Jesse Palmer

Integrating Children's Literature and Song into the Social Studies

oday’s students constantly hear T music coming from their radios, televisions, movies, tapes, and CDs. They not only have ready access to music; they have an intense interest in it (Lambdin 1994). A study conducted by the Office of the Superintendent of Schools in California (Davies 1996) found that 90 percent of students who participated in a district-level study had radios in their bedrooms and 60 percent had stereos there. Another study administered by Greenberg, Ku, and Li (Davies 1996) revealed that over 80 percent of students surveyed owned cassette players. Wells and Hakanen (1 99 1, 454) concluded that music is “a major media use” by young people. Somehow, music gets young people’s attention, and it gives them an incentive to listen in a way that no other medium does. Although music is not widely used in classrooms, many educators have suggested that using songs to teach can be an effective instructional technique (e.g., Burmester 1983; Delisle 1983;

A Developmental Approach to Teaching Geography in the Primary Grades

Abstract Instruction at the primary grade level should be designed to give attention to a childs developmental level and to utilize a childs experience. This article describes how the geographic themes of location, movement, and region can be taught in the primary grades. Students move from concrete to semiconcrete to abstract tasks while learning geographical skills incorporated with math, science, reading, and writing.

Using Games and Folklore to Extend Children's Literature

One of the many ways to teach childrens literature is by using folklore to teach about world cultures. Folklore is a vehicle to transmit knowledge from older to younger generations. The survival of folklore over the centuries is an indication of its interest and importance to both tellers and listeners. Folklore can make interesting lessons for children and can be easily adapted to educational games. By using these techniques, the creative teacher can focus on almost any aspect of a culture. Folklore comprises a huge body of literature that has proven reader appeal. Most folk literature is presented in a direct and simple style incorporating action and colorful characters that appeal to all levels of readers. Folklore provides an exciting door to the heart of any nations history and culture. A teacher can choose from thousands of well-written, illustrated works that focus on almost any aspect of culture. Educational gaming is one of the methods introduced by educators such as Freidrick Froebel and John Dewey, both of whom postulated a learning-by-doingapproach. As an old Chinese proverb has it,