A Guide to Information Resources in Social Studies Teaching

September 2006

This bibliography was prepared by Randall Shrock and Tom Kirk. It supplements the general Guide to Education which you used this past summer The focus of this guide is on resources for the study of social studies and social studies pedagogy.

First set of sourcesReference sources

General
Economics
Geography
History
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology/Anthropology
Interdisciplinary

Second set of sourcesDatabases online

Third set of sourcesOther Resources

Finding periodicals
Periodicals on teaching
Professional organizations interested in education in social studies
Finding used books

Fourth set of sourcesFinding Instructional Material on the Web

If you have any questions please contact me via telephone at x1360 or kirkto@earlham.edu. -- Tom Kirk

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Reference sources

Finding good reference works can be difficult because they are not widely reviewed and most school libraries are going to have a limited collection dictated by the requirements of teachers' assignments. So when you start a new type of assignment you will need to work with the librarian (i.e., school media specialist) to develop a plan for acquiring the material needed. So the best place to find out about reference sources is to talk to the librarian. Other ways include: checking WorldCat, consulting the collection at the local public library and checking Senior high School Library Catalog ed. by Juliette Yaakov (16th ed. New York : H.W. Wilson, 2002 ).

General

  • The Social science encyclopedia, edited by Adam Kuper and Jessica Kuper. London ; New York : Routledge, 1996.
    Ref H41 .S63 1996
  • A world of ideas : a dictionary of important theories, concepts, beliefs, and thinker,s by Chris Rohmann. New York : Ballantine Books, 2000.
    Ref B41 .R64 2000
  • International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences, editors-in-chief Neil J. Smelser, Paul B. Baltes. 26 vols.
    Amsterdam ; New York : Elsevier, 2001.
    Ref H41 .I58 2001
  • Reader's guide to the social sciences, editor Jonathan Michie. London ; Chicago : Fitzroy Dearborn, c2001.
    Ref H40 .A2 R43 2001

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Economics

  • Economics. Grolier Educational Corporation. 6 vols.
    Danbury, Conn. : Grolier Educational, 2000

Geography

  • Country Studies: Area Handbooks. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, dates vary.
    This is a collection of volumes, one for each country, that cover all aspects of the country --geography, economics, social, political, history, religion, etc. A terrific source for an overview of the country. Some volumes are more up-to-date than other. There are accessible at a comprehensive Web site for the series.
  • Encyclopedia of the world's nations, edited by George Thomas Kurian.
    3 vols.
    New York, NY : Facts on File, 2002

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History

  • Dictionary of American history. 3rd ed. 10vols. Stanley I. Kutler, editor in chief.
    New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003
    Ref E174 .D52 2003
  • The Reader's companion to American history. Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, editors.
    Publisher : Boston : Houghton-Mifflin, c1991.
    Ref E174 .R43 1991
  • American Decades. 10 vols.
    Detroit: Gale Research, 1994-2001
    Ref E 169.12 .A419
  • American Eras. 8vols.
    Detroit: Gale Research, 1997-1999
    Ref E 169.1 .A47194
  • The New Encyclopedia of the American West. Howard R. Lamar, editor
    New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.
    Ref F 591 .N46 1998
  • Reader's Guide to American History. Peter J. Parish, editor.
    Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.
    Ref E 178 .R43 1997

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Political Scene

  • The Oxford companion to politics of the world / editor in chief, Joel Krieger ; editors, Margaret E. Crahan ... [et al.]. 2001.
    Ref JA61 .O95 2001
  • The Blackwell Encyclopedia of political thought / edited by David Miller ; advisory editors, Janet Coleman, William Connolly, Alan Ryan. 1987.
    Ref JA 61 .B57 1987

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Psychology

  • The Oxford companion to the mind. Richard L. Gregory, editor.
    Ref BF 31 .O94 1987
  • A dictionary of psychology. Andrew M. Colman.
    Ref BF 31 .C65 2001
  • Survey of social science. edited by Frank N. Magill ; consulting editor, Jaclyn Rodriquez. 6 vols. 1993.
    Ref BF 31 .S79 1993
  • The Corsini encyclopedia of psychology and behavioral science. W. Edward Craighead, Charles B. Nemeroff, editors. 4 vols.
    Ref BF 31 .E52 2001
  • Encyclopedia of psychology / Alan E. Kazdin, editor in chief. 2000.
    Ref BF 31 .E52 2000

