Why Teach Social Studies in the Elementary Classroom?

Fiction can be social studies focused!  For example, the story of The Little House written in 1942 by Virginia Lee Burton can be used to teach students about plot, character, and personalization.  But from a social studies perspective, the story can be used to teach the concepts of change over time, and rural/urban areas.  Yes, the story is 75 years old, but it's a timeless story that is a great example of a "non-social studies focused story" that can be used to teach social studies.

To complete this section:

1. Open The Little House handout
• Look at just the first page.  What ideas and concepts will you be looking for as your view The Little House read aloud?  
  
2. Watch The Little House read aloud on Youtube and complete the first page of the handout. 
    
3. Think about how you could use this activity in your classroom during reading time.  
4. Next, move to page 2 on the handout.  This is a series of events that occur in the story.
• Depending on the grade level of the students, you could have them cut out the strips before viewing the story so that they could place them in order while viewing.  OR, you could have students place numbers next to the event to demonstrate chronology.
5. Watch The Little House read aloud a 2nd time and think about using a "social studies lens" when viewing
    
• Complete the chronology on the second page of the handout.
6. What did you notice differently in the story when watching in a 2nd time, using a "social studies lens?"
   
7. How might understanding the concepts of change over time and rural/urban support student comprehension when reading other texts?