran are a tragic phenomenon for an otherwise highly developed civilization. Invisible and powerless in a male-dominated society, Iranian women are discouraged from becoming active agents of social change in their country. Government policies concerning issues such as inheritance, divorce, dress code, political involvement, and child custody have long been decided by Islamic traditionalists attempting to enforce their power over women's lives. Since the 1979 Revolution, women have not enjoyed legitimate human rights in Iran, in contrast to the principles outlined in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which states: …it is only natural that women should benefit from a particularly large augmentation of their rights because of the greater oppression that they suffered under the old regime…given the weighty responsibilities that a woman thus assumes, she is accorded in Islam great value and nobility… INSET: IDEAS FOR CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...