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Sociology/Anthropology

  • The HarperCollins dictionary of sociology. David Jary and Julia Jary.
    Ref HM 17 .J37 1991
  • Encyclopedia of Sociology. Edgar F. Borgatta, editor-in-chief.
    Ref HM 425 .E5 2000
  • Encyclopedia of World Cultures. 10 vols.
    Boston: G.K. Hall Co., 1991-1996.
    Ref GN .E53 1991
  • Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology. David Levinson and Melvin Ember, editors. 4vols.
    New York: Henry Holt, 1996.
    Ref GN 307 .E52 1996
  • Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. Stephen Thernstrom, editor.
    Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1980.
    Ref E 184 .A1 H35
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mankind. 24 vols.
    New York : M. Cavendish, 1984
    Ref GN 307 .I44 1984
  • Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. 4vols. Timothy L. Gall, editor.
    Detroit: Gale Research, 1998
    Ref GN 333 .W67

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Interdisciplinary

  • Reader's Guide to Women's Studies. Eleanor B. Amico, editor.
    Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1998.
    Ref HQ 1180 .R43 1998
  • Reader's Guide to Lesbian and Gay Studies. Timothy F. Murphy, editor.
    Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000.
    Ref HQ 75.15 .R43 2000
  • A Companion to American Thought. Richard Wightman Fox and James T. Kloppenbrg, editors.
    Oxford, U.K.: Blackwell, 1995.
    Ref E 169.1 .C685 1995

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Databases online

In most states there is a set of databases that are made available by a consortium of libraries or by the state government directly that are available to K-12 teachers and students. In Indiana the enterprise is called INSPIRE and the suite of databases are available through http://www.inspire.net/.

Similar resources are available in Ohio, Georgia (Galileo), and individual school districts such as Baltimore, Maryland.

For databases in the social sciences at Earlham check the libraries' list.

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Other Resources

Finding Periodicals

Once you have identified periodical articles you want to find the articles. Here are the ways:

  • The database in which you search may have a link to the full-text and you simply click on the link. This may be the case in almost every database. It is rare when the links are not available.
  • The database in which you searched may have a button labeled SFX. Click on this button and follow the instructions. This process will lead either to the full text of the article or information on the library's ownership of the print format.
  • If you have a citation which you got from a published source you have read you can use SFX Citation Linker. This is available on the libraries' "Finding Articles in Electronic Journals."
  • Use interlibrary loan. A form for requesting an article is listed under "Finding Articles Via Interlibrary Loan."

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Periodicals about teaching in a subject field

The following titles are each focused on teaching a specific subject field. They often combine advances in the field as well as ideas for teaching important concepts in the discipline.

  • The History teacher.
    Earlham holdings: Periodicals v 30:n 1 (11/1996) to present
  • Teaching sociology.
    Earlham holdings: Periodicals v 24:n 1 (10/1996) - v 30:n 3 (07/2002)

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Professional organizations interested in education in social studies

  • National Council for Social Studies. Excellent
  • National Geographic Society)
  • National Council for Geographic Education
  • National Center for History in the Schools
  • National Council for History Education
  • Character education resources
  • National Council on Economic Education
  • Foundation for Teaching Economics
  • National Center for Civics Education
  • Smithsonian
  • State of Indiana Social Studies Standards-as listed in program handbook and available on line.

