Contextualizing Social Studies Lessons
One of the most difficult challenges faced by social studies teachers in the elementary and secondary level is how to enable their students to grasp concepts and big ideas that are essential to the latter’s development as good citizens. Unable to surmount this difficulty, many teachers have been tempted to take the path of least resistance, which is to deliver content through traditional methods of instruction, e.g. lecture. On the other hand, some well-meaning teachers try to employ methods that allow for student participation in the class. A closer look, however, would reveal that for these teachers, student participation consists of nothing more than asking students to read or listen to questions, scan books or modules provided by the school, and draw answers from these modules or books. No provision is made to enable students to form their own understanding of the concepts or principles being taught. This problem could be mitigated by contextualizing social studies...