3 Frustrating Challenges Faced by Social Studies Teachers in Upper Elementary

Kirsten 0:00

This is the social studies teacher podcast, a show for busy elementary teachers looking for fun and engaging ways to easily add social studies into their classroom schedule without feeling overwhelmed or pressed for time. I'm curious to know if you southern teach an educator and mom who is passionate about all things, social studies, I love sharing ideas and strategies that are low prep and easy to implement. So let's dive in together.

Welcome to the very first episode of the social studies teacher Podcast. I'm so excited to kick off this podcast with a very interesting article that I recently read. I came across an article on Facebook, I believe, off of Education Week, it was every bit of what I've been thinking for social studies for years. The title of it is called when it comes to social studies, elementary teachers are on their own. And I completely agree with that. So I wanted to kind of share my thoughts about this article. And what I think we could go from there. The article mainly shares, three main challenges that elementary teachers face. And I'm gonna offer possible solutions that might help alleviate the problem that we are facing. And so let's go ahead and dive in.

This article covered a recent rant core analysis. And this analysis indicated that elementary teachers are facing significant challenges in providing high quality Social Studies instruction. They report spending less time on social studies than on English language arts and math. And a lot of teachers often struggle to find adequate materials and support for their students. All right, I'm going to highlight the three main problems that were highlighted in this article, and I just wanted to kind of talk about it share my thoughts about it.

The first one is the limited time for instruction. The article stated that one of the biggest challenges faced by social studies teachers in upper elementary is limited time for instruction. With so many subjects to cover and a limited time in the school day. It can be pretty difficult to fit in all those necessary Social Studies lessons. Most of us are concerned about catching students up in ELA and math because Because I know a lot of students, especially since before the pandemic, are behind in certain areas in those major high stakes subjects with standardized testing beginning in upper elementary, a lot of states don't use the national frameworks for what students should be able to know and do. This is referring to the C three framework, which stands for college career and civic life, and then the educating for American democracy roadmap. So a lot of states don't really incorporate that. So you're ending up with a ton of different content and rigor in social studies across the board in the United States, for example, Texas, we don't even have any standardized testing for social studies until students are in eighth grade. So students could be getting to eighth grade with really not knowing a lot of what they need to buy that timeframe. All right, so we can kind of talk about a solution for this particular one. We know there just isn't enough hours in the day to be able to teach social studies and also reading comprehension, phonics, grammar, all the stuff that needs to be taught in a school day. But one thing to do, just get creative with the day, using project based learning, while integrating different subjects together is a really great way to incorporate social studies, ELA and social studies, I feel like goes together, if you do it in a way that doesn't make it harder for you, and you're able to work smarter with it. Also, using technology can help maximize instructional time and engage students in the learning process, the RAND researchers made a note that increased instructional time in social studies was associated with improved literacy. So this could be because Social Studies helps develop those students background knowledge and schema, which is important for reading comprehension.

The second thing I wanted to highlight is limited professional development. This is something I absolutely noticed when I was in the classroom. Many schools may not offer specific training or resources for social studies teachers, and this would lead them to seek out their own professional development. I remember a few years ago, I did a region for training off campus outside of our district. But it was really interesting, it was actually a professional development of how you can integrate social studies with the arts, like ways to kind of infuse that. But I think that was maybe the only PD that I found that was actually pretty interesting or relevant for me, there really wasn't a lot compared to other subjects. Now, one thing that has changed for the better since the pandemic, which I love, teachers can attend virtual conferences and workshops and online courses, to stay up to date on the latest social studies, strategies and resources. So there are more abilities to attend virtual conferences. One that I recently spoke at was the linked conference. And that was formerly known as the upper elementary teachers conference. And my topic was about integrating social studies with other subjects. So I was just trying to, you know, put the word the good word out for social studies. But I know even still, there isn't as many as I would love to see. But you can definitely do your research online. And there are plenty of learning opportunities, and conferences that you can attend or memberships courses that you're able to have in your back pocket to stay on top of things. You can also connect with other social studies teachers in your community or online to share ideas and resources. Lucky for you, if you're listening, you are kind of in that realm. Right now. You're connecting with me as I share different topics in social studies. I have the online Facebook group, upper elementary social studies, teachers, and I do have a membership called Smart and Simple Social studies where I'll be sharing quarterly PD training on social studies, among other things. So just putting it out there. If you want to check out more information, you can check out the show notes.

Some ways to overcome this challenge is to make sure to seek out resources from a reputable source, and try to apply for a grant or purchase order. This is something that I pride myself in. So while I do sell on Teachers Pay Teachers, I have hundreds of reviews, sharing how the teachers loved the resources, how they've been engaging. So I feel that I am a pretty reputable seller. And I do my research very thoroughly. I use a lot of sources, primary sources, secondary sources in order to make sure my material is culturally relevant and also accurate. So if you are ever looking for any social studies materials, whether it's on TPT, or through my upcoming membership, you can count on having reputable resources.

Another way to overcome this challenge would be to advocate for your students and yourself and your colleagues by communicating your needs or concerns to your school or district or administration. If you feel that that's the step you would like to go.

So I'm just going to end on a positive note with kind of recapping those ways to overcome those challenges that you might be facing when teaching social studies. Try integrating social studies with other subjects as much as possible, make it fun with project based learning or simulations, sharing about current events. Another strategy would be to see if you can find any online PD or online courses or virtual conferences that interest you. Connect with other social studies, teachers online, on Instagram, in Facebook groups. And then also just make sure you're finding those resources from reputable sellers so that you know that you can have reliable, engaging resources that you can count on.

All right, well, that is the end of the very first episode. I hope you've enjoyed it. And I cannot wait to talk to you again next week. Thanks for listening to the social studies teacher podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, hit that subscribe button and leave a review. I would love to hear your thoughts. You can also find me on Instagram at the southern teach. I can't wait for you to join me in the next episode for more teacher tips and strategies.