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Finding used books

  • http://www.alibris.com (to buy used and out-of-print books, even including brand new books)
  • http://www.abebooks.com (to buy used and out-of-print books, even including brand new books)
  • http://www.bookfinder.com/ (to buy used and out-of-print books, including brand new books)
  • http://ebs.allbookstores.com/ (to search lots of bookstores all at once)
  • http://amazon.com/ (to search for both new and used books)

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Finding Instructional material in the Social Studies on the Web

  • Aztec History Mexico - The Aztecs of Mexico
    An excellent site for anything at all to do with the Aztec world: medicine, agriculture, religion, sacrifices, rulers, etc. Also link to an excellent paper on Cortez, containing five of his letters.
    http://northcoast.com/~spdtom/aztec.html
  • City Population - The largest cities in the world
    Site contains the principal cities, nations and agglomerations of the world, with tables and maps.
    http://www.citypopulation.de
  • CNN Newsroom
    A free instructional program for teachers to bring the world into their classrooms with in-depth news stories, as well as world and regional events designed exclusively for students.
    http://learning.turner.com/newsroom/index.html
  • Current Events
    The Virtual Study Tour
    With this architectural virtual tour, you can visit the Knossos Labyrinth or the Palace of Ramses III.
    http://archpropplan.auckland.ac.nz/virtualtour/front.html
  • Eye Witness
    Using personal letters and essays, Eyewitness History takes a look at major events in history from the perspectives of eyewitnesses.
    http://www.ibiscom.com/
  • 50states.com
    State information resource links to state homepages, symbols, flags, maps, constitutions, representatives, songs, birds, flowers, trees, etc.
    http://www.50states.com/
  • GEM
    The Gateway to Educational Materials is a Consortium effort to provide educators with quick and easy access to thousands of educational resources found on various federal, state, university, non-profit, and commercial Internet sites. GEM is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. http://www.thegateway.org/welcome.html
  • Geographia Homepage
    In-depth destination guides to over 75 countries, online tourist offices, travel stories and more.
    http://www.geographia.com/
  • Geography Education and Technology
    These geographic lesson plans are made available by year of creation and are free of cost.
    http://multimedia2.freac.fsu.edu/fga/lessonplans.html
  • History Channel, The
    The History Channel online includes study guides, speeches, "This Day in History" and lots more.
    http://www.historychannel.com/
  • History of Today, The
    Daily historical facts and events, famous birthdays, world history and music history.
    http://www.on-this-day.com
  • History Place
    Great online history exhibits include World Wars, Lincoln, Kennedy and more.
    http://www.historyplace.com/
  • Let's Go Around the World
    Let's Go Around the World is a fun and very informative global exploration site.
    http://www.ccph.com/
  • Map Collections
    Map collections from 1544 to 1996, organized according to seven major categories.
    http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html
  • National Archives: The Digital Classroom
    This site gives teachers and students access to online historical documents.
    http://www.nara.gov/education/
  • Newsweek Education Program
    A site designed to help teachers build bridges to real-world issues
    http://school.newsweek.com/
  • People's Century
    PBS's People's Century discusses the "History of the People," for the people, as told by the people who lived it.
    http://www.pbs.cor/wgbh/peoplescentury/
  • Social Studies
    History/Social Studies Web Site for K-12 Teachers
    The History/Social Studies Web site for K-12 teachers is a good resource for social studies on the Web.
    http://www.execpc.com/~dboals/boals.html
  • TIME for Kids
    Just like TIME magazine, the news in TIME for Kids is completely up-to-date and comes for TIME's award-winning journalists and photographers around the world.
    http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/
  • United Nations CyberSchoolBus
    Provides information on current global issues, and also offers lesson plans, teaching modules, classroom activities and more.
    http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/
  • University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
    Center for International Education
    Learning Objects.
    http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CIE/AOP/LO_collections.html
  • World Cultures
    Multicultural Teacher's Corner - Multicultural Pavilion
    Conceptualizations, goals, assumptions, activities, lessons and tools of multicultural education.
    http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/multicultural/teachers.html
  • World History
    Architecture Design Images History, 3D Models and more
    Architecture around the world and across history, in an online multimedia encyclopedia of world architecture, documenting 1,200 buildings and architects.
    http://www.greatbuildings.com/
  • Yahoo Directory Geography
    http://dir.yahoo.com/Science/geography/

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Schools of Education and their Libraries Web sites

  • University of Illinois
  • Ohio State University